KPOP Demon Hunters - My duty as a millenial parent is unfortunately to take my kids to this

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mindlessobserver

mindlessobserver

True & Honest Fan
kiwifarms.net
Joined
Jul 18, 2017
I've gotten seats at the limited release to the current Sony slop for me and the next generation. My reasons for doing so are complicated, but based on my observations despite not being the target demographic is the kids absolutely are and there is actually a wholesome message here for once.

*Edit*
WATCHED IT!

You can read my autistic review here.


One of my laments has been that Generation Alpha has no culture of its own. No events to call their own beyond YouTube slop and that horrible Minecraft movie. This actually looks like the first genuine article for them, something that speaks to the culture that they are now growing up in but at the same time is theirs. The interesting theme seeming to be how everything is happy and superficial on the outside yet just below the surface there is pure malevolent evil lurking.

Got some tickets to the limited theater release this weekend. Will report back.
 
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mindlessobserver said:
The interesting theme seeming to be how everything is happy and superficial on the outside yet just below the surface there is pure malevolent evil lurking.
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This is the story of literally fucking everything made for Alpha. Mascot horror, The Amazing Digital Circus, Roblox. The world they live in isn't too far off from this theme, even, so it dilutes the fantasy of these works by subconsciously tying them to reality (or very consciously, depending on how badly the creator needs to politisperg). It makes everything into a bland, homogenous mess that fails to stand out from the real world by drawing such direct inspiration from it that the absurdity needed to truly escape is lost.

What makes this different from any other movie directed at Alpha? The fact that it didn't bomb horrifically? It isn't unique in identity: it's basically just a discount Spider-verse in visuals. It isn't unique in theming, as I've just laid out. It's definitely not unique in execution, what with the mandatory cute animal sidekick (only there for marketing purposes) and the xD so qWirkY and rAndOm main cast all being given extremely exaggerated designs and expressions. The only thing it has going for it on a surface level is the stupid title that isn't as wacky and special as it thinks it is.

Given its explosive success, I have to assume that the movie is actually sincere in its theming (despite the horribly obnoxious trailers and clips I've seen of it) and that's what's drawing people in. Not this "reality is an illusion everything sucks" bullshit that's been poisoning creativity for decades now. From what I've gathered, sincerity seems to be the only way to make a true hit nowadays (which is why Sony's the only studio doing it-- because they actually need the money, and accidentally stumbled upon the power of sincerity through Spider-verse and Puss in Boots 2, so they're sticking to this idea like glue when every other studio refuses to touch it for fear of being "uncool" with the insincere youth), so there's got to be more to this premise than just the usual "wu-oh the good thing is actually bad??" shtick you're shilling it for.

Sorry, that was a bit needlessly angry. I'm just so sick of seeing this fucking movie being spread everywhere and lauded as the second coming. The "animation is art" types really latched onto this and won't shut up about how life-changing it is or whatever. When all I've seen of this movie is three neon-haired bitches making dumb faces and/or stuffing food down their throat (isn't it so quirky that they like eating big portions?? haha laugh). It really looks like the absolute embodiment of every bad trope that's been plaguing this sphere of animation since Shrek. I can't imagine what anyone would see in it that they couldn't see in a thousand other bad films, so I'm somewhat intrigued that you seem to think it's something even slightly important.

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How anybody can find this even slightly appealing is beyond me. Despite all this heavy exaggeration of the eyes and cheeks, the faces are always completely stiff and plastic. The hair is stiff and overly detailed. The designs of the main trio all look very similar (which I'm aware is probably supposed to be a jab at how k-pop idols all look like copy-pastes of each other with different hair and clothing, but is irritating nonetheless), which completely baffles me because there's a boy band with the same premise that looks more distinct in this same movie.
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Granted, there's nothing too terribly wrong with both the trio and quintet here, I just find them personally unappealing. I think their silhouettes look mostly fine (if you silhouetted the boy band it might end up looking more like 2 characters than 5, but the hair styles somewhat make up for that), I just don't like their designs at all. They're covered in very gaudy colors, trying very hard to stand out, but all look very very similar. Kind of like the movie itself, I guess.
 
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Anonitolia said:
Sorry, that was a bit needlessly angry. I'm just so sick of seeing this fucking movie being spread everywhere and lauded as the second coming.
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I agree in principle, but I can't argue with it because I've not seen it. Part of the reason I have committed to going to the limited theater release. If the kids are going to watch it, its going to be done right. In a cinema with a big ass screen and sound system. With other humans. Culture is meant to be a shared experience with your people. Not something done in the dark in your room in front of a phone. And there have been precious options on that front for the Alphas.

I just watched some clips to make sure I wasn't going into another "queer coded" kids movie. This one, clearly not, and for once it looks like heterosexuals drew both the male and female characters. I hate that this is the benchmark for quality and I share your anger on this front.
 
mindlessobserver said:
I just watched some clips to make sure I wasn't going into another "queer coded" kids movie. This one, clearly not, and for once it looks like heterosexuals drew both the male and female characters.
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If you do not mind some spoilers...
There is no queer coding. The closest would be a demon half-breed getting acceptance angst over her demon-hunting family's philosophy that every demon is bad, unfeeling, and must be killed, bu there is no actual queerness in this film.

UPDATE TO ANYONE READING THIS:
The Ultimate Ramotith

Post in thread 'KPOP Demon Hunters'

The Ultimate Ramotith said:
If you do not mind some spoilers...
There is no queer coding. The closest would be a demon half-breed getting acceptance angst over her demon-hunting family's philosophy that every demon is bad, unfeeling, and must be killed, bu there is no actual queerness in this film.
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I FORGOT SOMETHING IMPORTANT.

There is a quick scene in which some KPop stans hip one of the female demon hunters with tw of the male demons: Miromabby. However, the film is a little ambiguous on whether the ship is a polycule ship or a ‘Betty and Veronica’ situation.
 
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mindlessobserver said:
If the kids are going to watch it, its going to be done right. In a cinema with a big ass screen and sound system. With other humans. Culture is meant to be a shared experience with your people. Not something done in the dark in your room in front of a phone. And there have been precious options on that front for the Alphas.
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I guess that's fair enough, if you just want something to bring your kids to, but I find it absurd to declare this a special moment for all Alphas just because you're taking your kids to see it. Even more bizarre to say this about the movie before seeing it, especially given that you're talking about the movie like you're going to see it in standard format... but you should probably know that you're taking them to a sing-along-- not a normal movie screening. Unless your theater is doing something special, the theater release of KDH might end up having subtitles and special pauses for the music where it wouldn't otherwise, which might warp their opinion. If you already knew that it was going to be a sing-along event-- why show that to your kids first? Isn't the entire point of a sing-along to sing along to songs you already know and like?

mindlessobserver said:
I just watched some clips to make sure I wasn't going into another "queer coded" kids movie. This one, clearly not, and for once it looks like heterosexuals drew both the male and female characters. I hate that this is the benchmark for quality and I share your anger on this front.
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If nothing else, this is easily avoided by never touching anything made after 2010 and being wary about 90s-2000s stuff. Obviously not an ideal solution, but prevents migraines in a pinch.

Not sure if I can agree on the "heterosexuals drew both the male and female characters" bit, the dudes look very effeminate in a very specific way that triggers my fujoshi alarms something fierce, but at least I can give you the shortest girl and maybe her friends (sisters? cousins? whatever, the other two in the main trio). That's definitely a positive. Still doesn't mean quality, just a green flag where there would otherwise be red.
 
