K-Pop: ATEEZ

Promotional photoshoot of (from left) Song Mingi, Choi San, Kang Yeosang, Kim Hongjoong, Jung Wooyoung, Jeong Yunho, Choi Jongho, and Park Seonghwa. Copyright goes to KQ Etertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Let’s go further down the rabbit hole of K-pop groups I’m obsessed with! When it comes to K-pop there are currently four groups that I consider myself part of the fandom for. Those groups are BTS, ATEEZ, Everglow and Rolling Quartz. Of these I have only briefly mentioned ATEEZ, so I figured I should get on writing a post just for them. As I said when I first mentioned them; my introduction to this group was their performance at the 2019 MAMA’s when they performed a ‘Wonderland’ mashup that included a variety of covers of other songs. One of those songs was BTS’s ‘Blood, Sweat, and Tears’, which definitely caught my attention. Especially because Jimin and Hobi’s reactions to their performance were beyond adorable. The thing is, I thought that this performance was just a mashup of covers. When I heard the ‘Wonderland’ bits of it, I naively wondered what the original song was like and whether or not it was as good as this. Then I realized it was their own song, and I’ve been slowly becoming more obsessed with these boys and their music since then. Their songs are earworms and I generally have at least one of them stuck in my head every day. Anyways, let’s get more into the band and what they’re like!

The Members:

Hongjoong: Because I’ve started including this, I’ll mention here that he’s my sister’s bias. Hongjoong is the second eldest of the team, but is also the leader. The rest of the group often tease him for being strict, but overall he seems pretty loose and laid back. But he’s definitely the leader of the group, he generally has most situations in his control. He’s definitely got some David Bowie vibes going on sometimes, which is really high praise from me. He is also incredibly sweet with the fans and has the absolute best fashion sense. Not only that, but he’s the composer for most of the songs for this group, so he’s also insanely creatively talented. Hongjoong is also incredibly supportive of the LGBTQ community among so many other amazing communities and organizations. He is one of the lead rappers of the group.

Seonghwa: The eldest of this group. He’s the major caretaker and sweetheart in the group. He’s constantly worrying about the other members and checking up on their health. He’s also known for cleaning. When you see him off stage he can be a bit quiet but it’s just because he’s making sure everyone else has their say. The truly insane part about him is his stage presence. This group has a line known as the “demon line” because of how creepy and attractive they can look on stage. They’re really known for their stage presence. The members in the demon line are Hongjoong, Seonghwa, and San. Seonghwa is one of the last people you would expect to be a part of this line, but he looks like an entirely different person on stage. He is a vocalist in the group.

Yunho: He’s a large puppy dog and one of the funniest members of the group. Yunho seems to be able to have a good time in any situation. He’s always amused by something. He also is one of the most noticeable members on stage because of his height. And also his stage presence, really there is no member of this band who doesn’t have as much stage presence as the others. He’s well known for teasing the other members, but it’s all in good fun! He’s just really fun to watch. He’s another vocalist and he’s also my bias.

Yeosang: The main visual of the group. Yeosang is known for looking so handsome that he looks almost like a statue. He’s generally pretty quiet when they’re all sat together talking, but even then it’s hard to not look at him. There is a grace to him in whatever he does. That gracefulness is also present in his dancing, so he’s also difficult to take your eye off of in performances. He seriously looks very unreal. His role in the group is a performer as he’s definitely more of a visual than anything else in the group. That’s definitely not a bad thing though! He owns the stage!

San: Another member of the demon line which is, again, unexpected. San is a badass, but he also sleeps with about a dozen stuffed animals and takes one specific one everywhere with him. Super relatable. But you don’t expect his stage performance after knowing this about him. The other thing about San is that he’s probably the best dancer in the group. Even so, he’s not the lead dancer. It’s become a thing with people coming into this fandom to be really surprised when they figure out that San is not considered one of the lead dancers. He’s another one who is known for being sweet to the fans. ATEEZ met fans on the Youtube ‘React’ channel and he snuck up behind a girl who `had him as her bias so that when she turned around he was practically nose to nose with her. It was adorable! He’s another vocalist.

Mingi: He acts all cool but he’s also a big sweetheart. He’s also quite possibly the biggest dork in the group in the absolute best way. He’s always messing around, teasing the other members, and generally keeping the energy up. When ATEEZ won one of their first awards he just started jumping up and down as high as he could. He’s also super tall and has a deep voice when they perform which gives him an almost intimidating energy on stage. He is currently on a break for his mental health and I really hope he gets better soon! I’m glad he’s taking this time for himself though; mental health is incredibly important. He’s another lead rapper.

Wooyoung: Even though he’s second youngest in the group, he definitely seems like the maknae. He has this really cute and playful vibe around him. He’s often teased for being well-liked, which makes sense because it feels impossible to not like him. He and Yeosang used to be BigHit trainees, and Wooyoung still has an immense love for BTS that he’s very vocal about. Also relatable. He especially loves Jimin. His duality is also insane because his cuteness turns into complete badassery on stage. Did I mention that he’s cute? Because he is really cute. He’s another vocalist for the group.

Jongho: Who gave this man permission to sound like that? There are very few vocalists in Kpop as well rounded and unique sounding as Jongho. It is not hard to pick his voice out of a song. He can also sing just about anything and make it sound good. He will convince you that his voice is well suited for any song. In ATEEZ’s most recent variety show he was given the request to sing ‘Fancy’ by Twice. If you thought he wouldn’t be able to pull it off, you are very wrong. He’s also super buff and strong, which the other members tease him about. He is the only member of ATEEZ who knows how to tie a tie. He’s the lead vocalist, if it wasn’t already obvious.

This is another one of those groups where you can’t help but love every member. They all have insane charms. Not only that, but they are all great at their roles in the group. There is not a weak singer or rapper among them. Your bias will change depending on who’s on screen while they’re performing because they are all so dynamic.

Variety Shows:

Because I wasn’t as familiar with these yet, I didn’t include them in my variety shows post. I especially like ‘ATEEZ Holdings’ and ‘ATEEZ Fever Road’. The first of those is still ongoing and has only released two episodes. One of them is a spy episode and is hilarious to watch, even if it was kind of obvious to me and my sister who the spies were. But we do have an overhead view that the boys didn’t have and it was still fun to watch them try to solve it. The premise of that one is that they are all part of a company where they work in an office. My absolute favorite is the second one that I mentioned. They literally play a Jumanji style game with high stakes including some members being “kidnapped” and taken to separate locations. More importantly, it features Wooyoung in a giant polar bear suit. I love the personal variety shows, so I was glad to add these to the list of those type of shows that I like along with ‘Run BTS’ and ‘Everglow Land’. They used to have a variety-like show before they debuted when they were calling themselves ‘KQ Fellaz’. In that they go to Universal Studios Hollywood which is a place that I go a lot because I live in L.A. Now I’m going to go back there and just think of ATEEZ.

My Recommendations:

So many. Firstly, you have to listen to ‘Wonderland’ on it’s own and watch their performance of it in the mashup at the 2019 MAMA’s. I would also strongly recommend watching their Halloween performance of it, which is everything you would ever want in a Halloween performance of anything. Along with that, I recommend listening to ‘HALA HALA’, ‘THANXX’ and ‘Inception’. Please watch their performance of ‘Inception’ and ‘Answer’ at the 2020 MAMA’s too. King Hongjoong. That’s all I have to say.

Now, go listen to them if you haven’t! They are beyond amazing and deserve so much love. They are the rookie group that has no idea they are a rookie group because they are already that good. Hopefully their fanbase will just continue to grow!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Twins in Media (Round 2):Luke and Leia vs. Jacob and Evie Frye

Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill in ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’. Copyright goes to Lucasfilm Ltd. and Walt Disney Studios.

