I have come across a pecuilre corner of this fair universe. It appears to be locked in a strange time warp some where between the 90s (even 80s) and the present. It is a place where glitter and eyeliner look best on guys, and syncronized legs kicks are the norm. It is a place where fans are rabid fanataics ready to voice their opinion with the fury of 10,000 exclamiation points. Yes, this is the world of Kpop.
Now, I could drone on and on about the indosycries, successes and misgivings of Kpop, but tonight I am going to focus on one particular population that can make or break an Idol groups image faster than you can say “Elijah beat the bull”.
Fandoms in Kpop are no joke. They are a serious bi-lateral force to be reckoned with. With that begin said, those who make up such fandoms can quickly turn into some of the most wretched, hate-filled, ignorant scum you’d ever want to meet this side of hell. And unfortunately, there is no “Stop stupid” button on the Internet so much to my chagrin their comments get through and thus run the risk of causing the complete demise of Kpop; ironically while they are defending or “stan”ing their beloved “artist”.
A particular post I found to be amusing (or rather this is actually the 3rd or 4th time I’ve come across such notions but I felt I needed to addresses it in some way shape or form that was constructive. Which cannot be done on any Kpop website (I will get to that on a later date.) ) What comment (for there are many) can I possibly be speaking of–you the dear reader–might ask?:
If a black person joins Kpop it will become ghetto!
or
I don’t want [insert Korean Idol name] to work with [insert African American music industry heavy weight name] because they will try to turn them black!
Gasp! The horror! The monstrosity! The blatant hypocrisy!
Really? Alright. That’s cool. But I want to lay down some ground rules myself. How about the Black people don’t help the Kpoppers (even though JYP asked nicely) and you [the Kpopped] stop copying “Black” music.
Kay? Deal?
That means no more:
Big Bang.
No more Rain.
Wondergirls are definitely gone (I mean come on, they did say Janet Jackson was one of their influences, but oh Lord she’s black and that simply will not do…)
Beast is out.
Super Junior‘s done.
Boa goes bye bye.
2pm who?
Shinee is splitsville.
After School is expelled.
Soori shouldn’t bother.
Mblaq should stay at home.
Miss A is M.I.A.
Bye, bye Epik High
2ne1 is no one.
4Minute down to .5 seconds
F(x) gets axed.
F.T. Island has drowned (Now, we all know the origins of rock and roll don’t we? Ah, those black field hands that Elvis stole music and dance moves from…Reminds me of someone…Hm….)
Dang, my list is getting long isn’t it?
I mean, shoot. That’s alot of Black influecne that you guys have just straight up jacked, now isn’t it?
And I don’t recall a recent exodus of “blackness” seeping across the ocean into Kpops porcelain bowl. So that means, the Poppers actually..dare I say..
Purposefully emulated such black people like Usher, Janet, Michael, Rihanna, etc! You copied the stylings of hip hop, R&B and rap deliberately?!
What?! You copied black people and then worried about turning black! No! Just say it ain’t so!
Yep. Pretty much. So, next time you complain about a brother or sister showing up in Kpop for whatever reason, just remember: Either acknowledge that your entire industry is built on what Motown worked their bums off to found and don’t bite the hand that feeds. Or go ahead and bite, and don’t be suprised at the reprucussions.
Rome wasn’t built in a day; but it took a few hours to tear it down. *
*Not really, but it’s a fabulous analogy isn’t it?