Okay, first drama post. *stretches nervously and takes deep breaths* I got this.
So, Happycake and I recently finished the 2012 drama “Shut Up Flower Boy Band”, also known as “Shut Up and Let’s Go”. Well, okay, I finished it, she dealt with old feels since she’d watched it before me. It is an amazing drama about high school friendship, romance, and of course rockin’ music, with underlying messages about the difficult path towards - and away from - fame. As with most KDramas, this will take your emotions and fling them out the window - but then, that’s also what we love about most KDramas.
On to the things we learned!
- Friendship is important.
Nothing says friendship like getting beat up together. (Image via DramaFever) I love the emphasis on the bonds of friendship in this drama. These guys are really more than best friends, they’re brothers - and they’re always looking out for one another, no matter what the cost to themselves. You all know I’m thinking about how Ji Hyuk practically shoved Hyun Soo out of the failing band so that Hyun Soo could be successful and get the money to help his sister. If you don’t think that’s true friendship, I don’t know where you’ve been all your life but you’ve probably been alone. - That being said, doing what you love is also important.
Though he's the band's keyboardist, all Kyung Jong wants to do is become a chef. (Image via Google Search) This is the reason I love this drama so much. I’ll be honest, in the end I expected the band to take that opportunity in Japan and reunite in happiness. Heck, Hyun Soo was even willing to leave his career in Korea for his friends, which more than convinced me. But Ji Hyuk raised an excellent question: “Is this what we really want?” The guys were so convinced that being together for the sake of their dead friend (who probably would not have wanted them to endure what they did at the hands of the agency just for the sake of his music) was more important than truly understanding their own needs that they’d lost sight of their own individual goals, becoming nothing more than part of a group whose image was manufactured by a company. The fact that they chose to pursue their own paths at the end, discovering who they actually were instead of subscribing to a predetermined way of living just spoke to me on so many levels. - “Love is...putting someone else’s needs before yours…”
Don't you DARE let go! And yet, Soo Ah does. (Image via Tumblr) Like how Soo Ah broke up with Ji Hyuk and left him forever. Or at least, was going to. (Olaf from Frozen is just so applicable at this moment...or maybe it’s because I’ve watched it 1000+ times at the insistence of my sister…) All references aside, I appreciate how the main female lead Soo Ah handled herself in this drama. She doesn’t rely on Ji Hyuk to help her, but rather picks herself up when she’s in a bad place and keeps moving, finding her own place to live and getting a job when her father can’t come back to provide for her (which makes Ji Hyuk’s attempts to help her much sweeter than if she had been typical damsel in distress). She also doesn’t think twice about breaking up with Ji Hyuk for what at the moment appears to be his own good, a refreshing change from a girl who would probably sob and insist that Ji Hyuk loved fame more than he loved her. In this action we can also see the strength of her love for Ji Hyuk, in that she’s willing to let him go in order to have him follow his dream (probably cliché but really nobody cares at this moment). - Sometimes actors CAN sing.
Ji Hyuk rocks out (Image via Google Search) At first I was a little apprehensive when I found out Ji Hyuk was going to sing. I’ve seen some actors who think since they can act so well, they can probably sing too. As one might imagine, that never works out well. But as soon as I heard “Jaywalking”, I loved it. Yeah, Sung Joon is no Jung Yong Hwa (my bias is showing, sorry), but the song is lovely and upbeat and I can’t imagine anyone else singing it (except me, off-key and scrubbing away at dinner dishes). - The Korean entertainment industry is difficult.
Ji Hyuk wonders if the difficulty in the industry is worth Byung Hee's song (Image via Tumblr) As I was watching the boys deal with the sudden hardship in their lives after signing with the agency, I couldn’t help but think that the writers had to have pulled this material from somewhere. Is this what it’s like, then, if an artist wants to maintain their original image? Do they have to choose between staying true to themselves and fighting both the company and the fickle public, or letting the company mold them into an image they may not like? How many real groups have had to face this decision, and how many of them chose to be themselves and take on that conflict? After watching this drama and considering these questions, I gained a lot of respect for all the groups in Korea, even the ones I’m not particularly interested in. I was made aware that though we see them for what they are created to be onstage, we’re not aware of what they were before that spotlight. We don’t know what they had to give up to be there, or what they may have to sacrifice on a daily basis. So before you make that comment on how you hate this group member’s dance style or how that member makes all the other members look bad because he or she doesn’t work hard enough, just think about that for a moment.
Of course, these are only some of the lessons this drama has to offer. The best way to fully understand and learn the rest of them? Watch the drama yourself. ;D
Until the next drama!
~BeanSprout
No comments:
Post a Comment