Well, these girls were. They were so much a fan of American R&B, they wanted to pay "Homage" to the African-Americans that made it. By dressing... well...

Take a look

That's right. Amazingly WRONG. But if you think about it is it? Do they know the Taboos our American society has put up against images of this nature? So they really think that this is paying Homage to people like Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige? Or is this some marketing scheme to get Global attention?

To make matters worse, the song that they're singing in their first video roughly translates to "we're so ugly" Already infuriating people by making them think that they're calling Black people ugly. However, this is not the case. Remember how their band is "Going against the POP status quo in Korea"? The girls aren't exactly Model quality. In no way does this make them inferior, but in the eyes of the pop world here and there in a way it does. If you don't beleive me watch television sometimes and see if it doesn't make you question your own desirability. (if only for a moment)

Just so that you can get a better grasp of this whole scene...

Picture #1

Picture #1

Picture #1

And a VIDEO

What is so uberocularstimulating to me is watching how globalization of cultures makes us react to one another. When I was in high-school, a Russian foreign exchange student had told me that before he came to America everyone in his town thought that American kids all owned their own helicopters and had LOTS of money and all the women were Spectacular models. (An image he had recieved watching American TV shows like Beverly Hills 90210)

The Bubble Sisters is nothing different. If for the last 60 years in America you've watched TV or looked at advertising, Black people have gone from Aunt Jemima to Tyra Banks, Uncle Tom to Trick Daddy, Al Jolson to Michael Jordan. It wasn't until the early 90's that MTV culture started playing less rock and more R&B-Rap-Hip-Hop.

You have to realize that other cultures don't have complete coverage like we do. They're in essence the same as Dustin Hoffman at the grammys. They have a window into our culture (him through his kids) and they use what little they know to try and be "cool" (like Mr. Hoffman raising the roof and saying "Say Baby" and "Bruce String-Steet".

If they're this way about issues like popular culture... how do you think they take things like "the daily show" or some of our more conservative talk show hosts? (left and right) It's a potential Disaster!!! They don't know how unimportant these talkshow hosts are, that they're spewing an american point of view and not THE American point of view. It makes us look bad. (but not as bad as our current political administration)

Think of it this way, when the Twin Towers were bombed, I saw a television image from afganistan of people dancing in the street (reportedly from the fall of the towers). That was only one image. The image consisted of what was maybe 20 people at the most. For all I know it could have been previous footage from someone's birthday party. But becuase of it's timing and the fact that the news aired that video clip on every channel and every show, it stirred up images of an entire country dancing and rejoycing at our demise. I can't say that the majority weren't against the US. However, I can say that people are not unilateral on things. Not here in America, not anywhere.

As our world grows and becomes more "connected", it will go through many misunderstandings. Some of which will cause huge rifts and upheave social cultures. It's bad and it's good...

I take that back. It's simply the nature of things.

anyway, that's my two thousand Yen.