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radcon
Joined: 23 May 2011
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 Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 11:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Carbon wrote: |
| Koreans can't handle anything deeper than the three morons chanting "Kamsahamnida". Good humor is challenging, both to the viewer/listener and the culture. Korea is far too insecure for this; they are simply incapable of making fun of themselves. Modern Korean culture is completely vapid; an intellectual black hole. |
Ouch. Tell us how you really feel. |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 12:17 am Post subject: |
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| Carbon wrote: |
| Koreans can't handle anything deeper than the three morons chanting "Kamsahamnida". Good humor is challenging, both to the viewer/listener and the culture. Korea is far too insecure for this; they are simply incapable of making fun of themselves. Modern Korean culture is completely vapid; an intellectual black hole. |
Not a viewer of Korean film are you? |
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Carbon
Joined: 28 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 12:50 am Post subject: |
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| Steelrails wrote: |
| Carbon wrote: |
| Koreans can't handle anything deeper than the three morons chanting "Kamsahamnida". Good humor is challenging, both to the viewer/listener and the culture. Korea is far too insecure for this; they are simply incapable of making fun of themselves. Modern Korean culture is completely vapid; an intellectual black hole. |
Not a viewer of Korean film are you? |
I am. Korean film is a different beast....or at least it can be. People make conscious choices to go to select films and there are some very, very worthy offerings, quite unlike TV. These are hardly mainstream however, and the topic at hand is TV comedy, of which my opinion is clear.
Basic cable: every other channel is home shopping and the alternates are Steven Segal re-runs, the most superficial US offerings, some heartbreaking story of a 90 year-old cripple or animals with saccharine voice-overs.
Brainless drivel. Koreans enjoy anger, outrage and sadness with laughter reserved for childish antics and the failures of fools. |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 1:35 am Post subject: |
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| Carbon wrote: |
| Steelrails wrote: |
| Carbon wrote: |
| Koreans can't handle anything deeper than the three morons chanting "Kamsahamnida". Good humor is challenging, both to the viewer/listener and the culture. Korea is far too insecure for this; they are simply incapable of making fun of themselves. Modern Korean culture is completely vapid; an intellectual black hole. |
Not a viewer of Korean film are you? |
I am. Korean film is a different beast....or at least it can be. People make conscious choices to go to select films and there are some very, very worthy offerings, quite unlike TV. These are hardly mainstream however, and the topic at hand is TV comedy, of which my opinion is clear.
Basic cable: every other channel is home shopping and the alternates are Steven Segal re-runs, the most superficial US offerings, some heartbreaking story of a 90 year-old cripple or animals with saccharine voice-overs.
Brainless drivel. Koreans enjoy anger, outrage and sadness with laughter reserved for childish antics and the failures of fools. |
100% spot on. The general populous of Korea seem to love this style of humour. I saw something on TV a couple of weeks ago that showed comedy shows from over 25 years ago, and it was exactly the same as now except they were wearing different costumes and shouting (why all the shouting?) different catchphrases. |
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ricochet
Joined: 04 Sep 2011
Location: carpetbagging...
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| Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 6:59 am Post subject: |
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Im watching it now. Hilarious!!! Jest like the original in Hangul. 
btw, Dave brother, get a smartphone app dude! this mode of posting is driving my handsome ass crazy... |
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Joe Boxer
Joined: 25 Dec 2007
Location: Bundang, South Korea
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| Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Carbon wrote: |
| I am. Korean film is a different beast....or at least it can be. People make conscious choices to go to select films and there are some very, very worthy offerings, quite unlike TV. |
I love Korean movies. I LOVE how they can totally shun the Hollywood "happy-ending-everything-wraps-up-nicely" BS and leave you saying, "WTF?!"
I just watched "Ajossi" last night and although it offered some of the crazy Korean movie moments, they really p*ssied-out with the ending; it much more of a Hollywood ending.
| ricochet wrote: |
| Im watching it now. Hilarious!!! Jest like the original in Hangul. |
Did you watch it or read a transcript? |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Carbon wrote: |
| Steelrails wrote: |
| Carbon wrote: |
| Koreans can't handle anything deeper than the three morons chanting "Kamsahamnida". Good humor is challenging, both to the viewer/listener and the culture. Korea is far too insecure for this; they are simply incapable of making fun of themselves. Modern Korean culture is completely vapid; an intellectual black hole. |
Not a viewer of Korean film are you? |
I am. Korean film is a different beast....or at least it can be. People make conscious choices to go to select films and there are some very, very worthy offerings, quite unlike TV. These are hardly mainstream however, and the topic at hand is TV comedy, of which my opinion is clear.
Basic cable: every other channel is home shopping and the alternates are Steven Segal re-runs, the most superficial US offerings, some heartbreaking story of a 90 year-old cripple or animals with saccharine voice-overs.
Brainless drivel. Koreans enjoy anger, outrage and sadness with laughter reserved for childish antics and the failures of fools. |
So isn't it more appropriate to say Korean TV is garbage (which it is) rather than Korean culture? |
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ricochet
Joined: 04 Sep 2011
Location: carpetbagging...
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 1:44 am Post subject: |
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| Joe Boxer wrote: |
| ricochet wrote: |
| Im watching it now. Hilarious!!! Jest like the original in Hangul. |
Did you watch it or read a transcript? |
i watched it. quite funny for a Korean comedy...  |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 3:34 pm Post subject: |
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If Korean SNL started right off the bat swinging like Hollywood Update with David Spade, how long do you think the show would last before its canceled? 2, 3 shows?
SNL of my youth is a far cry from the SNL today. I don't watch US SNL anymore. What killed it for me was Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon, the 2 most unfunny people in the entire world. Sarah Silverman also made me want to vomit.
You can't expect Korean SNL to be bashing the President, influential celebrities, and power figures and not get any backlash. If SNL makes fun of Girl's Generation, do you think their agency SM Town is goign to sit there and laugh it off? No, they would probably say, "none of our performers will ever appear on your show."
Once the show is established and it has a big following, then they can be more flexible with what they do. Right now, being a new show and trying to get more viewers, they can't bite the hands that feed them. |
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Joe Boxer
Joined: 25 Dec 2007
Location: Bundang, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 3:43 pm Post subject: |
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| pkang0202 wrote: |
If Korean SNL started right off the bat swinging like Hollywood Update with David Spade, how long do you think the show would last before its canceled? 2, 3 shows?
SNL of my youth is a far cry from the SNL today. I don't watch US SNL anymore. What killed it for me was Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon, the 2 most unfunny people in the entire world. Sarah Silverman also made me want to vomit.
You can't expect Korean SNL to be bashing the President, influential celebrities, and power figures and not get any backlash. If SNL makes fun of Girl's Generation, do you think their agency SM Town is goign to sit there and laugh it off? No, they would probably say, "none of our performers will ever appear on your show."
Once the show is established and it has a big following, then they can be more flexible with what they do. Right now, being a new show and trying to get more viewers, they can't bite the hands that feed them. |
Your points are all good and really, don't counter what is being said in this thread.
Most of us are saying SNL Korea sucks, and you're just giving (good) reasons for it not having more balls.
I totally agree with you about a SNSD skit. You'd have SNSD management throwing a hissy fit AND the legions of virgin ajossi netizens shutting down SNL's website (or worse). |
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Yaya
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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I saw SNL Korea over the weekend. They had a parody of Superstar K, Korea's version of "American Idol," called "Superstar Gay." The host played the final contestant and before leaving the stage, he asked one of the judges if he could hit him, to which the judge gave him an approval vote. This was mildly funny.
The rest of the show sucked. |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 11:32 pm Post subject: |
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| I think the show just needs a bit more time. Most Koreans (and writers for that matter) are used to the slapstick Gag Comedy shows in Korea. |
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Carbon
Joined: 28 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 4:18 am Post subject: |
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| Steelrails wrote: |
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So isn't it more appropriate to say Korean TV is garbage (which it is) rather than Korean culture? |
Splitting hairs. TV is much more representative of a given culture than niche films. Let's not forget that the vast majority of Korean films are just as idiotic as their TV. "Oldboy", while being somewhat dated, applies well to make my point. The film got more attention outside Korea initially, which fueled interest locally, but still, most Koreans only know it by name and reputation; it remains too strong for the average sensibility. There is a very cool and equally dark underbelly of Korean cinema that challenges, but as I said, the majority is pablum.
So no, I stand behind my words. Korean culture has been on a steep slope downward for the last 6 or 8 years. Anyone who has been here for at least 10 years would likely concur. I loved this place in the 90's, but these days, it is really hard to stomach. Koreans are more superficial than ever before and this is reflected in all forms of mainstream media and entertainment. There will always be purists and auteurs, thank God, but I am beyond cynical for the place in general, including film.
Obsessed with image and even that is a skin-thin veneer with nothing....absolutely nothing behind it. When Korea, Inc. runs out of vanity fueled by notions of inferiority, it will be truly gutted to realize that they have sold everything, cheap. Koreans aren't proud, they are just plain defensive.
Ouch, indeed. |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 4:50 am Post subject: |
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| Korean culture has been on a steep slope downward for the last 6 or 8 years. |
Well yeah, Korean mainstream culture has kind of gone meh.
Korean niche culture has picked up quite a bit though... |
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Carbon
Joined: 28 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 12:50 am Post subject: |
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| Steelrails wrote: |
Well yeah, Korean mainstream culture has kind of gone meh.
Korean niche culture has picked up quite a bit though... |
Mate, I know you have some Korean in you and respect your thoughts here. That being established, I am not looking for an argument when I say you have tragically understated the situation. "Meh" I could handle, but we are way below that radar.
I wholeheartedly agree that there are small blessings in an otherwise hopeless morass of banality. A cynic would deny even this, hence I consider myself a realist. The reason I seem so embittered is because I have seen better times and know that it can be much, much more than it is. To call myself embittered is actually inaccurate; disappointed is probably a better fit. This place is my home, after all and I complain only because I know it doesn't have to be as it is. |
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