donut
Newbie
- Joined
- May 27, 2019
- Messages
- 5
That video takes too long to get to the point and misses out some points I think are worth mentioning. I do think she's onto something here, but I think being more on point rather than randomly coming up with points on the fly will help fans to clearly see what parts of kpop nowadays are 'cultish' in nature.
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Here's my opinion on the kpop model as a whole (and something you all need to remember):
Kpop cultivates basically a giant honey pot, and the fans are winnie the pooh. I kid, but kpop is basically huge bait pandering to the base desires of woman/girls, and humans really since the beginning of time.
First - The Appearence. The truth is that if you are not attracted to your idols you will not support them. This attraction is indeed biological. Appearances is the first stage in the attraction game, and they know this. So the idol always looks perfect and have a perfect personality, because they need to attract fans, like flowers attract bees. This is why despite being a genre of music in which only your ears are needed, so much time is spent on appearances. Through makeup, clothes, a well crafted personality, tv angles, photoshop, dancing etc. . .this makes the idol seem untouchable, otherworldly. This is all crafted by the company of course.
Secondly they promote friendliness. "Why?" You ask. It's all about trust. This really goes back to basic survival.
Have you ever wondered why 'cute' features, is a thing in nature? Having cute features usually shows that the child is friendly and 'not harmful', which is actually a survival mechanism. In the wild, if parents didn't think their children was worth looking after, or dangerous, they probably (and sadly) would not pay any attention to them, and would not offset the maternal instinct in mothers.
Having neotonous (cutesy) features in the kpop world is all about appearing friendly and not 'rough' or 'harmful', which is all about promoting trust to the potential fans. This is why you see fully grown men doing aegyo dances or appearing as though they are 12 years old, because if they acted like the men they are, the teenage fans would be scared away. Neotony means having 'cute' features and appearences and it's one of the main tools the kpop industry uses to make fans think the idols are safe and friendly.
Thirdly when trust is established they promote similarness. Usually people who are attracted to someone are usually attracted to them because they are 'relatable' or share a similar trait to them, making them feel 'relatable' in some way. In the case of kpop, this would be mental health storylines, being 'dorky' or 'clumsy', showing their day to day lives, complaining about real world problems the fans would have, faking their MBTI type to mirror the fans (xNFP/J types) and the like. They want to appear not just otherworldly, but also someone that YOU can meet and talk to personally, and someone who understands YOUR problems.
Fourthly they pander to your desire to feel special and to be validated. Kpop idols do this by always having their attention on YOU. This is done through personal fancams, lives, reality house shows, selfies, fan meets and the like. These interactions will create something called a parasocial relationship between fan and the idol, where the fan feels a personal yet one sided bond with the idol, as you get to have an exclusive 'fly on the wall' sneak peek into their lives, and their feelings too.
Fifth they promote Homosexual shipping + suggestive fanservice. This is to hook a very specific and rabid kind of fan called the fujoshi, who is invested in seeing a non-existent relationship happen betwen two of the male idols in the same group. This delusion is so intoxicating to these fans, and the k-idols feed into it to keep them hooked. Fans who are not fujoshi yet are heavily promoted this homoerotic fanservice by the idols, the fans and the youtube algorithm until it is normalised to them and they also become a fujoshi. Once a fan is a fujoshi, it is easier to have them be loyal to the fandom as long as you keep the bait of the potential 'ship' alive via fanservice and PR (we will touch on that soon enough). The aegyo fanservice also feeds into this cycle as well.The suggestive fanservice is additional bait for the fans to keep listening + watching the idols who they like 'interact' with other in the hopes that 'something' can emerge. It will not.
Sixth they promote 'group' or 'tribal' dynamics. The company provides the model for the group name and environment, and the fan will fill the gaps. When you are in any group in human society, and relate with the other members, humans would produce a chemical called oxytocin, otherwise known as the 'cuddle' or 'love' hormone, creating a positive feeling and a bond between fans of the same group. On the flipside however, this makes a very tribalistic 'us vs them' mindset, where everything IN the group is all-good, and everything OUT is all-bad. In any tribal group, chants, certain rituals or traditions, and certain customs are performed to heighten social cohesion, bonds - and those who do not conform are usually bullied into submission.
Hmm. . .I wonder if any particular fandoms mirror this. . .
And lastly the PR team. A PR team not only creates a great image of the group, but they also help to craft it. Anything that falls outside of this is quickly removed (youtube deletions anyone???). Deals are made with dispatch companies, 'leaks' are made, and the 'bad' image is swiftly thrown into the fire and under the rug, because ladies and gentlemen, your idols are PERFECT, and nothing else more.
Also, these PR companies also exist to sustain interest in the groups, especially when downtime happens. They provide a constant idol stream, 24/7, exclusively, to YOU. And if that runs a little dry, a little scandal here and there is thrown in to sweeten the honeypot. As CDAN said, it's just like WWE.
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In a way there are cultish tendencies in such fandoms. The unquestioning loyalty, bullying of casual fans, spamming fan cams and streaming parties, have gotten out of hand.
Now, none of what I said is talking about 'casting spells' or 'satanism'. I'm just presenting what I've studied, and I think the easiest ways to convince fans to dig deeper is to simply peel away the curtain and let them see how the system works.
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