China cracks down on Karate-chopping cleaning ladies
The government doesn’t want people to be excessively entertained
“HOW DID this cleaning lady steal everything from me? I’ll kill her!” yells the villainous Miss Wang in “Cleaning Mom, the Return of the Infinite”, a soap opera released in October. In the finale, the titular heroine knocks Miss Wang out with a karate chop and then (spoiler alert) marries a millionaire who is young enough to be her son. So ends a storyline featuring multiple betrayals and knife attacks. It unfolds at a frenzied pace over 36 two-minute episodes.
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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Too much drama”
From the December 14th 2024 edition
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