Wonwoo in ep 9 and thoughts on 17′s reaction
Wonwoo of 17′s fail attempt at sport and the member’s reaction keeps me thinking about human ego and masculinity. Don’t take this essay seriously, it is my amusing thought. By no means I target anybody.
If you don’t know, Seventeen is a South Korean boy band with 13 members. Their music is refreshing and each member has their own quirk and individuality. I want to see more of China members as Jun and Minghao have been quiet and camera shy. Anyway, I watched One Fine Day, 17′s reality show in which they are stuck in an island with limited supply. On ep 9, 17 plays hackysack, or jegichagi (Korean) a game that requires keeping the shuttlecock in the air using your body parts apart from your hands (Source: Wikipedia, they explain it better than I do). In the show, The winner keeps the shuttlecock on air the most time using their foot. It is difficult as the highest scorer is Jeonghan (10 kicks ) while most members manage to do 1,2,3, 5, which is okay, not the best. Most epic, Wonwoo scores 0 kick, and all the members burst out laughing. It is a sight to beheld: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arp87owZ5hs ( watch from 13:40 : 14:15)
Now my reaction to this scene is the same as the members: maniac laughing at poor Wonwoo’s demonstration. Maybe it has got to do with the editing, they insert the intense music right before Wonwoo’s turn. The anticipation of the members, and of Wonwoo himself. His confidence in scoring well by making a 2 line poems before his turn about him being ‘Boekdeongari’ ( Lucky Charm ) further builds up the anticipation. Then he flops with 0 kick and people laugh at him, which is funny and sad at the same time.
First, 17 laughs at Wonwoo not only to poke fun at him, but also to express their joy that someone save their faces and pride on the TV broadcast. It is human’s tendency to laugh at other’s misfortunes, but I want to go deeper. Looking at 17 viewpoints, why do they laugh so hard at Wonwoo in that situation? Surprisingly, I might get my answer after I read an interview with Ralph Ellison, a famous African American author on NYtimes. (https://www.nytimes.com/books/99/06/20/specials/ellison-conversation.html) In the interview, Ellison says how in this hierarchical society, black people are the bottom threshold of society so people can say “Oh, I am poor and miserable, but still better than a black” or when they are forced to go down, they say “Oh, I am forced to go to the same level as blacks”. I think there is a parallel to Wonwoo’s situation. The other members feel so delighted and satisfying that someone is less capable than him. The reaction of 17 at Wonwoo, poking fun at him, is a much lesser form of bullying or even racism. But they all have in common that the perpetrators do that to the victims to assert the perpetrators worth and superiority.
Also, the game is being broadcast on TV, which means it is watched by many. “Alright, if it is a private game, winning or losing or not, we are fine bros. Now we have plenty of cameras shooting at us, capturing every single movement and displaying it to the world. Oh god. ” People feel pressured performing in front of many people. This notion is more extreme put in this case of idols in a country where it is all about perfection and image like South Korea. The boys are afraid that their masculinity and their capabilities are scrutinized. This brings much more pressure and a high expectation for them to perform well, even if it is a non-serious game. Hoshi and Jun are have the most radical reaction because they score 2. They must have felt relieved that Wonwoo is the convenient threshold of bottom scorer. Their ranking or status in the game have been uplifted.
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