Broadcasting
of Meteor Garden Banned
Meteor Garden has been banned, but
books and posters relating to F4 are still on sale. |
The broadcast of Taiwan TV serial, Meteor
Garden, has been prohibited by the relevant department as it
is believed that the serial will mislead, and have a bad influence
on young people. Prior to this ban the serial was broadcast
in six provinces and cities, including Tianjin, Shaanxi and
Sichuan, and achieved high ratings. Adapted from famous Japanese
cartoonist Kami Youko's namesake cartoon, the 18-part TV serial
is Taiwan's first serial aimed at the youth. It is set in an
exclusive middle school. The protagonists are four boys from
illustrious families who do whatever they wish, as nobody dares
to refuse or offend them. Eventually, an ordinary girl changes
everything. Some parents consider the serial as advocating an
updated version of hippiedom, as the concept of beauty being
more important than anything else is promoted, men are portrayed
as superior to women, and love is a purely sexual matter. It
features much ganging up and money worship, but is short on
literary and ideological content. Certain parents have phoned
the TV stations in protest, resorting to threats of a lawsuit.
This is bound to cause severe economic losses for TV stations
that have bought the broadcasting rights to Meteor Garden.
