acid reflects

Hidden under every trope imaginable that celebrates this generational zeitgeist is actually a mild commentary on The System. But you barely feel it because it’s fun and colorful to watch and listen to – you can almost say it’s diabolical.

If you say that Sinners is the transcendent film of the year, that’s only half-correct. It’s actually K-pop Demon Hunters. What I mean is that if there’s any discussion about which film had an impact on audiences artistically, culturally, generationally this year, it cannot be solely Sinners.

Not a review of K-pop Demon Hunters. There’s tons of those around already. Also not an examination of all Korean references. Better actual Koreans do that too, and there’s a lot of them in Tiktok and YouTube.

I just want to point out a few things.

I say that the commentary is hidden only because the film is entertaining, first. The film is designed for a very wide audience of k-pop and non-K-pop fans, from toddlers to adults. Those who have high exposure to the Hallyu/ Korean Wave are able to pick up on the commentary immediately.

What am I blabbering about?

That underneath the colorful animation and catchy tunes is a wish by the makers for the K-pop industry to improve on.

Rumi is gay-coded. Feel is gay-coded. Those by themselves are statements. Rumi yearns for acceptance, and even with Feel’s gay-coded lyrics, the duet is a lament against forbidden love. But this one is about Korea being homophobic and remaining a patriarchal society where abuse and discrimination against gender continue. Those are real-life demons.

That one line from Celine towards the end, where she says the flaws and fears must never be seen. Kpop idols are subjected to the strictest, sometimes unrealistic standards of beauty, public decorum, physical and mental health, that fandoms have become either the most positive elements of the music industry or the most toxic.

Tiktoker @younglestiktok has a series of videos explaining K-pop Demon Hunters from the perspective of Korean history, overall validating the film’s decisions from character arc to the use of Korean symbols. In one of her videos, she explored the significance of making the lead protagonist Rumi a halfie, noting how K-pop idols of mixed heritage are often expected to deny their mixed heritage and emphasize their Korean identity to the public. Rumi’s songs are constantly about being accepted for who she is.

Speaking of who (or what) they are, the Saja Boys’ names are also a veiled commentary on this industrial pop factory. Idols are to be mysterious, romantic, hypersexualized to their fans, and often upon request, required to perform aegyo (cute) onstage. Imagine if Western bands had to do this. Imagine Destiny’s Child being asked by David Letterman to play cutesy like twelve-year-olds for one full minute on camera. It’s not an accident that these names (Mystery, Romance, Abby, and Baby) were assigned to the demon characters.

I’m not trying to make a mountain out of K-pop Demon Hunters. I’m just saying that all talk about which film transcended to the audience the most this year should definitely include it.

So if I were the Academy, we’re looking at Your Idol and Feel in the original song category, since the Academy has a limit of a maximum of two nominated songs from one film. Golden is the obvious submission here, but those first two are the best songs in the musical.

Remember The Lego Movie, Academy? Yeah, you totally didn’t get that.