(Person) Percentage - Sabanci University Research Database

The Asian Media & Mass Communication Conference 2010 Osaka, Japan
surveys suggest that most agree that the drama reflects the public sentiment on
mortgage slaves. Haiping’s struggle for a home gives voice to the conundrum faced
by millions of people who dream of owning a home in cities. The cruelty of life faced
by all characters in the drama—whether they are deemed good or bad—strikes a
responsive chord among those who are trapped in the social problems resulting from
China’s neoliberal developmentalism, housing as an example.
Apart from discussing the perils of buying a home, most discussions are centered
around moral values, or rather the degradation of moral values in people’s material
pursuits. The relationship of the corrupt official Song Siming and his mistress Haizao
is such a hot topic. Song, who is depicted as handsome, elegant, smart, romantic, and
wealthy and powerful, has won over majority of female viewers. In several online
surveys, such as the one on Sina.com on the question “If you were put in the same
place as Haizao, would you choose Song or Xiaobei (Haizo’s boyfriend)” and the one
on qq.com on the relationship between happiness and property, most have chosen
Song and material pursuit (such as property) as essential to their achieving happiness
in a relationship (Yu 2009). Some audience are not satisfied with the tragic ending for
the corrupt official (death in a car crash upon being found guilty of corruption) and
his mistress (miscarriage and having her uterus taken out), and have attempted to
rewrite the ending of the TV drama. The discussion of the affair of Song and Guo—
on the nature of their love affair and its political economy—also migrated to the print
in local tabloids and metropolitan dailies, which further generated discussions online.
A blogger named Wang Lei (2009) expresses the popular view shared by most young
males in China: Dwelling Narrowness as a cruel but realistic portrayal of the
relationship between economic power and sexual resource in contemporary Chinese
society. He writes:
As the gap between the rich and the poor becomes wider and moral standard
vanishes, sexual resources are increasingly flowing towards the class of the
powerful and wealthy. … The quality and quantity of women a man can get is
directly in proportion with his wealth and power. This phenomenon has been
normalised, as we are so used to it that we turn a blind eye to its happenings in
the entertainment circle, performing arts circle, university campuses, or news
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