Hey! Hallie here!

We’re back with a bit of a late entry to round two of Twins in Media. This time we’re putting some of our action/adventure twins up against each other. With the field narrowed, that means Luke and Leia from the Star Wars franchise are going to be battling it out against Jacob and Evie Frye from the Assassins Creed franchise. As usual, the goal is to see which set of twins is the best portrayal of real twins. This one is going to be tough because I gave both of these twins high praise in my previous posts. However, each of them also have major problems that could absolutely lose them the round. Let’s see which franchise writes their twin characters the best!

Audience Perspective:

Luke and Leia: First off, these two get their own storylines right away. There really isn’t any plotline that pairs them together just because they’re siblings. Most of the time that’s because the characters themselves don’t know that they’re siblings. Nor do the audience. And it’s very likely the writers didn’t know they were siblings either. To be honest, there isn’t anything in the first few movies to indicate that the two are related. I’m completely on the team that believes George Lucas decided on this story aspect late in the original trilogy. Which is nice, in a way, because that means Luke and Leia avoid a lot of twin tropes. However, this also lead to some awkward moments. Like Luke attempting to tell Han to back off in the first movie because Luke had a crush on his sister. Gross. Leia also kisses Luke in the second movie to convince Han that she isn’t interested in him. Which is even more disgusting. Putting aside the slight hinting at incest, these two are pretty good. They care for each other but don’t rely on one another. They each have individual, personal journeys. Leia is attempting to balance her position as general with her growing feelings for Han. Meanwhile, on a completely different planet, Luke is learning how to become a Jedi and maturing because of it. When their paths converge they have the same goal, defeating the Empire, but they go about it different ways. Leia is focused on taking down the Empire’s forces while Luke is focused on the eventual altercation he has to have with his father. They are each able to grow as individuals and the audience easily sees them as two separate entities.

Jacob and Evie Frye: These two also have a nice balance between individual storylines and plot points that cause their stories to converge. The nature of ‘Assassins Creed: Syndicate’ is that the player has to spend an equal amount of time playing with both Jacob and Evie. Because of this, each character has a separate storyline for the player to enjoy as they’re playing with each character. There are definitely some missions where the character you aren’t playing as will pop up, but these become fewer as the game goes on. Mostly because the two main characters begin fighting. In the game Evie and Jacob have the same goal, which is to free the surrounding area from Templar reign. However, Evie would rather focus her efforts on recapturing and studying the Piece of Eden the Templar’s posses, which is the most valuable possession the Templars have. Jacob, on the other hand, would rather antagonize and assassinate the Templars causing the major problems. This creates conflict between them, so while both of them must help each other because it’s their job to do so, they often prefer to go off on their own. This leads to a story about Evie gaining as much intel on the Templars as possible while befriending, and eventually gaining romantic feelings for, her colleague, Henry Green. At the same time, Jacob uses his charms to get more information on his targets and suddenly finds himself trusting the wrong people and having to redefine his morals. The game allows each character to be complete without the other, but still prioritizes exploring their sibling relationship, especially through their fights.

Winner: This has to go to Jacob and Evie. These two are noticeably lacking in any incestuous undertones. They also have more in the way of exploring their sibling relationship. Luke and Leia spend nearly no time exploring, or even discussing, their sibling relationship. Jacob and Evie go from being best friends to constantly annoying one another. As the game goes on, their relationship repairs and they realize how much they value each other. On top of that, these two get separate storylines while the game acknowledges that they’re twins. It’s far more impressive to see media writing twin characters as individuals when they actually establish their characters as twins, as opposed to waiting until the last minute to reveal their twin characters are related.

Twin Perspective:

Luke and Leia: I already mentioned above that it doesn’t seem like these two were written to be twins at all. They avoid every single trope. There really isn’t much to talk about here. They could fall into the Twincest trope, but it isn’t because of a genuine attraction to each other. Luke has what’s portrayed as a childish and momentary crush on Leia in the first movie. If anything, his momentary interest is used to further Han’s interest in Leia. Afterwards it’s never mentioned again. And Leia definitely only kisses Luke because she’s angry at Han. These moments are more disturbingly awkward than completely damning. Aside from this they could also be considered for the Twin Telepathy trope. This because of the moment at the end of the second film where Leia is able to sense Luke on Bespin. But this moment comes before the two are revealed to be twins, and it’s only used to show that Leia is also strong with the force. In the end, neither of these tropes really apply to them. Their biggest problem is that they never act like more than good friends. They simply weren’t written like siblings.

Jacob and Evie: These two have one major trope they suffer from. That would be the Opposites trope. Jacob is seen as brash and reckless. Evie is calculating and reasonable. Even the skill trees used in the game make them seem like opposites. Evie’s skills all rely on stealth while Jacob’s rely on brute strength. In reality twins aren’t opposites. There are plenty of differences and commonalities between us, just like there are with any set of siblings. What does kind of save them from completely falling to this trope is the fact that they are both very obviously interested in the same things. They are both Assassins who enjoy their jobs. They both got into the business together and made a name for themselves together. Throughout the game they make many mutual friends on top of the people they create relationships with separately. It’s an excellent balance that creates much needed similarities between the characters. There’s also something that can be said about these two fighting throughout the entire game, which media seems to like a lot when portraying sibling relationships (See Thor and Loki). But this isn’t a gripe with how the game portrays twins specifically.

Winner: Luke and Leia. They literally suffer from no tropes. There’s some really awkward parts of their story I don’t love talking about, but, in the end, they’re written without any major issue for me to complain about. They don’t even suffer from the Opposites trope, despite their wildly different personalities. There isn’t anything that specifically goes out of it’s way to make these two seem like complete opposites, and they pretty obviously befriend the same people and devote themselves to the same cause almost immediately. They have different ways of approaching their relationships and responsibilities, which is realistic and never goes so far as to become a trope.

Winner: One group won each category so this is down to the finer details. And looking back, Jacob and Evie Frye win this one. They win for one major reason; They’re actually written like siblings. Despite suffering from a major trope, they at least have a story that allows them to be individuals while still exploring their relationship as twins. Luke and Leia don’t have this at all. While this does mean that Luke and Leia suffer from less tropes, it also means they’re less relatable to twins and siblings in general. Also, Jacob and Evie don’t kiss each other. I would like to point out that both of the sets of twins for this battle were opposite-sex twins. This is worth mentioning because opposite-sex twins always get more individuality than any same-sex twins in media. Eventually I would like to see same-sex twins written with the same care, even if they do look more similar than twins of different genders.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: Variety Shows

Opening image for ‘Run BTS’ starring Jeon Jungkook (Jungkook), Min Yoongi (SUGA), Kim Taehyung (V), Park Jimin (Jimin), Kim Namjoon (RM), Jung Hoseok (J-HOPE), and Kim Seokjin (Jin). Copyright goes to BigHit Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I have said probably too many times that K-pop is what has been getting me through quarantine for the most part. Part of that has been watching variety shows starring my favorite groups. Getting to see your favorite K-pop stars go out and do fun things is transportive in a way and also generally hilarious and fun to watch. If you are incredibly lucky, your group will have their own variety show given to them by their company rather than them just going on a variety show. But this is actually a fairly new way of going about entertainment involving K-pop idols in variety shows. I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes a regular thing for idol groups soon. People want to see idols in natural environments and get to know them personally. But until every idol group has a show, I want to look at some examples of variety shows that give you that personal experience that we all love. These are all ones that I have watched and liked, so also consider them recommendations!

