Showing posts with label off topic. Show all posts
Is Dancing a Talent?
To dance. When asking Google's definition, the exact defining words are given as so: move rhythmically to music, typically following a set sequence of steps, with the synonyms (that aren't really up-to-par, in my opinion) being sway, trip, twirl, whirl, pirouette and gyrate. When asking a normal person's definition, it would probably be similar to the scientific, wordy phrase used by the biggest website in the world. However, if questioning a Korean pop fan their definition of this "movement of music", there would be two different answers being fought over across the board: Dancing is moving to the rhythm and beat, following a tune, and requires hardwork and practice to improve because it is a talent, and, dancing is moving to the rhythm and beat, following a tune, and requires hardwork and practice to improve because it most definitely is not a talent. And while there is a constant argument throughout the Korean pop fandom (under all the fanwars and jitters over whether a new comeback is awesome, of course) questioning which statement is the most valid, I want to go into this further and confirm which side is correct: is dancing a talent or not.We can all dance.
But we can't all dance well.
We always say this about singing, whether or not someone is trying to prove that singing is more than just breathing out a note or making harmonious sound in conjunction to the track their playing, however, whenever someone says the same about dancing, there is always backlash coming from the other side. Now, now, I'm not saying that the other side is wrong, however, this statement is true.
We can all dance, of course.
But we can't all dance well, and therefore, should give the good dancers props for being able to well, move their bodies better than we can.
But, because I'm a fan of Google definitions, I took the liberty to try to prove the claim as to whether or not dancing is actually a talent, looking at the sentence as if it was actually 'dancing = talent' and wanting to know what the actual, factual definition of talent was in order to continue going on with this blog post. Here's what I came up with (I made sure to link the Google definitions if you guys think I'm just pulling these out of my ass):
If you can't read that or emitted horrifying screams after seeing my smiley face with a moustache, the relevant definition of talent is as so: natural aptitude or skill. (Aptitude's definition: natural ability to do something). Look at my other opened tab, natural's definition. Since I'm too lazy to create another masterpiece of the definition of natural, here is the most relevant adjective definition of natural (since natural is used as an adjective defining talent):
existing in or caused by nature; not made or caused by humankind.
basically, this means that you are born with it.
This is not something training can bring to you.
This is not something vocal lessons can bring to you.
This is not something that fans can pretend you have.
This is something that you have been gifted with.
A talent is natural.
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| All the stans of any group but SPICA, Ailee or Brown Eyed Girls (i.e. not known for dance) getting shaky now |
What does this mean, though?
Dancing can be a talent as a talent can be dancing. Some people are naturally born with being flexible, for example, SHINee's Key who noted something about him dancing to the beat at his audition. However, for some idols, it's not the case. It's virtually impossible for some idols to be considered 'full of talent in dancing' because they inherited the talent for dancing through training.
They did not come our from their mother's womb knowing how to dance perfectly. In fact, knowing most of these idols, they probably did not come out of the mother's womb knowing how to do anything at all but look pretty.
You cannot fucking sit here and tell me SM Entertainment took YoonA because she was talented in anything. I'm not hating against YoonA. It's just that she's the perfect example in this case. She exhibits confidence and likeability (aka she'll be able to make money) in her audition if anything... but if you call that talent, Hyoyeon must be a fucking god in dancing. A fucking god.
There's no hard feelings against idols who learned how to dance however, using YoonA as a perfectly good example as shown in the audition clip above. Clearly, she was not a good dancer then however, improved to be a good dancer now. Is she talented? By definition, no. She's currently a good dancer, yes, a better dancer than I could be anyday (here SONEs, I self-depricated, happy now or are you going to argue with me that YoonA is actually talented?) however, she is not talented. There is no skill. No skill that was naturally given to her at birth but was rather learned in years and years of practice.
And there are tons of other idols that fall into that mold, this, not just applying to YoonA but rather, to many other idols in dancing... as well as in different 'talents' like singing and rapping.
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To conclude, dancing is a talent. Dancing can be a natural apititude or skill you are blessed with at birth. However, the word talent is flung around like a rag doll without people actually knowing what they're saying. Many idols are not 'talented' in dancing, singing, rapping, etc. but are rather 'good' at it. Of course, there are idols who do have talent in their specific skill however, the majority rules;
The majority (not all) of Korean pop idols whom are not talented in singing and can dance well are not talented in dancing but are rather, good at it. They improve their dancing overtime in training and there's nothing wrong with that.
"The K-Pop Effect" - Plastic Surgery: A Positive or Negative Force?
It's undeniable--K-Pop has gone global, it's largest anchor being none other than PSY's fantastically viral hit song, Gangnam Style, which not only placed #2 on the iTunes chart (much higher up than any other K-Pop song known to man) but also, replaced Justin Bieber's Baby as the most watched YouTube video, LMFAO Party Rock anthem as the most liked and other celebrities who were releasing songs as the most talked about at that moment in time. But rather than thinking of simply the 'one-hit-wonder or two-hit-wonder, still-more-hits-than-your-biases', why don't we look more in the depths of the music, analyzing and viewing the positive and negative effects of not only K-Pop itself, but the Hallyu Wave and figuring out this question's answer: Is the K-Pop effect a positive or a negative force?
Us international fans mostly forget about Korea or simply, don't have a good view and make up the opinion of what Korean's think through netizen comments that have 100 likes and simple assumptions and guesstimates so to say, not really upholding the true effect of K-Pop. K-Pop in Korea can best be described as a 'fascination', hooking people with their catchy songs and receiving love with their outstanding and charming looks, the influence of how K-Pop infects daily lives otherwise known as 'The K-Pop Effect' , inheriting its name from SBS's Dateline. Watch the clip below which projects the actual effect of K-Pop on national Korean citizens starring the lovely Annie Ko of LOVEXSTEREO who was also interviewed by us and asked a question pertaining to her views on surgery.
Teenagers are the biggest victims of the K-Pop effect anywhere including the origin of South Korea, everyone knowing about Girls' Generation or Big Bang regardless of what age group they belong to (which is similar to that of your country knowing of the biggest pop artist--everyone not liking them but everyone acknowledging their existence), but the young ones usually being the most gullible and influenced. As seen in the video and can easily summarize the 16 minute clip, appearance is a huge and key factor for normal people especially for ones who acknowledge the existence of K-Pop. Most normal people apparently resort to plastic surgery as said by a Korean female in the clip who has lived overseas in America and most inspired by their favorite idols to get plastic surgery. To be honest, it's hard to escape the 'pressure to be perfect' when your favorite celebrities have gone through changes that are inexplicable when judging from past photos, idols being simply everywhere as stated in this article pertaining to idol actors.
Nevertheless, a Korean female who's otherwise known as 'JW Cinderella' of the JW plastic surgery clinic whom had actually went under the knife revealed her side of the story:
If you have a complex, you should have a surgery and be free from the complex, I strongly recommend. Of course, each person has their own beauty. However, surgery could improve their complex, it will be good.I agree with this to an extent, plastic surgery can free you from a complex and will be good if it does. But from the popular MTV show Girl Code, the girls decoded plastic surgery and the cast members even said things that can be summarized like this:
Makeup can fix anything plastic surgery can fix but plastic surgery is permanent. They can screw up surgery but if you're good at makeup, it'll be okay.
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| Maybe we should all be like Tanisha |
Why?
Because the media influences you to aim for perfection, all of those women who are a size 0, have the most radiant looking faces and are marketted as goddesses change your view on yourself.
Which is exactly what K-Pop does to women.
And that's the thing.
Now whether the strive to be perfect is a positive or negative force is debatable. I mean, of course, there are some cases where it could drive a woman to be less lazy and care more about herself, maybe taking a jog once in a while and actually washing and moisturizing her face. However, with the plethora of Korean women (and I mean plethora) throwing their money out of their pockets in order to get a straighter nose, larger eyes and a prettier smile just because of a few women on the television screen, I want to say that the K-Pop Effect definitely is not something positive. And whether or not we can fix the consequences of it is still unknown.
The Big, Ugly Post about Beauty in Korea
V-line. Double eyelid. High cheekbones. Pale, milky skin... all small elements which add up to equation of beauty in South Korea. With the high demand of being beautiful or at least a somewhat 'physically attractive' addition to the country, it may seem a bit challenging to express oneself and be unique with their own individual charms and style. Whether the beauty standards in Korea is an concern or something we really don't need to worry about, it's undoubtedly obvious beauty standards are popular and valued heavily in South Korea and should be a topic that's openly discussed rather than just simply looked at then brushed off to the side.
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| Miss Korea 2012, Kim Yumi |
First off, all societies are different. Just because own countries ideals are against Korean ideals of 'one type of beauty' doesn't mean that it's wrong because let's face it--subtly, most people in every single country find the traits showcased and desired from Korean beauty standards as the best traits to possess, anyway, and isn't much different than your's.
Nonetheless, rather than blaming the set beauty standards on the whole Korean population themselves, how about we blame it on the Korean society and how they portray, incorporate and basically shove down people's throats beauty in everyday lives which causes people to feel insecure about themselves? To be honest, it's nearly impossible not to be persuaded to go under the knife with:
• ads and images of it everywhere encouraging the procedure celebrities
• role models whom you follow and basically worship having indescribable changes on their face from their past photos to their current photos.
• even the mere existence of shows like 'Let Beauty' which promises plastic surgery to a person with apparent physical problems (for example, an underbite jaw) however, going over and above with the surgery and correcting things that never required revision (like getting a boob job, double eyelid surgery, etc.) are things that can persuade the public to do it. Likewise, the show 'Let Me In' where a bully victim shares a measly sob story, then goes to plastic surgery as a reward isn't helping either, simpler to the American television show 'Teen Mom' and basically encouraging people who are bullied to hate themselves even more and want to get a billion surgeries as if that will make things better.
• clinics showcasing and giving discounts on plastic surgery for graduation presents as well as 'packages', equivalent to like a "buy 1, get one half off" deal.
• When applying to jobs in Korea, you have to send in a picture of yourself first... some people not even getting jobs due to their 'ugliness' and are forced to go under the knife if they want to put food on the table.
• If you're pretty and go into a store, they'll give you discounts and all kinds of shit. The ugly people? Nothing but full price.
With a society that projects 'beauty is everything' and 'will help you overcome all your problems', it's difficult not to want to fix one of your attributes that sets you different from everyone since you want to be live everyone. With literally one in five Seoul women going under the knife (and one in twenty men), the society also makes it seem like 'hmm... plastic surgery isn't that big of a deal since it's common therefore, get it!'.
Nonetheless, rather than blaming the set beauty standards on the whole Korean population themselves, how about we blame it on the Korean society and how they portray, incorporate and basically shove down people's throats beauty in everyday lives which causes people to feel insecure about themselves? To be honest, it's nearly impossible not to be persuaded to go under the knife with:
• ads and images of it everywhere encouraging the procedure celebrities
• role models whom you follow and basically worship having indescribable changes on their face from their past photos to their current photos.
• even the mere existence of shows like 'Let Beauty' which promises plastic surgery to a person with apparent physical problems (for example, an underbite jaw) however, going over and above with the surgery and correcting things that never required revision (like getting a boob job, double eyelid surgery, etc.) are things that can persuade the public to do it. Likewise, the show 'Let Me In' where a bully victim shares a measly sob story, then goes to plastic surgery as a reward isn't helping either, simpler to the American television show 'Teen Mom' and basically encouraging people who are bullied to hate themselves even more and want to get a billion surgeries as if that will make things better.
• clinics showcasing and giving discounts on plastic surgery for graduation presents as well as 'packages', equivalent to like a "buy 1, get one half off" deal.
• When applying to jobs in Korea, you have to send in a picture of yourself first... some people not even getting jobs due to their 'ugliness' and are forced to go under the knife if they want to put food on the table.
• If you're pretty and go into a store, they'll give you discounts and all kinds of shit. The ugly people? Nothing but full price.
With a society that projects 'beauty is everything' and 'will help you overcome all your problems', it's difficult not to want to fix one of your attributes that sets you different from everyone since you want to be live everyone. With literally one in five Seoul women going under the knife (and one in twenty men), the society also makes it seem like 'hmm... plastic surgery isn't that big of a deal since it's common therefore, get it!'.
The solution
I'm not going to be optimistic and beat around the bush--I don't think there's anyway possible in the near future of clearing any of this up. What unrealistic foreigners don't understand is that, sure, you can attempt to teach one person one thing, but the second you try to shove your testimony of how not just one person, but millions of people in one country has to change their perspective and basically how they live their life in order to live a happier and more fulfilling one down their throats, there'll be absolutely nothing good coming out on either end. I mean, it's just the society and culture they grew up in and accustomed themselves in so of course, they have different beliefs and views of the world. As mentioned before, not every single society needs to fit the standards of your country just because you see your country's ideals superior to the next country's. Not to mention, South Korea is doing fine as is, and from the looks of netizen comments it's obvious that people know the right and wrong with beauty, going too far with it and can tell that the world is different through everyone's eyes.
Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old; Some like it hot, some like it cold, Some like it in the pot, nine days old.
All these comments about how women should have some fat on their thighs (replying to an article about thigh gaps, most comments are saying gaps are good) just because men like it that way are stupid ㅋㅋㅋ Women were not born to fulfill your sexual needs. Your preferences on the issue do not matter.Certainly, educating South Korean children and possibly the immigration of more foreigners would help, people being able to see and of course, mix more cultures together and see that beauty isn't everything. Ultimately, it's great to remember that little nursery rhyme, Pease Porridge Hot that subtly builds the idea that people have differences and not everyone is the same and have different preferences:
