Star Wars: ‘The Bad Batch’ Episode 4 and 5 Review

Screenshot of Fennec Shand voiced by Ming-Na Wen from episode 4 of ‘The Bad Batch’. Copyright goes to The Walt Disney Company.

Hey! Hallie here!

Last week I skipped doing a review of ‘The Bad Batch’ in order to group two episodes together this week. I’m not sure if this will be my new posting style, but if we keep seeing so many disappointing episodes in this series it might be. Because honestly, these last two episodes gave us nothing. ‘The Bad Batch’ is falling into a formula that makes each episode feel the same. The characters learn the same lessons and no major plot points play a hand in the episode’s story. I hope it picks up soon, but as of now, here are my thoughts on the last two episodes.

The Good:

Fennec Shand: Ming-Na Wen is great in everything and this role is no exception. Fennec is a badass. She obviously isn’t completely bad, as we see in ‘The Mandalorian’, but she still doesn’t have the best morals. After all, money always comes first for a Bounty Hunter. And apparently she’s being paid a lot of it to go after Omega. She’s willing to raise hell to get her, too. It was fun to see how cunning Fennec is in situations like this. She completely took advantage of Omega’s desire to see the good in people in order to kidnap her without Omega even realizing what was happening. It would have worked if Hunter hadn’t found them. But she also was really attentive toward Omega, even when she didn’t have to be. She even stole some fruit for her. It was questionable behavior, but it was still thoughtful! My favorite scenes with Fennec involved fighting the Bad Batch themselves. Hunter barely shook her off in an insane speeder chase scene and she took down Wrecker like he was nothing. She’s definitely dangerous and I’m excited to see her future appearances in the show.

Echo: Echo’s been the major stand out for me amongst the members of the Bad Batch, and that really surprises me. For whatever reason, Echo keeps getting more personality driven lines and moments than any of the other members. In episode 4 he was sold as a droid for credits. His complete exasperation over the plan was really fun and I enjoyed his whole dynamic with the droids he kidnapped to help Tech fix the ship. His interactions with the C3 unit, who was very peeved that she was no longer in control of the other droids, were standouts of the entire episode. Echo also got some really snarky lines in when the Bad Batch got themselves kidnapped by slavers. I especially loved his attempts to yell at Wrecker for pissing off the slavers and getting himself electrocuted, only to end up getting electrocuted himself. Echo was always a stickler for the rules, and now that he’s with a group who breaks every rule it’s possible to break, Echo is endearingly grumpy. I appreciate his character moments and I want to see more.

Tech: I have to put Tech here not because the show is giving him anything, but because he’s its main source of sarcasm and I love it so much. From making fun of Wrecker while he was fighting the Rancor to subtle comments about the disrepair of the ship, Tech can always be counted on to say something hilarious.

The Bad (Batch):

Hunter and Omega: This relationship is already getting tired, and it’s because it isn’t going anywhere. I love the father/daughter dynamic between the both of them and Hunter’s protectiveness of Omega is often endearing. I especially liked Hunter’s reaction when Tech told him Omega was hanging off of a tower during the Fennec Shand chase. But Hunter never learns his lesson. Omega tends to get herself into trouble and then, resourcefully, finds a way out of it herself. But Hunter still ends up telling her to stay behind or acts shocked when she proves herself capable. It feels like every episode now we get a scene where Hunter crosses the line with his protectiveness and Omega has to prove that she can take care of herself. Again. What annoys me the most, though, is in a few of these episodes we’ve already seen Hunter acknowledge this behavior and apologize for it. But then the next episode hits and he has to learn it all again. I want this relationship to develop. Not repeat the same notes over and over.

The Bad Batch: Let’s be honest, Tech, Wrecker, and Hunter have zero development so far. Tech is a sassy nerd with no depth. Wrecker is a funny strongman with no depth. Hunter is a brooding leader with no depth. Echo has the most depth, and part of that is because he was in ‘Clone Wars’ before this and we do see his character shifting and developing compared to what he was like in ‘Clone Wars’. But even Echo isn’t being given enough. Tech is relegated to the “info dump” position in every episode. The series also doesn’t seem to know if it wants Tech to be the “guy in the van” who feeds everyone information, or an actual asset out in the field. Because sometimes even when Tech is out in the field, he just stands around staring at his devices instead of helping. Wrecker has some storylines about having a soft spot for kids, but all of it feeds back into the idea that he’s a bit of a big kid himself and it doesn’t actually develop his character. And Hunter is a blank slate. No personality. Not even a sense of humor. Nothing but brood. I think Hunter is suffering the most right now, especially because the show is trying to focus on him which just makes his lack of personality even more obvious. He had one in Clone Wars. I don’t know where it went.

Crosshair: The show loves to put in references to Crosshair so all the members of the Bad Batch can briefly become sad about his absence, but it also incorporates the Crosshair storyline so sparingly that it’s more frustrating than sad to hear his name. There’s so much intrigue to that plot. Especially now that Wrecker is complaining of headaches. If they would focus on that storyline more the series would feel more urgent and emotional. But right now everything feels detached.

Series like this always have filler episodes. But with so few episodes in this series compared to other ones, these feel completely unnecessary. I don’t know if they’re planning multiple seasons, but even if they are I can’t help but criticize ‘The Bad Batch’ for introducing a majorly influential overarching story for their series and constantly proving itself unable to keep those themes consistent. It isn’t even using “filler” episodes to develop characters, like ‘Clone Wars’ excelled at. But then again, this is just a major problem with these last two episodes. While I definitely felt the series slowing down before episode 4, the first three episodes were pretty entertaining and they felt like they were going somewhere. I hope we can get back on track in the next episode.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: The Devastation of Bias Wreckers

‘Butter’ promotional and teaser image of Min Yoongi (Suga). All rights go to HYBE Entertainment and BTS’s social media.

Hi! It’s Annie!

We’ve talked about how difficult it is to choose a bias on this blog, but no one expects the difficulty of bias wreckers. At least not initially. Bias wreckers can be difficult to both choose and keep for a multitude of reasons and no one knows this more than I do. Bias wreckers continuously ruin my life, so of course I need to talk about them. I know that a lot of people experience the difficulty of bias wreckers, which is why it’s become a common joke in most fandoms. More recently the “come get your man” videos have been trending. So let’s talk about all the ways you can expect bias wreckers to absolutely ruin your life! Please, do not take any of this very seriously, I guarantee that this is all for fun!

Bias-Wreck:

Obviously, they’re called bias wrecker because they make you question whether or not your bias is really your bias. They are your bias-wrecker because, if they were in another group where your bias wasn’t present they would most certainly be your bias. And once again, it doesn’t mean you massively prefer them to other members of a group. Part of liking a group is loving all the members. It’s just who you often feel drawn to when watching interviews or videos. But a bias-wrecker will often be a point of contention for people because they want to stick with a certain bias and someone is coming up and making them question everything. Most of the time they won’t quite pass your bias, but maybe a new comeback features your bias wrecker more and you start being drawn to them a bit more. That’s typical bias wrecker behavior. It’s so bad that a lot of people have recently taken to just saying they bias two people rather than having a bias and then a bias wrecker. But it’s really common to have a bias wrecker and they are there to turn your eye when you least expect it.

