#mercypass

[carpe-diem-amori-fati]

Dream High Episode 1

           Mkay well given the context from Miss Bone that this is kind of a version of Glee, I was interested. So the show starts and it gives a scene from what I presume in the future of K winning a Grammy award. It’s funny that there is so much importance and respect placed on a Grammy award since it is an American award, but like many musicians and singers in Asia, they admire America’s music culture. So, I’m guessing that is why the Grammys are so heavily regarded. Along with the Grammys, CNN, and US dancing and singing recruiters are also mentioned.

           So there’s definitely an American impact on the show. It starts off with a scene of two girls singing opera style with a girl that looks like her twin taking pictures of her. Who are they? And then the girl in the pink coat flees to have a run in with a big scary guy who seems like is out to get her. Then her knight in shining armor comes and kung fu’s his way through them. I am very confused. If this is the first episode then why is there already such a big background story? And who are all of these characters? The girl wants the guy to give her back the picture that was in her wallet, but he doesn’t have it. So he leads her to this underground dance scene where his friend reluctantly gives her back her picture after she called his dance moves vulgar. Also, ‘the director’ is introduced. He seems to be a very esteemed man in the school, but he does not look very approving of the methods that are being used. We learn that the girl’s dad is in debt and she might have to live on the streets. So she goes to a man that’s a teacher for the school who apparently broke up their family by seducing her mother and then having her divorce her father. So the bad guy finally catches her and tells her that in order to repay her fathers debt, she is going to have to audition for Kirin school of arts and become famous in Korea instead of going to Juliard.

           So she agrees to audition. She does not seem nervous at all and acts very entitled throughout the whole episode. Her friend seems very nice though. Her friend gets her to do the audition with her, and so they go. Audition day is here and there’s a boy sleeping on a bench that is waiting his turn. He seems very calm and collected, and I have no idea who he is. Finally it is time for the girls’ audition and they sing a very pretty song. In the end, it is not the girl in the red coat that passes but her friend. Red coat is shocked and yells at the director. Now I’m very confused. At the very end, red coat stomps back into the room, kneels at the director’s feet (which is apparently a big deal guessing by everyone’s reactions) and says, “save me.” Overall, I’m confused, but it seems like a cool show.

[carpe-diem-amori-fati]

Running Man Episode 212

           Okay so, part two of the 1470 challenge and right off the bat the ‘punishment’ is discovered. While the ride looks absolutely terrifying, the show made it seem like the punishment was going to be a lot worse. With that being said, I am also a huge lover or amusement parks, so the rides don’t scare me as much. (Side note: Why is it that they picked an amusement park challenge when it appears that almost every single member that is in this episode hates amusement park rides?)

           Before the unlucky group is sent to Taiwan, the partners get one more chance to earn another number. The challenge is a piggyback race, which is always a good time. Immediately I think about how unlucky the person that has to carry the big guy is, and then I feel really bad for the singer of 2AM because it’s him that ends up with the big guy and he is so small in stature. Gary and Allie end up winning because of Gary’s incredible luck in switching spots at the last second. The players decide to play one more round for a chance for another group to earn a number. It ends up being the light blue team that wins the second round. So green and light blue pick their numbers and then the final mission is revealed. I’m very curious to see what role these numbers are going to play.

           So the goal is to use their numbers and find symbols in order to turn 1470 into a 0. They go into the children’s museum at the Incheon and begin the challenge. Side note: Tiger is wearing shorts with the word ‘Chicago’ printer across the butt…interesting. Also, I would just like to point out a typical stereotypical observation that of course the show has Asians doing math in order to solve their problems lol. Okay, I’m done. If that offends anyone, I’m truly sorry.

           After a lot of scurrying around, fighting, stealing, and hiding, three teams are able to escape the doom of having to go to Taiwan. But for the remainder of the teams, the fun has just begun. So they take the day to show the audience around the hotel and there’s a zoo outside their windows? I feel like that is such an awful idea lol. I know some people that would steal some of the animals in a heartbeat. The little portion with the giraffe was hilarious though lol. So they get ready to travel to the ride, and OF COURSE, they are all in matching yellow uniform shirts. Interesting though, is that the ride’s name is shown primarily in English as the ‘screaming condor.’  The ride looks terrifying and it is learned that there’s a group challenge with the ride. They eventually succeed on the second attempt, but man would I have killed Ha Ha the first time.

[notacullturaljournal-blog]

Dream High Mercypass

Jake Shuptrine

Professor Kirstin Bone

EN103-011

26 April 2015

Dream High Mercypass

           In my high school years, I had seen shows like Glee and movies like Mean Girls that followed high schoolers through the troubling times that they face. Dream High is like these American made pieces in this way, but it has an added twist. The main character ends up making a deal with a threatening man about money that her father owes. Her father has fled the country (Korea) due to his failed business, and it is up to the protagonist to fulfill his debts to this strange man. The man owns a record label company, so he struck a deal with our main character-- she can sing, and she can sing well. To gain back the money her father owes, she is charged with making the audition to get into a small arts school in Korea. Once in the school, she will make stellar grades and graduate at the top of her class. She will then sign a record deal with the shady man’s company and release an album, selling enough copies to make up the losses. Then, she will work 3 more years to work off the interest debt. So, our main character’s quest is clearly defined in the beginning of the first episode, but it also has some wild cards.

           During the first episode, the female main character is saved by the male lead, a breakdancer and parkour pro. They have a moment on the subway when I swore I thought that they would kiss, but the female lead turns him away. Another wild card is the female lead’s friend, whom she betrays. It seems to me that the female lead is very mean and doesn’t seem to have any compassion or care for others. All of the characters seem well put together, and the writing/script for the story is well organized and thought out. It is a very unique show, the likes of which I have never seen. The only thing that hurts this show (and it’s a big one) is the acting. I don’t know what it is about these Asian TV shows, but I never seem to enjoy the acting in them. It’s just not believable. The characters in Dream High have depth, but that depth does not translate onto the screen. My perspective of this poor acting may be skewed due to my need to look at the subtitles 90% of the time, or the fact that I am used to English speaking actors/actresses, but I still think that it could be improved because bad acting is completely immersion-breaking and makes the piece hard to watch.

           All of this aside, I definitely like the plot of this show. I think that it has potential to go in interesting places and take the viewer on some real drama rides. The camera work and stunts were also well done, and the action scene on the parking garage had a good fight setup and execution. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this show, but it wasn’t bad.

[carpe-diem-amori-fati]

Running Man Episode 211

I can’t lie, i’ve grown quite fond of this show. Episode 211 seems very interesting. It starts with the running man members having to scour every nook and cranny in an amusement park in order to find their partners. To the guy that picked the number 2: you screwed up man. Anyway, so their partners are found and it turns out the show is a race to get the number 1470 down to zero using different numbers and signs. 1. Why 1470? 2. This could be a very, very long game.

So the first challenges are given out and wow, these are not easy at all. I love roller coasters but I don’t think I could even take a picture of a poster while I was moving at high speed. And the bungee cord challenge? How are you supposed to see from that high up? The persimmon challenge is absolutely hilarious though oh my gosh. Next is the foot challenge where they have to read the words that are on each other’s feet. I thought they almost had it but again they fail. Next group has to hold small water balloons between their cheeks and shoulders while riding the Viking ship and having people shoot water guns at them. They fail too. Surprise. Man okay these are not easy tasks. No one has succeeded yet. Next group has to keep their glasses of water full while on the ride. They failed the first attempt and so they decided to pull the Kylie Jenner lip challenge on their second try. It kind of worked, but only one of them was successful. Back to the persimmon challenge. Still failed, but you know they got closer. I’m really starting to wonder if anyone is going to succeed at their tasks. Just as I say this, the first group succeeds. Ji Hyo what a clever one she is. Three groups take four times to complete their tasks but hey, A for effort. The damn persimmons challenge takes the longest though. Finally Kwang Soo decides to just eat the final one and so he succeeds. Kwang Soo, the lonely persimmon chaser. What a title. Also, what is a persimmon exactly?

So one by one the groups successfully finish their challenges and move on to the final challenge. This has been the episode with the hardest challenges I’ve seen so far. In addition there’s a punishment to this one that sounds like you want to totally avoid it at all costs… Oh, there’s a part two?! I’ll come at you with that next. Before I do that, I have to pose a very important question: Why do they all have to wear matching uniform shirts on every episode?

 We may never know…

[carpe-diem-amori-fati]

Running Man Episode 213

My my what an interesting start to this episode. Besides the obviously noted status of the ladies they also have quite the acting skills. So when they go to surprise the guys they have picked, of course they pull out their best and give them all a show. Now, if I were one of the boys, I definitely would have ran away after about a minute of the chaos that was going on. It’s definitely funny, but I think it dragged on a bit too long before they revealed why they were there. All in good fun though.

First challenge and of course it involves some form of water and mud. I love the fact that giraffe is getting used as a public stepladder though. Priceless. I’m not sure how deep the water is but dang it cannot feel too good to be pushed off of the platform and land straight on your butt. Someone’s tail bone is going to be broken. It was definitely an interesting challenge. I didn’t know some of those girls were going to be so harsh. The winners are determined and at this point I think I know who the heir is due to the hints. I’m pretty positive the heir is tiger.

Okay second challenge. An even weirder challenge that has them acting out something and then shredding paper as fast as they can with 30 seconds on the clock. If they fail to shred the paper on time then they get water dumped on them. The acting was pretty good but why did they all have to be evil mistress types? Okay so the winners are determined and the final partner switch is done. Now I take back my guess from earlier because tiger doesn’t wear glasses. I wonder how the creators come up with all of the different themes each week. They’re definitely creative because I could not have come up with half of these themes/challenges.

Finally it’s time for the final round. The girl has to stand on the platform with who she thinks is the heir. So after a bunch of running around and a couple people trying out their partners on the platform, the real heir is discovered even though the person that stood on the platform was only wearing the heir’s nametag. How clever. This episode honestly reminded me of the game Clue without the killing of course. The birthday cake was thoughtful though! They all seemed like genuine girls even if they were portrayed as evil mistresses lol.

[carpe-diem-amori-fati]

Running Man Episode 163

             Ah, another Running Man episode. I have grown somewhat fond of this show! First thing I noticed was the comparison of one of their outfits to Lady Gaga. There are so many American references in this show that it should honestly be aired here. Anyway, so the show quickly starts off with the quest being to impress the girl. The slow motion kiss was just perfect and the fact that they replayed it over and over again was great. Ji Hyo looks awesome by the way. Then she chooses team Gary because, well, who wouldn’t choose his team after someone that well dressed kissed him or her?

           The teams all travel to their second location: a rice paddy. As cool as that sounds, it turns out to be a mud filled lake type thing. They all get tied together with a bungee cord and have to gather their flags first in order to win. I was like okay cool this will be interesting and then all of a sudden they show someone on the blue team deliberately trip the guy next to him on the yellow team and I busted out laughing. It was one of those, OH NO HE DIDN’T, moments. Truly glorious if I do say so myself. But wait, after the first round and GDragon being covered in mud, how could he not redo his hair? That, is the real question here.

 Wait…pause. Are they really playing the discovery channel song in the background right now? Another pause, dogs?! Yasssss. Love me some dogs. The bulldog was a noble choice, but the collie would have called my name. Also, what in the world was the food that she wanted? Jammpong or something like that? Looked like soup with noodles and vegetables. It looked pretty good honestly. So red team won a point with the food and yellow won with the correct dog selection. Poor blue team is just struggling in this episode. *cue tiny violin*

           Alright moving on to the water! I swear they think of the weirdest/hardest challenges for these games. Jumproping on a mat in water sounds like it would make just about anyone fall on their butts (aka G Dragon x4 lol). I have discovered I have a strange fan girl type crush on G Dragon though. He has gotten progressively cuter as the episode goes on. The amount of interference with the matts is great by the way. Finally the blue team takes home a win! It’s about time…Moving on, everyone arrives back in style for the final challenge, and I must say, G Dragon’s gold blazer looks swell. Of course the boys don’t end up winning at all so the princess keeps her gold. I will say that I’m not quite sure why three of the guys were wearing sunglasses inside when it was dark though. Oh well.

[carpe-diem-amori-fati]

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

           I have always been curious about Asian food. I have never truly yearned for it, but I have always admired how unique it all looks. My only ‘experience’ with Asian food has been a couple sushi restaurants and Panda Express. With that being said, I don’t think I have ever really eaten Asian food. Jiro seems like a very curious man. I was surprised when I heard about his upbringing and how harshly his parents sent him out to begin to make a living for himself. At the age of 7, I could barely talk to strangers let alone figure out how to survive in a world that could care less about the well being of a 7-year-old boy.  I think his upbringing definitely played a part in his work ethic and his emphasis on consistency and respect.

           The fish market was an interesting aspect as well. I’ve always wondered where all of the fish comes from for the high seafood demand in Asia. Learning that Jiro’s fish carrier was so incredibly picky was good to know but it was also surprising. Because the fish market has started to become more scarce, I thought that they would buy whatever was available that they still thought to be decent quality. I like the fact that the movie brought attention to the ways that fish are being caught and on the growing shortage that is being experienced with the fish market. I agree with the fact that more regulations should be placed on how big or how small the fish have to be in order to be caught. The shortage could change a lot for Jiro’s and for restaurants like his.

           The scene with the graveyard was a bit morbid. It was interesting to see the layout of how it is there, and I wonder why a fountain type structure is in every burial site. I was wondering whose grave they were visiting and then I realized it was Jiro’s parents. “I don’t know why I come here. They didn’t take care of me,” said Jiro. That made me wonder well, why did he go visit them? It also made me notice how different he grew up to be compared to his parents. Jiro shows love for both of his sons and wants to teach them everything in order for them to continue to have a good life. I also really, really liked that he said that studying hard doesn’t make you a respectable person. It stuck out to me so much because of my research paper on how hard students in China and Japan study for their exams.

           Overall, the movie was incredibly interesting. I did not know that sushi was such an art form, nor did I realize how much consideration and preparation went into the process at Jiro’s. The $300 price tag does not seem so steep when you consider everything that has been done in order for the fish to be served in the way that it is meant to be. I would love to experience it if I ever have the chance.

[carpe-diem-amori-fati]

Running Man Episode 205

The beginning of the episode was weirdly interesting. The building was apparently a dormitory within a school, but it looked like an apartment complex. When they announced that there would be a new group of students it was funny that all of them immediately hoped the group would consist of girls. What was not so funny though, is how they immediately started to kind of make fun of the girls. The first girl that was introduced was a home ec major. They immediately commented that she should really be a domestic house major. (I’m sorry whoa there not cool). In addition, the girl that is clearly a little bit bigger than the other two pound girls was immediately made fun of for sweating and being bigger than the rest of them. They commented on how they thought she was trying to eat the leaves of the plant behind her when she was using them to cool off (again, not cool). I guess this is humorous to the audience, but I didn’t find it funny at all. I also thought that the girl that modeled that was considered to be the prettiest wasn’t the best looking out of all of the other girls. I also noticed that the music that they were playing in between scenes was in English!

The challenges that they played were very strange. I did not understand at all what they were trying to do with the watermelon. Also, was the goal to get out of the bungalow or stay in? Plus, why was the one girl trying to pull down the guy’s pants? The world may never know. I did enjoy the dance battle towards the end of the first challenge though. The bigger girl really did know how to dance. I also determined that out of everyone in this episode, Fei is my favorite.The dating roulette thing was interesting as well. I’ll reiterate it again though, that even though he picked the model, I really think that most of the other girls are a lot prettier.

I still can’t get over the fact that the show has been commenting on the weight of the heavier girl. All the way through there were little subtitles about it and at the end when one of them stated that they wanted to put her in their pocket, the subtitle came across saying “that better be one big pocket!” I guess that’s just considered humorous for the Korean culture. If that were to happen in America there would be at least some criticism on how rude it is to make fun of someone’s weight. Overall, the episode was entertaining, but the weight comments really were not funny to me. The end was cool though. I enjoyed the ring challenge.