R.I.P. Harlem shake, R.I.P. Gangnam Style: welcome the birth of PSY’s new sensation, Gentleman. As you may already know, PSY virally set the entire world on a horse dance rampage, when he released his hit, Gangnam Style which is the most-watched video on Youtube bringing 1.5 billion views since July of 2012. His efforts to conquer pop culture on his sophomore attempt for a Youtube hit – Gentleman – seems to be so far, so good. The music video was uploaded from the Official PSY channel on Youtube on Saturday, April 13, 2013, bringing more than 27 million views in the course of a single day.
PSY’s concept of entertainment can be expressed as being contradictory resulting in a comic satire in which can found in his music videos, Gangnam Style and Gentleman. In an Ellen DeGeneres Interview, he stated that in order to be “Gangnam Style” you have to, “dress classy, dance cheesy,” which is a quintessential form of his concept. This philosophy is also evident in Gentleman, in which PSY outwardly guilds himself with studded suits and ties, but contradicts this “gentleman” disguise through his actions of obnoxiously causing havoc – resulting in a vibrant music video with an addicting hook and a comic relief.
However, the will behind this Korean pop-star’s light laughs and gags is fuller and more nourished than his beer belly. In a USA today’s interview, PSY expresses his concern about the North Korean threats to South Korea, and that as a pop-culture icon, he wants to bring comic relief to the North Koreans, in efforts to make them laugh: “It’s a tragedy… we are the only country divided right now, my job is all about making people laugh, making people happy and hopefully my (entertainment)… they (North Korea) might enjoy it too.”
With a round of applause given to PSY for his efforts in having a peace-making aspiration behind his job, I think that this will inspire many people out there who are also welcoming to peace in the world.
With this pop-culture event as a catalyst for all to think about something greater than themselves, I would like to give everyone that is reading this a homework to solve:
Whether it is peace between a divided country, peace between nations, religions, or even harmony amongst the people in your life, how can we bring peace to the world? In other words, how can we become one with the world?
Should an individual try to change the world to become one with his/her mind, or should an individual change his/her mind to become one with the world?
Is it the world that is the problem, or is the human mind that is the problem?
With wisdom and careful thought, I think that everyone will be able to figure out what the problem is: for division between people of the world, and even the problem for why there is pain and suffering within one’s individual mind. Let’s be wise!
