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Answer Me, 1997
Aug. 19th, 2012 03:35 pmSo, I have fallen very, very in love with Answer Me 1997 in the past couple weeks. It's like all the coming of age stories that I watched in the 90s, except it's taking me back to my own teenage years and making me look at them fondly (whereas when I was actually in my teenage years I hated everything about it and related to the aaaaaaangst). Even though I didn't grow up in Korea and don't get the pop culture references, I do understand being so obsessed with something that it becomes your entire life. While for other girls it was boybands, for me it was Garth Brooks (or whatever actor I was into at the time. Garth was a steadfast obsession in my life, whereas I seemed to have a new actor to obsess over every year or so). My family didn't get it and what they saw as insignificant meant the world to me, and yes, I did throw tantrums when they accidentally taped over a Garth interview, or when they didn't understand my desperate need to buy Garth's new album, or when they rolled their eyes at me when I cried over not being able to see him in concert when he FINALLY came near to where we lived. Just... I loved him SO MUCH, so yes, I can relate to Shi Won's love for H.O.T, even though I despised boybands when I was growing up. The mass stalking like it's normal part I don't understand, but that's very specific to Korean fan culture (and is even worse in this day and age when they can hire taxis to follow idols around and hack into the idols' cell phones and prevent them from having any kind of social life whatsoever). Anyway, aside from all that, I just love how it captures those heightened feelings of your teenage years, how the most insignificant things rule your life until something truly serious happens that alters your perception of things and makes you grow up a little. I love how the parents fight but love each other dearly, I love how the daughter and father are in a constant battle but come through for each other when it really matters, I love that there is a story about a boy in love with another boy who is in love with a girl, I love the story between the brothers, I love the story of the older brother's heartbreaking loss and how it ties in with the main family, I love love love the story of the boy and girl who are best friends and the boy is pining madly after her while she is completely oblivious, I love that we have no idea who ends up with who (well, except for the couple that they revealed in ep 5/6), I love how the show makes me laugh out loud one minute and then makes me bawl the next. I love everything.
I really wish that America would make a throwback show like this for our generation, one that moves us and makes us laugh at ourselves and helps us to remember the good old days (and I'd actually understand the pop culture references). Hopefully it'll come along soon. I mean, The Wonder Years was amazing, but that was for the teenagers of the 60s. My So-Called Life was excellent and pretty much captures what Answer Me 1997 does, but it was actually made in that time and doesn't have that light-hearted, reminiscent factor to it (plus, I was a little too young to catch this one when it was originally on). IDK, since America is so fond of making adaptions of shows, they should most definitely adapt this one.
Anyway, with my love for this show, naturally I had to check out the group that the lead girl is obsessed with, H.O.T. They actually kind of remind me of TVXQ (the one with the high voice def. reminds me of JaeJoong, and Tony reminds me of Yoochun). Plus, you know, this:
VS
And then there's this, which is very much like modern k-pop:
It's funny how K-pop went from super baggy T-shirts and jeans and floppy hair to leather and lipstick and guyliner and neon-colored long hair. Also, I had to check out their rival band, Sechskies, and as I was watching them I was like, "OMG, that one dude looks so familiar! He looks like a young version of somebody! Where have I seen him? Isn't he an actor?" and then I realized that he's playing a character on Answer Me 1997 (the one from Seoul that is always looking at porn). And now I just find it hilarious that the show is constantly ragging on his old band. But, I'm sorry, H.O.T was way better than Sechskies, as this video can attest:
I really wish that America would make a throwback show like this for our generation, one that moves us and makes us laugh at ourselves and helps us to remember the good old days (and I'd actually understand the pop culture references). Hopefully it'll come along soon. I mean, The Wonder Years was amazing, but that was for the teenagers of the 60s. My So-Called Life was excellent and pretty much captures what Answer Me 1997 does, but it was actually made in that time and doesn't have that light-hearted, reminiscent factor to it (plus, I was a little too young to catch this one when it was originally on). IDK, since America is so fond of making adaptions of shows, they should most definitely adapt this one.
Anyway, with my love for this show, naturally I had to check out the group that the lead girl is obsessed with, H.O.T. They actually kind of remind me of TVXQ (the one with the high voice def. reminds me of JaeJoong, and Tony reminds me of Yoochun). Plus, you know, this:
VS
And then there's this, which is very much like modern k-pop:
It's funny how K-pop went from super baggy T-shirts and jeans and floppy hair to leather and lipstick and guyliner and neon-colored long hair. Also, I had to check out their rival band, Sechskies, and as I was watching them I was like, "OMG, that one dude looks so familiar! He looks like a young version of somebody! Where have I seen him? Isn't he an actor?" and then I realized that he's playing a character on Answer Me 1997 (the one from Seoul that is always looking at porn). And now I just find it hilarious that the show is constantly ragging on his old band. But, I'm sorry, H.O.T was way better than Sechskies, as this video can attest:
