There's been quite a bit of discussion on Chinese social media about Yang Yang's portrayal of Song Yan in Fireworks of My Heart 我的人间烟火 coming off as "oily".
What might have been swoonworthy 10-15 years ago now comes off as icky when both men and women are arrogant, cocky and condescending. This oil factor often also refers to characters who think they're hot and want to make the world know they're hot through various actions.
What are your thoughts? Do you agree that Yang Yang was too oily? Or do you think it's a matter of taste between audiences of different cultures?
Let us know in the comments below!
For me personally, I never thought that Yang Yang came off as ‘oily’, I think his acting can be kind of wooden and stiff, but he never made me feel ick or cringe. I actually enjoyed his acting in several of his other dramas, and I probably will still check out his next drama 凡人修仙传 (I think it’s English name is A Legend to Mortal Cultivation?) because 1. My mom really enjoyed reading the book many years ago, so I’ll probably watch it with her, and 2. Yang Yang is still very handsome, I feel like he has a face that’s really fitting in ancient costume dramas. On another note, I feel like it’s kind of not fair when people call Chinese actresses ‘oily’. I haven’t watched 爱的二八定律 She and her perfect husband, but I have seen the clip of Yang Mi looking at herself in the mirror, and… I feel like she’s just being confident in herself?? Not that long ago people were literally hating on Dilireba for covering her chest on the red carpet and not being showy and confident. I feel like everyone’s always so judgmental when it comes to female celebrities… ie. the ’四普’ or ‘four basic’ the name they use to call female celebrities ugly with. I find it really frustrating when they have the ‘四普’ for female celebrities but not for male celebrities. So when people started calling female celebrities ‘oily’, it makes me feel like they’re just trying to find another way to hate on them. (It’s not like they can’t be oily, it’s just that usually people are just taking random clips out of context to judge and hate on them…)
I think for Yang Yang, it depends on the drama. I thought he was perfectly fine in You are My Glory and while yes, he also does come off as wooden in Fireworks of my Heart, I personally think he veers towards the oily side.
For actresses - I agree, it's very much a double standard on how people treat them compared to male stars on literally everything from the red carpet, acting, personal health, personal life etc. It's really frustrating when male celebrities get a pass on literally everything while actresses get completely skewered on behaving completely normally. People are calling this out this double standard more but it's tough when media companies really use these topics to increase viewership and engagement.