Run BTS:

This is an obvious one and an example of an idol group having their own variety show given to them by the company. I’ve done an entire post about this show including a long list of my favorite episodes if you’re looking for recommendations. This show is one of the longest running variety shows of this type and they never really seem to run out of ideas. Or maybe they do and I don’t notice because it’s fun to watch the boys do literally anything. In this show you can see them play mystery games where a few of them are the spy, escape from escape rooms, play sports really badly, go to water parks and amusement parks, and just have fun in general. There are no hosts or MC’s beyond the members themselves, so the entire show just consists of them all interacting with each other. By the end of the show you really feel like you know a little more about the boys and their personalities. The most recent episode made me cry because of how sweet and close the maknae line is. It’s very heartwarming. This is the show that has more or less paved the way for other groups to have personal shows. Because who wouldn’t want to have a show as successful as Run BTS?

Everglow Land and Secret 48:

This is an example of a fairly new group that was given their own variety show by their company. Everglow Land, unlike Run BTS, has only five parts. The girls start out in an amusement park, then move to a haunted house, a scavenger hunt around Seoul, a “deserted” island, and finally a cozy house where they must carry out missions. This must have gained the traction that YeHua Entertainment was looking for because they have now launched a show called ‘Secret 48’ for the group. Though it is unclear if this is made to be a variety show or more like a vacation show such as ‘BTS in the SOOP’. It almost feels like a combination of both. Though this show seems to only show the girls on vacation in their adorable campers and will probably not continue after that like their original show; it’s ongoing and fun to watch. The issue here is that sometimes the episodes don’t feel as dynamic as episodes of ‘Run BTS’. In the first episode of Everglow Land at the amusement park, the girls have to pay for the rides with their energy. It’s a cute concept, but it doesn’t quite hold up when almost all of their missions end up being jump-roping. The places are big, but sometimes the missions feel like they could have used more thought. But they are just starting out while ‘Run BTS’ is more of a seasoned show.

Idol Picnic:

Recently, my favorite girl group Dreamcatcher was on this show, so of course I had to watch it! I fell in love with the concept immediately. This show is not a personal variety show for any one group, but is an example of a variety show that several groups go on. The hosts are Ji Sukjin and Lee Seungyoon, the “uncles” of the show. The point of it is for the idol groups to divide up and choose an uncle who will then take their smaller group on an adventure. Most of the members generally have the opportunity to spend time with each uncle and at the end the group chooses which uncle has given them the best experience. In the Dreamcatcher episode they took the respective groups to a mud flat, a pepper garden, a public beach and cafe`, and a private beach with motor bikes. They ended the day out with a more personal talk with the entire group. It was really fun to watch, but I do have to mention that I questioned the safety of the girls while they were on this show because it was filmed at the time of quarantine. Three of the girls were taken to a very busy public beach and I really questioned how this show was even able to do this. Most of the people at the beach weren’t even masked. But the girls at the private beach ran around safely and even filmed a music video. It was a cute show to watch and I loved seeing Dreamcatcher in an environment like this. I just wish this show and more shows like it would take more precautions.

Idol House:

Idol House is another example of a variety show that groups just go on and isn’t personal to any one group. The fun thing about this one is that there are no MC’s. The only thing there is to watch are the groups hanging out and interacting with each other. This also makes this show much safer to film during quarantine. The idol groups are all sent into this isolated “house” where they have various missions to complete. The best of which comes from a lying competition where the members each have to out-lie each other. This generally leads to a lot of laughs and hilarity. I personally really like seeing variety shows where the groups are only interacting with each other, so giving several groups the opportunity to do this on a variety show is a really appealing idea to me. So far I’ve only watched the Dreamcatcher one but I’ve been getting more into ATEEZ, so that one’s next!

There you go! Some examples of really good variety shows that are more built to show the personalities of the members of a group. More and more shows of this type are coming out. Especially, as I said before, the singular ones created by the company of a group. But all of these are really great ways to laugh and spend some downtime. I always like watching other people go places if I can’t, so these are definitely up my alley. Hopefully you’ve found something on here interesting enough to enjoy yourself!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Comfort Movies: ‘Groundhog Day’

Screenshot of Andie MacDowell and Bill Murray in 1993’s ‘Groundhog Day’. Copyright goes to Columbia Pictures.

Hey! Hallie here!

It’s Groundhog Day so I’m going to push off the weekly Twins in Media post to talk about this amazing movie. I feel like watching this movie every year on February 2nd is a tradition for many families, so I don’t really have to explain how great this movie is. But if you haven’t watched it, go do that right now. Harold Ramis is a brilliant director and script writer, and Bill Murray is undoubtedly perfect for this role. Turning a character from completely dislikable to completely likable isn’t a task just any actor can undertake, and Bill Murray has done it in so many movies that he’s a pro at it. In honor of this movie, I’m going to go through my favorite fun facts about it and it’s production. SPOILERS ahead, if you care about that sort of thing for this movie.

The Buildings In Rome:

If you’ve watched this movie in most of it’s released forms, you’ll find that Phil brings two very strange things up to Rita when he’s first attempting to date her. In the scene where he orders her favorite drink, sweet vermouth on the rocks with a twist, he mentions to her that the drink reminds him of how the sun hits the buildings in Rome. When he’s sitting down with Rita at a restaurant later on, he enthusiastically comments about how he wishes everyone could live up in the mountains instead of focusing on their careers. In previous cuts of the movie, including the one released to theatres, Rita mentions all of those things to Phil in his previous attempts at dating her. The decision to shorten the scene by cutting those parts was made for the movie’s release. Some versions will have these extra bits, so if you’re one of the people who has seen them, consider yourself lucky.

How Long Phil Relived Groundhog Day:

This has been long debated. Harold Ramis revealed that Danny Rubin, another writer for the movie, initially planned for Phil to be stuck in Groundhog Day for ten thousand years. As for the final script, Harold Ramis commented that it was more likely that Phil relived Groundhog Day for ten years. Many fans have been skeptical of this number considering how good Phil is at the various hobbies he picks up throughout the movie, such as piano and ice sculpting. Those who have attempted to calculate exactly how much time Phil would need to develop these skills, along with everything else he does in the movie, have estimated that he was stuck reliving Groundhog Day for thirty to forty years. Either way it sounds like Hell.

The Beginning of the Movie:

The original idea for the movie’s beginning was written by Danny Rubin. In it, Phil is already stuck in Groundhog Day. Danny Rubin desired the audience to come into the movie wondering how Phil knew what was going to happen before it actually happened. This way the mystery could unfold as the movie went on. Harold Ramis promised to keep this idea, but ultimately decided against it. The beginning of the movie we see now, with all of our main characters working inside the news station, was filmed very last minute. This beginning wasn’t decided on until the editing process, causing the company to call everyone back to shoot the scene so it could be edited in later.

The (Temporary) End of Harold Ramis and Bill Marray’s Friendship

Harold Ramis and Bill Murray had worked together multiple times before ‘Groundhog Day’. Harold Ramis directed ‘Caddyshack’, which Bill Murray was in. The two starred together in ‘Stripes’, which Harold Ramis also co-wrote. And, of course, both played major roles in the ‘Ghostbusters’ franchise. These weren’t the only projects the two worked on, either. They both considered each other good friends. Harold Ramis was hoping for the same friendliness between them when he began to envision Bill Murray for the role of Phil. However, Bill Murray went through a bad divorce during the filming of ‘Groundhog Day’. He was consistently late to set and would throw temper tantrums, arguing with Harold Ramis over directing and writing choices. He’d push Ramis to change the film to something darker rather than the comedy Ramis wanted. Bill Murray would also obsessively call Harold Ramis about the movie, even in the middle of the night, to discuss the plot. Eventually Ramis became tired of these issues and sent writer Danny Rubin to help work out the issues Murray was having. Bill Murray took this move badly and swore he’d never work with Harold Ramis again. Many speculated that part of this overreaction was due to Bill Murray feeling that Harold Ramis was dictating his career, since the two had done so many successful things together. Either way, the two didn’t talk for many years afterwards. Harold Ramis spoke often about wishing to be friends again but Bill Murray refused to comment. However, on Harold Ramis’ deathbed, the two finally made up.

Harold Ramis is one of the directors, actors, and screenwriters who made my childhood. I miss him pretty often, especially when I re-watch movies like ‘Groundhog Day’. But the movie is brilliant, and I’m grateful for his contributions to cinema every time I watch it. Bill Murray is a brilliant comic actor, but it’s pretty clear from various stories told about him that he isn’t necessarily the most civil person. But there’s no doubt the Harold Ramis could take the craziest of actors and turn a film set into a collaborative and creative space. And there were very few people who he could work with as well as he could work with Bill Murray. There are various reasons I like to watch ‘Groundhog Day’, but the most prominent one is the sheer amount of talent from the people working on it. From Andie MacDowell’s easily likable Rita to Stephen Tobolowsky’s hilarious Ned, there’s no person who worked on this film who shouldn’t be praised for their contributions.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Disney: The Princesses Who Deserve The Hate And The Ones That Don’t

Screenshot from Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ (1989). Copyright of Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Hi! It’s Annie!

As some of the older Disney movies are looked at again, and with some of them being questionably remade, the Disney princesses have been specifically scrutinized. This isn’t without reason; many people have been looking back at them to see which princesses are actually good female representation. Even though there are definitely some characters who aren’t as great looking back, there are a few who, at least I feel, are completely misunderstood and very undeserving of the hate. Let’s look at which princesses have been accused rightly and which ones, I believe, have a bit more to them than what people are saying.

Deserved:

Sleeping Beauty- Aurora has an absolutely beautiful singing voice and I love her dress. But that movie was not about Aurora even if it was named for her. She barely has any screen time at all, and much of that screen time is her asleep. Specifically, she is on screen for only eighteen minutes of the movie and only has eighteen lines of dialogue. She is given absolutely no personality and is the definition of a damsel in distress. I actually watched this movie again after figuring out how little she was in it and was really surprised at what I hadn’t remembered was the actual content of the movie. Philip is barely in it either. The movie is centered around Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather and it is them who get most of the work done throughout the course of the film. Maleficent never would have died if the fairies hadn’t enchanted Phillip’s sword. Even though this movie is essentially female centered, Aurora still spends the movie without much of any personality traits other than she’s sleepy and likes to sing.

Snow White- Snow White deserves some credit for being the first of Disney’s animated films and creating the plethora of beloved films that we know today. But Snow White isn’t a good character. She spends the movie falling in love at first sight, passing out in the forest from fear, cleaning the Dwarves’ house, and being tricked into eating a poisoned apple by an obviously shady old woman. The fact that the Dwarves initially protect her because they find her a useful housekeeper is pretty questionable considering the gender roles of the time period the movie came out in. Most people now also point out that her voice is extremely annoying. Which, it is. She is again exempt from the action at the end of the movie because she is not conscious and the Dwarves end up solving all of her problems. Then she leaves them all behind for some guy she’s barely met even though they were all standing around her coffin crying. Pretty ungrateful if you ask me.

Pocahontas- I am not an Indigenous person, so I can’t speak on this issue with absolute knowledge on the situation. However, it’s not difficult to see that this movie is pretty racist. The song ‘Savages’ is meant to show how equally morally wrong both groups are, but if you look at the history it was definitely the colonists that were in the wrong. I think it’s pretty stupid to also claim that the First Nation people were doing any sort of wrong when all they were doing was defending their land. It’s also completely ridiculous to make John Smith the love interest for Pocahontas. That’s really gross. The character of Pocahontas does have personality, but her portrayal is skewed by the very white way the writers decided to adapt this situation. If they wanted to adapt this, there should have been Native Americans in the writing room. But there should be more POC behind the scenes in Hollywood in general.

Undeserved:

Ariel- Ariel has been getting a lot of flack for a while now and it took me a minute to figure out why. Eventually I realized it was because people were saying that Ariel left everything behind for a man and ‘The Little Mermaid’ teaches little girls to do the same. I personally think this is missing the point. Firstly, ‘Part of Your World’ is actually sung before Ariel even sees Eric or knows he exists. This seems to be the biggest point of confusion in the argument against Ariel. Ariel wants to go to the human world from the beginning of the film and Eric is sort of the icing on the cake of it all. He did not place an idea in her head that wasn’t already there. When Ariel decides to stay it’s because she finally feels like she has found where she belongs. Ariel is admittedly a little bratty throughout the movie, but it’s something she grows out of. It’s actually nice to see a Disney princess who is purposely flawed after the classic princesses. Ariel is also not a damsel at the end of this movie; she’s the one who kills Flotsam and Jetsam. Ariel is a really strong character.

Mulan- This one might be a surprising addition to this list and I completely understand why. Most people love Mulan. But after the supremely bad remake, there have been people pointing fingers back at the original Mulan for not passing the Bechdel Test. The Bechdel Test states that if a movie does not feature two or more named female characters, who speak with each other, about something other than men or children, it does not have ideal female representation. Though this test is great in most cases and I really believe in it, I don’t think this test really applies to the original Mulan movie. The new Mulan movie doesn’t pass the test even though it meant to, which is definitely an issue. They created an entirely new character for Mulan to talk to only for them to talk only about how men are treating her. They also give all of the credit for Mulan being a badass to a supernatural power, so that movie wasn’t great for female representation anyways. The story of Mulan is supposed to be about Mulan being the only woman there and subverting expectations. The original Mulan works because it shows that women are just as strong and smart as men are. And she does it all without supernatural powers. The original Mulan should not be blamed for what the new movie failed to do.

Belle- I have made an entire post on how this movie is not an example of Stockholm Syndrome if you want to check that out. Because it’s really not. But there are other things Belle has been accused of since. For example, she sings about wanting adventure but she stays with Beast at the end and there’s also the movie’s obvious viewing of Belle as “not like other girls” complete with villainizing the Bimbettes. Of all things, they really had to call them the Bimbettes? While I can’t excuse the movie for the villainization of all of the other women in the village, I can say that Belle doesn’t exactly fit the trope of “not like other girls”. Though her song seems to be about that specifically, we later learn that part of the reason the town views her that way is because of the reputation of her father. It isn’t only because she reads. We also don’t know what Belle did after the events of the movie, but she sort of found her own adventure in the castle anyways. Belle proves herself time and time again to not be the kind of person who sacrifices all of her life decisions for a guy. She goes toe to toe with the Beast several times. I think she probably would have travelled afterwards whether the Beast liked it or not.

There are other Disney princess who receive a lot of flack, but these are the ones that were currently on my radar. I also have to admit that the Disney princesses get better over time. The original princesses ( such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White) were not active in their own stories. They sort of just had things happen to them. The Renaissance princesses (such as Ariel and Belle) had dreams that they went after. The recent Disney princesses (like Merida and Moana) have specific goals and actually explored flaws. They are completely dynamic characters. But there are still complete badasses from other eras (like Mulan and Jasmine) who have more unique stories and take stances that will always be viewed as modern. Such as Jasmine refusing to be married off because she’s not a prize to be won and Mulan proving that women are strong and very intelligent. I only hope that Raya of Disney’s upcoming movie ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ will be just as badass as some of her predecessors.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Books: Harry Potter Characters That Deserve More Recognition Than Draco Malfoy

Screenshot of Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy in ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part2’. Copyright goes to Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films.

Hey! Hallie here!

