The Wave Makers (2023)

Riveting study of the staffers behind a presidential candidate

This drama succeeds in making the the lives of staffers and strategists behind a presidential election absolutely riveting!

The staffers deal with all range of challenges, from helping their candidate, Lin Yue-Chen, reframe a seemingly trivial incident with a dog to navigating policy questions about immigration, the environment, and capital punishment. They are in a constant state of trying to please the public while staying principled, and they also struggle at times with losing their grip on their personal lives due to the nonstop labor they provide. The series represents this sense of chaos so vividly!

The drama also spotlights issues of sexual harassment in the workplace and homophobia in media and politics, but the message through these themes isn't all grim. Because the main characters are so sympathetic, we're drawn in to believe that justice and progress will win and can be achieved through perseverance, an engaged electorate, and principled political leadership.

The drama represents strong women characters--older women, young women, working women, wives, daughters, queer women. In fact, almost of all of the main characters are women. This focus on women is backed by a memorable statement from the presidential candidate in episode three. She says,

"Do you know the proportion of female government officials is less than 10%? This means that in terms of Taiwan's current political environment, we're still a long way from the so-called gender equality. People would often ask me, 'as a woman, is it particularly difficult to be in such a masculine political environment?' I said, 'Yes, that's right.' It's precisely because it's difficult that we can't back down all the more. We must work harder and persevere more."

This drama seems to speak directly to that reality, but also to redress it by showing women taking active roles at the center of Taiwanese politics and staking a claim in the future of the country.

The acting, music, and direction are all outstanding! The city views of Taipei will make you want to travel there immediately!

As a side note, I'll add that I've been a big fan of Ying Shiuan Hsieh since seeing her in "The Making of an Ordinary Woman." And fans of My Tooth Your Love will enjoy seeing Yu Jin in a cameo role here. Gingle Wang continues to prove her outstanding acting chops. She's simply amazing on screen!

Dropping this really interesting review written by Divya Malladi here at the bottom, "‘Wave Makers’ Review: Why The Taiwanese Series Is Far Better Than Korean ‘Queenmaker’": https://dmtalkies.com/wave-makers-season-1-review-2023-netflix-south-east-asian-series/

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A Hidden Gem

I came in with no expectations, fully expecting the usual run of the mill political dramas with their usual tropes. Instead, what greeted me was a high quality, entertaining and meaningful drama about the silent heroes behind a political campaign. I literally have nothing but praise for this show; from the writing, the acting and even the production - everything was well executed. Delicate topics like workplace sexual harassment, grooming and homophobia were handled well, too well in fact that it was (sadly) unbelievable as it would probably not go over that smoothly in reality.

I also appreciated that the show raised some interesting philosophical questions - does the end justifies the means? Can change only be enacted if one has (political) power? Presidential candidate Lin Yue Chen has strong views against the death penalty, but fears voicing it out publicly will cost her the election, and will in turn prevent her from enacting the requisite change. Similarly, Wen Fang has her doubts about helping Ya Ching over fears it may ruin the election results but soon realizes that even without power, change is possible too - and the election is not everything.

In summary, I highly highly highly recommend this show - and this is coming from someone who doesn't watch political dramas because they're usually too boring LOL. The pacing is juuussst right and while there are some slow moments, there isn't a "dull" moment where nothing happens. There are also strong feminist/female empowerment themes which is a breath of fresh air in asian dramas. Sooooo if you're looking for a political drama, give this a shot!

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