2NE1′s “HATE YOU” Controversy
Ever since 2NE1 unveiled their music video for the song HATE YOU, fans have received it with mixed feelings. Some thought it was very creative, the cartoon looked fantastic, cute, and channeled the group’s fierceness perfectly, and others felt like they would rather have the group in the flesh doing some fierce dance moves to the catchy new song. I, personally, enjoyed the cartoon look, I think it brought a fresh new concept to the group even though I didn’t find the violence in the video very relevant.
As many fans know, 2NE1 has been releasing some Japanese material, increasing their exposure in the land of the rising sun just like many other girlgroups who have been through this crossover. By raising their exposure, they have also raised their magnetism to controversies (it’s a pretty common thing once debuting in another country nowadays), and this is exactly what happened.
Some Japanese viewers have been criticizing the racist undertones of the video, believing that the nuclear explosion in the video serves as reference to this year’s Japanese nuclear leakage, which is still a delicate subject to many. The fact that the monster in the music video has a little red circle on its forehead also caused such viewers to think that the monster represents Japanese society and the fact that it was so easily defeated is insulting to them.
I, personally, think that idea is a little too farfetched… but the aggressive reaction from people all over the world towards this interpretation is really disappointing me. Everyone has the right to interpret music videos as they find fitting, (especially a cartoon music video with so much action) and I think that if 2NE1 had such racist ideas about Japan, they wouldn’t be debuting there, especially through one of the most successful Japanese record labels.
I think it’s important to discern between the opinion of netizens and the opinion of the Japanese people. I think that in this case, this was the work of netizens just by judging from the degree of creativity of the interpretation. There are plenty of nuclear power plants around the world, and in the case of the video, I think they picked this sort of facility in order to depict the magnitude of 2NE1′s power. The fact that the person who becomes the monster is blonde and has blue eyes also goes against the idea that the character resembles Japanese people… If they really wanted to make a racist statement they wouldn’t pick a character that didn’t resemble Japanese people at all.
Considering the Japanese flag has a very clean design, (and still manages to have a very strong message and identity!) it’s very easy to assume that that’s what the dot on the monster’s forehead represents, but judging from the color of the circle and the color of the monster’s face, I didn’t find it resembled the Japanese flag at all. And if red circles in the MV represent the Japanese flag, there’s also a red circle on 2NE1′s jeep as well.
Fans of 2NE1 also have to understand that the nuclear leakage in Japan is still a very delicate topic to many people in Japan as well as around the world, and it’s natural for us to associate many daily things to an event that caused a lot of suffering to us, and this is what they’re going through. There’s no reason to react aggressively to any opinion and/or interpretation, everyone has their own background and ideas, so it really saddens me to read comments all over the internet about people who are judging the Japanese people for opinions that might not even represent the great majority. It’s all about being sensitive and understanding that a nuclear leakage isn’t something that happens everyday.
We should always keep our minds open to different possibilities, and even if that’s the message behind the video, that doesn’t mean it’s the group’s opinion, maybe it’s even just a video that stereotypes violence… I just don’t think it should be an agent of controversy because everything is too ambiguous.
The power of netizens and the internet when it comes to judgement is really scaring me.
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What sickens me is that I’ve read comments from non-Japanese 2ne1 fans that say the Japanese deserved to have the nuclear reactor leak, because “All Japanese need to learn to bow down to Korea” and that “Korea has bested Japan.” I also read comments where the fans say that yes, 2ne1 does hate Japan, but that they’re there to help Korea take Japan’s power. Those comments actually make me a little afraid, because who knows what else they’re thinking with that sort of mindset?
I don’t think those fans realize that their negative comments reflect back on to the girls, and that this can actually hurt them.
Imagine what could happen if the girls do end up debuting in the States (like they plan), and when people go online to find out more about them they come across those comments o___o
Personally, I don’t see a problem with the video, it was just put out too soon, and it being by a Korean group doesn’t help, what with all of the protests going on against the Hallyu Wave (didja know that “Hallyu” was a word created by a Chinese journalist? <– random). Both topics (Korean groups in Japan and the nuclear reactor) are touchy, and combining the two probably didn't help.
… Wow, that was a long comment O__O
HAHAHAHA I love your long comments, nodamie :’) They bring some rainbow, glitter and sunshine to my humble lil’ space!
And yes ;-; All this crazy netizen stuff is promoting hate to a level that won’t be able to be retained anymore. The majority of comments I read hating on Japan were from people who aren’t even Korean, but were brainwashed by the Hallyu wave. People have to realize that music is not about fighting, negativity and threatening others lives and/or power… It’s about fun, cheering for your favorite groups/artists, and they just ruin everything and are slowly pushing me away from the groups they’re ‘defending’.
I actually find that to be very common among Kpop fans. People who aren’t even Korean decide that they want to assume, if that’s the correct word for it. Assume how the business works, what Koreans actually like or don’t like, or what their favorite stars are thinking. You are exactly right when you said, “people who aren’t even Korean, but were brainwashed by the Hallyu wave.”
Yes! :(
I mean, I’m not Japanese nor Korean, but I immerse myself in Japanese culture a lot of times, and read a lot about it (Some Japanese girls in my school are even impressed when I know about current events even quicker than them!), and I always protect it to the best of my ability because I feel like it’s a part of me even though I’m not ethnically connected…
The thing about most international K-Pop fans though, is that they don’t really bother to do the same when it comes to Korean culture, and just assume that all there is to it is K-Pop, when there’s SO much more, especially when it comes to the relationship between Korea and Japan… it’s something delicate, not to be handled with ignorance… but some people’s opinions just speak louder than common sense.