If you were with me you'd suffer.

November 14, 2015 8:25 PM

Why Australia has fallen bizarrely in love with a Chinese dating show
posted by bswinburn (28 comments total)

"You'll be tortured by her eating corn daily"

I can't help but picture the old "Time to make the donuts" commercial, but with corn instead of donuts.
posted by chambers at 8:39 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

SBS are really good at introducing Australians to foreign shows. Nothing like Wednesday night coming around, switching over to SBS and watching Inspector Rex! It was also the first time I saw Neon Genesis Evangelion (the subbed version too!).
posted by Talez at 8:46 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Oh man. I love this show. It is the bluntness that's the best, as well as the painfully awkward videos (especially the "friend" testimonials) and talent demos (hint: never sing). The first time I saw it I was put off by what seemed like a shallow guy making shallow decisions about pretty girls, but the table-turning of pretty girls bluntly making shallow decisions about guys is weirdly fascinating.

Also I love it when a guy is obsessed with a girl on the show and he comes on with all his videos paying tribute to her and she shoots him down. Oh god, the schadenfreude!
posted by olinerd at 8:46 PM on November 14, 2015 [11 favorites]

Yes! When I finish work I try to get home as soon as possible so I can catch the second half of If You Are The One. But my current addiction is Running Man. If SBS subbed and aired it I would love them forever and ever
posted by Quilford at 8:51 PM on November 14, 2015

I will admit to being a fan of Fei Cheng Wu Rao (it's my wife who started watching it! I just watch it when she does!). They post full episodes on Youtube, although only in Chinese. I've never watched the show with English subtitles, but the ones they showed in the article seem really awkwardly translated, which perhaps is part of the fun for foreign viewers.

I'm surprised it's gotten so popular in Australia. I wonder if it's because of the large Asian population? I can't see it ever getting popular in the US, but I guess the US is a bit special in always having to re-make every foreign movie or TV show and not showing subtitles. But maybe that's more a problem with American TV/movie execs than American audiences' open-mindedness. Maybe Netflix should pick it up and see what happens.

And re: the non-Chinese contestants, I've seen quite a few. Both among the men and the female panel. There have also been overseas-born Chinese contestants, they even did a few episodes filmed in the US.
posted by pravit at 8:53 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

I can't see it ever getting popular in the US, but I guess the US is a bit special in always having to re-make every foreign movie or TV show and not showing subtitles.

The format is, in fact, Australian. ‘If You Are The One’ is loosely based on a show called ‘Taken Out’ that first aired in Australia in 2008.

posted by Sangermaine at 8:58 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'm surprised it's gotten so popular in Australia. I wonder if it's because of the large Asian population? I can't see it ever getting popular in the US, but I guess the US is a bit special in always having to re-make every foreign movie or TV show and not showing subtitles. But maybe that's more a problem with American TV/movie execs than American audiences' open-mindedness. Maybe Netflix should pick it up and see what happens.

It's not the same thing, but the Japanese game show Takeshi's Castle aired for a few years on Spike TV with ZANY! English voiceovers as Most Extreme Elimination Challenge. It COULD work.
posted by chrominance at 8:59 PM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]

Those seem like some pretty awful things to say to people. What is the context here? Is Chinese culture more blunt? Are there translation issues? Or is this just reality-tv-attracts-people-with-no-censor-who-just-want-to-be-famous? Why do men even go on this show?
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:06 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

How can I watch this with English subtitles. I need this.
posted by discopolo at 9:28 PM on November 14, 2015

Sorry to derail but Most Extreme Elimination Challenge was one of the best things on US television ever. All of my more geeky friends and I loved it, in no small part due to the obviously incorrect and overdramatic dubbing. Americans have their fair share of love for foreign shows if they are even remotely relatable (see: the high percentage of US viewers of Korean drama on dedicated websites), but MEEC has its own brand of weird that we loved.
posted by numaner at 9:29 PM on November 14, 2015 [7 favorites]

discopolo, it can be streamed on the SBS website if you're located in Australia (or the server thinks that you are, I guess).
posted by kinddieserzeit at 9:43 PM on November 14, 2015

How much of the charm of the program relies on it's being in the context of a country where eligible females are vastly out-numbered by their male counter-parts? Does this embolden the women-- seeing their value on the market so inflated? Are the show producers conspirators in this wacky reversal?
posted by cleroy at 9:52 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

Mod note: A few comments deleted. I don't think specific personal stories of the "this person asked me out, and I thought they were super unattractive in X way" variety are a good idea here, likewise, "they might be a murderer, etc." is a big derail.
posted by taz (staff) at 10:13 PM on November 14, 2015

"I have finally found my fatty!"*
(make sure to turn on closed captions)

* Repoduced for language and cultural education purposes.
posted by cosmic.osmo at 10:19 PM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]

This show is amazing. My sister and I make bets on how many green lights each guy gets based on his entrance alone.
posted by extramundane at 10:27 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Slight derail. I lived in Sydney's Chinatown for about 10 years. My experience is that the guys and the younger girls tend to be polite, but it's the older women (mainland born perhaps?) that will just come at you.

Me: *shopping for veg at a Chinatown market stall*
Auntie: *bagging my stuff* "What you making this time?"
Me: "Soup tonight. Something light."
Auntie: *throws random bunch of herbs into my bag for free* "Here! Good for fat! Help you lose weight!"

Eh.

The show reminds me so much of that stuff. I love it but - oh god - the schadenfreude!
posted by ninazer0 at 11:17 PM on November 14, 2015 [6 favorites]

Why Australia has fallen bizarrely in love with a Chinese dating show ?

... umm because there's shit all else on?

Oh that's not really fair, the nth repeat of QI offers solid competition
posted by mattoxic at 11:43 PM on November 14, 2015 [4 favorites]

If You Are The One is good, but we like VS Arashi more. Thank goodness for SBS, it's almost all we watch.
posted by mythical anthropomorphic amphibian at 12:51 AM on November 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

So this is called "Take Me Out" in the UK, is only ever done with the large number of women and the one man, and is constantly punctuated by the horrific catchphrase "no likey, no light-y". It's gloriously awful, must have been going about five years - will dig around and see where it started...
posted by ominous_paws at 1:16 AM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Aussies first! Good work, Aussies!
posted by ominous_paws at 1:18 AM on November 15, 2015

Is there some sort of fascination with China in Australia, because of the importance of Chinese trade, as both Pacific Rim nations? I assume that's why the former prime minister could speak Mandarin so fluently.
posted by Apocryphon at 1:26 AM on November 15, 2015

Apocryphon, if anything I would say Australians are strangely blase about Chinese culture given how many Chinese people are here. There are a few things like this show, or bubble tea, or traditional Chinese medicine that have decent traction - but by and large, not really. One of my friends is from Xi'an which is one of the most ancient and populous cities in China, yet 95% of people wouldn't know that it exists. A lot (maybe even most?) of the Chinese here are students who are fairly insular, so perhaps the statistic of 400000 Chinese in Australia is a bit misleading.
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 2:26 AM on November 15, 2015

And re: the non-Chinese contestants, I've seen quite a few. Both among the men and the female panel. There have also been overseas-born Chinese contestants, they even did a few episodes filmed in the US.

We watched one of those episodes in my Chinese class last year, I remember one of the guys was from Houston. I also remember watching the non-Chinese contestants and being impressed at their language skills.

As to the bluntness . . . I don't think Chinese is a more blunt language, necessarily, but I do think it is more direct. It's a very compact and efficient language in general, so when you want to say something . . . you say it. But actually, I would say that compared to Western ideas of politeness, Chinese culture is extraordinarily polite and kind - I can't count the number of people who have called my Chinese "very good" or my cooking "excellent" or my accomplishments "amazing", when in truth they are just kinda meh. But this is reality TV, and harshness gets more "oh no they didn't!!!" views.
posted by chainsofreedom at 5:30 AM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

I don't think Chinese is a more blunt language, necessarily, but I do think it is more direct. It's a very compact and efficient language in general, so when you want to say something . . . you say it.

This strikes me as an excellent perspective on why Chinese speakers sometimes appear to be quite blunt when speaking in English.

I admit being taken aback sometimes by the bluntness one of my co-workers from China, but that's probably because he's trying to translate his thoughts word-for-word from an extremely compact language. I don't generally take offense at the perceived bluntness, but I will try to keep in mind that it's only blunt from my perspective.
posted by cynical pinnacle at 5:50 AM on November 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

Nothing beats the brutality of Irish Take Me Out. If you make it past the first round, you're doing well.
posted by robself at 6:33 AM on November 15, 2015

It's not the same thing, but the Japanese game show Takeshi's Castle yt aired for a few years on Spike TV with ZANY! English voiceovers as Most Extreme Elimination Challenge yt . It COULD work.

I remember that, but they didn't just air the original show with dubbing (like the original Iron Chef), they made an entirely different show using clips of the original show and making up characters and dialogue. It was sort of like the TV version of Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily?, a zany parody of foreign TV with some "look at those CRAZY Japanese!" mixed in.

I guess the point I was trying to make is that it's interesting Australians are willing to watch a TV show with mostly Chinese people speaking in Chinese with subtitles. I'm assuming they watch it because they find it entertaining and not just because of the awkward translations or "weirdness" of Chinese culture. But it's hard to imagine US media execs ever giving a show like that a chance on national TV.

And for what it's worth American TV shows/movies with subtitles or dubbing are hugely popular in China.

Those seem like some pretty awful things to say to people. What is the context here? Is Chinese culture more blunt? Are there translation issues? Or is this just reality-tv-attracts-people-with-no-censor-who-just-want-to-be-famous? Why do men even go on this show?

All of the above. I wouldn't say Chinese culture is more "blunt", but there are different social faux pas. The translations definitely sound awkward. And owing to the "judging" format, people are probably a bit more mean than they would be in real life.

I think men go on the show because 1) get to be on TV! and 2) even if he doesn't get a date, at the end of the segment they put his social media info up and presumably tons of viewers contact him later.
posted by pravit at 8:22 AM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

For the record, the idea of taking delight in the romantic misfortune of anyone, including hapless Chinese men, is repulsive. Sorry (some) fellow MeFites.

(Also, not really sorry.)
posted by mistersquid at 9:26 AM on November 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

I watch this show sometimes when I'm visiting my parents, KTSF has it. My mom tells me to watch it so I can "learn what mainlanders are like" (my parents are from Taiwan and Hong Kong) but I don't put much stock in that because TV is TV no matter where you go. I mean, people understand that 'The Batchelor' isn't a perfectly cromulent window into US culture, right?

I agree with peripathetic that the show is set up to scrutinize the poor shlub who thought it'd be a good idea to come on. The viewer essentially has a box seat to a first date. Some of the women are more blunt than others, some are more into looks, some are more materialistic, some are more thoughtful. It's a reflection of real life but it's still TV.
posted by Standard Orange at 12:57 PM on November 15, 2015