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25. K-Pop is a North Korean Terrorist Plot

Back to our regular scheduled programming, Acid Is Bad For Business has returned to its weekly schedule.

0:00 Expertise in gambling/pub games
12:46 Our extensive knowledge of K-Pop/Criticising the consumerism and perspective of South Korea
56:04 The US grip of the world/how certain countries don't 'need' the US/The default perspective of the 'West'
1:12:50 Dune Part 2/Still Watching The Sopranos/The standards of old and new actors

25. K-Pop is a North Korean Terrorist Plot

Comments

Thanks for this comment - it was compelling to read!

hyperballadbrad

I'm from Central Asia and South Korean pop culture got popular in my country a little bit earlier than it did in western world. So it got so popular that it resulted in Q-pop( qazaq pop). "Inventors" of it took flower boy image from east asian culture + usage of foreign words, group formation principles(rapper, dancer, singer, visual, maknae) and some aspects of training too, but not as harsh as in sk. Very first and the most popular group eventually, was like bigbang, and even the producer was just like former YG head. One of the members was somehow SM trainee in SK alongside Exo members😆. They actually got a backlash at first just like seo taiji and boys did in Korea in 90s, mainly for their looks. Once even got beaten up in more conservative and patriarchal parts of Kazakhstan. I was happy that finally there is a group, that didn't need to be popular in Russia to be popular in our own country. However, the way they adapted that kpop sound.. i couldn't understand my own language. You pointed how superficial kpop sounds, imagine that doubled. Even today their last single sounds like stromae and french, even tho every word in it is kazak, but without subtitles I don't get it. Initially people thought that qpop is a genre, but in reality it was a trend, and now it died out I think . Especially after invasion of Ukraine, there is a fear that we will be next to invade if Russia will win, decolonization became a need, and I can see how our musicians now in search of authentic kazak sound and we're distancing ourselves from colonizers.

sunnyside up

Re K Pop..... Where do professional pressures and expectations become modern slavery/abuse? What responsibility do we have in engaging with it, as an entity, if that is even a question? I ask that sincerely. The only exposure to info about K Pop has been on this channel and in a mental health treatment session where they said they are required by contract to have plastic surgeries and maintain certain weights etc. I feel like it's wrong of me to dismiss something and not wish to engage, but my moral concerns on a human level (nothing to do with art or fascination with their bizarre system) feel very strongly. Edit: Just reflected on the above, and I was reminded of my personal fascination of the Hollywood studio system and the similar levels of abuse and subjugation many people suffered in that. But I guess that's in the 'past'... I am able to handle it with a distant and critical eye; maybe it feels safer..... my mix of childhood fascination, later coloured by realities found in adult life of the dark side of the system. Interesting to consider anyway. I loved your phrase, 'decolonise your minds' - the USA elicits strong feelings from people. They still pedal this idea of being righteous and for Europeans its easy, or at least not hard to imagine, why people could fall prey to it - right down to a history of cultural identity, even religious similarities, however historic. The golden age of the US being this paragon of world stage morality does feel tipped against them now. But that could be social media. It warps everything. It warps what is happening in real peoples' lives all over the world. Just because people shout the loudest doesn't make it a true reflect. It's funny how social media is just as many people supporting a topic or issue as they are decrying it. The language/dialect influence of the US I don't get upset by. I don't judge people for it, other than the occasional eye roll I suppose. Again, I can see how it happens. Even European kids learn 'American English' in schools,. Chuck in pop culture obsession with the US AND the shrinking of frame from reference due to social media, and it's a boiling pot for dialect changes. Meh I don't get angry about it - I just get sad at the erosion of regional cultural influences. I loved Dune I & II - they were such a raucous entertaining ride - not incredible, not masterpieces, but wildly entertaining.... with the added quality of incredibly crafted visuals and sound. As a fan of many things pop, I can appreciated simple yet elevated FUN. It's example of modern cinema with a strong aesthetic which actually has value, It's funny, I think the author of the books is a great world builder, but SHIT at writing human stories. This reflects perfectly in the films, in my opinion. Not sure if this was intentional or not. But it's my view and I think I am pretty accurate.

hyperballadbrad

The fact Tim's hair alone is SO ingrained into his personal as an actor speaks volumes. I do think he is a decent actor, but he's equally kind of wooden. Or maybe he just lands on his feet with really good movies in which he just happens to star! One of my favourite performances from him was his Laurie in Little Women. He showed a more dynamic side to his performing (but even then it was limited to angsty/awkward boychild).

hyperballadbrad

I also think that fight you are discussing from the sopranos is one of the best moments in TV history

Jason

Dune 2 was pretty great. The worst part about it was Chalamet. I’m so tired of him being shoehorned into everything. He has one look through everything and it bores me to tears. Fortunately, everything around him was quite the spectacle. These young actors don’t have a “craft”. Austin Butler, a decent young actor, was great in his role but it left me wishing that he was the one playing Paul.

Jason

I cannot stop laughing at Lewis’ impression of James Stewart as Paul Atreides😂

Lee

Oh god I’m so hyped now to listen to it! I was actually looking at the videos and thumbnails alone already got me laughing.

Esteban Rodriguez

HEADS UP: Luiza, you got Bolivia and Chile mixed up. No matter how much I love Jazz, Hip-Hop or Rock 'n' Roll or Hollywood movies, I'm stll against this neo-colonial ideology that I pray that'll our grandkids will laugh at. And to tie this back to Brazil, the thing I love about the 1920's brazilian Modernists, the Tropicália and the MangueBeat movement is how dialectial they were in trying to balance their love for regional cultures and their traditions and the art and music coming from the US and the UK. We need that kind of de facto decolonized way of thinking again.

J George

By the way, in terms of actors, one I have grown to love recently because of watching a few films from him is Ninetto Davoli. He has that Chaplin esque boyish charm to him but can also present so much vulnerability and depth to his characters especially with his face. Yeah he’s not the most "handsome" man but my god he’s one of the most memorable presences in cinema for me.

Esteban Rodriguez

I remember in the very first episode of the 'Patreoncast' when Lewis and Luiza was all like "Yeah, I would totally go see a BTS concert film" in a completely unironic delivery. Glad to see you guys are still proud stans to this day and made it come full circle. I remember when a Korean friend from high school used to have a series on his YouTube channel called 'Kpop Boba Stop' just covering “K-pop news”. All the videos are unlisted which is why I feel like I can say the title now. The whole shtick was how he constantly drank bubble tea while talking about his discussions and all I could think while watching an episode was the nonsense of just the idea of "drama" in general. He’s a nice guy in real life and we’ve had good conversations about other things. In general I actually made a lot of Korean friends and they were all very kind and fun to hang out with. In regard to Timothee Chalamet, I think the main issue I see in most of his performances is his vocal range. His voice in general is one I actually see as one I can see creating a memorable screen presence but in the Dune series, I think he has a decent understanding of subtlety and nuance with his body and face but his line delivery for the most part can get very dry. I vividly remember early on in the film when he was saying something like "I don’t want to lead. I just want to fight alongside you." It’s almost a monotone delivery. It’s only when he transitions into being the messiah does he have a moderately more engaging performance. I just wished there was more detail in that. Definitely for me, I’m more and more paying attention to line delivery because I think that can be so crucial in making a character moment work when done right. By the way, Lewis’ Jimmy Stewart impression had me dying. It sounds like an old hillbilly that smoked too much.

Esteban Rodriguez

I listened to half of two songs of this Zior Park dude and I'll say this: the way he pronounces "dopamine" had me fucking crying.

J George

There's got to be an South Korean equivalent to Merzbow or Boris. I just know it.

J George

I wonder what the underground scene in South Korea is. Are there any frustrated Idols that ended up making Black Metal or Harsh Noise projects? That'd be hilarious.

J George

Another 11/10 title, but my schizo North Korean psy-op theory is that they've invented 4B (the ultra radical, outright anti-man movement going on in South Korea right now) to accelerate the deopopulation and ageing of the SK population in order to accelerate the Korean Reunification.

J George


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