There’s been a lot of talk amongst Harry Potter fans about which characters are much worse than the books seem to think they are. Among these characters are Albus Dumbledore, who left Harry in an abusive home, Severus Snape, who bullied children as a grown adult, and of course, Draco Malfoy. Even after Snape and Dumbledore fans admitted these characters were problematic, Draco Malfoy fans have still been advocating for a redemption arc. Obviously, I don’t support this idea. Draco Malfoy is the Wizarding World’s equivalent of a racist, and while he wasn’t trying to kill anyone, he was only ever out for himself during his entire character arc. A lot of POC Harry Potter fans have laid out all the reasons why Draco doesn’t deserve a character redemption arc, so I’d recommend looking for some of them if you’re really looking for reasons not to support a Draco Malfoy redemption. Regardless, I think there are several characters that deserve the fandoms attention far more than Draco. So let’s look at the characters who deserved more than they were given!

Sirius Black:

Rowling herself threw Sirius under the bus in interviews. In several interviews she mentioned how Sirius was irresponsible in the way he treated Harry because he viewed Harry as a second James rather than as his godson. This even wound up coming up in the fifth movie, where a line was thrown in that wasn’t in the books. “Nice one James!” Despite writing plenty of problematic characters Rowling always seemed ready to point to Sirius Black as the problematic father-figure for Harry. However, as he’s written in the books, this is absolutely untrue. Sirius is a doting Godfather who constantly checks up on Harry. He worries about him, gives him advice, and answers every letter Harry sends. He puts his own life at risk on some occasions, but never Harry’s. He constantly warns Harry to be cautious and, in one book, even stays in a cave near Hogsmeade, living off of rats, so he can stay closer to Hogwarts and watch over Harry.

Molly Weasley does once accuse Sirius of treating Harry like James, but Sirius is right that Harry deserves to know about the fight against Voldemort. Molly is also especially cruel to Sirius on several occasions. In the same argument, Molly rubs in Sirius’ face that he couldn’t be there for Harry because he was locked in Azkaban. A situation that wasn’t his fault. I don’t think Molly’s critiques of Sirius should stand considering all of her attempts to prevent Sirius from taking any sort of parental position in Harry’s life. Despite the fact that Sirius was made Harry’s Godfather by his deceased parents. Sirius also gets flack for treating Kreacher badly, but Kreacher was a racist and a painful reminder of his abusive mother. Who would be happy with that situation? In other words, Sirius doesn’t deserve to be seen as an irresponsible parental figure. He was reckless because of his own seclusion (Once again understandable considering he was never allowed to leave his childhood home to fight the guy who killed his best friends). However, he was never reckless about the way he treated Harry. A lot of people mention Sirius’ support of Harry forming Dumbledore’s Army as a bad move, but it wasn’t one. Dumbledore’s Army was important, especially with Umbridge as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Sirius tries his best, even after being stuck in Azkaban for twelve years despite the fact that Dumbledore knew full well that he was an innocent man. Once again, I hate Dumbledore. Sirius Black deserves justice.

Regulus Black:

A lot of people talk about how Regulus Black is the character Draco Malfoy fans are really looking for when they talk about a redemption arc. I can’t help but agree. Regulus Black was all for his family’s Pure-Blood supremacy thing at first. Unlike Sirius, he was praised by his family for his traditional ideals. He was even a Death Eater at one point. But when he realized that Voldemort’s plan involved mass murder, proven to Regulus when Voldemort nearly killed Kreacher while testing the defenses around the locket horcrux, Regulus didn’t hide behind his parents. Regulus decided to sacrifice his life to destroy the horcrux. He even left a fake horcrux in it’s place to confuse Voldemort, and eventually reveal to him who had been responsible for the missing horcrux. Unfortunately, Regulus died in the attempt to destroy the real horcrux and Kreacher was left unable to destroy it. Regulus was still racist and a lot of that is waved away in favor of his kindness towards Kreacher. But Regulus wasn’t selfish like Draco is. He was willing to die to destroy only one horcrux. That deserves at least some attention.

Lavender Brown:

Lavender Brown’s only crime was being too feminine and liking to make out with her boyfriend. Lavender was among the group of girls who acted “girly” in Hogwarts, which was somehow seen as an obnoxious trait. In the sixth movie she wears lots of pink and a few more bracelets than any of the other characters to further this obnoxious persona, as if wearing feminine things suddenly makes a character annoying. While I think her ideas about relationships were skewed, so were Ron’s. Lavender was genuinely worried about Ron when he was poisoned and Ron decided to pretend to sleep every time she visited. Lavender Brown wasn’t just some airhead, either. She joined Dumbledore’s Army in her fifth year and she was among those who fought in the battle of Hogwarts. But she’s only ever portrayed as an unlikable nuisance and her death is barely glossed over in the last movie. Lavender Brown suffers from a lot of tropes you wouldn’t expect to come from a woman, but I’m not surprised they came from Rowling.

That’s my list! As you can see, I’m really passionate about the hate Sirius Black receives. I could see some of the critiques against Sirius if he had actually talked Harry into doing something dangerous with him. But the most dangerous thing Sirius does with Harry is walk around as Fluffy on rare occasions. And if it’s a redemption arc you’re looking for, stop looking at Draco when Regulus already exists. Regulus proved himself far more than Draco ever did. As for Lavender, the way Rowling looks down on Lavender at every point for simply being a teenage girl is more obnoxious than Lavender ever was. These three deserve so much more. Draco Malfoy doesn’t deserve any sympathy from the fandom.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: Dreamcatcher

Photoshoot still of (from left) Lee Ga Hyeon (Gahyeon), Lee Si Yeon (Siyeon), Kim Bo Ra (SuA), Lee Yu Bin (Dami), Kim Yoo Hyeon (Yoohyeon), and Kim Min Ji (JiU) of ‘Dreamcatcher’. Han Dong (Handong) not pictured. Copyright of HappyFace Entertainment (now Dreamcatcher company).

Hi! It’s Annie!

After watching a popular K-pop covers video that featured this band and noticing that all of the comments were about them, I knew I had to check them out. Meet one of my new favorite K-pop girl groups! I am not saying they are better than any other girl group, but they are extremely good. If you haven’t guessed, this is my newest recommendation. I should preface this by saying that I grew up with rock music. It was something that both of my parents liked and I eventually ended up going with them to quite a few rock concerts because of it. My taste in music is eclectic, so I really like all types of music. Obviously, my current favorite band is BTS which does not fall under the genre of rock. But rock is one of those genres that I definitely have a soft spot for because it was such a big part of my childhood. When I looked up ‘Dreamcatcher’ I was not expecting to find a band with rock influences. I just saw them covering other girl groups music because of the nature of the video I was watching and comments telling others about how much they were all sleeping on this group. ‘Odd Eye’ came out a few days ago, so that was the first music video I clicked on. I was absolutely delighted when I heard the electric guitar and, after hearing a couple of their other songs, I figured out that this was their sound. They are a glorious mix of pop sounds in K-pop that you love and rock influences.

The Members:

JiU: Meet the eldest, one of the main vocalists, and the leader of ‘Dreamcatcher’. She probably has the most traditional K-pop sounding voice of the vocalists, which is definitely not a bad thing! One thing to note about this group right away is that they all are amazing vocalists. There is not a member of this band that feels misused or out of place. JiU can be slightly chaotic but she’s definitely very caring. She also feels almost intimidatingly elegant. Instead of colors each member of the band represents a fear in order to help conquer it; hers is the fear of being chased.

SuA: One of the other main vocalists. She’s also one of the most chaotic members of the band. She’s freaking hilarious. For one Halloween she dressed up as Hell Boy complete with a fake six pack. She danced to many of their songs like that and it made it hard to take her too seriously in an absolutely delightful way. Her fear is the fear of restraint.

