Everyday when I head to and from work, I pass by this movie poster of Disney’s new movie “Alice through the looking glass”. Very eye-catching and striking with its colorful animated characters! So Alice returned with a sequel!
Alice is 151 years this year! It was on this day, 4 July in 1962 that Charles Lutwidge Dodgson rowed a boat up the Isis (geez…now this word has become synonymous with terrorism!) and entertained the 3 young daughters of Henry George Lindell (the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University and Dean of the Christ Church) with his tale. His fantasy tale of Alice falling into a rabbit hole only to make new discoveries was published three years later in 1865, as “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” under his pen name Lewis Carroll. Then in 1871 Alice returns with a sequel “Through the looking glass”.
“Alice” reminds me of Park Sihoo-ssi’s 2013 drama “Cheongdamdong Alice” and his amazing portrayal of the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Jean Theirry Cha (JTC) or Cha Seungju, the youngest President of Artemis. After watching it so many times, I still pondered, was JTC the White Rabbit with his pocket watch or was he Alice?
The White Rabbit was a very nervous, anxious character who was always worried about being late or offending someone, especially the Queen. Sounded so much like Park Sihoo-ssi’s JTC with his PTSD and his nervous outpourings to his shrink best friend Heo Dongwook. 어떻게!? 어떻게? How? How?
Even though he had a nervous disposition, the White Rabbit took the lead when it came to Alice, if we assume Han Sekyung to be Alice. He attracted her attention as she day-dreamed, with his man-animal juxtaposition in a waist coat, wearing a pocket watch and muttering to himself “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!”. He guided her down the rabbit hole through Wonderland, to his house, in court, and was there at the end of her dream.
Han Sekyung considered JTC her White Pocket Watch Rabbit, her 시계 토끼. Being born and bred in Cheongdamdong and as boss at Artemis, he would be the perfect guide for her to break out of poverty and into the sophisticated and luxurious world of Cheongdamdong. He guided her through and took care of her when she first started work with GN Fashion. And he brought her to his inner sanctum, his luxurious home, to prove he worked for JTC and of course, later when they agreed to become a couple. All hell broke loose when he discovered her deceit and plans to marry a rich man, so he took her to “court”, in judgement. When he came to terms, he was there at the end of Alice’s dream.
So seemingly Park Sihoo-ssi’s JTC was the White Pocket Watch Rabbit.
But then, at certain points in the drama, he appeared very much to be Alice.
“Alice” JTC lived in his own fantasy world, out for revenge on his father. He wanted to show his dad that even without a cent from him, he could still make it in the world. But of course, it was all an illusion. It was his father’s helping hand in buying his painting when he was down in the doldrums that got him started. He had to be guided by White Rabbits Han Sekyung and Seo Yoonjoo to see light.
He saw what we wanted to see in Han Sekyung, blinded in thinking that there was still true love in the world and not recognising the woman she had become. Like Alice, JTC had to wake up to an imperfect world and still in a dream-like state, struggled to differentiate between what was black and what was white or maybe the different shades of grey.
Hmmm…this is making me itch to whip out my Cheongdamdong Alice DVD again. I want to re-live Park Sihoo-ssi’s amazingly performance as the hilarious and yet to be sympathised poor little rich boy, Jean Thierry Cha!
Youtube Video – Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass
爱丽丝的回归
每天当上下班时,会路过迪斯尼的新片“爱丽丝镜中奇遇记”的电影海报。非常醒目,有着丰富多彩的动画人物!爱丽丝的续集!
爱丽丝今年151岁!正是在今天的1962年7月4日,查尔斯·路特维奇·道奇森Charles Lutwidge Dodgson与亨利·乔治·李德尔(兼任牛津大学副校长和基督教堂教长)和他的3位年幼的女儿划船游览伊希斯Isis时(天啊……现在这个词已经成为恐怖主义的代名词!),分享了爱丽丝故事。爱丽丝掉进兔子洞,有新发现,那奇幻的“爱丽丝梦游仙境”故事,就在三年后1865年以他的笔名路易斯·卡罗Lewis Carrol 出版。然后在1871年续集“爱丽丝镜中奇遇记”也被刊登了。
“爱丽丝”让我想起施厚君的2013年电视剧“清潭洞爱丽丝”和他那杰出的写照。他饰演阿尔忒弥斯Artemis最年轻的总裁Jean Thierry Cha或车胜祖,有着创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)。虽然已看过这部电视剧好多次了,但依然深思着,车胜祖究竟是戴着怀表的大白兔还是爱丽丝呢?
怀表大白兔有着紧张,焦虑的性格,总是担心迟到或得罪别人,尤其是皇后。听起来好像施厚君饰演的车胜祖的创伤后应激障碍,经常紧张澎湃的与他的心理学家最要好的朋友许董旭交谈。 어떻게!? 어떻게?怎么样?怎么样?
即使他有神经质,怀表大白兔还是率先引领着爱丽丝,如果我们假设韩世静就是爱丽丝。穿着束腰外套,戴着怀表的大白兔,是人与动物的并置。他喃喃自语的说着 “哦,我的一天,我的一天!我来不及了!”,吸引了正在梦中的爱丽丝的注意。然后把她引下兔子洞,进入仙境,带她去他的家,然后上法庭,到最终又出现在她的梦中。
韩世静认为车胜祖就是她的怀表大白兔,她的시계토끼。出生和成长在清潭洞,这位阿蒂米斯的总裁,可以让她摆脱贫困,指导她如何在复杂和奢华的清潭洞世界生存。她刚开始工作在GN服饰时,车胜祖引导她和照顾着她,把她带回他的豪华住家,以证明他是车胜祖的秘书。当他们终于同意成为情侣时,也到过他家。车胜祖发现韩世静的欺骗,计划要嫁给有钱人后,像“法院”的法官般的,他对她的“阴谋”做了审判。到最后当他接受现实时,他就出现在爱丽丝梦醒之前。
所以,看起来施厚君的车胜祖似乎就是怀表大白兔。
但在剧中的某一些时候,总觉得他更像爱丽丝。
“爱丽丝”车胜祖生活在自己的幻想世界,想对他父亲报仇。他想证明给父亲,即使没有父亲的一分钱,他仍然可以在世界上生存,有成就。但当然,这一切都是幻觉。在他人生最低潮时,父亲伸出援助之手,暗里买下了他的一幅画。是怀表白兔韩世静和徐允珠引导他见光的。
他所看到的韩世静,是自己想要看到的韩世静,让他认为世界上仍然有真正的爱情,完全看不到思想已经变了的韩世静。就像爱丽丝一样,车胜祖不得不醒悟过来,世界并非完美,但仍然还有一丝梦幻般的状态,什么是黑,什么是白或者是深浅灰色的区别。
嗯……又想起了爱丽丝。又想再次重温“清潭洞爱丽丝”,重温施厚君惊人的表现,可爱又可怜的富二代车胜祖!
Credits – Many thanks! Youtube Video and movie poster of Alice Through the Looking Glass by Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. Photos – Cheongdamdong Alice by sbs.co.kr
11 Comments
Nance, just to let you know many of us look forward to reading your daily postings on and around PSH. They are rich in information and with well selected photos / videos they are very attention grabbing. Small wonder the readership is growing. You have carried on doing this untiringly for more than a year now and each article is so well done. All for the love of your favourite Korean actor. A big thank you for your labor of love. PSH is very fortunate to have such a devoted fan. Your article today is especially informative for me who have not as yet watched CDDA. It certainly entices me to want to view it soon for how can I defer the pleasure of being amazed by the marvellous outstanding performance of this acting genius.
I can say that I start my morning, which I always bring new and complex news about the great actor PSH. I saw PSH’s film “Alice in fashion” and I liked it very much, as otherwise I like all his films and serials. It is a magician for the way manages to reach our hearts by what we convey in his roles. You are a great treasure for great actor, because every day we bring to the attention of many news that we capture the attention and aroused our interest. Thank you for your efforts for us to know more about how the beloved actor.