Bias-Wrecker Becoming Your Bias:

This hasn’t happened to me, but it did happen to my sister. In BTS my bias was Jimin, for a while I thought he wasn’t, and then I realized it was Jimin again. With ATEEZ Yunho wasn’t even my bias wrecker before he skyrocketed to the bias position. With my sister J-Hope started out as her BTS bias wrecker and then suddenly became her bias. All three forms of this happen extremely often. But the bias wrecker becoming your bias is such a common thing. Especially when you’re within a year of becoming a fan of a group and still getting to know them. But even if you aren’t, it still can be common. The thing with biases and bias wreckers is that generally you like all of the members of a group so much that you don’t even realize when another member of the group has snuck up on you. Sometimes it takes a while to realize it too. Even though this hasn’t really happened to me too much, I totally understand why it happens a lot to other people. Especially because it’s so difficult to choose a bias in the first place.

Wrecking Your Bias-Wrecker:

This is the kind that happens to me the most often. With me I usually stick to a bias for quite a while or just keep my first bias entirely. But my bias-wrecker can change quite a bit especially because of how much I love all the members of a group. Recently this one has been beating me the most, because recently my bias wreckers for almost all of my favorite groups changed! For BTS my bias has consistently been Jimin and Namjoon is my bias wrecker. For Ateez my bias is Yunho and my bias wrecker recently changed to Wooyoung. And for Everglow my bias is Mia and my bias wrecker recently changed to Onda. This all can be affected by new comebacks or performances. Namjoon’s part in ‘Butter’ was one of my favorite parts (though Yoongi also killed me), Wooyoung’s work with Felix from Stray Kids on ‘Wolf’ on Kingdom absolutely slayed me, and Onda’s new parts in the new album made me so happy. I feel like new releases are especially when bias wreckers start rearing their heads. Though I’ve fallen for all these members a long time ago, these comebacks started to make me question absolutely everything. But I’m also only about a year into being a fan of all of these groups, so you never know what might change or if my current bias wreckers will just stay that way! But this category is definitely where I have the most trouble with bias wreckers personally.

You don’t need to have a bias wrecker if you don’t want to. It’s really something just for fun and even having a bias isn’t a requirement for being a fan of any group. But if you do end up having a bias and a bias wrecker, just beware of the bias wreckers. They will often cause you the most headaches in the best possible way. I figured I would talk about something a bit more lighthearted today after the disappointment BTS fans have been facing the past few days between the McDonalds meal and the ‘Friends’ reunion. I personally am not particularly swayed either way on these topics. McDonalds has always skimped out on merch collaborations in the US and most of the celebrity cameos on ‘Friends’ were the same as BTS’s, though I still think that both of these companies hyped up BTS more than they should have for what we got. So I’m pretty middle of the road here. But I do think western media needs to start seriously respecting BTS even when they aren’t speaking English. And literally any other artist from a country that doesn’t natively speak English for that matter. Western media has such a long way to go when it comes to giving respect to different countries and cultures. But while it is important to let western companies know that we want more from BTS and we aren’t satisfied with the way they’re treating BTS or any other K-Pop group; we all need to take breaks from all that sometimes. Remember to take it easy on yourself too and enjoy the content your favorite groups are coming out with!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Theatre: ‘Good Omens’ The Musical

Screenshot of Crowley and Aziraphale in ‘Good Omens The Musical’ from the sizzle reel. All credit goes to Squabbalogic.

Hey! Hallie here!

Yes, you read that title correctly. Since 2019, Squabbalogic, a theatre group located in Australia, has been workshopping a fan production of ‘Good Omens’. ‘Good Omens’, if you don’t know, is the book Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett wrote about Aziraphale, an angel, and Crowley, a demon, who decide to put a stop to the apocalypse after their love of Earth makes them realize that Heaven and Hell aren’t really where they want to be. Of course, there are a few different fan musicals circulating. Especially after the popularity of the Amazon Prime series starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen. But this musical isn’t a parody or a short-term way for the creatives behind it to obsess over ‘Good Omens’. This show has been consistently developing over its short run (Shorter because of quarantine). Their small budget has gotten slightly bigger so they can continually update costumes and set pieces, and the songs change and shift to better reflect the story. In other words, this musical is working to be the best ‘Good Omens’ musical fans could hope for. There’s even been a report that they recorded the musical to send to Neil Gaiman. So let’s look into what this musical offers based on what Australian fans have seen and the footage Squabbalogic has released.

Songs:

I’ll list off the most recent list of musical numbers posted by a member of the audience, however, this list might not be entirely nice and accurate. As I said, this musical is still being workshopped. Act 1 starts off with “Agnes Nutter’s Surprise”. I did find a clip of this song, though they haven’t released the entire song. This one actually has some very nice, foreboding ensemble pieces. The sound is quite operatic and it definitely adds to the mob-like atmosphere. Coupled with some narration, it somehow humorously demonstrates the moment Agnes Nutter is burned at the stake. In this musical Agnes Nutter’s last words are “Do not upgrade to Windows 8.” Genius. We also get to see witch hunter Newt’s ancestor, who is, as always, played by the same guy who plays Newt. And his singing voice is really good. I didn’t get to hear much of his singing voice outside of this song, but what he has here is promising. After this is “Living the Dream” sung by Aziraphale, Crowley, and the ensemble. Then “The Book” sung by Anathema, Anathema’s mother, and Agnes Nutter. This song appears in part in their sizzle reel. While I can’t say that I know exactly what this song is about, the harmonies between the three women are insanely good here. “The Little Dispatch” sung by Hastur is said to be a very funny song. Then there’s “Crowley’s Cup”, sung by Crowley, and “The Big Exchange” featuring Crowley and the ensemble. I think most people know what this exchange is. Then there’s “All Living Things” sung by Aziraphale and Crowley. I did see parts of this song, which features Aziraphale as the gardener and Crowley as the nanny. In this Crowley sports an amazing maid’s costume to teach Adam about all of the disgusting things demons get up to. “The Them” is sung by Adam, Pepper, Bryan, Wensleydale, and adorably, Dog. “There’s a Witch in Your Mind” is sung by Newt, Madame Tracy, and Sergeant Shadwell. I did see a bit of this song, which was mostly a funny and flirtatious back and forth between Sergeant Shadwell and Madame Tracy.

