Nun Song I

Can you recommend me a Western show? I wanted to watch Fawlty Towers, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Little Britain, but they removed all the episodes because of cultural appropriation.

Don't you think it is ironic? All three shows are considered to be one of the best Western shows ever... Watched by millions, but during the broadcast a few years ago no-one complained. Only last week did they decide to remove the episodes from Netflix.

However, instead of being more understanding with Backstreet Rookie, the "Westerners" immediately start finger pointing and accusing. Don't they realize that Korea is at least a few years behind on such sensitive topics than the US and Europe? It would show more class, if the Europeans and Americans would write: "Jeez, we used to be like that as well. But it is so wrong on so many levels." Instead they write: "How did this pass the screening. Do these people have no brain cells? Why are they so racist!" This is the highest form of hypocrisy, because there was a time not so long ago that these kind of shows also passed the screening of the BBC and FOX...

Look I am not saying that he is not Rastafarian. I think he is, but even so. I do not think that the director knew how sensitive dreadlocks are to black people. This is the same argument that you use to downplay my statement. The odds of the director having been to Berlin or San Francisco and seen hippies or people from Extinction Rebellion looking unwashed are quite a bit bigger than him going on expedition to Jamaica. To be fair, I think the director is not cultural aware that he is being insensitive.

But you are also not aware that you are being cultural insensitive yourself. The fact that the dreadlocks guy has all flies around him is because he is portrayed as a pervert. The Korean word for pervert is SSEULEGI (쓰레기) or trash/garbage.

You associated the flies with being Rastafarian, but the director is associating flies with him being a pervert.

Finally, the actor is that tanned naturally. What makes you think that the director would not paint him just black if he wanted to ridicule black people? I mean, blackface does not carry any meaning in Asia, right? There are Asian shows (for example, in Japan) where they still feature black face. Asia is a place where they just openly refuse serving a black person. What I am trying to say is, is that racism against black people is not that latent as in Europe or America. If they really wanted to discriminate against people of color, they would do it open and loud.

It was the "dirty bum" that allowed me to make the connection. In Korea, a pervert is literally called a dirty bum/trash/garbage... Hence, it became all clear...

Thanks. I am not sure whether it was your intention, but thanks to you I understand the idea of the flies. The reason that dude has all kinds of flies surrounding is not because the director is racist... It is to show that he is a pervert. The Korean word for pervert is SSEULEGI (쓰레기), which actually means trash/garbage. That is why the flies are surrounding him. Thanks, mate!

I think I would agree with you, but only for movies that glamorizes stuff that brings harm to other people. For example, Trainspotting - one of the best movies ever - sort of glamorizes drug use. Although it condones something illegal, I think that the movie should not be banned. If you decide to use drugs because you think it is cool after seeing that movie, then it is your personal choice. But it is a very thin line.

I think we agree on the big lines. You are not against artistic freedom, but more against people bending their moral beliefs. You are not the type of person that tries to guilt-talk people.

Having said that. What if people are still not able to distinguish the wrong things. Would you be the type of person to ban the drama/movie? For example, The Fast and The Furious-movies have been a major inspiration for young people to tune their car and even join illegal car races.

My apologies. I think I confused you with someone else. Stating your discomfort with the show is fine. Stating that glamorizing sexual harassment is distasteful, is also fine.

But I have seen commenters criticizing people for liking this show. Guilting people that like this show with statements such as: "If you like this show you are condoning racism and sexual harassment". Or K-netizens bombarding SBS to cancel the show, because they felt uncomfortable. This is censorship in my opinion. I also feel that talking people into dropping this show is also wrong. Just like trying to manipulate the ratings of this drama down by creating multiple accounts is wrong.

Again my apologies. I was more referring to the belligerent commenters here. I wrongfully thought that you were one of them, as I see you responding to a lot of comments.

Does not matter to me that it is glamorized.

Have you ever watched The Fast and The Furious? They glamorize illegal car racing and bank heists. Do you think it should be banned? No, it falls under artistic freedom. When should it be banned? When the director films the actors participating in real street races and performing real bank heists and incorporates these scenes in the movies.

If I follow you line of reasoning, you would also be against shows such as Suits, because it glamorizes working illegally as a lawyer.

IMO you have more problems with the lack of taste and judgment of the direction of Backstreet Rookie, but you should not force your opinion or try to silent people who actually enjoy watching the show. The script might be deplorable, but it is not illegal. It is fictional and the actors acting in the weird scenes are not forced to perform them against their will. So it falls under artistic freedom. If it was a documentary, then you would have a point.

As I said in response to Liuxx' comment, I can accept that people do not share my view on this topic, because there are clear signals that the behavior is not kosher. I also never said that it was not disturbing.

