Chinese audiences slam drama remake for violating socialist values

The remake of the hit drama Meteor Garden, which will be shown exclusively on Netflix on Friday, is getting widely criticized in China for not fitting into socialist core values.

Netflix showed the drama’s official trailer on Tuesday. The first six episodes of the series will be available on Friday and six new episodes will be released every Friday thereafter.

The original series was produced in 2001 and since its release has made waves in China, it has been dubbed the “forerunner of idol dramas” in China.

The series was adapted from the Japanese manga series Boys Over Flowers and centers on Shancai, a poor girl who goes to a university for rich students, where she encounters a group of four rich and arrogant students – known as F4 – and falls in love with Daoming Si, one of the four.

Angie Chai, who produced the original series, said that the series, which was aired in 17 countries and regions in 2001, has made waves in Asia.

The remake of the series, including new plotlines, is expected to attract audiences of all ages who will enjoy the classic school love story, Chai said, the Taipei-based China Times reported.

Chai added that with Netflix’s help, the series is expected to be available in over 190 countries, a new record for Chinese idol dramas.

However, the remake has failed to win Chinese audiences.

Many Chinese claimed that several plots that depict beating teachers, domestic violence, money worship, disrespect to women and school bullying seriously violate Chinese “socialist core values.”

In one episode, Daoming Si threw food at Shancai ’s face because she cursed him. In other episodes, the F4 forces students to eat 100 steamed buns, half squat in water and eat a pair of slippers as punishment in a game.

Some netizens even said that Netfix bought China’s “lousy drama” on purpose so that it will leave a biased impression on European audiences.