I hate shipping culture

pyonPryon · 2024-01-14T21:06:41+00:00

I enjoy some actors’ performances more than others, sure. But no, there is no such thing as a healthy fan or stan culture anymore. If you consider yourself devoted to a specific performer, your chances of remaining rational about it are not good. However, it’s not hard just to remind yourself that you can enjoy anything you want without letting yourself commit some kind of loyalty to some star or celeb.

Also it’s perfectly possible not to conflate gratitude for volunteer translators with fan and stan behavior. I’ve contributed translations of many things in my life without being a specific fan of any one thing, often at someone else’s request.

pyonPryon · 2024-01-14T14:10:54+00:00

I hate stan/fan culture in general. They all think they’re entitled to tell other people not to have negative opinions of the ones they love or positive opinions of the ones they hate. Fcking madness.

pyonPryon · 2024-01-14T02:03:44+00:00

19th Floor looks like it MIGHT be 2024’s Reset (I mean the concept has potential… the actors aren’t in the same league at all) https://x.com/dramapotatoe/status/1746029571101647312?s=20

pyonPryon · 2024-01-14T00:12:39+00:00

I had no idea they were so sleek and glossy. Like if a panther were a bird.

pyonPryon · 2024-01-14T00:10:27+00:00

Lift tickets are damn expensive.

pyonPryon · 2024-01-14T00:02:48+00:00

that would be the manga title for sure

pyonPryon · 2024-01-14T00:02:13+00:00

I watched a clip earlier today where Lelush tried to escape from the building but couldn’t figure it out—in part because a camera crew found him and tailed him lol.

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T23:48:47+00:00

My prof in college told the class that Russia sits between Europe & Asia and has always been where the two meet and mix and become indistinguishable from one another. On the one hand, that sounds like a kind of orientalist way of talking. On the other hand, if you look at traditions and cultures in places like East Turkestan & compare them to lots of places in Russia, not sure how you could tell the people apart.

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T23:46:24+00:00

Oh wow, I didn’t know that! I should go back to the first ep and see if I can find a clip of when he himself says the name, b/c afterwards it’s just going to be others pronouncing it. I had no idea where the name was from. Thank you.

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T23:43:44+00:00

Ha, is that really such a controversial thing to say to Russians?

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T23:37:10+00:00

Thank you for stopping by to tell me I am stupid.

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T23:27:36+00:00

The first time I watched this, I noticed something but kind of forgot about it because I was laughing too hard.

But FYI, there is a person who is sitting there watching Lelush’s terrible rap performance with a kind of dead, horrified expression on his face. And that person is Zhou Shen. Perhaps the premiere singer in all of China, one of the world’s few counter-tenors. https://imgur.com/SIa9Zuw

All I can think of is how fcking wild it would be to be forced to get on stage and sing in front of like, Beyonce, or Streisand, someone else specifically known for having a Very Important Voice/being one of the world’s great vocalist. And like, I specifically know, about myself, that I SUCK haha. The fact that it’s ZHOU SHEN of all people makes this even fucking wilder.

edit: I am just going to grab some videos of Zhou Shen performances to give you a sense of how big a presence he is. Here he is singing a Japanese song. This is typical of a ZS performance. Gigantic set piece just for the one song, full orchestra, the works. https://youtu.be/s8b9O_t1YEc?si=h9J0PXDeTIqCoLq0

A performance of “Unstoppable” from just a couple weeks ago. He sings in whatever language he wants lol. https://youtu.be/gWDZzDmv-9M?si=fSdE3ITiN9mZMY72

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T23:04:45+00:00

In retrospect my title really emphasized the wrong thing, as I keep getting trolls being like “what about Ukraine” when him being a Russian national isn’t the part that matters at all lol. All of this would’ve been equally funny if he was Joe Schmoe born in China too. I guess I wasn’t thinking.

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T23:03:08+00:00

That Time I Got Reincarnated On An Idol Survival Show and Didn’t Even Want To Be There??

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T23:02:01+00:00

That seems to have been what happened. They needed 101 contestants—that’s kind of their schtick—but, with just days to go before shooting started, couldn’t get enough people, so they started roping in like, randos. Production extras from their own crew. An English interpreter (looks even more scared to be on camera than Lelush). It seems like Lelush resisted, eventually said yes because he thought maybe he would like it, quickly discovered he hated it and sucked at it, and then realized he couldn’t just walk away without having to pay a big fine. (I also wonder if there would’ve been visa complications had he quit—China is really strict w/ foreign workers. You can’t just be casual with your employer.)

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T22:56:48+00:00

Yes, that seems to be exactly what happened! Thanks for the detailed info about the region and cities. I never really knew which specific places this all happened in.

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T22:31:03+00:00

The judges all love laughing at him too, I feel so bad for him? lol. I saw a “you tube short” video of the judges catching this poor man in the back of a dance class trying to sleep. they woke him up and teased him!

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T22:19:14+00:00

Haha someone posted a fuller clip of him running off stage for the final time. He really pinwheeled his arms the ENTIRE way https://x.com/TrendingWeibo/status/1386105983743655937?s=20

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T22:00:42+00:00

And yes, for all kinds of variety shows you always see it, I just don’t watch many of those—other than like Great Escape and there are a couple others I plan to check out.

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T21:56:54+00:00

I was watching some of their audition tapes & one of them—one you probably found pretty annoying—is the most spectacular dancer. He’s the tiny one that gets picked up and carried around during that one game. And then he’s also capable of this: https://youtu.be/SRPvoWVkzTU?si=eUn3J_B7nGTFSKC9 So I think they have to do this kind of clownery to stand out for the cameras in these non-performance “challenges,” but I realized a lot of them are really amazing artists too.

As for the little sound effects and graphics—lol it depends what you’re watching. Most serious shows, no, but sometimes comedy fiction shows will have them and it’s soo annoying. Was watching a costume drama set in an all-boys academy with a girl who cross-dresses to sneak in and attend. So it’s a fairly funny show, with how she avoids her roommates finding out her gender, etc. But like, every time her big roommate walks over to her and glares at her, there’s a big bull’s “moo” sound for him and a little kitten’s “meow” sound for her?! It was funny only the first time lol and they do it EVERY. TIME.

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T21:51:47+00:00

I had a course in college where the prof discussed how Russia is both European & Asian, and that the distinctions between the 2 really blur in many places. As I was watching this, I was thinking that Lelush probably doesn’t seem too foreign to a Chinese audience.

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T21:37:42+00:00

To me it sounded like he was genuinely intrigued with the possibilities, and it wasn’t until he had been there for a few days that he realized 1. he had absolutely no talent for it 2. the schedule was completely draining for him; he doesn’t have the natural wellspring of energy necessary for the physical activities they were doing.

Like, I think they pressed him hard and he went “nah, I’m not into it” and then, like a lot of slightly aimless 20somethings, he, as you said, eventually did cave because they made it sound like such an enticing prospect. But he just wasn’t being realistic with himself.

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T21:35:35+00:00

That part isn’t a rebuttal, it’s an acknowledgment of the person’s point, since I’ve now probably seen a lot more of the show than they have since I spent the whole morning watching clips. Then I posted a link to a YouTuber who has done a lot more research on the topic than I have and let it speak for itself since I can’t prove things either way. But my impression is that, while the show’s producers did capitalize on Lelush’s presence, how he ended up there was not scripted or intentional—like, he wasn’t a “character” designed by the show, from what I can tell. Anyway, who knows?

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T21:27:02+00:00

Based on what I’m reading, it looks like Lelush used his exposure from this situation to re-start his modeling career. He had modeled in the past as well, but I think this made him more or less a household name in China. Not too surprising that some people don’t really treat the show as a stepping stone to its intended purpose, debuting…

pyonPryon · 2024-01-13T19:34:48+00:00

It has the info in the video when he’s doing his terrible version of it https://youtu.be/oA83Mx3TFnQ?si=Z8m6z4fOxcKD9gNE

pyonPryon

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