They do have “This Perfect Place” up on their website in full, which is a song Anathema sings about arriving in Tadfield. This song is a parody of “Belle” from ‘Beauty and the Beast’. It doesn’t share the melody, but it does include the various friendly villagers in Tadfield trying to win over Anathema with baked goods and flowers only for her to remind them that they’re all going to die. Gaston even shows up and gets told to “fuck off”. After that is “A Curious Boy” sung by Anathema and Adam, “The World In a Magazine” where these two are joined by the rest of The Them and Newt, “The Big Bust/Bust Up” where Hastur returns, “There’s a Witch in Your Mind (Reprise)” with the same crew as in the original song, and “Forty Miles Tomorrow” closes out Act 1 with the entire company. Act two starts with “Four Shall Ride”, a song sung by Scarlet, Raven, Chalky, and Death. Or War, Famine, Pollution, and Death, if you would prefer. “I Don’t Want to Go to Heaven” is sung by Aziraphale after he discovers that Heaven actually wants to start the apocalypse. This song is apparently a tear jerker. “Away Wi’ Ye Spawn O’ Hell” follows, sung by Aziraphale and Shadwell as Shadwell manages to discorporate Aziraphale. And then we get the second tear-jerker, “I Don’t Want You to Go to Heaven” sung by Crowley. I can just imagine why these two songs would break your heart in the theatre. After this we get “Love’s Anathema” sung by Agnes Nutter, Anathema, and Newt, “Dividing the World” sung by Agnes Nutter, the Four Horsemen, and The Them, “That Was Really Wonderful” sung by Anathema and Newt, “Hastur on the Hunt” which marks the return of Hastur, “Them Against the Horsemen” sung by The Them and the Four Horsemen, “Newt’s Victory” sung by Newt, Adam’s Law sung by Adam, and finally “In The End” sung by the entire company. I should also note this song takes place at a wedding, but I don’t know whose. Do with that information what you will.

The Design/Casting:

Crowley as of the recording they released wears a Guns and Roses t-shirt and a lot of leather. His actor is slightly older in appearance than the actor who plays Aziraphale, and the look lends itself to the washed-up rockstar description we get in the book. Aziraphale, on the other hand, is very well put together. As always, he has a lovely bowtie and an even lovelier coat. I would also like to point out that when Aziraphale is possessing Madame Tracy, the actor actually stands behind her in the same outfit she’s wearing, which consists of a blue and pink patterned dress. And he looks amazing in it too. Both Aziraphale and Crowley apparently get some nice costumes for their time in Eden, but as I did not see them, I can only tell you some scales and a gaudy coat are involved. The Metatron looks like a bit of a mess in a wig and robe, complete with sunglasses. It’s definitely the most “parody”-like design in the entire musical, but the hilarious way he’s characterized makes all of it fit perfectly. He has a New York accent and he won’t stop interrupting Aziraphale. It’s gold. Aside from these designs I would also like to point out that there’s both an adorable, small puppet for Dog and a giant, skeletal puppet for Dog. Both are amazing puppets. Finally, there was only one shot of the Four Horsemen in the sizzle reel, but I did notice Death was being played by a woman. Also, as the musical has developed sources have reported more personality for the character. Mainly a more sneaky and evil depiction of Death. I really like the idea of a female Death getting more to do within ‘Good Omens’.

This musical isn’t completely finished. And it’s definitely reported to be different from other versions of ‘Good Omens’. Some plot points are changed. A small example is that Aziraphale, while spending time with “Crawly” in Eden, gives him the name Crowley. The musical also uses different pop-culture references to better relate to the audience. For example, at one point they demonstrate the passing of time by listing off the various ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movies. But these changes don’t undermine the overall story. If anything, they add to it. This musical sounds like a lot of fun. I know that eventually their goal is to get to something like the West End, and though I think copyright probably won’t allow them to see this goal realized, I still wish them all the success in the world.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: Everglow’s ‘Last Melody’ is Out!

Screenshot of the ‘First’ MV featuring (from left) Yiren, Onda, and EU. Copyright goes to YeHua Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

There was a lot happening with Everglow today. Of course, the biggest thing was definitely their release of their new album and music video for ‘First’. A few days ago they released a trailer for all three of the songs they would be featuring on the new album, so the sounds weren’t completely foreign. But I can honestly say that I enjoyed absolutely everything that Everglow released today. Along with all of that, the group also recently came out with some pretty surprising news. So, without further explanation, let’s just get into everything that Everglow gave us!

‘First’ MV:

Ok, so obviously we need to talk about this amazing music video. Not only did all of the girls look amazing, but it was actual proof that the fans criticisms were listened to. Of course, I have serious issues with people attacking Mia for seemingly being favored by her company. It’s not like she had anything to do with it and part of it is because she’s one of the strongest vocalists and dancers in the group. But I do appreciate that with this song they decided to center Sihyeon more than Mia and at least show us that they can focus on other people as well. Seriously, Sihyeon was such a stand out here that my sister is now a Sihyeon bias. Yiren also got a lot which was really nice! But I think what really stood out to me about the changes they made was mostly with Onda. After the release of ‘Dun Dun’ many fans were reasonably upset that Mia got a dance break when Onda is probably the best dancer in the group and received very few lines in the song. While Onda did get a little more in the way of lines for this release, she still didn’t get much. However, they centered Onda for almost every dance break and even gave her a dancing moment of her own. The statement with Onda for this music video was clear. They were giving fans what they wanted and cementing Onda as their featured dancer. And of course she killed it! I also have to give them huge props for their choreography. I saw several people commenting on the difficulty and complexity of their choreography, which is something that we often see with guy groups but not as much with girl groups. I appreciate Everglow for all the gender boundaries that they’re continuously shattering. Their choreographer for this video is the same guy who does the majority of ATEEZ’s choreography and ATEEZ is known for their insanely difficult and fast-paced dancing. Everglow killed it and looked great while shattering that glass ceiling.

First:

The song was absolutely great. I fell in love with it from the moment I heard the small portion of it in the trailer. The trap sound of it really fits them vocally and fit what their sound is coming to be. I feel like this album solidified, at least for me, what their sound is. They do a really nice mix of fast paced songs with catchy beats and slower fun songs. In that way they actually remind me just the slightest bit of ATEEZ. Which is definitely a good thing! That aside, I don’t think they sound like ATEEZ or anything else for that matter. I saw a lot of people immediately making posts and videos about how ‘First’ sounds like it ripped off this K-pop song or that K-pop song and I don’t buy any of that. They have a very unique sound to them and this song is, if anything, more proof of that. I can honestly say I have never heard anything like it before and it made their more unique comeback outfits made sense. Between the trap beats, Mia and Yiren’s powerful vocals, and the softer chorus vocals of Sihyeon, it was a perfect blend of things that people might not have expected to go together. I will say that the song could have used a little more rap for EU and Aisha. Aisha got a few lines and it felt like EU got even less. I ended up looking up line distribution and I was surprised to find that EU technically got more lines than Aisha, especially because Aisha was featured a bit more in the MV. But it was mostly background interjections that pushed EU over Aisha. I will say I found it strange that they gave Mia some rap-like pieces that could have gone to the other girls. Mia killed it as always though!

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell:

This is a very lighthearted, softer, and more retro sounding song that I loved as well! What surprised me most about this song was line distribution. While Onda, Aisha, and Yiren didn’t get as much as Mia or Sihyeon, they got quite a bit more here than we usually see. And they sounded great! All of their softer tones blended together perfectly for this more vocal heavy song. And Mia and Sihyeon got pretty much the same when it came to line distribution. But EU barely got anything in this song. I know that this isn’t supposed to be that rap heavy, but it did make me sad to see that she was only in five percent of it. Anyways, this has a cute and dance-y feel to it that makes me sure I’ll keep going back to give it a listen.

Please, Please:

This song is one of the slower and softer ones that they’ve recorded. It’s probably my favorite of that category. The best word I can use to describe this song would be ‘beautiful’. Also can we talk about the fact that Onda got so many vocal pieces in this song and she sounded perfect? She got even more than Yiren and Aisha, which doesn’t usually happen. As this song was also vocal based, Mia and Sihyeon got the most as usual and Mia featured a bit more prominently here. I can see why, her softer vocals stood out gorgeously here. EU once again got the short end of the stick. It really felt like EU took Onda’s usual spot in this album where she was by far the least utilized member. I do know that EU isn’t completely comfortable singing, but it would have been nice to even hear some of her rap a bit more. Either way, this song was beautiful but I wish we would have gotten a little bit more of EU.

Announcement:

Obviously, this isn’t a song from the album. Along with the release of their music, Everglow made the fairly shocking announcement that EU would be stepping down as leader. She is not leaving the group, so please don’t freak out! Instead they said that they would be making a new and refreshing change by appointing Sihyeon as the leader. I’m not quite sure what to make of all of this. I hope EU is doing well and she didn’t step down because she wasn’t feeling her best. But I completely support whatever decision they make and I know they probably made the decision for a very good reason. It’s entirely possible that Sihyeon just made sense within the group as a leader. Up until quite recently, it’s been common practice in K-pop groups to make the eldest the leader automatically. But as leaders like Namjoon from BTS and Hongjoong from ATEEZ have shown us, that isn’t always the best choice. I mean, could you imagine Jin leading BTS? That would be absolute chaos, though hilarious, but still chaos. And it isn’t a role I could imagine Jin liking much either. More and more new groups have begun to choose the natural leaders rather than the default-by-age leaders. And that’s a great thing! It could be that Everglow made this change because they too wanted to stray from the default and choose something they felt would be more natural. Whatever made them decide to do this, I completely support them!

This comeback was full of amazing moments and incredible news. Really this group never stops surprising me. They are one of the most unique groups in general in the industry and I hope this comeback brings them even more fans than before!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

K-Pop and K-Dramas:J-Hope is Fine, Guys

Promotional image of Jung Hoseok (J-Hope). Copyright goes to BTS and the HYBE Corporation.

Hey! Hallie here!

Today, while I was scrolling through Twitter, I found two hashtags trending that confused me. The most popular of the hashtags was #wewantmorejhope and #Give_jhope_more. Looking into these hashtags I’m seeing more of an argument than any actual effort to get J-Hope more time in songs. One side of the argument, which makes up the people who started these hashtags in the first place, feels that J-Hope is being wronged by the amount of time he received specifically in “Butter”. Amongst these people you see fingers being pointed at HYBE, other members of BTS, and even fans who don’t give the Hyung line, specifically J-Hope, enough attention. On the other side of the argument you can see a lot of fans ridiculing these arguments, but not because they dislike J-Hope in any way. These fans are quick to point out that the members of BTS have said, multiple times, that part of their song-making process is deciding who gets what part of the song. In other words, HYBE has very little to do with which members sing which parts of the songs and often the members themselves choose exactly what they want to do. Here you also see the argument that the fans who started these hashtags are solo stans. Obviously facts, and BTS themselves, seem to support one side of the argument more than the other. But why do so many feel this way about J-Hope’s appearance in “Butter” and why is it important to shut down this behavior?

Why was J-Hope’s appearance in “Butter” frustrating?:

Honestly, as a J-Hope bias, I definitely found myself thinking “Where’s Hobi?” halfway through my first viewing of the “Butter” music video. It wasn’t that he wasn’t there. It was that, after we saw the teaser with Hoseok standing center, it was disappointing to see that Hoseok wasn’t actually a center for the music video. Of course, when the end of the music video rolled around I was more than satisfied. But I do have to admit that I can partially see where these fans are coming from. The members that are part of the Hyung line definitely get less attention than the members that are part of the Maknae line. Sometimes when fans who bias a member of the Hyung line see them getting less time to shine in scenarios like these, they can get protective. They want to make sure that these members get just as much time to show off their skills as everyone else does. And is that wrong?

Infantilization:

Well…yes. In many cases, like this one, protective behavior over an idol is very wrong. It perpetuates the idea that idols can’t take care of themselves or stand up for themselves in the workplace. But they are grown adults. They aren’t children who need their hands held by the fans every step of the way. They are adult men who have their own voices and opinions. And especially in BTS, their voices and opinions are valued enough that we don’t have to worry about these things at all. As I said above, HYBE has been letting BTS decide who does what in each song for a long time now. While BTS has a bit less to do with the process of making their English songs, Namjoon still wrote all of the raps for “Butter” and ensured that he included everything every member of the rap line wanted in their verse. J-Hope made his voice heard when it came to his parts in “Butter”. Even if you wish he had more in the song, respect Hoseok’s decision to move forward with the verse he has now.

Solo Stans:

While I definitely don’t think everyone who has been trending these things are solo stans, it’s important to make sure you aren’t exhibiting solo stan behavior. If you’re pointing a finger at other members of BTS for “stealing” time away from Hoseok, hate to break it to you, but that is textbook solo stan behavior. You can be frustrated that Hoseok got less time in the music video than you thought, but if you’re hating on Jungkook for getting more time, you need to stop. Jungkook did not make any sort of purposeful move to snub Hoseok of screen time in the “Butter” music video. Neither did any of the other members. Appreciate the amazing things we saw from all of the members in “Butter”, regardless of whether or not you wish Hoseok was featured more prominently.

Honestly, I’m pretty satisfied with what we got. In “Dynamite” we didn’t get any verses from the rap line at all, mostly because the writers weren’t exactly sure how the rapping would work in an English song. I’m glad they figured it out for “Butter” and let Namjoon take the reins on making sure everyone’s verse was the way they wanted it. Also, Hoseok got some excellent solo shots and even filled the role of the ending fairy. He was given plenty to enjoy. So yes, I’m still waiting for a music video where we can see Hobi centering. But “Butter” isn’t bad because Hoseok didn’t center for it. In fact, can we talk about how much time Jin got to center? That was amazing! “Butter” is great the way it is. We all need to appreciate the fact that “Butter” was heavily influenced by the decisions of all of the members, including Hoseok, and they knew what was best for themselves and the song.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: Fan Sign Etiquette

Image of Park Jimin at a fan sign event. Copyright goes to the tireless Jimin fancam websites and the countless edits made by ARMYs. In other words, I do not own this picture.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I should really prelude this by saying that I have never been to a fan sign. For the most part, fan signs take place in South Korea and most of my love of K-pop happened during quarantine. So, other than online fan signs, there really wasn’t much going on. I also want to state here that as the popularity of K-pop groups grow, fan signs are dying out. And it’s for the exact same reason that we don’t have any events like this in the US. Protection. In places like fan signs it becomes much more difficult to get into them as the groups gain a bigger audience. Not only that, situations like this create a face-to-face experience between the idols and fans which makes the idols more likely to be attacked. This is the main reason why BTS no longer has fan signs and probably never will again. I apologize if that makes you sad, trust me, I’m a little disappointed too. But I definitely understand and support this decision. Because while most of the fans of a specific group might be incredibly kind, there will always be fans out there who don’t consider the safety of their idols. And this is why we need to talk about fan sign etiquette. Because many of these groups will only post behavioral rules such as “you are not allowed to ask personal information” and not much else. And there should be more rules attached here. To many this may seem like common sense, but I think we need to make sure we talk about these.

No Roleplaying:

I’m hoping that most of you looked at that line I just wrote above and thought it sounded absolutely crazy. This sounded crazy to me at first too. I thought there was no way that there are fans out there who ask their idols to role play during a fan sign. First of all, that’s really uncomfortable and second of all, I thought the entire purpose was to meet your idol in real life. Making them act like something they aren’t kind of defeats the purpose of that. But I think the biggest issue here is how much this breaks barriers with the idol and veers off into strange territory. The first example I’ve seen of this was a fan posting a video of themselves interacting with San in an online fan meet up with ATEEZ. In this video she asks San to pretend to be her son and to pretend like Hongjoong is his father. That’s really really creepy. San didn’t dispute this but didn’t exactly go along either. San is the type of person who will feel bad saying no to a fan, and I hope he eventually is comfortable with the knowledge that it’s ok to say that you’re uncomfortable to anyone over anything. It was clear that San was uncomfortable throughout this video and eventually Hongjoong, who was sitting next to San, realized that San was so uncomfortable and peeked his head in to see what was going on. Of course, this effectively ended the current train of conversation. Watching that video made me physically sick. Please note that idols are humans too, they are not your puppets. You can’t just make them do whatever you want them to. Treat them with a little respect guys. Also, serious props to Hongjoong for looking out for his members like that.

No Skipping:

We’ve talked about this on the blog a little bit before, especially in my sister’s post about solo stans. There is NEVER a good reason to skip an idol during a fan sign. It does not matter if your bias is just after the next person and there’s no one your bias is talking to. You still should not skip any member for any reason. I feel a little bit like this is going to fall on deaf ears, because if you even considered skipping a member of a group in a fan sign you are probably a solo stan. Everyone should learn to love and respect each member of a group they support. But this happens far too much. We all know of the infamous fan who asked Taehyung in an old BTS fan sign if she could skip him. More recently we’ve heard about this happening a lot to members of groups that aren’t from South Korea originally. For example, the amount of times Yiren has been skipped in Everglow fan signs because she’s Chinese is atrocious. Long story short, if you can’t respect all the members of a group than there’s no way you can respect that group itself. It’s also ridiculous to think that you’ll have more time with your bias if you skip another member. You won’t. Every person gets the same amount of time with every member, it doesn’t matter what kind of time you think you’re “saving”. You are still going to be escorted away after your minute is over.

No Shipping Questions:

I know that shipping is a huge thing in the K-pop world. I personally think that shipping real people together is kind of strange, but I know there are a lot of people who like to do it. This kind of goes back to what I said about making idols uncomfortable. They are there to have a nice genuine conversation with you; not for you to try and fish information out of them to somehow confirm your favorite ship. I know this happens a lot at fan signs and I know that there are a lot of people out there who are convinced that their favorite ship is real. The reality of the situation is, you don’t know for sure. You don’t actually know them. And trying to force them to view things your way could actually make a real friendship awkward because of the narrative you’re trying to force on them. Don’t presume to know what their personal lives are.

No Breaking Physical Boundaries:

Most fan signs do have rules for things like this, but this is still important to mention. I know a lot of people going to fan signs want a hug from their favorite idol. Most of the time, they are not allowed to give you a hug. That is a rule set for their personal safety. Also, please do not try to hold hands with idols who do not offer you their hands first. And especially please do not try to grab the hands of idols who’s hands are not visibly towards you on the table. There are several idols out there with severe social anxiety where unwanted touching could trigger their anxiety. Be mindful of that. I know we’re at a point where people expect to hold hands with their idols at a fan sign because it’s such a common thing, and I don’t think that this should be applicable to every idol. For example, Namjoon has always been notorious for holding hands with fans at fan signs. In earlier signs, Yoongi didn’t do it as much due to his social anxiety. That doesn’t make Yoongi rude in any way, it just means that he’s trying to keep the fan sign as happy and comfortable for himself as it is for you. And literally anyone should have the human decency of being able to decide what their barriers are.

Honestly, all this is to say that when attending a fan sign be kind and courteous to the idols too. They are real people who also completely deserve human decency. Just be genuine, know your boundaries, and don’t be afraid to tell them how much they mean to you. They are not there to be your puppets, they are there to have a friendly and warm conversation with you. Remember to be respectful of them as people. As I said, many fan signs are dying out because of the lack of protection for idols at them. ATEEZ, for example, just recently walked through an airport with no security and protection and were immediately surrounded in a pretty dangerous way. If idols can’t be protected during everyday things like that, it’s difficult to imagine how much protection they can sustainably have at an ever-growing fan sign event. Do I eventually want to go to a fan sign one day? Of course! But I would be much happier knowing that the members of my favorite idol groups are safe. One of the only ways we can try to keep fan signs going is if we all learn how to be respectful at them so that hopefully they can be safer places for idols to attend. If any of the categories that I mentioned above included something you were considering doing at a fan sign, please seriously reconsider. For the sake of the idol and also for the sake of fan signs as a whole. Just treat idols like regular human beings!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: BTS Rolling Stone Interviews Part 2

2019 Summer Package image of Kim Namjoon, Kim Taehyung, and Min Yoongi. Copyright goes to BTS and the HYBE Corporation.

Hey! Hallie here!

I’m still on a “Butter” high and the individual interviews with BTS have been completed, so of course I’m going to keep talking about BTS! These last three interviews promise to be very interesting after what we saw from the first four. Rolling Stone’s collaboration with BTS has been pretty good for something that’s being done by an American interviewer. However, particularly with Jimin’s interview, we saw a few awkward questions or observations that weren’t as great. Hopefully these three are just as refreshingly meaningful as most of the other interviews have been. Let’s get into them!

RM:

Namjoon’s look was a multicolored button down that’s neutral tones matched his at-the-time gray hair. And that pearl bracelet? Gorgeous. His interview immediately started with his observations about his desire to achieve in school and how different his life turned out, just to kickstart the conversation. As usual, Namjoon’s interview was one of the deeper ones. The first question he was asked was about a phrase he had quoted about being unable to be anything but Korean. Namjoon explained that while he listened to a lot of American hip-hop for inspiration, his own culture is his main influence. He also pointed out that a lot of what BTS, and K-pop in general, is doing is a mix between Korean and Western sounds. The interviewer decided to ask specifically about Korean hip-hop and how it’s changed over the years. Namjoon noted that Korean hip-hop has the unique benefit of talking specifically about Korean problems, which is something he can relate to. He did note that Korean and American hip-hop are converging and how that is an interesting thing to balance as an artist. Afterwards Namjoon was asked about being identified as a rapper vs being identified as an idol. The interviewer tried to suggest that idols are the same as “pop stars” which is something I absolutely take issue with. Korean culture is important to the definition of an idol and to try to slap an American title on it is somewhat ignorant. Namjoon took this in stride, addressing the problems they’ve faced pursuing the idea of being pure artists and getting mocked for being idols. Namjoon said that throughout all of the struggles, he’s learned that the boundaries between being a true artist and an idol are actually very slim, and that as long as his work is meaningful to him, it’s important. He also talked about how K-Pop is expanding so much that it feels it’s many different things, which is why BTS feels they are their own genre rather than one that is shifting so often. Finally, he was asked about how nerve-racking it is to think about how their performances have been filmed and spread so they can last for years to come. He confirmed that it makes him work harder and ended with the quote “Life is short. Art is forever.” As always, a very thoughtful ending to a very thoughtful interview.

V:

Taehyung’s look for the cover was a pair of black pants paired with a shirt and coat, both with the same blotchy, white-and-gray tree pattern. They go very well together and the largeness of the coat gives Tae the cozy look he looks so good in. This interview was introduced with a very long description of Taehyung’s sexy voice. Which was so relatable it became one of my favorite interview openings. This interview also noted that singing “Fix You” by Coldplay was Taehyung’s idea. What a genius. On top of all of this, Tae’s first question was about his time on the variety show they had filmed the day before, in which he confessed that he enjoyed it very much but it caused him to sleep very little out of nervousness. Tae then confessed that the interview had had a similar affect on his sleep schedule. The interviewer profusely apologized but Tae was quick to laugh it off. What a cutie. Tae talked a bit about how difficult it is to make a mixtape on his own without the other members to help out, but he also said it’s refreshing to express himself through it. He was asked when he might release it, which can be a very annoying question but, to the interviewers credit, they did acknowledge how much pressure it poses to Tae. Tae said he’s hoping to release it at the end of this year. He was asked about what he’s learned from previous solo-releases, specifically “Sweet Night”, and Tae confessed that it was easier to do because it was for Park Seo-Joon (‘Itaewon Class’ is the drama this is featured in) and also that he wrote it about wanting a good night’s sleep. Someone make this man take a nap. Tae got to gush about his love of Elvis’s songs from his later years, and ended up asking the interviewer if he had any suggestions which was unbelievably adorable. Tae was also asked about the entire “secret member” business, which he initially thought meant he was cut from the group. Tae said he can laugh about it as long as he can mess around with Hitman Bang a bit. His final question was about acting, which he said he might consider again after he turns 30. This interview had so much personality and it was one of the cutest to read!

Suga:

For this interview Yoongi wore a button down with a beautiful blue and orange flower design decorating it. The extra pieces of fabric around the shoulders made it visually interesting and, as always, Yoongi looks amazing with multiple earrings in each ear. This interview started immediately with his shoulder surgery. He said that he still has some physical therapy to do but that he’s feeling much better. He noted that adrenaline often numbed the pain during performances pre-surgery. He was asked about the complex emotions of “First Love”, where he wisely stated that not all aspects of actual first love are positive, and he expressed how important it is for both himself and others to express negative emotions as well as positive ones. When asked about his songwriting process he said that it varies from song to song. He explained that they often decide on a theme first and work freely from there. He specifically starts with the beat, then the melody and rap, and finally lyrics. I loved that the interviewer asked him about his guitar, which he said he was practicing on again. Yoongi evidently hopes to be able to sing and play at the same time in the future. He’s already done a bit of that, and it’s always good, so I can’t wait to see more later on! Yoongi was asked if he regretted spending his youth in a studio, but Yoongi said that he didn’t. He said it gave him the opportunities he has now, though he wishes he would have spent a bit more time resting. Yoongi was interestingly asked if it’s frustrating to know that English fans don’t always get the really meaningful lyrics in their Korean songs. Yoongi simply stated that BTS is trying to write lyrics that foreigners can understand too so more people can relate to their songs. He was asked about his parents initially refusing to understand his desire to rap, which he was very forgiving about and commented that it made him work harder. He ended the interview with the observation that the idea that everyone must evolve helps him stay hungry. Though he thinks the term “hangry” better describes BTS. Man I love Yoongi. As usual, he’s straight-to-the-point and his insights on emotions and mental health speak for themselves.

Those were the final three interviews! While there are definitely things I can criticize about them, they were pretty amazing overall! I would definitely count them among the better interviews BTS has done in America. There is plenty more BTS content to come now that ARMYs like us are swept into the “Butter” craze, but for those who are waiting for some different content, we haven’t forgotten about you! For now, we’re just happily buried in the large amount of BTS content coming our way.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: ‘Imitation’ Episode 3

Screenshot of Jeong Yunho from ‘Imitation’. Copyright goes to KBS2 and Viki.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I feel absolutely awful that I had to take a break from streaming ‘Butter’, but of course I had to review the new episode of ‘Imitation’ as well. Trust me, I’m back to streaming ‘Butter’ now, I am listening to it as I write this. For anyone who doesn’t live in South Korea and doesn’t have access to cable there, this was the first week you had to pay for the new episode of ‘Imitation’ (or else find someplace else to watch it), so I completely understand if you haven’t watched this episode. Still, as I accidentally forgot to mention last time, this review will have SPOILERS. I know my reviews for the last two episodes weren’t necessarily glowing. I can’t say that my opinion has changed too much, but I finally felt some sort of potential for this show. This was definitely my favorite episode so far, but I can’t say I completely enjoyed it either. With those initial comments out of the way, let’s get into it! SPOILERS AHEAD!

The Good:

More Shax- I’m just going to come right out with this one; I love how involved the members of Shax are as side characters. And, again, I’m a little biased because the show is focusing so much on Jongho. He’s seriously in so much more of it than I originally anticipated and he’s absolutely amazing in it. The more Shax we get, the more I really feel connected to the group and it’s members, especially because they’re not only giving us character moments with Ryok. So, I’m really excited to see more of them!

More Sparkling (Kind Of)- So, we barely got to see more of Sparkling in this episode. And I was worried that we wouldn’t get anything at all throughout the entire episode because, except for the appearance of Yoojin in a couple of other scenes earlier, we didn’t see them until the very end. We saw a little more of the rivalry between Yoojin and Hyunoh and that’s definitely picking up a little bit. When performing their new song in front of people from their company they requested that Yoojin become the center instead of Hyunoh who had been center before. Uh oh. We got a little bit more of Seyoung and Minsoo too, but we really haven’t seen as much of those two. The other members of Sparkling other than Yoojin also suddenly disappeared in the last shot of the episode which was strange. But at least we know we’ll finally see the long awaited performance of ‘Diamond’ on the next episode. Finally!

The Side Characters- As always, the side characters absolutely steal this show. Yunho was absolutely adorable as Yoojin in this episode. But more than that, his character was intriguing. We saw his rivalry with Hyunoh as well as the intensity of his training and his character just sucked me in. There’s a depth there that only seems to be explored more as the episodes go on. Yunho or not, this character is the most interesting to me so far. And the epilogue showed his earnest sweetness even more. Second lead syndrome is strong in this show. I also, as always, love Hyunji and Riah. Listening to Riah sing during the recording portion of this episode was amazing. Her voice is great and her sassy relatable nature makes her easily one of the most likable characters in the show. Hyunji is a great support to all of them and I love her cuteness. I did notice that look between Hyunji and Yoojin in this episode though. Foreshadowing anyone?

