"Come On, James." is a viral internet meme, internet slang and copypasta in Hong Kong, a quotation born from a fictional satire, "4-Year Curriculum of University", by the famous columnist, Chip Tsao, on the newspaper Apple Daily published in 2004. It was converted into a number of different versions, including a top trending viral video and a musical parody on YouTube. It then became an internet slang widely used by Hong Kong netizens. "Come On, James." now often represents both the satire and the quotation.
Contents
Background
"Come On, James." grew out of the satire, "4-Year Curriculum of University", by the famous columnist, Chip Tsao, launched on the newspaper Apple Daily on 25 October 2004. In the article, the reformed tertiary-education-system (a.k.a. 334 Scheme) was mocked while the mere credibility of Associate Degree Courses and community colleges of the city was criticised. Its popularity prompted after the article was shared on the Hong Kong Golden Forum, one of the most browsed social platforms in Hong Kong. The famous sarcastic quotation, "Come On, James.", in the article caught the most attention of readers and soon became a viral internet meme.
Plot
Aiming to manifest defects the reform had brought to the education system of Hong Kong, the article was written as a short story about a couple breaking up because they were going to different colleges in different rankings. In the story, the female character studying in the University of Hong Kong, one of the top universities worldwide euphemistically told her boyfriend, James, that they were drifting apart from each other indeed pouring scorn on James who promoted to community college. During the conversation, the girlfriend of James asked, "Come on, James. Can you be a little more mature?", while James seemed irritated by the grumbles of her. At the end, it was indicated through a phone conversation that she already got a new beau with a bright career prospects at the same college with her.
Varied Versions
There are several varied versions of "Come On, James." regarding different subjects such as the iPhone 3GS, Bawang Chinese herbal medicine shampoo and instant noodles brand, Indomie. Two sequels were separately published in the column of Chip Tsao on Apple Daily after five years in July 2009 and after six years in July 2015.
Video
On 18 September 2013, a video clip based on the storyline of "4-Year Curriculum of University" was launched on YouTube channel "Open Video". This has received almost 400,000 views by the end of October 2015. The video conveys the main message of the original story, which criticises the drawbacks of 4-year tertiary education. The video further expresses the contrast of the emotion of two characters. The acting of the male character emphasises that James is disappointed in his girlfriend who breaks their love promise due to the difference of qualifications. The female character shows the girl’s scornful attitude to James.
The original article ends with James being dumped by his girlfriend yet the video has a different ending. After several years, the girl broke up with his lawyer boyfriend as he was not loyal to the girl. Then, she ate a delicious cake to ease her sadness in a coffee shop. Shockingly, she realised that James became the owner of the shop and she regretted despising James in the past. The new idea is that people often misinterpret success as money and fame which are not what they want.
Musical Parody
On 1 August 2015, a musical parody of "4-Year Curriculum of University", named "COME ON JAMES", was launched on the parodic YouTube channel "Sing To Say" and was posted on Hong Kong Golden Forum. It became the top trending music video of Hong Kong in the same month on YouTube. The video of the musical parody had received over 40 thousands views as of November 2015. Re-using the melody of "Rashōmon"[1], the Cantonese number-one hit of Hong Kong pop-singer Juno Mak, the parodist reworked the lyrics along the storyline of "4-Year Curriculum of University". Compared to the oblique conversations between the two characters in the article, the lyrics of the parody come way more straightforward indicating the accusation and ridicule from the girl towards James. Yet, the parody contains more portrayal of the male character, James, lingering in, the relationship with the girl, which is fading away.
Internet Slang
The idea of "Come on, James" was later transformed into a slang widely used by the young generation in Hong Kong, commonly seen on social platforms which underscores one's self-regarded superiority over the others. In the passage written by Chip Tsao, "Come on, James" is spoken bitterly, sarcastically and disdainfully by a girl who successfully gets into a leading university in Hong Kong yet has got a so-called "unmatched" boyfriend studying in an associate degree program. As the slang carries an ironic tone, it is widely employed by teenagers nowadays when they feel more superior in terms of economic status, academic achievements or appearances etc. than the others.
The tone of "Come on, James" involves no repentance so it usually carries harsh accusation towards the ones being blamed. The slang is especially ubiquitous among "Kong Girls" to criticise their boyfriends for not satisfying their materialistic wants . "Kong Girls" refers to superficial and arrogant girls who may choose boyfriends merely by reviewing their status, positions as well as achievements. "Kong Girls" may commonly use this slang when they try to criticise their boyfriends for failing to buy them luxurious goods.
Apart from criticism, the use of this slang is nevertheless prevalent when girls intend to break up with their boyfriends. They employ "Come on, James" when they find themselves in an overtly-high position where they are capable of listing out how childish their boyfriends are and the girls will demand their boyfriends to become more mature.
Drawbacks of reformed tertiary-education-system
"Come on, James." reflects that the overwhelming number of Associate Degree courses leads to the mere recognition of associate degree in Hong Kong. The reform actually makes the case worse. Those with an Associate Degree have relatively dim career prospects, which means that they have fewer chances to be employed.
"Kong Girl" Phenomenon
"Come on, James." relatively reflects the "Kong Girl" phenomenon. In the "Come on, James" article, the female character represent a typical "Kong Girl" who looks down on James, her boyfriend due to their difference in academic qualification. The girl is described to be materialistic as she had a quarrel with James back then just because the girl wanted to travel to Europe while the boy could not afford it. By code-switching in Cantonese and English, "Kong Girl" always tries to show off their English proficiency. Being self-centered is one of the characteristics of "Kong Girl".
Hierarchy
"Come on, James." reflects that the phenomenon of, hierarchy in the city, which regard students into different levels in terms of their social status. As of their future income, those who own a degree of Law, Medical, or Global Business are perceived to be on the A-list yet others who do not hold the same degrees are usually deemed as the futuristic lower class of the society. In the case of " Come On James", the new beau of the female character majoring in Law was preferred by her rather than James who was with an Associate Degree.
Political Features
Whether universities in Hong Kong should adopt 4-years curriculum or not are conflicts between the pro-democracy camp and pro-establishment camp. Many people will politicise this issue and find that the British university system adopt 3-years curriculum so that universities in Hong Kong follow Britain's footsteps to adopt the same approach before 1997 Handover. However, after 1997 Handover, Hong Kong needs to change its university curriculum into 4-years, which is as same as the system of mainland China.