Learning to cross the generational divides

The family may be a basic unit of society, but it can also be one of the most complex. The recently aired TV comedy series Me and My Family shines a light on the chaos and drama in a blended family. The story revolves around a 28-year-old daughter who, after losing her job and going through a breakup, has to temporarily move in with her 48-year-old mother, stepfather, and her stepfather's high school-aged son.

At this point, the mother discovers she is pregnant again and decides to keep the baby. As a result, her daughter takes on the responsibility of full-time caregiver, embarking on a 180-day journey. The differing personalities navigate conflicts arising from generation gaps, and struggle to express their feelings. Through these challenges, they gradually come to understand one another.

Directed by Li Mo, the series was the final installment in his "urban trilogy". The previous two were Remembrance of Things Past, which focused on the friendships between several out-of-towners working in Beijing, and Fake It Till You Make It, a romance between an investment banker and a lawyer who learn to lower their defenses and connect with each other sincerely.

Both received high praise, earning an 8.1 out of 10 on review site Douban.

In Me and My Family, family bonds, particularly the mother-daughter relationship, are the central theme that the series aims to explore. The focus is on the idea of returning home — how people can rebuild relationships with their families after they have gradually drifted apart.

Li says that many young people today are reluctant to return home, and prefer independence and solitude. The younger generation often tries to change the ingrained habits of their parents, urging them not to eat leftovers, or spend too much time scrolling through short videos, while the parents, in turn, espouse traditional values to correct their children's lifestyles, insisting on early bedtimes and early mornings.

"Everyone has their own lifestyle and way of thinking, convinced that they are right and often unwilling to listen to the other side," Li says, adding that the series seeks to show the way family members of different generations can learn to coexist despite their differences.

"Understanding our parents is something that often happens much later in life. In our teens and 20s, we don't truly understand them. We're too focused on rushing outward, rarely stopping to ask what our parents experienced when they were young, or why they made certain life choices. But eventually, there comes a day when these questions arise, and it stems from a sense of identity," says Li, who is in his 30s.

As the series progresses, we discover that Wu Limei, the mother in the series, fell head-over-heels in love and became pregnant while at university, leading her to marry. After becoming a housewife, she decides to find a job, but her husband repeatedly dismisses the idea, gradually chipping away at her sense of self-worth.

Determined to reclaim her life, Wu decides to divorce, and becomes a single mother. Despite the numerous setbacks she faces while searching for a job, she eventually becomes an editor at a magazine.

For Li, the character of the mother embodies many women born in the 1970s — a generation shaped by reform and opening-up. These women yearned for freedom, resisted being defined solely by their roles as mothers, and were determined to chase the lives they truly desired.

Wu Yue, who plays Wu Limei, says she was deeply drawn to the story. "I loved the script after reading just the first five episodes. At my age, most of the roles I get are for middle-aged women with heavy or pathetic storylines. This character — a cheerful, vibrant middle-aged woman — really touched me."