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orenonahaichigoda · 4 years

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I had a rough day, and came to a realisation. I will say a bit about my own experience, and then, after having to lay the groundwork of explaining 400 things about Japan because American schools and media think the whole world is the US, Western Europe, and places to blow up, making explaining necessary, will tie it to Ichigo, or at least how I portray him.

I'm Post Dankai Juniors, growing up in Japan. So's Kubo, actually. The boundaries of this Japanese generation are roughly '75 to '85, Yutori, the following generation that's always translated and localised as Millennial, pretty solidly set as beginning at '86. These things are always fuzzy because you can't vivisect living brains and find the part that likes char siu buns and the part that likes jazz fusion. I *majored* in Social Science. You'll have teachers who say "it is absolute that we date people who are similar to us because we're all actually narcists." (It *might* be because they're like our beloved family or community. Narcistic Personality is not universal) But it really just is fuzzy, and that teacher/book author is an idiot. Anyway, Yutori is always translated as Millennial. I don't know the end boundary. Post Dankai Juniors covers almost totally a debated throe for Germanic nations (I know Britain, Germany, and Nederland use the same generations as America, and their languages are Germanic) because of how fuzzy it all is, though.

Anyway, so since coming to the US, my interactions with other Asians, again, how is this defined when China, Mongolia, Japan all border Russia and West Asia includes Jordan and Saudi Arabia, South Asia is India's area, Southeast Asia is Laos, Thailand's area, I mean, find the Arabic kanji. I don't think Thailand even uses soy sauce. What the heck IS Asia, really? (Or "Middle East" when half of that's Africa and the other half shares plate with Europe? )

Anyway, my experience with Asians that are Boomer ages tends to be people who immigrated as adults, who more identity with a generation like "Dankai" or "Sirake." My experiences with Latinos older than me... I've never actually asked if the generational labels are even the same.

The thing about that is that when the name is the same, it means enough cultural traits are shared.

My biggest experience with people who grew up under the term "Boomer" are Black and white.

I've noticed a unifying trait.

If they're something oppressed (Black, gay), their attitude tends to be"it is mandatory to stand up for *my* demograph...but kicking the person behind me on the ladder in the teeth is wholesome, pure, and fun."

Outing me to large groups and saying I "speak Asian" seem to be the most common two. Calling me "Chinese" long after I've cleared this up for them is a close third.

I mean, don't get me wrong--my experience with Italian Americans past GI generation has been that now acquiring the "white" label, just like biphobic/aphobic/transphobic cisgays, they're more often staunch priveledge defenders than cishet people of Anglo descent! And it's just as true for X and Y as it is for Boomer (for the latter, one need only look at NYC destroyer and trump defender Giuliani) I actually don't really identify with my Italian side at all because I was kinda locked out of making any meaningful connection.

But back to my point that even in so-leftist-it's-almost-not-America Bay Area, Boomers are still like this!

The kind of stuff that flows out a X/Y TERF's mouth, or the mouth of an X/Y person with a Confederate flag on his wall, American-raised Boomers say with ease regardless of their alignment! It's banananas.

(Please note that I also just have not met a whole lot of Native Americans, period, nor enough people significantly older than me from any one place in Africa, that was an omission of lacking data, not intended as erasure)

How I tie it to Ichigo--

So Kubo avoids specifying birth years for anyone.

When I see something like this, I generally assume date of publication, as do most people in most fandoms (which of course gets screwy when you have something endlessly rebooted like Superman or Batman or something eternally unchanging like Detective Conan)

Anyway, the first Bleach something published was the comic in '01.

I generally assume it was supposed to be the start of a new school year, as Ichigo doesn't know many of his classmates until at least the first test scores come out. So it's probably April or something.

If Ichigo was 15 then, he'd also be Post Dankai Juniors, just barely. If Ichigo TURNED 15 shortly after, during his adventure, he'd be undebatably Millennial.

Now, there is still something up with Dankai and Sirake. PM Abe is the latter, b. 1954. A lot of his age-peers are behind him. This is the guy who supports remilitarisation and was caught funding a private militarist/fascist high(?) school that teaches that people from countries Japan conquered during its brief phase of trying to beat colonial Europe are less than dogs.

Now, I left there as a teen. Clinton was US president. Scandals still got people kicked out of public office in Japan. I hadn't figured or come out yet. Sure, I got bullied for being mixed, but kids will pick if you like different singers than the "cool" ones. They'll pick based on what's in your lunch. That data is sausage.

I'm not 100% sure what Ichigo would face day-to-day sociopolitically as he grew up/aged. I haven't had living family since'95 there, and friendships don't get deep enough to ever last distance until at least high school. For me, adulthood.

But I've kept/caught up enough (you try keeping up in the South before the internet was more than ten University sites!) that I know he'd face fascists (c'mon, the guy takes on a martial law government to save a new friend--that's anarchist, he just doesn't seem anarchist in his own world. He only fights humans in defence) I'm not sure how he'd feel about the JSDF, but he only fought the sinigami's war out of feeling like it was his responsibility because the adults around him kinda made it so. I super don't see him being for *starting* wars. In a human war, I see him actually being like Sugihara Chiune, a historical figure who died when I was a kid who I majorly admire. He worked at a Japanese embassy in Nazi territory, and when the embassy was evacuated,he continued throwing passports to Jewish people to go to Japan from the train he was departing on,and is hidden from Americans in the same spirit that Martin Luther King is...pulled the teeth out of. (PS, speaking of,go Google Steven Kiyosi Kuromiya)

Also, Ichigo's whole schtick is defending those worse off than him. He's not someone I see defending Yamato Japanese priveledge. Heck, I could see him joining Uchinanchu efforts to get Parliament and the US base to leave them alone. I can easily see him sticking up for a Filipino domestic worker he met thirty seconds ago.

To this end, I think regardless of what he is, he'd have a large rub with Japan's equivalents of Boomers.

Not to mention that Abe supporters tend to be very sexist and queerphobic, which isn't even homegrown but imported from Américanisation. I mean, there were female warriors--assasins, which is what Yoruichi and Soi-Fon are styled after, and go look at some Ukiyoe, like Utagawa Kitamaro. Quite a few artists in the 200-ish years of the Edo period depicted life in the queer districts. I've also had people posit that Noh might've been a welcoming draw for trans people the same way drag was all over the US in the twentieth century and still is in rural areas, where there's less cisgay gatekeeping. But this isn't something I can reasonably research without access to plenty of older and not well known dusty documents, and lots of time, and I live in the US many years now. And do you know how much round trip airfare alone is!? Also, the language changed so much and I can't read anything before Meiji without dropping words. Rukia, Byakuya, Yoruichi all have made for TV old-sounding Japanese like period dramas. Actual 18th Century Japanese would be unintelligible to the unspecialised.

So this stuff isn't really native, but Abe and a lot of people his age support all these -isms.

I super don't see Ichigo being happy about this.

(I also feel like Issin's old enough to remember before these -isms, but that's my own thing. In my project, he was in those districts, but that's me)

At the same time, I'm still writing this through my own lens. Also, not still being there, I just don't have enough data on Yutori in adulthood, or the grown Yutori lens. Honestly, even most other immigrants I meet are older than that. Or older than that and their adorable three year old children. So I have no clue.

In the early 2000s, I got myself from the South to CA and began to reconnect, but began to is the key phrase. I can tell you right now that Abe is as much of a second phase of Nakasone as trump is of Nakasone's buddy Regean. But what shifted when, I can't say. I'm not entirely sure how Koizumi ran the ship, as it were. I know some things, but not enough to say.

But whenever things shifted however, and whichever year Ichigo was born, I just cannot imagine him being any more on board with current events than really anyone in my area not born between 1946-1964 and raised in America.

I feel like he'd probably be too tired or self-effacing to fight for himself, but he'd take on, loud and proud, any bigotry against *others.*

I...also can't really say I'm much different, except my joints are held together by the power of wishes, so I'm more like "get the victim to safety" than "give the attacker plenty of regret." So, I can only do anything in limited ways.

Ichigo is also entirely fuelled by the power of love. Lost his ability to protect and feels like his sinigami friends ditched him? Mondo depressed, however much he wants no one to notice--which most do a great job of ignoring! Everyone in his world turned against him for a guy who has attacked people close to him? Terrified, and murder can now be an answer. (Fullbring Arc)

I was going somewhere with that. I've forgotten, but I'll leave it.

But anyway, I feel like he really only comes close to fighting for himself when others are taken away from him in a way that's also wronging them.

So yeah, I super don't see him happy with current events or Sirake gen.

I'm not sure how much I see him fighting for himself as mixed panromantic grey-ace. I mean, we know he fights people who are about to punch his face in for his looks, but what else can you reasonably do at that point? Get your head bashed in? I'm not sure how much I see him fighting hateful words pointed at him versus resigning himself to "people are the worst." I mean, when he talks about being picked on, he kinda seems resigned, or at least like it's a fact, like shoes being for outside or something.

I guess I tied it to Ichigo a lot better than I thought!

But also, the struggle against people born just after the war is not just you, and not just America. It's a major problem.

And it's likely that Ichigo would agree.

#out of body #musings #baby boomers #generation x #millennials #Japanese generations #Japanese politics #queerphobia #colonialism #moritomo gakuen scandal #sugihara chiune #japanese history #yoruichi shihouin #edo period

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wo-asianadventure · 6 years

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“Crazy Rich Asians” means more to Asian Americans and has little to do with Race!

For the last four weeks or so, Crazy Rich Asians has dominated the box office. Based off the novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan, the film has generated over $149.2 million USD worldwide in revenue. Developed with a minuscule budget of only $30 million USD, it is safe to say it was more than a success for Warner Bros., the film company who produced the film.

To be fair, Crazy Rich Asians not only deserves every cent it has made, but has earned it on its credits alone. The plot is good with some unique twists and turns that stray from your typical rom-com, the sets are detailed and highlight the movie’s title concept, and the acting was on par too.

With all the success it has earned, you’d think that Asians in general, not just Asian Americans, would blindly love the movie. Yes, we do love it, but not in the sense that is being utilized for social justice. Crazy Rich Asians means more to Asian Americans and has little to do with race. Don’t believe me? Let me explain.

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An Asian Rom-Com at Heart!

According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), Crazy Rich Asians is a contemporary romantic comedy starring Constance Wu, Henry Golding, and Michelle Yeoh. The story follows Rachel Chu (Wu), an American-born Chinese economics professor, who travels to her boyfriend Nick's (Golding) hometown of Singapore for his best friend's wedding. Before long, his secret is out: Nick is from a family that is impossibly wealthy, he's perhaps the most eligible bachelor in Asia, and every single woman in his ultra-rarefied social class is incredibly jealous of Rachel and wants to bring her down.

I can personally say the movie follows the aforementioned synopsis very well, but it also utilizes general Asian tropes that most Asians will recognize it while providing insight to those who don’t know about them a reason why said plot is progressing in the way it is. When Eleanor Young (Yeoh) talks about how Asians don’t follow their passions but pursue work for family and practicality, that is generally true. I, being Filipino, can personally attest that my mom wanted me to either be a nurse or a mailman as they were “stable” and “high-paying” jobs.

Even with all the little nods to general Asian tropes and the uniqueness added into the romantic comedy part of the plot, it is an Asian rom-com at heart. Social justice warriors in the media, especially those who write for news and entertainment sites that generally swing left, tried to play the movie as the first all-Asian cast movie to “make it.”

SJWs try to “reason” the success for Crazy Rich Asian

It does sound cool for Crazy Rich Asians to be known as the first all-Asian cast movie since The Joy Luck Club. Unfortunately, there is an issue in that statement SJWs have given to the movie: It is not the first all-Asian cast movie since The Joy Luck Club. If that statement were indeed fact, what about all the Chinese movies with an all-Chinese cast? What about all the Japanese movies with an all-Japanese cast? K-movies (Korean movies) with an all-Korean or diverse Asian cast. How about Pinoy movies with an all-Pinoy cast, so on and so forth. I think what SJWs tried to say is Crazy Rich Asians is the first all-Asian cast movie in Hollywood since The Joy Luck Club.

To be fair, the blunder of their statement is something they can bounce back from, but them saying Crazy Rich Asians is a “diverse Asian cast movie” is not. Sorry but it is not a diverse Asian cast movie. Where are the Japanese people, the Korean people, the Taiwanese people, the Indian people, the Filipino people, and the other people often recognized as Asian? If we really wanted to be honest with this movie, its title should be Crazy Rich Singaporeans from China.

Why is Crazy Rich Asians important to Asian Americans?

In the end, I have to give SJWs credit for stopping when they had to. The narrative for social justice was just digging a hole for them. Maybe that’s why there hasn’t been much racial arguments compared to other movies starring a cast that isn’t all-white. As a matter of fact, Asians are the ones who are criticizing Crazy Rich Asians more so than anyone else. With that in mind, many of us are understanding if a non-Asian person doesn’t consider Crazy Rich Asians to be the “best movie ever” as the media has reviewed it to be. Everyone is different and everyone has preferences. Everyone!

So the question is why is Crazy Rich Asians so important to Asian Americans? The answer is this:

Crazy Rich Asians showed that Asian Americans can be cast in multiple roles outside of the typical tropes (computer geek, period drama, etc.) they are often cast in Hollywood.

For the longest time, Hollywood has typecast Asian American actors into tropes they deem synonymous with Asians. This heavily limited acting opportunities for Asian Americans in Hollywood. Though we were annoyed and showed our displeasure for such, we did not stick around to stew in our disappointment. Many Asian Americans went back to their family’s home country to make a name for themselves. Guess what? It works many times. Take my home country of the Philippines for example. Many of our popular stars are from outside of the Philippines. They came in and became icons because opportunities were limited back where they lived. That includes Hollywood.

With Crazy Rich Asians, Asian Americans are now being recognized in Hollywood as actors and actresses who can play multiple roles, not just those associated with our race. Constance Wu is one of the actresses leading the charge as she has shown the girth of her acting chops not only in Crazy Rich Asians but also the popular television show Fresh Off the Boat.

As time goes by, I -- along with other Asian Americans -- hope to see Asian American actors play a diverse array of roles either it be minor, supporting, or main. Because in the end, Asian American actors indirectly don’t want to be known as Asian American actors. They want to be known as American actors, ones who are just as competitive with other actors despite race.

#Crazy Rich Asians #Constance Wu #Henry Golding #Asian American actors #Asian Americans #Hollywood #Asians in Hollywood #Asian Movies #Asians #The Joy Luck Club

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e-w-movement · 6 years

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The East to Western Movement

Growing up in a Filipino household, I never truly noticed the amount of Eastern Asian culture I was surrounded by. I was so used to watching anime before and after school or eating Asian foods my grandma cooked or bought from the supermarket down the road. It was not truly impactful until I was exposed to social media for the first time when I was 13. The impact of social media on the spread of international media is immaculate, as I watched throughout the years this spread of Eastern Asia taking over my news feed on Facebook and Twitter, to the point where it has almost become a social niche. Ranging from media to electronics to becoming so widespread that the Asian culture has become a fetish and aesthetic.

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The United States have always had an upperhand in media market, but in the last couple of decades, Asia has been trying to overcome and even challenge the west. Asia has one-seventh of the world’s population, yet they control two-thirds of the world’s total information control [here]. For example, a large breakthrough for Asian media is the growth of Japanese animations for the last couple of decades, specifically since 2013, where contracts from surrounding countries, including the United States, to own the rights to stream anime in their country has grown a tremendous 172% [here]. This is due to the influence of social media. Constantly, videos and pictures are shared, reviews bring certain shows to the top of the list, and friends bond and recommend shows to each other. It is a constant flow of exposure, which what has made mainstream animes, such as Naruto, Attack on Titan, and Dragon Ball, so popular to the point where anime conventions have become an event where thousands of people all over the country attend. San Diego had about 130,000 in attendance in 2017, with an economic impact of 140 million USD [here]. Of course not only Japanese Anime is the only thing given credit, as other popular U.S. shows and comics are included, it plays very big part. Just a couple weeks ago, I went to a local convention called Saboten where I watched several people dress up as their favorite character, including my best friend, and even spent more than I want to say on merchandise and posters (as you can see, my wall is growing in size).

Above Image is Mine

This popularity in anime has led to mascots and video games that have taken over the gaming industry. Pokemon has always been popular since the release of the game, making Pikachu an iconic mascot that even non-fans can recognize. This and Super Mario led to Nintendo’s worldwide popularity. Nintendo’s global net sales are an astonishing 9.95 billion USD and 75 billion USD in the global video game market, the U.S. being the largest share of Nintendo’s revenue (https://www.statista.com/topics/2284/nintendo/). Nintendo games have become a fan favorite, Pokemon and Legend of Zelda being big parts of childhoods. I have not met a single person, online and off, that don’t know or did not enjoy these games. There is also the influence of video games and anime on art, specifically fanart as seen on prints sold at conventions. Even my own art is heavily influenced by these, as I enjoy drawing my favorite characters from my favorite shows and games. This, in turn, causing my art to reach 300-400 notes on fanart on tumblr. This would not have been possible without the help of countries being connected through media and the internet in general, and that has only grown as technology has evolved altogether. A message and a post can spread within a matter of seconds all over the world. Without this, we’d be missing a part of our childhood.

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This can also be said about Asian film and media. Although not as popular as their anime counterparts, dramas and movies have been moving up, perhaps due to their storytelling that almost emulate those cheesy romance scenes you see in anime, or their stunning videography that make them so appealing. This can be seen specifically in the Korean industry, as movies like Train to Busan, A Love So Beautiful, and Descendants of the Sun, which are seen to be trending on Netflix. Usually, Asian dramas are typically shorter in length, so a lot of viewers tend to go towards them. This can also be seen in the popularity in some animes, which are shorter and usually have a interesting and flowing story line. The U.S. has also been introducing Asian actors and all Asian cast films into Hollywood, something rarely if ever seen before. Movies like Crazy Rich Asian ended up having a box office success of 76 million USD, and To All the Boys I’ve Loved before with an Asian female lead soared in popularity, but this wouldn’t have happened if not for the social media spread of Eastern Asian T.V. into Western media. Asians have always been cast as the nerdy side character or a comedic relief in sitcoms, yet in these films we see them portrayed as something more than that, someone human and not a martial artist specialist. This is important for young Asians in the West that don’t get very much representation in western media, making them feel left out, unattractive, and confused. Fortunately, this Eastern takeover has made Asians out to be more than a fetish dream, something we will get to more about later.

The U.S. has been seen making remakes of shows and movies like The Good Doctor (same title) and Boys Over Flowers (Between Boys and Friends), and upcoming is a remake of a popular Korean variety show, King of Masked Singer. Variety shows are popular for their ability to bring on famous pop singers and actors to learn more about them and make them seem like real people, rather than the pedestal they are put on here in the U.S.. King of Masked Singer is particularly popular for taking Idols and other popular T.V. persons to show their voice and talent, rather than their looks. This is important because of perfection that is portrayed in media, such as in music videos and T.V. shows. They are to be pure and without fault, making the idol status something to be sought after by not only young adults in eastern countries, but also now in the west as the spread of J-Pop and K-Pop has grown tremendously.

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K-Pop boy band BTS (as show above) and girl group BlackPink has hit the Billboard top 100, with BTS currently at 81 with their new hit “IDOL” ft. Nicki Minaj [here]�� and BlackPink formerly at 55 with their single “Ddu-Ddu Du” [here]. Though, many idol groups aren’t far behind this peak, like TWICE and EXO and many more climbing their way up with millions of views on Youtube. This increase is most likely due to that challenge of western standards, with many songs emulating pop genres and simplistic beats and twisting it into something catchy, almost hypnotic. You’ll hear many songs incorporate several genres into one, such as pop, rap, and even rock. Along with this is how flawless an idol looks in their videos, their skin seemingly free of all blemishes and fashion that isn’t something ridiculously over the top or painfully simple, but fashionable and wearable. It’s as if these idols are perfect, which is desirable for many young people. Who doesn’t want to seem perfect?

This ideal in looks has turned Asians from being seen as ugly and undesirable, to gorgeous, cute, and natural. This, in turn, going again that human standard I was talking about before. Soon, people began to ask how they keep their skin like their favorite idols, what makeup they use, and how their hair is cut. Unfortunately, the pedestal the west puts their stars on are nowhere near the God-level the east puts their idols on currently, no matter how many variety shows they are on. This human-like quality is being drowned out by this impossible standard of beauty and personality set by none other than eastern media themselves. Eastern Asian beauty products have had a huge impact on how the west does their skincare. Even large sellers, such as Sephora and Ulta, have a section on their website dedicated to Korean skincare. Even I have put Korean and Japanese beauty products into my daily routine, in order to achieve that perfect skin they have (as seen below) and I have to admit, they are working so far, but it really strikes home as I am writing this that perfection is really what we are looking for in today’s society and it’s very difficult to escape.

Above Image is Mine

This has also hurt the idea that fetishization of Asian culture has also gotten worse, much worse. For years, Asians have been seen as the perfect little wives, shy and obedient. Older white men in the west have turned to dating sites and other sites to look for a Asian wife to marry, but just Asian. As you can see in this short trailer for the film “Seeking Asian Female” by Debbie Lum, the “market” for Asian women is large and has been ongoing for years upon years, especially when the internet really took off. “Asian” has become a tag on pornography sites (along with other races as well, but it is dehumanizing to depict a race as a fetish itself). The perfection of women and men in Asian media has grown this over the past decade, as men and women alike have only wanted to date an eastern Asian man or woman because they “look the best”. Users on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram exposed to Asian media are known for using Asian people to fit their “aesthetic”, or even going as far as wishing and lying about being Asian has become the norm. The Asian culture has been boiled down to nothing more than simply… an aesthetic and a fetish. “When you generalize a specific race or group of people, you deny each and every one of them their individuality and their right to be who they are.” (http://beyondhallyu.com/k-pop/i-love-korean-boys-the-problem-of-fetishization/).

Yet, the east to west movement has opened up this opportunity to change this, as can be seen in western media movies like To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and Crazy Rich Asians. The people in this film are not perfect, far from it. They are shown as humans unlike the crazy high standards held in Eastern media itself. This would not have been done without the spread of eastern media to the west. Especially in To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, there is no emphasis on the lead’s race, she is simply a normal girl in high school falling in love.

While this widespread media exchange has had it’s ups and downs on society as a whole, I think we are getting to a place where acceptance is the goal. Social media is a place of opinions and has the potential of creating an entire social movement overnight. The East to Western movement has been on the move for decades, but it is coming to fruition now and creating a change in how the West perceives the East.

Written by Silvia Jordan

#asian #eastern asian #western media #BTS #BlackPink #K-Pop #to all the boys i've loved before #crazy rich asians #east to west #games #nintendo #pikachu #naruto #anime #j-pop #asian media #k-dramas

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daehwi · 7 years

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this might sound a bit rude but why is haknyeon even still in the top 11? i have nothing against him but i dont particularly like him either. he's managed to stay up there for so long without really having a "story", any notable talents, any memorable moments, lots of screentime, or just anything besides being jeju boy. im confused??? are knetz noticing something we arent??? i know he had a bit of a story during right round but even that was short lol pls help

!!Warning: long (possibly boring) post!!

It’s okay, buddy~

In short: He’s top 11 because he’s popular and he’s popular because he’s likable and he’s likable partly because he’s cute. I think that he’s remained stable in popularity (despite the reasons you’ve given) because of the way his popularity formed and the cultural context and cognitive biases that helped form it.

I answered an ask about this here where I talked a little about how culture plays a big role in “visuals” being super popular. In this post I will be fully expanding on the points of the previous post. In the future, I will be linking any asks about this topic to this post so I do not become redundant.

Disclaimer: I’m personally indifferent about Haknyeon- I can see why people think he’s cute but I don’t think he’s ready to be in top 11. This analysis is not intended to condemn or dismiss people’s reasons for liking him, it is also not meant to be the only reasons why he’s popular- I am merely exploring the cognitive and cultural factors that may have facilitated his popularity.

Disclaimer #2: I am not a professional psychologist/researcher/etc. I am a 3rd year cognitive science, computer programming double major who has worked in labs that study cultural differences in social and developmental psychology. I’ve done my best to research and cite the articles that I use to support my observations but feel free to bring up any discrepancies.

First, the timing:

March 9, 2017 - Mnet first unveiled the contestants through the Pick Me stage on MCountdown.

That same day, Mnet had a “Meet the Producers” event where the trainees met with fans and gave them gifts. Here’s a Naver link to their behind the scenes footage of the event.

March 10, 2017 - PR videos started being released.

April 7, 2017 - The show officially started airing.

Haknyeon caught a lot of people’s attention for being very cute and smiley at the “meet the national producers” event. Right after the event lots of people posted fan pics of him and he had fan sites popping up left and right- take a look at the twitter activity for his name on 3/9. And then on March 10, his PR video came out and people thought it was really endearing that he talked about Jeju and being a farm boy so he gained more fans.

Remember that this all happened BEFORE the season started airing. The fans hadn’t seen his talents/skills (other than what was shown in the PR video) and we hadn’t really seen anyone else’s skills/talents either. There wasn’t much to go on other than his personality and his looks and we didn’t have any way of properly comparing him to other trainees yet.

“Visual” culture:

The industry itself counts “visuals” as a position in kpop groups and the country as a whole places importance on being the best “you” you can be (as seen in their many skincare/makeup lines, minor plastic surgery -like eyelid surgery- being the norm, and their tendency to criticize). It may seem like visuals are more important in Korean culture because they are. This importance is even reflected in the fact that Korean language has more descriptive terms for people’s looks.

Examples, taken from Park, 2007 (pg. 55):

eoljjang (“face king,” a person with a handsome face), momjjang (“body king,” a person with a nice body), saengeol (a pretty face without any make-up), dongan (a young-looking face), longdari (slang term for “long legs”), jjukjjuk ppangppang (“long, slim, and supple”), S-line (hourglass figure), V-line (slender face), etc

The fact that Korea is homogeneous and has its own set of beauty standards/ideals also contributes to the disconnect between their culture and international fan’s cultures. That’s not to say other Asian cultures don’t share similar standards. In fact, John Nguyeat Erni and Siew Keng Chua argue that “racial proximity” can explain the popularity of K-drama/K-pop in Asia because of the shared “norms of beauty (male and female)… in contrast to perceived western outlooks” (quoted in Kim, 2007, pg 48).

I will not go more into these because I myself am not Korean nor have I studied these aspects sufficiently to feel confident in analyzing their role in “visual” popularity. But be aware that they exist and are large parts of the culture. (For further reading I recommend this study by Bissel & Chung where they discuss Korean socio-cultural attitudes toward ideal beauty).

The psychology of attractiveness:

It’s easy for people to become biased to a person when all they have are personality and visuals to judge them on. There is a cognitive bias that every human has in some degree or another where we tend to equate good looks with having good traits. It’s called the physical attractiveness stereotype. Studies have shown that “in a first-impression situation, [where you only have personality and visuals to judge on] a person’s level of attractiveness may evoke in a perceiver a set of expectancies” (Miller, 1970).

In 1997, Wheeler & Kim conducted a study with Korean university students where they found that Korean university students were more likely than North American university students to stereotype based on attractiveness and were more likely to rate attractive people are being more trustworthy.

In individualistic cultures, (i.e. US/Western Europe) the physical attractiveness stereotype tends to make observers perceive attractive people as more successful/powerful but it also causes observers to attribute more negative traits to attractive people and see their integrity/kindness as low. However, in collectivist cultures (i.e. East Asian countries) which stress harmony, attractive people are not seen as more powerful- instead they are seen as having higher integrity, loyalty, and other traits that culture values.

There is another cognitive bias called the halo effect where an observer’s positive impression of one aspect of a person (like their personality) makes other aspects of that person also appear positive to the observer.

One study found that subjects “significantly favored more attractive singers over the less attractive singers” even when their singing was poor. (Wapnick, Darrow, Kovacs, & Dalrymple, 1997).

Another study found that subjects rated an essay as more intelligent if the writer was attractive even when the essay itself was poorly written (Landy & Sigall 1975). Here is a quote from their study that explains the interactions between attractiveness and perception of talent (I’ve bolded some things that stood out to me):

The results of this experiment indicate thatthe physical attractiveness of an individualperforming a given task affects the manner inwhich people evaluate both the performanceand the performer. This was so even thoughthe task performance being evaluated wascompletely unrelated to the physical attractivenessof the performer. Thus, physical appearancenot only affects the way in whichothers react to a person, it also affects theway in which they react to that person’saccomplishments. (pg. 304)

Remember, these biases are often subconscious and we are not aware that we have them and are being influenced by them.

How it comes together:

Joo Haknyeon became popular because of his visuals and personality before the season started airing- in some part because of the physical attractiveness stereotype and in part because his personality is likable. Korean culture, in general, also places a lot of emphasis on “visuals”. In addition to this, the initial buzz on twitter gave him some very dedicated fans. When the season actually started airing, those fans already loved him so much that it didn’t matter if he had amazing talents or not- in their eyes, he’s the best and they want the best for him. This is the halo effect- because they love his personality and visuals, his fans are more likely to see the rest of him positively and disregard his shortcomings.

His lack of screen time only made his fandom more invested because it forced them to have to go the extra mile in finding content and information about him. Many have invested a lot effort, time, and emotions on him. (This is one of the reasons why fans are so rabid and why fans can become vicious if they feel betrayed by their idol, but I won’t go into that here).

The fact that people tend to question “Why is Haknyeon still in top 11?” etc. only strengthens the fandom because defending someone again and again only makes them believe in that person more. There’s also the confirmation bias at play- people interpret information in a way that confirms their existing beliefs- especially for emotionally charged things.

In conclusion:

There are several cognitive biases that influence how we perceive attractive people but their effect depends on culture. These reasons are not the only reasons why people like him and not every Korean fan is influenced by these biases. For the most part, though, cognitive biases and the cultural context are likely playing a role in some degree, even if people aren’t aware of it. That doesn’t make the influence wrong or the Korean perceptions wrong; it just makes them different from international perceptions.

Different cultures like different things- and a good portion of the Korean voters like Haknyeon. If you were born in Korea and grew up learning their values and immersed in their culture, you might also have liked Haknyeon. Even if you didn’t stan him, you might have included him in your top 11 vote just because he’s very cheerful and cute- which is what I think is happening. He has a big fandom, but it could also be that other fans tend to use him to fill up space. We’ll be able to assess true popularity and fandom power (and not just casual liking) once we get to 2 pick and 1 pick.

Anyway, if you read all of this, then yay! Feel free to send me a private message or an ask if anything is still confusing (and/or if you disagree and want to discuss this) and I’ll try to expand more on that particular piece. Again, in the future, I will be linking to this answer if anyone else asks this question.

#produce 101 #joo haknyeon #indepth #replies #anonymous #ignore the typos

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yehet-sebooty-ohorat · 7 years

Text

Buying Kpop Merch Tips from me

A small disclaimer from me first. This is just what I typically use. I know where are lots of other places you can order things from (like korean mall and kmall24) but I thought I would give some tips since a few people have asked me in the past few days

Also I will try to include as much information as possible but I may forget things. If you have questions you can send me an ask and I can try to answer them

Long post ahead

Places to buy from online(excluding ebay and Facebook):

Asia based: (these are in order of how much I use them)

Ktown4U

http://ktown4u.com

This will require you to make a login but don't worry about it

They carry pretty much all artists and almost all of their discography. Often they will sell tour goods as well

Is mainly just Kpop no drama stuff

Shipping is charged by weight and size

When you are checking out there are like 10 shipping options. Don't be too nervous about the cheapest one saying “untraceable” and “20-40″ days. I have found that they are very reliable and your package often comes much sooner than that.

Also sells some cosmetic stuff

Im pretty sure sales count for the Hantaeo/ gaon charts

Has fairly good customer service that gets back to you in a couple days at most if needed

Doesn't really save your cart but idk maybe I'm doing it wrong

Credit card or papal checkout

Mwave Shop

http://mwaveshop.interest.me

requires you to make a login

Primarily for Meet & Greet -> you can get signed albums from artists that are absolutely genuine because meet runs it. They also usually do a live stream. For every album you buy from an artist before a stream too you get a tile and have the chance to win special photo cards

It can take a long time to prepare the signed copies because of artist schedule and shipping can take a bit too

It is a bit hard to navigate to see shipping announcements. I usually get the email that it has shipped before it actually does.

Reliable

KpopTown

http://kpoptown.com

Requires that you make a login

Carries pretty much everything including ost (but not DVDs)

Will usually offer packages of all posters or album versions just before or shortly after an album is released

Confirmed counting on the Hanteo/ gaon charts

Sells accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, food, and fashion as well

Will often have signed albums for sale as well as cheap posters.

Album prices are low but you also have to pay shipping which is weight based. For them whey have teirs so you have to be careful, like a poster could change shipping from $7 to $25 really quick depending on the other goods you are purchasing

Sells SUM goods usually

In my experience their shipping was relatively fast

Credit card, paypal , western union

CDJapan

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp

You can checkout without an account by using paypal but then you can't use discounts or gain points

Focused on J-pop and ships from Japan

Does sell Kpop stuff too

Prices are relatively cheep as is shipping

Shipping time is a tossup because of customs. For Coming Over for example I got my albums in about 10 days but my friend got hers in 20 or so.

Don’t worry about untraceable shipping it is trustworthy

The user interface is a bit wonky but its functional

YesAsia

For US buyers - http://www.yesasia.com/us/en/home.html (they have a different site for different places around the world)

Requires that you make a login

Has Korean, Chinese, and Japanese stuff

Free shipping over $40

Has a wide variety of albums, merch, and Dvds

Has some tour stuff but its hard to tell if it is still in stock.

Prices are higher than other Asian based sellers but you can get free shipping fairly easily

Has some SUM goods and things like that

Are kind of slow in checking stock and restocking when necessary.

Ships relatively fast

Be careful when ordering DVDs and stuff that you check the region code on them and make sure you will be able to actually play the disc

KpopMart

https://kpopmart.com

requires that you create a login

Searching is a bit weird and using the menus is often better than the search bar

albums, some goods, drama stuff, cosmetic stuff, clothing items, accessories, J-pop

Pricing is low but not super

Shipping fees are sorta high and they only have 2 shipping options

I have heard they are kind of slow but still reliable

Most people prefer kpoptown over kpopmart

CatchopCD

https://www.catchopcd.net/en/

Requires that you make an account to order

As far as I can tell they do not do preorder stuff

Shipping is done by weight and they tell you that and how much weight you have. It is a little expensive.

Pricing for albums is relatively low

Only really sells music no goods or accessories.

US based (includes not online that I have been to):

Music Plaza ( online and physical)

http://www.music-plaza.com

Requires that you make an account to purchase online

Allows tracking and such. Charges US domestic shipping fees.

They carry pretty much all albums, allow pre-order, and have some goods and magazines

They are located on Korea Town Los Angeles and I went there while I took a trip for the EXO’luXion. The store is kind of small but the amount of merch is not it is full to the brim.

Customer service is absolutely amazing. Missing a photo card? Need help with something else? They respond quickly and resolve your problem quickly.

Always includes an extra gift with purchase

Prices are more expensive than ordering from Korea due to the items being shipped over

They don't remove out of stock items from their site so you have to check.

Often will make bundles of all versions or posters of an album

Kpop Shop of Chicago - Chicago (physical only)

This store was very nice. Full of official and unofficial goods and a great atmosphere really.

If you are in Chicago it is located in Chinatown

Reliable and fair pricing

Albums, manmade goods, official goods, wall scrolls, shirts, etc

A bit unpredictable in open times

Very nice staff

Koryo Books - NYC (physical only)

They are actually a bookstore in Korea town in manhattan.

They have a little section of the store where they are stocked with the albums for most Kpop groups.

posters, some unofficial merch, and some magazines and newspapers.

Very nice people.

What I buy where typically

Typically I will shop around for albums to find what works best and ends up being cheapest. Recently I have been ordering most of my albums and stuff from Ktown4U and most accessories from eBay.

Keep an eye out for group orders too (typically Facebook or twitter) . Often they are good ways to get merch that you would not otherwise be able to get.

If I am in a major city I always make sure to visit a kpop store if they have one because I love the atmosphere and kpop is playing and people there love the same things as you and its so great to pick up albums yourself and hold them all.

Ebay tips

Ok first : eBay is the land of fanmade goods.

While this is true you can still buy albums and stuff off here as well as goods and expect them to be official.

The majority of fan-made goods are going to be clothing and plush stuff. Albums are almost always genuine as are posters and photo cards.

I would say though that you still need to be careful. Always check seller descriptions to make sure they aren't fan-made and to be sure that if you order clothing you will get the right size.

READING SELLER DESCRIPTIONS IS A MUST

if they don't have a good one they become less trustworthy

If you are buying signed goods that is when it is more tricky. There is really no way to tell for sure if something in genuine but if the seller got it from the Mwave meet and greet or something like that you can probably safely assume it is genuine.

Shipping

Typically shipping will only be free if you are buying from the country you reside in. Really you need to decide for yourself if extra shipping cost is going to be worth it or not.

Also if you are shipping from a seller in Asia and you are not in Asia it will still take 1-5 weeks (depending on method though usually about 2) for it to get to you

Facebook tips

For photo cards and such I find that Facebook groups are one of the best places to look. Typically you will get people selling or trading just about anything you could want and it is a good way to fill in your collection.

Be aware that some people do scam on Facebook, especially since there is no garuntee because Facebook is not a site typically used for selling goods. Really the best thing you can do id pay attention to what other people are saying. If someone says someone is trustworthy they usually are and if someone says to stay away from a certain person then you should probably do that as well

Amazon Tips

I don't use amazon like at all because things can be more expensive there than they need to be. It is still a good source though but like I said, usually unnecessarily expensive

Photo card tips

Photo cards are really exciting things to buy and trade but you have to be careful because fan-made cards are also relatively common

1. Know exactly what the official ones look like both front and back. Really if the card doesn't even look official then its not. Be aware though that photo cards do not only come in albums. There are often tour photo cards as well as ones for other goods that an artist may endorse

2. Search around a bit

Really you should never pay more than $15 for a photo card (unless it has a special circumstance like the ver A of EXO MAMA photo cards because those are limited and could go for more). Typically you should be able to buy one for about $7-12

The best places for doing this are ebay (just boring) and Facebook groups (buy and trade). If you happen to live near a kpop store you can also usually trade there with other people. Many stores will offer places to trade.

Poster tips

For me I have found that it is best to just pay $2-3 extra when buying an album to get an unfolded poster as well. It is much cheeper than buying a poster on its own later on.

KpopTown will sell posters for $0-2 a lot but you still have to pay shipping and often people on the internet will sell for $8-$20 depending on the poster.

Tour posters will either have to be purchased at actual concerts or searched for on eBay and Facebook and are typically acquired for the largest amount of money.

Shipping price tips

Really shipping comes down to your preference.

If you are shopping from Asia shipping is something that will be paid. There are many teirs of shipping, typically tracking EMS is the most expensive but also the fastest.

If you don't have the money though don't worry about getting the cheapest shipping option, even if it says untraceable. A lot of times you can ask the seller and they can help you if you have questions, though a lot of times they cannot take responsibility for mail getting lost.

For SUM merch and stuff like that

KpopTown definitely is most likely to have it. It will usually be kind of expensive though but still around the price it would be sold for in the actually Coex Arutm or SUM shop or company specific store.

Ktown4U will sometimes have things though they have very limited quantities and often sell out quickly.

eBay is also a good place to check. If you are searching here make sure you know keywords and exact names for goods like “Lotto Postcard Set” or “EXO Melody Fairy Badge” and make sure you try multiple searches because you never know what sellers will name things.

Yep thats all I can think of right now. Like I said if you have any questions my ask box is open and I can try to answer them.

Hope this is helpful!

- Alicia (Sehun trash and certified merch hoe)

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