What then makes Us and Them different from other tragi-romances (such as My Old Classmate ) is how the male protagonist decides to deal with the breakup Instead of wallowing in sorrow, Jianqing decides to build his own video game inspired in part by Xiaoxiao, which ultimately leads to his material success in the present day. Therefore, it’s no spoiler that Jianqing and Xiaoxiao eventually split on sudden terms in their younger days. No tragi-romance would be complete without a breakup story. (Image courtesy of Dou Ban) Breakups and Tech Startups These three qualities are often required for a man to find a girlfriend in China, and have often been satirized for representing the materialism that has come to dominate relationships in China (for example, in this spot for Didi - Chinese Uber). In fact, over time he achieves the classic hallmarks of a successful young man in China: owning a home in the city, having a nice car, and garnering a stable, high-earning job - the oft-repeated mantra in Chinese: 有房有车有钱 ( Jianqing though, is not stereotypically unsuccessful. This has given rise to sang culture in China: a self-ironic rejection of the definitions of success imposed by the elder generation, and an embrace of a more personal and modern definition of success. The difficulty of reconciling familial pressures with reality have led many youths in China to give up entirely on fulfilling the expectations of their parents and relatives. These questions annoy the latest generation in China so much that they have resorted to obtaining fake girlfriends and boyfriends to avoid scrutiny from their elders. During these family reunions, it is common for relatives - however distant from your daily life - to question your relationship status, roadmap to marriage, and your plans to “settle down”. Traditionally, once a year over Chinese New Year, Chinese millennials’ parents and relatives gather for 团年饭 ( tuan nian fan, or a “New Year get-together dinner”). In many ways, the tight-knit family environment of China worsens this problem. Saddled with the expectations of their parents and society, young people today are put under tremendous pressure to attain success not only materially (via home ownership and a high-paying stable job) but also familially (a la parental questioning of “when will you get married?”). In many ways, Jianqing and Xiaoxiao’s struggles to “make it” in the big city echo the struggles of young people across the world. This era of their lives occurs in the early 2000s, the same decade when many Western millennials came of age. Jianqing has dreams of making video games, while Xiaoxiao wants to obtain a Beijing residency permit (a 户口, or hukou, granting access to local public services such as schools and hospitals, or even the right to purchase a house) - an aspiration shared by many migrant workers in urban China who originally hail from the countryside. They both see Beijing as a city of limitless opportunity. Later, the two become shop owners peddling pirated software and Japanese adult videos. Fresh in the city from their homes in the countryside, the pair initially meet on the train ride home while Jianqing is still a college student. Jianqing and Xiaoxiao first meet as they try to eke out a meager existence in Beijing. Stuck together for a night, their reminisces turn into flashbacks, bringing us to a second tale of romance in their younger days, as they tried to start lives in the city. In the present, ex-lovers Jianqing (Jing Boran) and Xiaoxiao (Zhou Dongyu) meet by chance while stranded on their way to Beijing over New Year’s. Us and Them (后来的我们) is a Chinese tragi-romance told through two narratives.
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