When I mounted The Sound of Music in Beijing 12 years ago, one of my concerns was the seven kids.
China has a family planning policy. Most urban families have only one kid. Would they accept one with seven? Would it be outlandish?
No, I was not engaged in self-censorship. I was zooming in on those discrepancies the audience may have with the work. Even without the policy, most Chinese families would not want more than two kids. A horde of siblings is not something urban children - our target audience - take for granted.
Fortunately, the musical does not focus on sibling dynamics. The seven kids act no differently from schoolmates. Besides, the plot was already so familiar many probably did not even think of it. But it was a legitimate point. Most sitcom families in America have three children. How can you map out storylines in a Chinese television show centered around a family?
Home with Kids, a hit sitcom in China, tackled this dilemma with ingenuity. The wife had a previous marriage, so she has a son. The husband has a daughter from a previous marriage and he also has a younger son, who was born in the United States. So, it is still a family of three kids, all born legally.
A family sitcom with one child would be a daunting task for the scriptwriters.
Most people grow up in one culture and have trained themselves to look at things from a certain angle. Their way of thinking and doing things is what makes culture unique.
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