This article is my attempt to understand the outrage that is directed toward the character Mira from the Netflix original drama Jinn. I could be completely wrong or not, but this is what I think.
So I’ve spent a lot of time watching Asian dramas. They are extremely conservative. The characters seems happy if holding hands is the only physical intimacy that they share. But let’s discuss Mischievous Kiss for a moment (I really could have picked any Asian drama). I know you want to read about Jinn but let me set this up. Mischievous Kiss has Kotoko focused on one guy the whole series (does he deserve it? Probably not). But she has a crush and she does not sway, not even when she tries to date Kin-chan. That is basically the premise for all Asian dramas.
Now hold on to that and let’s take a glance at the most recent American teen drama I’ve watched, Riverdale. In the first 5 episodes, more or less, of season 1, we can see that our lead, Archie, has a different woman in each episode. As a fellow American, I was a little shocked. Probably because I have been watching too many Asian dramas. My thought was, “whoa, Americans ain’t loyal.” –I believe that TV represents the culture that the show comes from–or at least what it values. Anyways, shocked yes, but not outraged.
So this brings me to Jinn. Loyalty. It’s about loyalty. At least from my point of view. In the first episode, Mira makes out with Fahed at the bonfire. It seems like she really likes him or why else would she, right? Typically in shows, both the viewers and the characters would be able to sense that the relationship wasn’t working. It seems like he was trying to rush the relationship and she wasn’t ready. I can see how that can cause a strained relationship. But she still likes him, right? I mean how long were they dating to get to that level of making out?
But then later they get in a fight and she drops out the relationship. I was with her too–no man shall hold a woman back and tell who she can or can’t talk to. But my question is how weak is their relationship for her to immediately break up with him because they had a disagreement? But the level of making out made it seemed like their relationship was stronger than that. It also seems like neither party takes the relationship too serious (which is good because they are in high school, but still).
Later…I think a few days later or the next day. She kisses Keras lightly on the lips–why? I’m not sure. He doesn’t seem to give her signals that he’s interested in her romantically or even sexually. I think at best she finds him cute–because I do and I love his voice. She also is probably attracted to his words–telling her she should enjoy her birthday with friends and also saying that she is strong. But despite all that, they don’t particularly have a cute relationship. There’s no chemistry; no flirting. They just seem like friends. And not even best friends. It seemed like the writers wanted to make it into more.
What I think made the kiss with Keras worst is the fact that she then ended up at a party Fahed was throwing for her. He was throwing a surprise birthday party for as an apology. Which shows how serious he feels about her. He had her music and a DJ controller set up for her, balloons that spelled her name. All her friends and drinks too. It seemed like she forgave him, but honestly there was no talking of it, so I’m not sure what happened to them.
From my westerner’s point of view, it seems like the writers wanted to make the story move in a certain direction without laying out the proper groundwork beforehand. If they had, maybe Mira would seems like a girl who fleeting from guy to guy. With a deeper background into Mira and her relationship with Fahed, I think the writer could have done better to represent her and her feelings or the feelings of all 3 of them. So yes, it seems like maybe Mira ain’t loyal. But she is a free woman and she can kiss who she wants.
Side: This article is a good read if you want more perspective. It discuss how the outrage is about more than just Mira kissing two guys.