Siyeon: One of the lead vocalists of the band. She has a powerful voice that packs a punch. When I watched the music videos I found her incredibly intimating, probably the most out of everyone. So it’s really funny when you see her outside of that and she’s making the others laugh while making baby noises. Her fear is claustrophobia or the fear of tight spaces.

Handong: She is the only person not to be pictured above and that is because she was absent from the band for about a year. Unfortunately, that year she was gone was when the band really seemed to start gaining traction and she just got back, so newer fans like me are just starting to get to know her. She seems really nice if not a little shy and her lower register voice is beautiful. Her fear is scopophobia or the fear of being stared at.

Yoohyeon: The other lead vocalist of the group. Her voice absolutely slays me. It’s distinctive and one of the most powerful voices I’ve ever heard in my life. Her voice was the first thing I noticed about the band. Hearing her call down thunder in ‘Boca’ changed my life. She’s also the biggest puppy in the group and another hilarious chaotic mess. She’s a very romantic and bright person with a badass stage presence. The band has a lot of funny members and I love them all for being so hilarious. Her fear is mazeophobia or the fear of being lost.

Dami: The other member that intimidated me. She’s the lead rapper in the group and she knows what she’s doing. Her rap verses are some of the best I’ve heard in anything and it’s difficult to not fall in love with her. She barely sings, but she has a beautiful voice. She also has a really chill personality that just makes you want to hang out with her. I will warn you right now that it’s really difficult to not have her as your bias, especially after her rap in ‘Boca’. She’s the member where if she isn’t your bias she’s probably your bias wrecker. She also absolutely hates horror which makes her appearance in this band both comforting and hilarious. Her fear is agliophobia or the fear of pain or scars. She’s my sister’s bias.

Gahyeon: She is a sub vocalist, a sub rapper, and the maknae of the group. She does it all and she’s really good at it all. She generally gets a handful of the rap verses along with some singing lines for herself per song. She also has the cutest and brightest persona in the band. Seeing her rap while cutting to scenes of her in a pastel pink dress was badass in ‘Boca’. Sometimes the dark aesthetics of a band can tip my mood nowadays, but she always has an aesthetic that is bright enough to get me to enjoy the music fully again. Just like a typical maknae, she is cute and sweet but she can also be hilariously sassy. Her fear is basophobia or the fear of falling. My bias.

I just love that despite the dark aesthetics of the band, they are all so hilarious and so bright when you see them interact. They are all the kind of people that you just want to be friends with. How much they care about each other is tangible, and it makes that much more fun to watch them interact.

Their History:

They started out as a group called MINX without Handong and Gahyeon and they were a fairly typical K-Pop girl group. They didn’t have any of their rock influences, they just debuted as a regular girl group. They were pretty quickly buried by the competition, but the company thought all of the girls were really good and instead of getting rid of them, they decided to rebrand with the addition of the two new members. The idea behind ‘Dreamcatcher’ was to do something that wasn’t expected in the K-Pop community. It took a while, but they gained some footing with a cult following and now more and more people are becoming aware of their unique sound that doesn’t necessarily match with what the rest of the industry is doing. So if you’ve been looking for something different, this is exactly what you’ve been waiting for. Their fanbase is growing now more than it ever was before, so you aren’t alone!

My Recommendations:

The songs that really sold me on them were ‘Scream’, ‘Boca’, and, of course, ‘Odd Eye’. Those would be my main recommendations for them, but they have plenty of other good music that sounds different from their traditional rock sound. For example, I would also really recommend listening to ‘Jazz Bar’. It’s a slower, jazzier, tune that’s also something you don’t hear often in K-pop but is really well done even though they took a step outside of their usual genre. These girls have absolutely mastered the idea of “different”.

Controversies:

I would be remiss if I sent you to check this band out without being up front about some of their controversies. They have had a few that I know of, none of which was the fault of the girls. One was that on a variety show the company put on, one of the girls was forced to wear a dreadlock wig as a punishment for losing a game. The company quickly apologized for this. Most companies have had to apologize for something like this and this is definitely another sign that the industry needs to learn about cultural appropriation really quickly. This leads me into the next controversy, which is the company’s decision to brand this group as ‘Dreamcatcher’ and using Native American appropriation when first advertising this group. They haven’t used that connection since, but that doesn’t change the name of the group. The group has also used some satanic imagery in their music videos, but their songs are not about the devil and none of the girls chose this or are devil worshippers (which should be obvious). I’m not quite sure why that was an issue. The next two are potential TRIGGER WARNINGS. I find a lot of bands in the rock genre do stupid things to be edgy. What they have done is fairly tame compared to other groups, but it’s still wrong. They released a puzzle video that features a bridge known for people committing suicide off of it in South Korea, they quickly took the video down again and now it is not accessible. They also, in one song, had a dance move featuring scarfs where they do an apparent hanging motion. Whether this was intended to be this way is not clear. Either way, I think referring to suicide in any way that isn’t meant to talk about mental health in a helpful way just should not be done at all, but that’s my opinion.

Again, it should be said that none of these controversies have to do with the girls or the music that they make. They had no say in this, most (if not all) of these were, as usual, company flubs. The girls are complete sweethearts who promote self love and have even shown disapproval towards extreme dieting. Which is a huge thing for South Korean artists. They also promote getting over one’s fears, which is something I really respect. The company has made several mistakes, but is also known to be one of the K-pop companies who treats their trainees and employees the best and is quick to address issues and take down videos, so I have mixed feelings on them.

Anyways, there you have it! A brief introduction to one of my new favorite bands! I really hope you enjoy their music and I really hope their fanbase continues to grow!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Marvel: ‘WandaVision’ Episode 4 Review

Screenshot of Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Randall Park as Jimmy Woo from episode 4 of ‘WandaVision’. Copyright goes to Marvel Studios and Disney+.

Hey! Hallie here!

I don’t think any episode has been quite as eventful as this one was. We basically got all the answers we’ve been looking for during the last three episodes. Everything from who’s doing this to what the different SWORD appearances really were. Plus, we got a look into all of the characters involved with SWORD (Yay Darcy!). This episode was really crazy and there’s plenty to talk about, so I’m going to jump right into what I liked, and didn’t like, about this episode. SPOILERS ahead.

The Good:

Monica Rambeau. The first half of this episode belonged entirely to Monica Rambeau. As someone who really wanted the show to pull Monica to the forefront as quickly as possible, I loved seeing more of her story. We started out with Monica returning after the “Blip” or the period of time that occurred after Thanos’ snap. Monica disappeared along with half of the population, and the moment she returns she wakes up to the chaos of various people reforming from dust pieces. Three years earlier she had been waiting for her mother to get out of surgery related to cancer, but now that she’s been gone for three years she finds that her mother is deceased. Still, Monica returns immediately to SWORD, an intelligence agency that her mother created seemingly to replace SHIELD. Monica is instantly given a mission to check out a town that, according to local residents, doesn’t exist. Quickly she’s sucked into the energy field around the town, and as the viewers we know where she went. She doesn’t appear for much of the remaining episode because she’s stuck in the reality Wanda created. However, the moments we do get only make her character more interesting. I’m excited to see her take on a larger role soon!

Darcy Lewis. I forgot how much I loved Darcy, and then her first scene was her making light of being taken to an unknown location for an unknown purpose by making fun of the awkward scientists around her. Once Monica disappears, Darcy seems to be the only person who can actually get things done. She very quickly realizes what’s wrong with the town of Westview, manages to tune into ‘WandaVision’, becomes just as invested as all of us are, and is able to help Jimmy Woo contact Wanda. It’s even revealed that the hand on the notebook in the first episode belonged to Darcy! Darcy’s wit is one of the major things that carries this episode. I hope this is only the start of more Darcy appearances in the MCU.