Anita and all – we are enjoying the Ramadan festive holidays in my country and this has given me the chance to view the 16 episodes CDDA drama series! Well what can I say – it has bowled me over and I couldn’t help if I laughed too loud. PSH is so brilliant and absolutely hilarious in his interpretation as JTC – he is gem! My heart almost stopped at end of Episode 13 – the discovery! Will definitely view to the conclusion tonight. Superb!
Dorothy Ooi He is so funny as JTC that even my brother who does watch K dramas laughed out loud when he saw him!
Park Sihoo-ssi 박시후 씨 – now that I have viewed CDDA first time all the way to the end, I am completely satisfied with the powerful impact delivered by this thought provoking drama series within the length of 16 episodes because of its ability to encapsulate the central thrust of the theme. Also its ability to maximize the screen presence of PSH as the lead star in every episode. He is hilariously funny in so many scenes but moves you to tears as you watch him brilliantly play out his role as the rich but tremendously tortured and tormented pitiful Jean Thierry Cha. A very intelligent drama series – small wonder it’s Stefania’s top favorite amongst all the already great works of PSH. I love the various quotes from Alice in Wonderland; also that famous quote by Winston Churchill which JTH was so eager to and got the chance to quote at the end. But personally the best was the start of the healing of the strained relationship between son and father. ” s s .. ss sorry” a hesitant JHT said to Chairman Cha Senior after much coaxing from Han Se-kyung. ” me too” the perceived arrogant Cha Senior was humbled enough to reply. So profound the healing of relationship!
Dorothy Ooi So glad that you finally got down to watching CDDA. I think it is a good drama which Park Sihoo-ssi outdid himself at that time, showing that unlike many other Korean actors who are one trick donkeys, he is very versatile and could take on any role. I remember watching the drama live on SBS and it was very much a cliff hanger at the end of each episode. I feel the angst in waiting for th next episode all week long! There are so many things about the drama I like – from superficial to deep. To me, it is not an easy to understand drama. One can take it just on the surface or delve deeper. Read my old article on CDDA. https://parksihoossi.com/park-sihoo-did-i-write-that/ Isn’t Park Sihoo-ssi one cool gentleman?
Oh wow Nance I devoured your old article on PSH’s CDDA in one reading. It’s so analytically good; love it to bits. Thanks for sharing such great stuff. Hope many other new fans of PSH will get to read it to deepen their admiration for this remarkably talented Korean actor.
Many thanks ladies for your kind compliments! And I want to return compliments too for being great cheerleaders and supporters! Without you, there would be no ParkSihooSsi.com and one less site in support of Park Sihoo-ssi. It is us being united that will we be in better shape and strength to support him. Let us continue to work together and work hard for this outstanding individual! Fighting!
Firstly ,I agree with Dorothy that your prodigious daily postings are waited with pleasure and interest by all of us, due to the amount of information they reveal everyday about PSH. And this is not an easy work for you, for which I deeply thank you too. Not one, not two, but more than 4 times I’ve watched “CDDA”, and each time I liked it more than last time.Two weeks ago I reviewed “CDDA” and I enjoyed it so much , seeeing PSH playing JTC. I believe God has put a lot of gifts and talent inside of him, to be the best actor having such a great impact on his audience. . And for PSH being able to present his talent for his viewers to see, is his main goal and happiness. No matter how exciting looks the movie poster of the Disney’s new movie “Alice through the looking glass”, sure I’ll not be impressed as much as “CDDA’, and especially by PSH, who reveals his unique talent and his unique way of expressing it , playing the peerless and matchless Jean Thiery Cha.
Thanks Nance for this article, you are a very good analyst! In a few phrasings lines, you enlighten the essence of the drama. Indeed, JTC can be both Alice and the white rabbit.
Dorothy Ooi, you have not watched CDDA? Hurry up!
CDDA was the second drama that I saw (the first was TPM). For me it was a great surprise to see PSH’s metamorphosis from the register seriously (in the historical ambience), in the comic one. Even I did not expect such a change, but I was very enthusiastic and then I had the revelation of a complete artist.