Anonitolia said:
Not sure if I can agree on the "heterosexuals drew both the male and female characters" bit, the dudes look very effeminate in a very specific way that triggers my fujoshi alarms something fierce
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Par for the course for K-Pop fangirls
 
Anonitolia said:
I guess that's fair enough, if you just want something to bring your kids to, but I find it absurd to declare this a special moment for all Alphas just because you're taking your kids to see it. Even more bizarre to say this about the movie before seeing it, especially given that you're talking about the movie like you're going to see it in standard format... but you should probably know that you're taking them to a sing-along-- not a normal movie screening. Unless your theater is doing something special, the theater release of KDH might end up having subtitles and special pauses for the music where it wouldn't otherwise, which might warp their opinion. If you already knew that it was going to be a sing-along event-- why show that to your kids first? Isn't the entire point of a sing-along to sing along to songs you already know and like?
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Because they already know about it. Information moves so fast now and school has been in session. And all the kids are now raving about it. The mightiest mountain will be brought low by the wind and water.

I can't hide this shit from the kids. So I need to lean into it and make sure its done right. You can't hide shit from the Alphas. They WILL find out about it. The best you can do is try and keep up so you are there to whack with the stick.
 
Anonitolia said:
Not sure if I can agree on the "heterosexuals drew both the male and female characters" bit, the dudes look very effeminate in a very specific way that triggers my fujoshi alarms something fierce, but at least I can give you the shortest girl and maybe her friends (sisters? cousins? whatever, the other two in the main trio). That's definitely a positive. Still doesn't mean quality, just a green flag where there would otherwise be red.
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That's just how kpop men look. Like faggots.
 
Anonitolia said:
the xD so qWirkY and rAndOm main cast all being given extremely exaggerated designs and expressions
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Anonitolia said:
When all I've seen of this movie is three neon-haired bitches making dumb faces and/or stuffing food down their throat (isn't it so quirky that they like eating big portions?? haha laugh).
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I was reminded of Turning Red, als of Asian descent, coincidentally.
I wonder how influential Turning Red was in the industry, since a big part of animation aficionados was 'let cartoons be cartoony!' and 'stop Same Face Female Syndrome!'

Me, I feel tha the film is just jumping on this generation's fondness of KPop and a different form of LOLRANDOM humour (not o be confused with 'LOLCat humour').
 
The Ultimate Ramotith said:
I wonder how influential Turning Red was in the industry, since a big part of animation aficionados was 'let cartoons be cartoony!' and 'stop Same Face Female Syndrome!'
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The dumb faces thing must be an anime influence and probably the whole "make female characters ugly" bandwagon that mediocre artists hopped on out of cope. This Kpop thing reminds me of Nimona (imo a pretty movie despite the fag shit and pooner creator).
 
I watched this movie a while back.
I liked it. It was fun, interesting, had lots of pretty colors.
Songs get stuck in my head though.
 
Anonitolia said:
This is the story of literally fucking everything made for Alpha. Mascot horror, The Amazing Digital Circus, Roblox. The world they live in isn't too far off from this theme, even, so it dilutes the fantasy of these works by subconsciously tying them to reality (or very consciously, depending on how badly the creator needs to politisperg). It makes everything into a bland, homogenous mess that fails to stand out from the real world by drawing such direct inspiration from it that the absurdity needed to truly escape is lost.
Click to expand...
Ive thought about this for a moment, mainly because I have no frame reference for your references. Amazing Digital Circus? Wtf is that? Roblox? Never played it. Never let the kids play it either. Mascot Horror? I assume FNAF and such? Never played those either but know by reputation. Seems like zoomer slop though.

My context for this though was as someone with an ear to ground of internet trends this movie pinged my radar. Despite me not having a Netflix Account or even broadband internet access in my area. I connect to internet with a cell phone tower, with a capped monthly date rate. No streaming, no always online, and more broadly, I cant do it even if I wanted too. Which I dont. Yes, there are still places in America that don't have internet. I live in one of those places.

Which is why I found it interesting that this particular facet of culture came across my desk. And when I told the kids apropos nothing I got tickets to the theater release they lit up. With no prior input from me. Which means they already knew about it.

Love it or hate it, this is a cultural touchstone atm, so I am going to engage with it. Properly. In a theater. With other people. And then report back.
 
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