The Kpop Industry and Zombie Stage 1, along with other references I found:
btw content warning of exploitation and sexual assault
Please read part one of this post before reading this
Moving on to these scenes. Mizi is being mentally and physically drained and exploited for her sex appeal by the idol industry. We can see this in her photoshoot where we eventually undresses on camera, as well as other photos of her in revealing clothing, and her getting dragged online. This reminded me of two things: Perfect Blue and Revolutionary Girl Utena.
In perfect blue, Miwa was an idol that quit to become an actress. This led to her getting exploited for her body. She took on a role as a prostitute in a movie that included a rape scene, even though she despised it. And she was coerced into taking nude photos by a photographer. During Miwa’s photoshoot, she is wearing a similar outfit and in a similar setting as Mizi, notice the plain white shirt and white bedsheets.
There is also a specific pose Mizi is in during the photoshoot that reminded me of Revolutionary Girl Utena (yes we are back with the RGU references in ALNST. Thank you ViviMeng for bringing back more trauma for me). In episode 33 of the anime, Utena does this pose right after she is raped by Akio, the chairman of her school and main antagonist of the story due to being a manipulative, grooming, incestuous, abusive piece of shit. Utena, like Miwa and Mizi, was taken advantage of men and those with power over her.
Oh also Nayeon, the idol I mentioned in my previous post when comparing Mizi’s outfits to her’s, she has been seen in very revealing tops and short dresses/skirts. She has also been seen to be visibly uncomfortable in them, either constantly covering herself with her hands or moving her skirt downward to adjust it while walking.
I think she also showed up to an event in a really short dress and people were concerned because she was also underage at the time.
Moving on to something more lighthearted. There’s a screenshot of Mizi at an event on stage with water everywhere. This is clearly a water bomb festival. The water bomb festival takes place in the summer and it’s a time for kpop idols to be in revealing summer outfits and throw water at the fans. Everyone gets splashed at, including the idols, but it’s more known for the idols getting the fans wet.
Also I’d like to point out this scene where Mizi is smoking. It’s actually quite common for idols to smoke, especially male idols. Female idols have gotten into controversies for smoking though.
Now here’s something messed up. After Mizi runs off frustrated, mentally and physically drained because of what the idol industry has done to her, we are in Sua’s pov. She stands there doing nothing. Not even when a zombie passes by in Mizi’s direction, leading up to her getting infected. Sua let it all happen. Lowkey I think Sua did this on purpose.
Cause look how happy Sua is when she has Mizi tied up. It’s giving Ivan when he’s beating up Till.
Then Sua kisses/assaults her, causing her to get infected as well. Now why would Sua do this? Why would Sua want Mizi to become a zombie? Well knowing how bad her mental stability is and that if she were to win round 1 in alien stage and not Mizi, she would break because she can’t live in a world without Mizi. In the world of Zombie Stage, Sua is losing Mizi to the idol industry. We literally see the light in her eyes die. So what does Sua do? She lets Mizi get infected by a zombie so she can live forever. And then Sua gets herself infected by kissing Mizi so she can live forever with Mizi. Ngl that’s messed up because Mizi loves Sua. Cause like the idol industry, Sua disregarded her autonomy. And now Mizi is forced to perform as an idol forever.
Lowkey this reminded me of Vivinos’s My September animation. The one where the black haired girl assaults the corpse of her unrequited crush.
And finally, I want to point out a small part of the fanchant. It’s a bit of a stretch but it reminded me of the song Like Ooh Aah by TWICE. TWICE is known for being overworked and having a majority male fanbase (wow it’s like I mentioned something like that before in this post. It’s all connecting).
Oh but there’s more. The music video for Like Ooh Ahh takes places in a ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE.
BUTS THERES MORE. BECAUSE WHAT IDOL GROUP IS NAYEON FROM. NAYEON IS FROM TWICE.
ITS ALL CONNECTING OMGGG.
And that’s all I gotta say. I’ll definitely be back for round 2 of zombie stage.
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