SWORD. In general we get to see more of SWORD’s operations in this episode. We are told that the toy helicopter that appeared in episode 2 was actually a SWORD drone that was turned into a helicopter once it passed the threshold of Wanda’s reality. The beekeeper was a SWORD agent in a hazmat suit who was attempting to discover what happened to Monica, but his suit was changed once he entered Wanda’s reality (What happened to that guy, anyway?). We also know that SWORD has been making a list of reported missing people that appear in ‘WandaVision’. SWORD isn’t a mysterious logo anymore. We now know who they actually are.

Wanda. There are so many interesting reveals in this episode about Wanda. For one, we get to see what really happened between Wanda and Monica when Wanda lost her temper last episode. Wanda unleashed her full abilities. Not the fun, cute version we’ve seen in every episode so far. The red energy we’ve seen since her first MCU appearance. Wanda accuses Monica of trespassing and forces her through several walls until Monica lands outside of the barrier around the town. Once Monica comes back in contact with SWORD, she immediately tells them that Wanda is responsible for everything. Not only that, but when Wanda greets Vision when he comes back inside, her perception of him temporarily alters. She sees a gray, lifeless Vision with empty eyes and a crushed forehead. The way he was when Thanos killed him. She’s obviously shocked by the imagery and quickly shakes it from her mind. All of this confirms that Wanda is completely aware of what she’s doing and that Vision is dead, but she created this reality to live out the happy ending she wanted. Considering the fact that Wanda’s effectively keeping hostages in order to live her fantasy, I doubt SWORD will leave her to her fake life.

The Bad:

Too Much Too Fast. All of our questions were answered. All of them. Which leaves me to question, are the last five episodes going to simply show SWORD vs Wanda, or is there more to explore? I almost wish the mystery would have gone on a bit longer. This is a small gripe, though, because I don’t think we know everything yet. There’s still five episodes, after all. It could be that Wanda isn’t the only one pulling the strings here. There are plenty of people who could either be helping her or manipulating her. Still, I have no theories about what’s coming next because all of the mystery has been, as of now, solved. I hope this show catches me off-guard!

Overall I really enjoyed this episode. I know a lot of people who weren’t enjoying the sitcom aspects of the show consider this to be the best episode so far. I’ll say it’s a satisfying episode for sure, but I don’t think it’s the best. I definitely think there’s a lot to enjoy in the happy sitcom formula laced with a darker mystery. I look forward to seeing both the real world and the world Wanda created, collide. Now that we know what SWORD is really trying to accomplish, the scenes from the trailers that imply Wanda and Vision will fight to protect their town are far more frightening. Especially with how powerful Wanda is. I’ve expressed how much I want them to be respectful over the mental challenges Wanda is facing, so I’m holding out hope that she won’t be completely villainized by the end of all this.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-pop and K-dramas: Line Distribution and Favoritism

Screenshot of Mia (Han Eunji) from the ‘Dun Dun’ music video. Copyright goes to YeHua Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Line distribution has always been a difficult topic to cover because many fans get too angry about it while others try to pretend that it isn’t there. The first thing I want to say before jumping into all of this is that, line distribution is very rarely the fault of the artist and has always been more of the company’s decision. The second thing I want to say here is that line distribution being uneven is nothing new. Yes, it’s upsetting but just because it happens in a group doesn’t make it immoral to support said group. It happens to almost every single group and this is something that should be more of an industry change than it should be a change made in one particular band. With that out of the way, let’s talk about company favoritism and the way fans react to it.

Mia from Everglow:

My sister touched on this one not too long ago, but let me fill you in on this situation if you’re unfamiliar. When Everglow first debuted in 2019, the line distribution wasn’t great but it wasn’t all that bad either. It was clear that Mia was getting more lines than some of the other girls, but it felt like it was by a small margin. Especially if you compared the amount of lines Mia was getting to the other main vocalist, Sihyeon. It was obvious that Onda and Yiren were getting very few lines, but because Mia only was ahead by a slight margin she wasn’t necessarily viewed with much contempt yet. Cut to when ‘Dun Dun’ comes out. Mia takes up one third of that song. It wasn’t the first time Mia had gotten preferential treatment, but it was definitely the most noticeable. Especially with how huge that song blew up. Massive amounts of hate were directed towards Mia because of this song. People began to boycott her fancams, send her threatening messages, and even petition the company to force her out of the group. All of this is completely ridiculous. I should state here that Mia is actually my bias in Everglow, and it isn’t because she gets so much screen time. I was very impressed by how well she was able to command a stage and I thought she seemed like a really sweet person after watching things like ‘Everglow Land’, a variety show starring the group. There was an episode of that where each girl was given a mission and Mia was pretty sure she would fail hers early on. So while the other girls were trying to sabotage each other (except for poor Aisha who just wanted to cook), Mia went around and helped everyone else complete their mission. Mia does not deserve any of the hate she gets. Especially when you think about how much pressure this uneven line distribution is being put on her as a rookie. Should the other girls be getting an even amount of lines? Yes. Is one third of a song too much? Absolutely. But that’s not Mia’s fault. Mia doesn’t sit there with the song lyrics and pass out lines. She’s not in charge of that. Mia has quickly become one of the most hated members of Everglow, which sucks when you consider how hard she works. The company seems to have an issue with Yiren and Onda’s vocals right now and are trying to work on them. I honestly think that the company should play to their strengths more and give them more dancing. Really, the dancing solo at the end of ‘Dun Dun’ should have gone to Onda in my opinion. But again, stop attacking Mia because none of that is her fault. She’s a talented girl with a great voice and she deserves to be supported just as much as the others.

Jin from BTS:

Now that I’ve gone over someone with most of the lines, I’ll go over an artist with some of the least. We’ve also touched on this one before. Jin has always had a smaller amount of lines in comparison to the other members, to the point that Jin has even joked about it himself. BTS is in the unique situation where they actually are part of being in charge of line distribution for the most part. Most K-pop bands don’t write their own stuff and BTS is one of the few exceptions. But I should point out that this means that Jin does have a say in line distribution. Most of the time Jin and everyone else are just trying to do what they believe will benefit the song most. This doesn’t mean Jin has been mistreated. He has several of his own solo songs and there are other songs where the line distribution is pretty even. But I don’t think anyone had as much of a problem with any other song as they did ‘Dynamite’. It was pretty clear that he had been sidelined, which hit home for many as this was one of the few songs not written by BTS. It was written by Americans. Every member in this song gets their own moment to shine except for Jin who just sings the chorus with everyone else. This was even more prominent in the music video where every member of the band gets a solo shot but Jin. The backlash after this was loud, but apparently not loud enough to reach the ears of big-time American companies who started forgetting to add Jin’s picture on BTS posters for events. Eventually the backlash reached the ears of these companies who immediately corrected their mistakes, but to the eyes of many the damage was already done. The hashtag “BTS is 7” circulated for weeks, as it should have. I was personally disappointed to see that American shows didn’t do research on the acts that they invited, but that’s not a-typical of them unfortunately. I don’t think I need to say that Jin is just as important to the band as everyone else. I don’t know where I would be without his contagious laugh and bad jokes. Also, have you heard his vocals in ‘Don’t Leave Me’? The best thing to do here is to start watching Jin’s fancams and make sure that the hyung line is getting the media views that they deserve.