The Acting- Always amazing and I always have to give all the actors credit for stepping out of their comfort zone with this one. Many of the idols have never acted before and many of these actors have never performed in this way before. And they are all doing excellently!

Ryok- I don’t know what it was about this episode that actually made me warm to this character. He shows an incredible amount of both kindness and responsibility. He said a couple of mean things to Maha at the very end of the episode, but it was all to make her determined to sing her song rather than afraid. This scene seemed to be the equivalent of the acting scene from the comic, and I definitely preferred this by a lot. Ryok did get in trouble with Maha for posting an apology instead of letting her speak, but I really didn’t get Maha’s take on this. Ryok was appealing to his fans because he has the voice to do that. I just didn’t understand why she got so angry. But Ryok won me over this episode from the moment he started dancing with Maha.

The Bad:

Maha- I don’t know what it is but I still find it incredibly difficult to relate to this character or connect to her much. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the actress who is adorable and absolutely doing her best. I think the reason she’s not relatable is because the writing tried to make her too relatable. Instead of making Maha her own character, she starts to feel more and more like a self-insert character for the audience. I feel like this barely works for any kind of media that isn’t books (it sometimes doesn’t work for those either), but there are certain shows and movies that are able to pull it off (rarely). Maha barely has any identifiable personality traits in an effort to make her a blank slate for audiences. And this often just results in her being….a blank slate. It’s even worse seeing this character contrasted with Riah and Hyunji who she’s always with. Both of those characters have so much personality, and it makes Maha as a character feel almost faceless sometimes.

Pacing- Once again, I have to get on the show’s case for the pacing. Everything important in this episode happened in the last half and I sat through the first half of this episode pretty bored. Even when things started to pick up and happen, the episode still had a slow feeling to it. No plot points are made to feel that exciting, it’s just a similar pace for everything. Sometimes it’s difficult to pay attention when you’re kind of zoning out due to the pacing. I like the more slice of life feel and the less over-sensationalized drama. That’s one of the reasons why I liked this episode better. But even when they were using a lot of drama, it still didn’t feel dramatic because of the pacing. They really need to figure out how to give the show a sense of urgency.

La Lima- She’s barely used so far and I’m honestly not sure what her purpose even is at this point. I know Maha’s supposed to look like her, but Maha doesn’t and so far this is actually a very small plot point. Maha dresses to look like her, but she could have dressed to look like anyone with how much this is actually affecting the plot. She could have dressed to look like Ryok and the same things would be happening. I’m just not sure where this is going or what the purpose of this character is among these three groups that we’re already following. I feel like this show would be just as effective without her.

So, there you have it! Some parts of the show are growing on me and there’s enough that I want to keep watching. But, again, most of that has to do with ATEEZ. The plot of this show is moving very slowly and I find it very difficult to connect to the main character. I just hope that maybe it gets a bit better. But there are only nine episodes left so I guess we’ll have to see what happens! Who knows? Maybe all of it will grow on me.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: “Butter” is Out!

Promotional photo of Kim Seokjin, Park Jimin, Kim Namjoon, Min Yoongi, Kim Taehyung, Jeon Jungkook, and Jung Hoseok. Copyright goes to BTS and the HYBE Corporation.

Hey! Hallie here!

I have now watched “Butter” several, several times and there’s so much to talk about. So much. To start out, this music video was insanely good. They all looked absolutely amazing. There is nothing I can criticize here. The song, the lyrics, the vocals, the looks were all impeccable. Honestly, this music video has to be one of my new favorites. I’m just going to get right into this because I’m still freaking out. Let’s freak out together!

The Song: This song was just as catchy as “Dynamite”, if not more. I also found it a bit more satisfying to listen to. Something about the retro beats in the background and the satisfying chorus that compliments each of the vocal line’s voices just hooked me into the song. On top of all of that, this song gave the rap line some time to shine. Instead of the occasional line sung by a rap line member, this song gave each member of the rap line a verse to show off some of their skills. It was something I really missed in “Dynamite” and something I’m so glad to see here. The lyrics are also really great. Apparently RM got a bit more say in this song than in “Dynamite” and it feels more like BTS as a result. Instead of just a feel-good song about having fun, this song is “you love us and we know it”. Which really works for the mistreatment BTS has seen in America. America loves BTS but refuses them respect and acts surprised that they’re so popular to try to cover up how amazing a non-white group is. But obviously, there’s plenty of talented people America likes to gloss over because they aren’t white, and BTS really embraces that. Regardless of the racism that’s still rampant, BTS is rising above it and “Butter” is a song that acknowledges how amazing they know they are and how much they dominate the attention of both fans and haters. It isn’t the diss-track some people wanted, but I think it’s just as good.

The Music Video: There are a lot of iconic moments in this video. So many that I actually went shot by shot through it to catch them all. This music video started out with the black and white look we saw in the teaser. We saw a few really cute scenes of the boys dancing together as well as some really good shots of Jungkook’s hair. One of these shots showed Jungkook laughing, and it was so adorable I had to pause after I watched it. After a brief switch to Tae, which involved a very much appreciated look at Tae and a lollipop, the music video switched to a mug-shot scenario. Here Jin started to center, and he actually centered for a lot of the video. I’m so happy to see how much Jin is killing as center. There were some rapid fire shots of each of the hyung line separately in this part of the video as well. I appreciated seeing the hyung line getting some extra love, and these individual shots were amazing. I especially loved J-Hope’s sleeveless top with his coat slung over his shoulder. After this segment we got to see some color and some amazing choreography! Tae came in next with his orange suit and the slicked back hair really worked for him here. Between Tae in the elevator and Jin with his sunglasses, this part of the video exuded so much confidence. My sister absolutely melted when the scene switched to Jimin lifting his sunglasses with an eyebrow quirk that suggested he knew exactly what he was doing. The sports gear was also adorable, but we didn’t see it for long because we switched to some really awesome individual scenes of the members dancing in an elevator. The dancers killed this, but Jin also really shined here. Who says he isn’t a dancer? After some more of Yoongi and the sporty fits, we saw the adorable shot that’s being shared of all of the members spelling out ARMY. This is probably my favorite part of the video. After this we were given a gold stage for some more choreography and some amazing shots of Hobi, who ended the video with eating an entire piece of butter. You go, Hobi.

The Looks: Jungkook’s long hair kills me. It’s such a vibrant blue/purple and the style fits him so well. His fake eyebrow piercing is also a really good look for him. Taehyung’s best look here was the orange suit. I’ve said it before, but it looks amazing on him. Although there is something to be said about his dorky smile with his hat and glasses combo later in the video. Jimin has slicked back hair throughout most of the video, which isn’t a look he has often but it’s one I love. The rainbow colors in his hair give it something extra that pushes it over the edge. Hobi wears A LOT of sleeveless shirts in this video and I absolutely fell in love with each one. He looks insanely good with his arms exposed. Plus his yellow hair fits his personality perfectly. Yoongi has some gray in his hair in this video which I didn’t expect. It looks really good and especially adorable with the sporty outfit. I loved his necklaces and bracelets there as well. Jin rocks every pair of sunglasses here. He owns sunglasses now. I don’t make the rules. And finally, Namjoon’s pink hair is really nice here. It’s a more metallic pink color that fits his personality much better than a pastel. And his harness. Enough said. I loved all of these looks. From the exposed chest we got on J-Hope, to the sheer shirt that flowed so well on Jimin, to the blue stripes on Jungkook’s sporty outfit to match his hair. But I’m not sold on the looks they have now that shooting for this music video is over. Namjoon’s brown bangs and ends look somewhat strange with his pink hair. Tae’s perm reminds me of Napoleon Dynamite. I already miss Jungkook’s long hair. But then again, there’s not much they can do to undermine how good they all look.

That’s it! I will be listening to this song on repeat for several days, so consider me distracted for a while. I’m so happy with this music video and there are still things I’m pretty sure I missed. So if you haven’t watched this music video yet, watch it right now! Stream and download this song! It deserves everything “Dynamite” got and more!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Comfort Movies: Jumanji Welcome To the Jungle

Screenshot from ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ featuring Karen Gillan as Ruby Roundhouse. Copyright goes to Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Back to another movie that I have watched several times throughout quarantine and is always comforting to me. I grew up watching the original ‘Jumanji’ starring Robin Williams, and I couldn’t possibly be able to say how many times I’ve watched that film. But I think there was something completely magical about this remake, even though remakes aren’t necessarily my favorite generally speaking. I feel like this was enough detached from the original content to still feel like a completely creative story of it’s own. But more than that, this movie is funny and wholesome and exactly what I needed to watch right now. There’s so much that’s good about this movie, so I’m just going to jump into it and talk about why this movie is so great.

The Avatars:

I just really like this concept a lot. While we saw Alan be sucked into the world of Jumanji in the original film and we knew he lived there for a while, we didn’t really see what it looked like. We just saw things come out of it. Not only does this movie take place inside the world of Jumanji that we never got to see; but the way it ties it into video games by having these avatars live inside the world puts a more creative spin on it. Through this, we see the world of Jumanji through a video game and choosable characters. Dr. Bravestone is a general strong video game protagonist, Ruby Roundhouse is the over sexualized female character, Mouse Finnbar is the sidekick character, Dr. Shelly Oberon is the smart guy, and Seaplane McDonough is the cool, mysterious character. But instead of following these characters, we follow the poor kids who accidentally chose them in the bodies of these avatars. In fact, this is where much of the comedy from the movie comes in. Spencer ends up in the body Dr. Bravestone even though he is a skinny stereotypical “nerd” with low self esteem, Martha, who keeps to herself, ends up being Ruby Roundhouse and is immediately dismayed by the character design, Fridge is Mouse who is much smaller than him and less strong, and Bethany ends up as Dr. Shelly Oberon, a portly scientist, having thought his character was a girl. The most fun in this movie is watching the avatar actors play the teenagers. Especially Jack Black who plays such a convincing teenage girl that it’s almost scary. And then we of course later meet Alex who has been stuck as Seaplane for over twenty years. Really, this new movie wouldn’t have worked or felt nearly as creative without the avatars.

Teenagers:

I really have to talk about the way the movie treats young people and teenagers because it’s so different from the way that young people are generally portrayed. Especially in movies like this. While this movie does poke fun at some teenage problems and use them for comedy, it is never meant in a way that pushes any of the characters down. All of their problems are seen as completely valid and are treated as normal things that everyone goes through. In fact, they use some of the issues that most movies would brush off as needed moments for character development. I think that this comes through with no character as much as it does with Bethany. When we are introduced to the character of Bethany she is a typical social media influencer type character. She’s popular and she puts a lot of emphasis on her looks. But the movie never tells the audience that she’s wrong for being that way. Though she does learn to put less emphasis on the way she looks and on popularity, the only other thing that truly changes about her is a newfound love of nature. From the very beginning of the movie, Bethany is shown to have an incredible capacity for compassion. She’s even the character who gives up one of her lives to save Alex. Bethany also is very much a believer in not judging people based on the way they look from the beginning of the film and her flirting skills actually come into very good use. One of my favorite elements of the movie is the relationship between Bethany and Martha, who become friends after they realize that they have a lot more in common than they think. Bethany realizes that she hasn’t looked for friends outside of those that match her popularity and looks while Martha realizes she disliked Bethany because of what she thought Bethany represented, rather than someone she actually was. As someone who was one hundred percent a Martha in high school (and still am sometimes), I thought this movie shed so much light onto why popular people, like Bethany, shouldn’t be disliked on principle. I love this movie because it never shames young people for having young people problems as well as showing that young people can also be incredibly smart and responsible no matter how they’re seen.

The World:

When watching the original ‘Jumanji’ film, I never thought that I would enjoy seeing the jungle where Alan was trapped for so many years. He didn’t seem to enjoy it, so why would I want to see it? I though we saw enough of it when the jungle basically overtook the entire downstairs of the house they were playing the game in. But this movie makes the jungle look amazing and almost like a place you would want to visit. Even though you probably really wouldn’t because of all the killer animals. This design for the new jungle even included throwbacks to the original film; such as the place Alan lived when he was stuck in the jungle and the statues that look like the original ‘Jumanji’ game pieces. The forestry is beautiful and almost magical, the waterfalls are gorgeous, and the marketplace reminds me of something straight out of an ‘Indiana Jones’ movie. It feels like a mash up of so many beautiful settings from classic action films and it makes the movie feel all the more like an escape. Which is funny, considering this is the place the characters are trying to escape from.

The Game:

One of the main aspects of ‘Jumanji’ was always the mystery of the game as well as the terrifying fact that the game could evolve. I think there was really no better way to show the game evolving than having it turn into a video game. It leaves the movie packed full of great classic game references as well as shows the audience exactly how the game can make sure it will continue to be played. Again, I’m not a huge fan of remakes. I feel like a lot of them prevent newer artists and creatives from being heard and putting their work out there because remakes are considered the safer choice to studios. But I do feel like with the nature of the original game, I can see why ‘Jumanji’ would warrant some sort of remake. It’s a game thats main purpose is to shift so that it will be played over and over again. And I’m also really glad that this new version didn’t explore the origins of the game or answered any questions as to what it is or why it wants to be played. I feel like the game is best kept a mystery.

This movie is seriously one of my favorites. I love it more and fall more in love with the characters each time I watch it. I didn’t like the second installation in the franchise as much, but it was still fun. I am, admittedly, a little afraid of what might happen in the third movie considering that one looks like it will take place in real life. That’s been done before and I think that they struck gold with the idea of the avatars, so it may not be the best idea to revisit the series with something that looks too much like a true remake of the original movie. But we’ll see. I want to reserve judgement until I see it just because I love this movie so much. And can I mention here that I was a little bummed when Alex went back to his own time? Oh well, it’s all for the best I guess!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie