Posts by mariaVSkpop

So, after two episodes I watched so far, interesting setup, good production design, beautiful environments, the white robe guys are awesomely scary, I like the cinematography, the casting is good (Rosamund Pike is great as always), some dodgy cgi and visual fx here and there (but forgivable due to budgetary constraints), but, but, buuuut.... the direction and editing are absolutely horrible at times, for example the scene at the first episode in the inn had so many cuts and weird camera positioning and editing that I lost the orientation of the scene & almost got dizzy.

I haven't read the books (I know some story points and background due to osmosis) but I am curious to see if this ends up as another butchered adaptation (GoT, Foundation, Cowboy Bebop etc) or if it ends up great and faithful enough like Villeneuve's Dune.

1. The Japanese bubble already burst in the late 80s and 90s. They are in stagnation ever since, they are not getting worse or better. Meanwhile, Japan's debt is internal, held by japanese citizens, japanese investment firms etc..

2.The European countries debt is also not really that severe or dangerous since it is backed by the ECB and the various mechanisms established during the 2010s crisis and then the pandemic. Even the greek debt is not that bad.

The percentage of greek debt to gdp is that high because the gdp has shrank around 35% in the previous 12 years so it does not reflect the debt in absolute numbers, greece btw has a positive primary surplus since around 2012 i think. Also, the current government has changed many of the previous administrations' policies (especially the dreadful 4 years of the previous radical leftist government which caused the disaster of 2015) so the economy is bound to bounce back sooner rather than later (greece is now one of the fastest recovering countries in the EU after the pandemic). They also replace previous debt and with new bonds at much lower rates (the 10 year bonds where above 6% not even 5 years ago, now they are around 1% if i remember correctly).

3. If you really want to look where the next big debt bubble that will destroy the world economy is, look at china, not at the central governmental level but the local governments. It is there where they bury their debt so that it doesn't show as central government debt, and it has been in the trillions and growing uncontrollably for nearly a decade.

In the sports world, especially football, supporters of teams have had nicknames/fan names for decades - even for more than a century in some cases, and even within a teams supporter group there are occasions where a specific group of ultras has its own name. Why do kpop fans have to say everything starts from kpop. Is it a form of validation or something?

Where is the "Other" option? Anyways. The biggest problem I see is the expansion and normalization of "cultural hyperreality" or whatever you call the bending or even rejecting of reality and logic in order to facilitate parasocial relationships and group identification. I have never seen this phenomenon present in such a degree anywhere as I have during the last few weeks that i've been looking into kpop.

Quote from chuusaintyves

This was inspired by the bullying scandals, however I'm posting it to the lounge as it's a general life question.

Can people change who they are at their core? Can a mean person (for instance a high school bully) over time transform into a good person? or do you believe that people inside don't change, rather with age people mature and learn how to conduct their behavior to survive in society?

Change in hormone levels, neuroplasticity and change in brain structure, events like losing family members, friends, health problems, being part of the work force or just traveling or moving out of home, and the simple fact of accumulating more experiences, knowledge and wisdom as one grows old means that change is inevitable.

Now, can an asshole stop being an asshole? In cases of people with low empathy (psychopaths), or people with anti-social behaviour or personality disorders that is difficult I guess, but could happen with proper professional help. For the rest, yes it is possible to become a completely different person, I would say it in more cases it is the case. And even if they don't really change, the consequences are completely different in the adult world. You act as an asshole in your work, it is possible you will be fired, act like an asshole on the street, you never know how the other person would react in a given situation, and so on. So while they could still be assholes, they don't act it out as much.

You should check theory of mind if you are interested in this, I know it is the area of psychology which studies these things, but I am not a psychologist so there's that.

The problem is in the definition of the word refugee. In greece for example for many years until recently (namely before the whole Evros situation form last year), there was a huuuuuge push in the media and from political organizations, NGOs, and especially, political parties on the left to put economic migrants at the same position as refugees.

For example, pakistani, algerians, moroccons, afghanis, nigerians etc etc should be viewed the same as people from syria who were escaping war, and provided free housing, jobs etc. This, in a country who has lost more than 30% of its economy during the crisis, and unemployment in youths (under 35 yo) is around 40% and in general population just below 20%. When people started saying, this is not right, it makes no sense, they were attacked as racists etc. And then the way immigrants behavde in many cases was really aggressive, like putting fires and destroying property and facilities and equipment.

So when the evros crisis happened, there was no way media and politicians continue to push this, and now they are changing their positions and how they speak about immigration. There was a time when reporters and articles about pakistani would call them refugees. Now almost no media does that. But the situation was poisoned so much by the media and leftist parties (the coalition of the radical left party - SYRIZA - was government from 2015 to 2020 in greece) and the backlash inevitably crosses over to refugees and their status.

For me, refugees are refugees, you do what you must to help them. This does not mean you have to keep them for ever, only until it is safe to return back home. Immigrants are immigrants, if they don't follow the laws, there is no reason to be accepted by any country for whatever reason. And if a country wishes to limit immigration they have every right to do so.

Quote from ArmyBlink0

I really don't know lol. I think it is because the America is west of South Korea so you know people call it western entertainment. I also think it might have to do with what some Knetz call the american industry. I think a lot of them call it the western industry or something similar so kpop stans use that name too. I kind of got used to it so I don't mind it.

Oh, i get it. It really seemed weird because for example in Europe each country has its own pop scene and they are very different from one another, not to include other music genres and scenes like rock or jazz or classical which still are western music/part of the western music industry too, so I was like, why are they saying western for the American pop when it also includes so many countries and scenes. it makes sense if the focus was on the US to view it like that and then it was taken up by the fans. thank you.

Quote from ArmyBlink0

Since we are saying which industry we prefer I say kpop. Kpop has everything I was looking for. People that know how to present themselves musically, fan content, kind people and more. Recently, the western industry has become kind of boring. The songs aren't really what they used to be with hits here and there. It kind of reminds me of the Indian musical industry when I completely left it. The only western artist I hardcore stan now is Ariana Grande.

can I ask you something? I am not being aggresive or anything. I have seen this many times last weeks and it still gets under my skin when i see it and it kind of angers me, people in the kpop community saying western music, or western industry and even western pop, and they really mean top40 or mainstream american pop. Why is that? maybe it is just me, but i find it really weird. It is like me saying asian music and just mean kpop or jpop. makes no sense.

Quote from Zenning

Those were some great examples, not gonna lie I found the modern jazz especially intriguing, if you have more on those I'd love to hear.

Yeah, I've heard from older people about the party scene in Europe in those days and how legendary they used to be, wish I'd lived in those times and could've experienced it

The American pop music scene might be regressing further and further - speeded up by American music companies who're only going for the bare bottomline - but as you said, it provides opportunities for music trends and artists all over the world to jump in and fill the gap, especially since internet and social media has made it so much easier to get acquainted with music from all over the world.

So it's sad to see how far American pop music (and not only its pop music) has fallen from its peaks in their glory days, but that's the way of change, other music genres and scenes incl non-American can blossom.

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Yeah, I have been told stories about the raves and the open air parties too by older people. Everything sounded fun.

the american mainstream is more or less in complete collapse musically. The productions remain top notch most of the time (sound engineers and studios in the US are among the best in the world, definitely above kpop, so if a song has instruments recorded like strings, or brass or whatever, probably they are going to sound incredible). It helps that minimalism is the trend nowadays so you don't have to put a ton of different sounds and instruments in a song and can keep it simpler, so the mixes in american pop sound less chaotic. But yeah, in terms of melody and chords and song parts, they don't sound interesting most of the times. It makes sense if you are into pop to get bored of it and seek other scenes, and kpop seems to fill this gap nowadays.

For the jazz you mentioned, at this point, other than the US scene of course, the UK - especially London - scene is becoming really huge. It used to be japan, no it is the UK. There are also some south american artists which are making a name for themselves.

Quote from keaji

I agree with what the users said previously. I would just like to add that people like to feel powerful and being smartasses and they like to bring other people down with it, I guess it makes them feel better (being the users or famous people/idols). Anonymity also helps with that. And being a kpop forum people get too emotionally invested and want just one narrative, so it's hard to have some double sided discussions. There is a lot of good users that are nice to have discussions about kpop or other things here too, but with some it's just not worth discussing if they are not even trying to understand your point. They'll never understand you, so it's not worth your effort or time.

That's my point of view at least. I don't know what kind of discussions were you talking about, but for me, I just concentrate on what I like to discuss here and don't even go to threads that are provocative, some people seem to provoke out of boredom (or to 'prove' how their faves are superior, but they just bring hate to them).

yes there are cool people in the forum. I had a couple of really nice discussions the previous days about music. It was really fun. But there are also people who are more antagonistic and aggressive it seems.

I don't have a problem with people correcting me when I am wrong. For example in that specific thread I admitted that my thinking had flaws and i asked how we could approach the question better because the other people also had flaws in their arguments. Some people want to get a victory over others and not discuss. I am aware of that. but I have never seen such antagonism to the point of calling someone stupid or clown or whatever, from the first one or two comments, and then continue calling them names after they gave up. It was an interesting experience and the comments here have given me a better perspective.

Quote from MissBehave

I'm really sorry you went through that. I thought you were talking about some snippiness or rudeness. Name calling and attacks is really out of line and against the rules. I hope that someone notified the mods and they took care of it for you. I hope your experiences in the future are much better. :)

No problem. Please don't think that it was something really awful. it was just so immediate and by so many people at once, I became a bit overwhelmed. And I was trying to have a conversation and some common ground and I was thinking, wait is this thing I am saying stupid, am i really a clown and stupid and stuff? Maybe i really said something wrong or offensive. I was so confused.

Hey thanks everyone for your comments. The name calling and attacking started immediately and caught me by surprise, that's all. Especially because i didn't say anything negative about anyone and was attacked from multiple users all at once and each comment I was trying to form a proper response 2 or 3 more would pop up. I have never seen something like that in the forums I was a member before and it was such a weird experience. Thank you all very much for your responses. They really helped understand the situation a bit more. Let's all have a great rest of the weekend.

I don't even know if this is the correct area to post this. Well since I am kind of new in the kpop related stuff and don't really use social media, and I have limited experience with interactions with kpop fans, other than reading these posts in this and a couple of other websites this really is weird.

Details are not important, but I see this thread, i vote that I disagree with the thread, and then I post why i disagree with the thread,as you do in forums to have a discussion. Did not attack the artist (even said they are huge), or any of the posters. My god, people immediately attacked me like there is no tomorrow. And with such rudeness. I did not troll, did not call anyone any names, presented my case and tried to have a discussion, even agreeing with people when they offered their arguments, yet my god the aggressiveness and the rudeness.

I have never seen such an immediate reaction to other forums I was a member of in the past (such a thing usually happens only after a significant number of posts and heated discussion). So is this normal for the website or am I just weird? I mean, ok i am a newbie in kpop related stuff I understand that, but I am sure people who have interacted with me in the past days know that I try to have conversations and I don't troll. This was such a weird experience? Wow! If this is what usually happens, why participate in such a forum in the first place.

Quote from Freddie235X

Discovered packaging was few days old at the age of 3 ?

We have a prodigy here~

Maybe 4, definitely before age 6, I don't remember exactly. I discovered the present a few days before new year's eve (which is when gifts are given/exchanged in my country). Open closet, nice wrapping, curious kid, you can guess the rest. A warning to future parents, don't leave wrapped gift where the kids can reach them, especially if you have a curious child.

Quote from Freddie235X

How did you find out about it?

I did when about 9 when mom secretly came to my room on X'mas eve put a toy car next to my bed while she thought I was asleep but I wasn't.

3 or 4 years old. I discovered the gift packaged some days before, my parents said yes this is what happens. Was cool because I could then ask for a present months in advance and even if it was a bit expensive it was ok because a) it would be added into the budget way in advance as a future expense, b) i would have to be patient for months and not act stupid, which i guess added an "I earned it" vibe to it. Maybe this is why I don't compulsory consume now that I am an adult. Never really thought of that connection until today. Thanks OP.

Quote from nakajima-yuto

Even idol group like Dreamcatcher who sing rock songs on their entire discographies never called themselves as 'Rock band'.

You might don't familiar with TXT but in Freeze album alone, they use various concept, diverse music genre, wearing different styles.

I never mentioned the groups themselves doing it, i mentioned groups adopting an appearance or an approach from another music subculture (and i didn't even criticize that) and then the fans themselves starting claiming that suddenly the group or the idol belongs to that subculture, and let's be real here, not only belongs but they even go as far as saying that they are kings or queens of that subculture. You know and I know that this happens frequently. This is what i criticized. Please, read more carefully next time.

Quote

This reminds me of Baby Metal, while a whole Japanese netizens gatekeeping them for being called as metal group, because in reality they're idol group who coincidentally singing metal, so they're not wrong either. But actually it's metalheads who accepted them the way they are. Still epic how 3 little Japanese girls singing in Japanese but make a crowd went crazy in Glastonbury. In the end, people just enjoy their music, even tho they're idol group. As simple as that.

Babymetal from the start was a metal project, had metal musicians and production team involved, sounded like metal, just had idols as frontwomen and jpop promo/interaction logic. This is nothing new for rock/metal btw, Ronnie James Dio, the singer of bands like Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Heaven and Hell was a doowop singer in the start of his career before going to Rainbow. And not to mention musicians like Apocalyptica and Tigran Hamasyan are respected and welcomed in the rock/metal community. So i don't know what is your point here.

actually not bad, I am surprised this sounds so good based on how much hyper-processed HYBE produced music is. Really kudos. On the other hand, there is much to be said of kpop idols occasionally wearing the "rock costume" or the "spanish music custome" and their fans immediately pretending they and their idols belong to a subculture that realistically kpop has little to nothing to do with.

Quote from superyeah

Yeah, I saw these. Can't be selectively advocating for a cause. It's either all or nothing. My problem with a lot of activism is that it's based on hype and trends. If you're advocating for social justice for one race, you should be treating other races with respect behind the scenes as well.

It is as you say. it is the whole wokification or however you call the whole corporate signaling these days. Used to be the famines in africa, then Tibet and south africa, then the climate, now it's BLM, new feminism or whatever else trends on twitter this afternoon. As if corporations and their products like billie eilish ever really cared for any of it. You don't hear anyone talking about Tibet nowadays do you? Apartheid ended so all is great in SA. I guess the famines and the other problems were solved?

Dignity and consistency are words that don't exist in the vocabulary of the corporate world.

Nah, i am not an alt. 80s, early 90s songs like meatlof's are still heard on the radio and on tv series here from time to time, especially the ballads. Like that robin hood song from bryan adams, bon jovi, motley crue even. But like i said, I was never really invested on the whole scene from that time so my knowledge is somewhat limited. maybe i should mention savatage or something for the lulz, man in the mirror or whatever.

Quote from BlackpinkHouse

Springsteen has competition when it comes to my all time faves, and Meatloaf (and Jim Steinman moreso maybe, he's the genius who wrote so many legendary songs and most of Meat's hits) are the top contenders.

If you have time, tell me what you think of this song. It's not a Meatloaf song but Steinman wrote it for one of his other big name singers, Bonnie Tyler.

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Bonnie tyler is a awesome. Total eclipse is still my favourite from her, the hero one was probably one of my favorites as a kid. For some reason she went to eurovision a few years back with the UK, did not do well i think. This is a nice song though.

Found it, around 2.55