the angel (jay), the witch (daniel), and the audacity of this bitch (gun)
Lookism (2014-) is a South Korean webtoon written and illustrated by Park Taejoon (PTJ). It revolves around Park Hyung Seok / Daniel Park, who was bullied and “an unattractive loner who wakes up in a different body” which is “tall, handsome, and cooler than ever” (Naver Webtoon) when he transfers to J High. Daniel desires to find the secret behind why he now has two bodies, and in the process of doing so, he gets involved with two key characters: Hong Jae Yeol / Jay Hong, who eventually becomes one of his closest friends; and Park Jong Gun / Gun Park, who is a major antagonist of the series. This essay will explore the extent to which Jay and Gun can be seen as character parallels of each other through investigating their similarities and differences.
First and foremost, Jay and Gun have various similarities. Most of these are explicitly shown throughout the webtoon - for example, they are both smokers, as well as trained fighters, with Jay shown using Systema and Kali Arnis, and Gun with a multitude of martial arts including Aikido, Kyokushin Karate, and Capoeira. They are also both affiliated with wealthy families and corporations, as Jay is the second son of chaebol organisation H Group’s CEO Hong Kyeong Yeong / Steve Hong and younger brother of H Group’s future heir Hong Kitae, while Gun is one of the Ten Geniuses raised by Choi Dongsoo / Charles Choi, who is the CEO of H Group’s competitor HNH Company and the hired bodyguard of Charles Choi’s daughter Crystal Choi. But this is not the extent of their similarities.
Moreover, Jay and Gun are both closely linked with Lookism’s main character, Daniel. However, their relationships with Daniel also mark the biggest difference between them: their treatment of Daniel.
In the first chapter of Daniel’s arrival at J High, Jay is shown to have some kind of interest in him compared to the rest of their class:
The isolated panel of Jay’s parted lips proceeded by a bust-up panel of Jay (Chapter 4) juxtaposes the grouped reactions of the rest of the class. Although Jay never speaks, he is almost always one of the first individuals to come running to Daniel’s aid whenever he is in trouble in future chapters, eventually solidifying his place in Daniel’s friend circle. Daniel is also one of the only characters in the series capable of perfectly interpreting Jay’s silences. Whatever Jay’s exact interest in Daniel is has never explicitly been stated, but PTJ has implied that Jay is homosexual and harbors a crush on Daniel, claiming "큰형석을 짝사랑(?) 한다” (@/ptj.comics on instagram), which roughly translates to “I have a onesided love(?) for Big Hyung Seok”, referring to Daniel’s second body. Time and time again, Jay has shown himself to be willing to sacrifice anything and everything for Daniel, including himself.
Similar to Jay, Gun shows an interest in Daniel almost immediately after meeting him on his own, yet the way he treats Daniel is wildly different. He constantly fights Daniel or the boys in Daniel’s friend group, causing Daniel no small amount of stress and worry. Yet, after Big Daniel is kidnapped by Park Jinyoung, the original Daniel goes to Gun and asks for Gun to train him into becoming a better fighter so he doesn’t “have to solve his own problems” (Chapter 397), this is what Gun says after beating Daniel up:
In the earlier panel, Jay is drawn in bright lighting as he looks at Daniel, suggesting that Daniel brings light to Jay’s life. However, in this panel (Chapter 397: The Kidnapping of Daniel Park - 4) Gun is shown walking into the darkness while dragging Daniel’s bloodied and unconscious body behind him. This suggests that Gun is willing to destroy Daniel - both in mind and body - for his own goals, and ‘for Daniel’s sake’, providing a contrast to Jay.
In conclusion, Jay and Gun have many similarities regarding their backgrounds, but meeting Daniel brings out the self-destructive side of Jay while bringing out the destructive side of Gun at the same time. Thus, Jay and Gun can be interpreted as character parallels through careful analysis of their probably-toxic relationships with Daniel Park.
This semi-bullshit essay was not proof-read but is dedicated to @lookismaddict all the same for enabling this humble writer.
It is true that this UNO design looks quite minimalistic and modern; however, its color scheme of more black and less of its well-known set of red, yellow, green, and blue does trouble some of the public. It is very probable that this style can make one feel like they need a classier or more elegant setting in order to play it properly, which was almost surely never the case in terms of the cards that have been in play for many years. In the image above (source below), the original set is compared to a Fiat Multipla (Type 186), which was in production from 1998-2013--while the newest UNO is compared to a Lamborghini Aventador, which started in 2011 and is still being produced today. The Multipla is often made fun of because of its shape, which is looked at as peculiar or just plain ugly, compared to other cars. It has won multiple “Ugliest Car” awards, as well. Its color, in this photo, which is red, typically signifies playfulness or adventurousness within products. The Aventador, however, is and has always been generally thought of as a luxury car. Additionally, it has an added spoiler--signifying speed (and an added price, as well). Its color, which is black, is typically thought of as classy because of its soft sheen and ability to be unnoticed. It is also comparatively drastically more expensive than the Multipla--the original price of the Fiat is currently unknown, but with questionably accurate math, the Aventador is worth about 3500 times the worth of the Multipla’s worth in 1988, which was its beginning year, and car values lower over time. Comparing these two cars with the sets of cards show that people will think of UNO as more of a high-class card game, which in turn may raise its prices, since most things thought of as luxurious are proportionally more expensive than similar products in their fields. Tabletop games are intended to be fun and easy--but with this new set, they soon might no longer be looked at this way.
There are lots of videos out on the internet lands but by far the objectively best kind are the ones that follow the format of "<insert song here> BUT…"
I'm talking about Never Gonna Give You Up but the lyrics are alphabetically organized. I'm referring to All Star but it’s in a minor key and terrifying. I mean Megalovania but they swapped beats around and now it sounds like a song from a pirate movie. Every single one. Instant delight. And of these one of the most well-rounded ways to do this is mashing up two unrelated songs. Taking established songs, often already memes of their own, and improves them by layering other songs over it that somehow make it even more of a banger than before… this process is how one obtains such works of art as I Want It That Way But There’s A Platypus Controlling Me, or I’m Blue but it’s somehow also All Star. Having watched many of these videos in my life, I believe I have narrowed down the exact qualities that make a song like this perfect for this meme format. In this 1645 word essay I will…
…analyze each of these qualities and use them to determine the scientifically-proven greatest of all meme mashup songs.
Now before we begin it is important to specify that these characteristics are specifically in relation to mashups with other songs. It goes without saying that Never Gonna Give You Up is the greatest meme song of them all, for reasons I doubt I need to outline here. It’s quality only pales when one’s focus is zoomed in to analyze a specific subsection of meme song, such as the meme song/pop song mashup video subgenre, in which NGGYU may not be quite as powerful as some other choices for this specific type of meme.
Now, if a meme is to go viral and be popular, it needs to be instantly recognizable. This applies, of course, to meme songs as well, which is why it is important for a meme song to have an extremely catchy and memorable primary melody. Beyond allowing the meme song to more easily translate into other genres, this also can immediately notify the listener that they have been memed - for instance, recognition sets in the moment you register that “someBODY once told me” or those first seven repeating notes that signal you’ve just been rickrolled. For our mashup meme genre specifically, this also provides an important grounding piece. Though the beats, melody, and lyrics of the mashup song will be interspersed throughout, an iconic musical primary melody is required to tie the whole song together and remind you that, while you are also listening to a popular song, the meme song is present too. As an extension of this concept, the meme song is best if it has an extended musical break, especially when that serves as the song’s chorus, permitting the guest song’s chorus lyrics to sing over the meme song’s iconic melody.
What’s also important, however, is a set of sung lyrics that form the verses, even if the chorus is instrumental. It’s good to have the guest chorus over the meme melody, but a good meme/popular mashup should also provide opportunities for the guest song to be a backing track to the lyrics of the meme song. The best examples of this will have simple yet iconic lyrics, often following a rhythm and melody that’s easy to fit into any other song. The more iconic and quotable the lyrics, the easier they are to memorize and therefore recognize in the unfamiliar context of the guest song’s melody.
So to summarize, we need meme lyrics over iconic guest melody, and guest chorus over iconic meme chorus. In addition, the best meme mashups allow the most iconic bits of the guest and meme melody to play simultaneously, even if the guest must be sped up, slowed down, or re-performed in a different style in order to accommodate the meme. This might come alongside the chorus depending on the layout of the meme and guest song in question.
As a final note, it is also important for the performance of the singer(s) of the tune to be suitably unique. This may manifest itself in several different ways, be it a unique voice such as the Doofenshmirtz parody mentioned above, incredible physical movements and dances such as those done by the iconic Epic Sax Guy (which is especially helpful for completely instrumental memes), or a variety of other possibilities. This is very open-ended, and as long as there’s something, it helps a lot, regardless of what that something is.
Now, on the less musical side, there are more aspects to the meme that causes videos to become even better when mashed up with a guest song. Firstly, one lyric or musical section must become its own form of sub-iconic, second to the song’s melody as a whole yet still iconic enough for the creators to riff on. For instance, the meme song might have a certain specific line that gets special attention to blending with the guest track, something that receives special attention throughout the mashup’s run so that listeners, rather than thinking they’ve heard it all by the first fifteen seconds, know they have something to look forward to when THAT line comes around.
Finally - and this applies to not just song mashup memes, but memes in general - meme songs must have an icon. What would Megalovania be without Sans popping up? All Star without Shrek? The Epic Sax Guy music without the Epic Sax Guy himself and his Epic Sax Dance Moves? This is not a die-hard rule, but more often than not being able to put a face to the meme is a major part of growing its popularity, and therefore recognizability, and therefore mashupability.
Now, as you read through these rules, you may be starting to think that I had a specific meme in mind when I created this essay. Indeed, I do believe that, in the realm of meme song/popular song mashup videos, one meme song is almost perfectly crafted to fit these criteria and become the greatest possible meme song for mashups of the generation. Which song, you ask? Well, what else could it be but the timeless We Are Number One?
We Are Number One, initially created as a part of Icelandic children’s television series Lazy Town, fits practically every requirement for a meme-mashup-able song perfectly. Let’s run back through the list quick. An iconic melody? Even long before I’d ever heard of this song I had the melody stuck in my head. It’s the first thing that plays in the song, once again prompting instant recognition (even if the mashup skips the opening “I can see that I will have to teach you how to be villains!”) and is additionally quite easy to layer over any other background music brought in by the guest song, allowing the mashup to remain recognizable as both the meme and the guest.
We Are Number One is also structured practically perfectly - starting out with that iconic melody the song is known for before launching into a lyric block. This first lyric block is the most measured and regular of the lyrics throughout, allowing it to easily overlay the music of the guest song. Next follows an extended musical break, repeating the song’s main melody, perfectly timed for the chorus of the guest song to hit and play along with that We Are Number One tune. The second lyric break, which follows, has the more goofy, more iconic lyrics, providing the mashup to play with them in ways not seen before, referencing “this net that I just found”, plans to make him “slip and slide on this banana peel”, and of course that wonderful shout of “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Then, once the mashup has had its fun with the wonkier lyrics, that extended main chorus appears once more, allowing the song’s finale to shine through blending once again the iconic melody of whatever guest song is chosen with that infuriatingly catchy We Are Number One tune.
As for the lyrics? Well, I’ve already mentioned some of what makes them work, but major bonus points have to be given to the chants of “we are number one” - yes, the song’s title - throughout the instrumental section. These can easily be treated less as lyrics and more as music of their own interrupting the guest song for maximum comedic effect. Then, that sub-iconic aspect that I mentioned? Well, the more you start hearing We Are Number One parodies, the more you start to grow excited for the singer to exclaim “Now look at this net, that I just found! When I say go, be ready to throw - go!” It’s the most popular line to reference outside of the song itself and is often singled out for fun bonus treats, becoming its own form of centerpiece. Not to mention the comments are always filled with some kind of guest-song-related net joke, just to sweeten the deal.
And as for the performance of the lead singer? This works quite well, as the lead singer is also the meme icon of this particular song - I refer of course to Robbie Rotten. Stefàn Karl Stefànsson is truly wonderful in his role here - I’ve never watched a single episode of Lazy Town yet can already tell from this song that Robbie Rotten is a fantastically iconic villain, the perfect epitome of the bumbling children’s tv show comically evil supervillain. His performance makes him the perfect icon to represent We Are Number One.
Every meme video made of We Are Number One made a good choice; each aspect of the song is perfectly designed for maximum memeability and mashupability. Truly, when it comes to musical meme song mashups, We Are Number One is and always will be number one.
As a person who has spent a considerably long time on the internet browsing memes in the past years, I have come to the conclusion, that 2k16 was probably the most important year for memes.
The memes and events of this year not only revolutionized the format of memes but also changed the way memes were perceived by the general public. 2016 was the year in which the power of memes was finally recognized, which ultimately led to the commercialization and weaponization memes aswell.
Changing Formats
The memes of 2016 are the very foundation of present-day memes (2019) as far as format is concerned. Before 2016, memes were usually simple: a funny picture or standard template with top and bottom text in the Impact font (all caps). I am not saying that all memes were like this, but the majority was using the format we came to love on 9gag.
The changing of formats was the immediate result of the two big shifts in social media platforms.
Changing Social Media Landscape
The first big shift was the result of the 2016 presidential campaigns and elections. Twitter would have not turned into the political force it is today if it weren't for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders. Trumps endless, unbearable yet entertaining tweets ultimately led to more memes being tweeted in response to the situation. Memes somewhat became more relevant, because they mocked or favored a certain candidate and thus were used or criticized by supporters, voters, campaign people, candidates, old school media and news outlets and thus the general public. This is when shit hit the fan: Memes were no longer on Tumblr and 9gag but on Good Morning America and the New York Times. Pepe was hijacked by right-wing assholes and Hillary danced the whip and nae nae. I mean even Brexit resulted in gazillion memes too. Meme culture sorta flourished in reaction to the scary circumstances. I've read an interesting article recently on how meme culture is similar to the Dada movement, which “consisted of artists who rejected the logic and reason of modern capitalist society, instead expressing nonsense, irrationality, discontent with violence, war, and nationalism.” Most of 2016s memes have this kind of sentiment tbh.
The other big shift was the death of Vine. Although Vine died at the end of 2016 in December, big Vine personalities urged their fanbases to migrate with them (after the announcement in October) to other platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. Content creators such as Lele Pons, Jake Paul, Curtis Lepore, and others who were making 6-second videos up to then had to migrate to platforms that required more creativity and talent. Unfortunately, the migration to youtube and Instagram resulted in terrible content and memes and memes about how terrible they were.
Commercialization
I think the increasing commercialization as the result of baby boomers being aware of memes became clear when Ellen invited Damn Daniel to her show. It was a somewhat funny meme that should have died down quick, but the fact that Ellen put him on the show led to a total misinterpretation of memes and meme culture
The Positive
Until now I have only listed or talked about the bad things that happened to memes and meme culture but contrary to your belief: 2016 was the best year in memes because of the memes themselves. Let me list them for you so you can understand:
If a ... wore Pants
Dabbing Squidward
Kazoo Kid
Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer
Bee Movie
Panicking Mr. Crabs
Dat Boi
Angry Spongebob
Harambe
Arthur Fist
Nut Button
Hugh Mungus
Kevin Bone
Doorman
Evil Kermit
We are Number One
Meme Calendar
2016 the year of realizing things
Clowns
Pokemon Go
Michael Phelps and Pathetic
Joe Biden
Chewbacca Mom
Brexit
Skai Jackson
The list goes on and on. (There is obviously a shitty buzzfeed recap fiy)