Jennie and Jisoo from BlackPink:

I should start off here by saying that I’m not as much of a BlackPink fan as I am of the groups above, so I don’t have as much information on this topic. But it is a topic that I can’t ignore when I’m talking about this stuff. Jennie has recently gotten herself the nickname “YG’s Princess” after she got some solo songs to herself on top of the slightly uneven line distribution in BlackPink songs. If you actually look at the line distribution over-all in this group, it’s pretty even. But the promotion of Jennie by the company also included posting her photos more than the others and centering her in promotion more than the others. This got to the point where people started saying that “Korea loves Jennie” as a compliment rather than including the other members of the band in this. On the other hand, Jisoo was suffering in line distribution and with company coverage. It only made it worse when Jisoo was receiving very little popularity overseas in comparison to the other members because she’s the only member to not speak fluent English. Which was overlooked eventually when it came to BTS because most of them couldn’t, but apparently it’s more noticeable if one person is the odd one out. Really American shows should be more respectful of cultures and other languages in general, but I digress. Jennie did receive some hate, but she’s at the point in her career where it doesn’t make much of a dent. While Mia from Everglow has fallen all the way to the bottom because their fanbase is so new, Jennie isn’t having that problem. But still, just like Everglow, this is something that needs to change and is mostly the company’s fault. While BlackPink does not write their own songs, they do have a say in them. But it seems like line distribution isn’t as much of a problem here as general promotion is.

I hate to say it, but a lot of the problems here probably come from marketing. The companies try to bring in new fans with the most recognizable members. For BTS that’s Jungkook, for BlackPink that’s Jennie, and for Everglow that’s Mia. BTS isn’t too bad with marketing by themselves or line distribution in general, it’s mainly the news and talk shows that have been centering Jungkook. Everglow has the excuse of giving Mia more lines because they are a new group and the company isn’t confident in the vocals of the others yet. YeHua actually doesn’t center Mia in interviews or in promotional photos, which is a good thing. At least not yet. BlackPink seems to have the biggest overall issue here, even though they do have the best line distribution. But also, everyone talking about the unfairness of the line distribution or media coverage means that people are talking about these groups more than they generally would. People who aren’t familiar with these groups get curious and go to check them out. The best thing to do here is to watch fancams and view promotional photos of the perceived neglected members more. My bias in BTS is Jimin and my bias wrecker is Namjoon, so I generally try to watch more Namjoon fancams. I do it because I know that the hyung line needs more views than the maknae line, so I don’t often watch as many Jimin fancams. Lately I’ve also been trying to watch more Jin fancams. Attempting to even out the views is the best way to send a message to these companies on what you want to see. But things like this have been happening in so many groups for so long, it’s going to take a long time for any of this to change. But please, once again, remember that the company’s apparent favorite artist has nothing to do with any of the decisions the company or other companies make about their own promotion.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

K-pop and K-dramas: Choosing a Bias

Kim Taehyung, or V, from the “Idol” music video. Copyright goes to Big Hit Entertainment and BTS.

Hey! Hallie here!

I’m going to start this out by saying that this post is focused on BTS, but in general I hope this gives anyone deciding their bias in any K-Pop group something to help them out. Every member of BTS is extremely talented. Which is why it’s so incredibly difficult to decide which member is your bias. Since last year, when I joined ARMY, I’ve switched between two biases and three bias wreckers. If you’re new to the K-pop community, a bias is your favorite member of a group. A bias wrecker, on the other hand, is your second favorite member, or the member that makes you question whether or not your bias is really your bias. A lot of BTS fans have claimed OT7 as their bias, which is a way of saying they like all of the members too much to choose between them. And, in a way, I’m the same. But as someone who likes to pinpoint my favorite things so that I can write about them, I’ve found that I’m pretty passionate about deciding which members fit the bias and bias wrecker positions. So with the hope of making anyone struggling with the same problem feel a bit better, here’s how I’ve been dealing with this situation so far.

Bias:

I consider my bias to be the member that I have the deepest attachment to. I find all the members both attractive and talented, which doesn’t exactly help me decide which one is my bias. Instead of deciding my bias based on which members I think are better, I tend to look at three different things. Who inspires me most, who makes me happiest, and who I find myself listening to the most often. My first bias in BTS was Kim Namjoon. His wisdom and intelligence was the reason I got into BTS in the first place. He easily inspired me with his speeches about self love, as well as the work he’s put into writing lyrics for the group. I also sought out his work first and fell in love with his meaningful songs. However, I now consider Jung Hoseok to be my bias. J-Hope inspires me with his energy and happiness, but he also inspires me with his professionalism. He contributes to the songs BTS releases and takes responsibility for a lot of BTS’s choreography. His contagious smile, and determination to cheer on both ARMY and BTS, make me happy. His unique sound brings me back to his music frequently. He’s unapologetically himself, even about the pressure he faces, which makes me want to explore more of myself, too. J-Hope is the member of BTS I need most right now, but that might not always be the case. Often times life changes will make you feel like you need another member or that you relate to someone else more. That’s fine too. I see a lot of people boast about how long a member has been their bias, which isn’t an issue, but don’t let it make you feel like you aren’t a real fan if you change your bias. While I don’t think Hobi will be leaving the bias position for me anytime soon, I know that there will be moments where other members will say or create something that I connect with, as well.

Bias Wrecker:

Bias wreckers tend to have a bit of a different connotation. A lot of people describe bias wreckers as the member who looks so attractive, or has such a compelling stage presence, that they turn your head while you’re trying to pay attention to your bias. Once again, I’ve struggled a lot with this position because I find every member of BTS attractive and talented. J-Hope was my first bias wrecker, but he wasn’t my bias wrecker for very long. I quickly realized he was someone who I could relate to and look up to more than Namjoon. So Namjoon became my bias wrecker by default. Namjoon has been my bias wrecker for a while. Every interview I’ve watched with him in it has given me at least one new quote to think about or a new outlook to inspire me. But recently, Taehyung became my bias wrecker. For one, if we’re judging bias wreckers based off of stage presence, Taehyung is an incredible performer. I was chatting with my sister while watching BTS concert footage about a month ago, and I suddenly fell completely silent once Taehyung started performing “Singularity”. It was so mesmerizing that I hadn’t even noticed I had gone quiet. More recently Taehyung has just resonated with me more. His descriptions of his growth in recent years remind me a lot of myself. His humor and temperament are relatable to me. Match that with my long-time love of all of his music and my recent obsession with “Blue and Grey”, and he’s become my new bias wrecker. I don’t love Namjoon any less, but he doesn’t quite fit the same position as Taehyung does currently. And once again, that’s okay.

How Should You Decide Who to Pick?:

I’ve given you examples of what’s made me decide who my bias and bias wrecker is so far, but that doesn’t mean you have to decide who yours are based on my criteria. Recently a lot of people, especially in ARMY, have been saying that your bias is who you relate to and your bias wrecker is who you’re most attracted to. Obviously, I relate to both J-Hope and Taehyung and I find all the members of BTS to be pretty good looking guys. Pick the members who you connect to most, whether that’s because you like one of their aesthetics or because you can’t sleep without listening to one member’s song. Don’t feel bad for changing your bias, either. You won’t be betraying Jimin if you suddenly decide Jin is your bias, and no one should make you feel guilty for doing so either. Make your own criteria. And if you don’t want to decide, don’t. I openly admitted that I’m nearly an OT7 bias at the beginning of this post. The only thing you shouldn’t do when choosing a bias is hate on members who aren’t your bias. Every member deserves love and ARMY should be supporting all of them.

I hope this helped some new ARMY’s grasp the idea of choosing a bias a bit better. It’s really difficult, especially when every member is so loveable. I know to a lot of baby ARMY’s it seems like you can’t be part of the fandom until you choose your bias. To some there’s the assumption that ARMY’s will judge you based on who your bias is. But none of that is true. No matter who your bias is, BTS is all about loving each other, and ourselves, for our own personalities rather than which member we like best. As long as you spread that kindness, you’re an ARMY regardless of which bias you choose.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie