One Flew Over the... My Mother is a Fish

I remember growing up, I had a mommy and a daddy who told me I couldn't watch MTV, I wasn't allowed to look at porn, and I had to do my homework and eat my vegetables. In other words, I had parents who did some normal parenting. Of course I would rebel from time to time (they didn't know about the porn or MTV), but for the most part it was understood that they were my parents and I had to listen to them, or else. Obviously, not everyone has parents who care, let alone two parents who do some parenting, but it's ultimately no one's fault but the parents. They are the ones charged with the rather simple dictum of: "If you forget the condom then you are responsible for the consequences". Pretty simple, right? Well, in the age of high-tech innovation, new media, and rather divergent forms of entertainment, I suppose parenting has gotten tough.

Recently, my beloved G-Dragon (Korean pop idol) has been in some hot water along with his company YG Entertainment. At first it was simply his album that the Korean government had trouble with, alluding to sex and violence, and thus have given the album a rating of, essentially, 'R', meaning no one under the age of 19 is permitted to buy the album. As a quick, but much needed, side note, I find it rather absurd and dictatorial that the Korean government finds it necessary to black list, in essence, things that simply allude to sex and violence. Hell, they did that with the DBSK song 'Mirotic' because they thought things such as 'red ocean' and 'crystal' referred to sexual fluids. It's like Hollywood all over again and the black lists against Communist films. Or just a bunch of old Korean men who want to make everyone else's life miserable because that's where they find joy. Anyway, back to G-Dragon. The guy recently had himself a little shindig, a concert if you will, sold out, couple hundred thousand seats and tickets, and put on quite a show. But the Korean government is claiming that he put on too much of a show, complete with a bed, heavy breathing, and a performance of some of those more 'controversial' songs that the Korean government claimed to be inappropriate for those under the age of 19. The government claims that because the concert rating was for individuals 12 and up that the material would match that rating. But according to the government, it was a gross miscalculation on YG Entertainment's part. Therefore, G-Dragon and YG are under criminal investigation.

I remember the big debate over rap music being too 'in your face' with the sex and violence, same with movies, television, and video games. People blamed Marilyn Manson for school shootings, they blamed video games for their graphic images, television for being too sexualized, and movies for rolling that all into one 2 hour feature. But ultimately, the debate boiled down to one sweeping fact: children are not raised by Marilyn Manson, video games, television, and movies; they are raised by parents. And if they aren't, then it's the parent's fault. There is no one to blame but the parents for being irresponsible twats. The problem was actually quite simple: why does the state need to control a person's life to the extent of censoring media because parents suck? Regardless, the music, movies and television that includes said graphic images and themes are not aimed towards children, but those older.

I smell similarity. The Korean government has seemed to bypass the entire notion of ' a parent' and has decided that the state shall be both the tender love of the mother and the iron fist of the father. They shall set standards by which children should live by, indoctrinate them into thinking the same thing, and simply black list and arrest all those that don't fall in line. Uh, can we say Park Chung Hee? You know, everyone always tells me, "Tim, you are way too harsh on the Korean government and always think they are like Park Chung Hee." Well, like my Aunt Sissy always told me, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and acts like a duck, then chances are, it's a Korean dictator. Korea has such an extremist attitude when it comes to anything. If people aren't happy, they create an uproar and create a massive protest for months because of something rather small. Or they bash people online. Or they boycott. On the other end of the spectrum you have the government, who is either the cause of all this or simply reacting to it. It truly is a case of the chicken and the egg paradox, even though scientists have dismissed this and have given a definitive answer. Regardless, though, the current case of poor G-Dragon, and really all of the entertainment industry and media industry, stuck in the middle is quite sad and pitiful, as it simply points to the lack of parenting, and I mean real, honest, loving parenting, on Korea's part. Sure, mothers want their children to go to the best schools and study hard, but is that really parenting? Sounds more like restriction of creativity and indoctrinated bullshit to me. Real parenting is saying, "No, Soyoung, you can't go to G-Dragon's concert because you are only 15 and his album has been rated for those 19 and older." What kind of parents allow their kids to go to these concerts? I mean, are they just that dumb? Are they ignorant enough to think 'well, yeah he is just going to bounce around on stage in a bunny costume'?

I've always said that Korea has a serious mommy problem, and this only elucidates that problem even further. The problem is not with G-Dragon or the industry, the problem is again rather simple: Korean parents need to do some honest-to-god parenting, and if their kids fuck up or don't listen, it's the parent's fault, not G-Dragon's. The boy is just trying to make music; the parent's need to step up and say 'that's not appropriate for my son and/or daughter and therefore he/she is not allowed to listen/partake in it'. Then it is up to the parent to enforce it. The Korean government, in the same stride, needs to get their junk out of everyone's business. Unless they want to revert back to 1960s and 1970s Korea, they better watch themselves and how they act. They are certainly not looking out for the well-being of their citizens, that's for sure. In conclusion, as John Mayer sings:

Fathers, be good to your daughters

Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too