白色巨塔

aka Shiroi Kyoto (2003)

Ended on Friday. It is the The Best Japanese Drama I have seen this 2005. I must give it a rating of 10/10.

The acting from the 2 male leads are incredible, especially that of the Drama Actor Karasawa Toshiaki (唐沢寿明) , whose portrayal of the character Zaizen Goro (财前五郎) is excellent, from one end as a scheming and ambitious professor, to a tender adulterer, to a confident surgeon, to a guilt ridden doctor, to a dying man, to a human who lives his live with all seriousness to the very last second but with lasting regrets.

2 things worth mentioning here.

What is good and what is bad? What if a good person did a bad thing, does that negate all his previous good deeds? Is he to be condemned to be bad person with no hope of redemption? If this person is sincere in admitting his mistake, does society still give him a change?

Then what happens when a bad person does a good? Is he still a bad person with no hope of redemption? There’s an old chinese saying that goes “ 一失足而千古恨”. If this is truth, why do we bother with prisons and activities like that yellow ribbon project? We might as well fine the petty criminals and execute all hard-core criminals. The world, as it is now, is an unforgiving place with no room for mistake. It is a harsh place where only the fittest survive, courtesy of Darwin’s theory. Still, who is it that produced the line “the meek will inherit the world” ??

Why is it human nature to contempt others first? Most person scheme their way to getting what they want by either convincing others, sweet-talking, bribing or coercing. So if you say you dun like a scheming person, does that mean that you condemn most of the human race? If one argues about the degree of scheming that is acceptable, then who will set the bench mark? Is it a person’s fault that he is scheming / strategic by nature or circumstances? He is just born that way, like a hand with five fingers.

Human is a complex organism and especially so this 江湖 of ours. They can both good and bad or even neither. It all depends on the time, circumstances of the deed and who is doing the judging. If only the world is a much more forgiving place….

Which brings me to the second thing - the gift of forgiveness. Not an easy thing to practice but it’s a good New Year resolution that I will try to take up in its entirety. But on this note, I would like to point out that although just saying sorry is sometimes not an easy thing, it is just a superficial way to either comfort the other party or to make oneself feel better. As once the milk is spilled, there’s no way to reverse the process. The hurt that the affected party feels can only be lessened through time and only if they themselves can open their mind and free themselves. The “bad” guy can only do so much to make amends to the affected party, provided the “victim” allows him to do so. Then what else can the bad guy do after trying to make amends? Different circumstances mean different answers. Some general part-answer is to live your life to the fullest, change your attitude so as not to make the same mistake and advise others from 重蹈覆辙. This is probably a better and more worthy way to handle your mistakes.