However, you prefer to silent every person or movie that is not PC. That is the point where you and I differ. My ancestors fought really hard for the freedoms I have in my daily life. The freedom of speech is one of the pillars in the democracy I am living. I think that there should be freedom to imagine, create and distribute diverse cultural expressions free of governmental censorship, political interference or the pressures of non-state actors.

TV should not only show the nice things. It should also be allowed to show the gruesome and less pleasant things of society, as long as the drama or movie does not break any rules in real life.

For example, one of the wives of Sun Yat Sen (the first president of the Republic of China) was only 13 when she married him (37 years old). Were there a biopic coming out on SYS' life, I am okay if there are explicit scenes between SYS and his wife. However, the actress playing his wife should be an adult. I think (but I can be wrong) that you would decide to either cut out the explicit scenes or change the age gap to something more acceptable (you would make her 18 for example). That is where my problems lie. Changing elements to fit to more acceptable social norms is censorship. It does not mean that it did/does not occur in real life.

Artistic freedom should come with the right parental advisory though. The hypothetical biopic of SYS, but also this show, should not be labelled as 15+ of course...

Thanks. The sexual harassment-part is my personal take and I understand that people do not accept this view. The dreads-part and the so-called exclusive right to appropriate it to the Rastafarian culture is something I cannot accept. To me, as an European, these are also part of the anarchist social movements' heritage. Although I do not share their beliefs, they have played an important part in Europe on topics such as climate and gender equality. I feel that they also should be acknowledged. Whenever you have seen their vocal protests, you will notice that the demographics include all kinds of ethnicities and gender, but a lot of them have that hairstyle. Also, people are extra-vulnerable when it comes to dreadlocks. Punkers have it much easier with their mohawks, whilst their hairstyle originated from the indigenous people of North America.

I explained in the message above you that dreads are also part of the squatters movement in Europe. These people adhere to an leftist ideology of anti-capitalism and anarchy. Dreads are not an exclusive part of the cultural heritage of Rastafarians. They are equally as important to members of Extinction Rebellion or Occupy and their predecessors

I understand both sides. Yes, there are some disturbing scenes that can be considered sexual harassment. However, both leads were adult and no one felt sexually harassed. Thus, the line becomes blurry. In Itaewon Class for example it was very obvious that Kim Da-Mi (also a high schooler) kissed AND pursued Park Seo Joon against his will. Most people were able to accept that and came with comments such as "she is ill, she is a sociopath". Pedosexuality is also an illness, but I do not think that anyone will be lenient with pedosexual behavior.

Dreadlocks can be considered racist. But if you have ever seen an anti-capitalist demonstration in the West, you will notice that many leftist people dress like that as well. These people often also have hygiene issues. They wear old ragged cloths (because they are anti-capitalist and environmental-friendly) and do not wash their hair often because they do not have running water in their squatted houses. This is not a stereotype, I know people that are part of these movements in Berlin, London and Amsterdam. The average protestor of the Occupy Wall Street Movement or Extinction Rebellion looks like this: https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/09/11/21/2C32EA4000000578-3231336-image-a-113_1442004242898.jpg or https://leidenlawblog.nl/images/uploads/_articleHeader/Extinction-Rebellion.jpg

Notice that dreads are an instrumental part of their wardrobe. It is also part of the hippie culture: https://i.pinimg.com/236x/98/43/62/9843626c52c9e18b299bfd3c0f3ec9e1--hippie-lifestyle-vegan-life.jpg

I do not know how it turned out that Black people started to claim dreads as a distinctive part of their culture. When I grew up in Europe, dreads were always culturally associated with leftist, anti-democratic, vegan-type of people that live in squatted houses. Via music of Bob Marley I started to associate them with Jamaicans, but less so than the anarchist social movement or countercultures in Europe.

Also, the fact that the dreadlocks guy has all flies around him is because he is portrayed as a pervert. The Korean word for pervert is SSEULEGI (쓰레기) or trash/garbage. So due to the fact that most of us cannot speak Korean, we thought that the director was racist. But in reality he was only using a metaphor.

Anyways, how did we end up in this snowflake-era? Movies such as American Beauty would not have received any funding in today's world, but are artistic masterpieces. Korean, French, German and Italian cinema also became popular because of their edginess. Try to watch a movie such as Blue Is The Warmest Color for example. In Japan, Jdramas such as The Naked Director became a worldwide phenom. Have anyone seen the hairstyle of the director of the Matrix and Sense8: https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Screen-Shot-2018-10-25-at-10.23.06-AM.png?resize=800,523... So why is this show criticized so hard?

Yes, it is disturbing, but do people really want to limit artistic freedom, because they are offended? The real problem I see with this show is that it is more 19+ than 15+. The rest I am able to overlook...