Ada apa dengan Gangnam?
It’s no secret that Koreans have invaded our TVs and are becoming stiff competition for our local drama industry. If you think I’ve been spared, well, you’re dead wrong (but I’ll save that for another post). So, it was really no surprise when Psy became viral and I really didn’t give two hoots about it, at least at first.
Day in, day out, people post videos of parodies and localised versions of the Gangnam and frankly, some of them I thought to be quite amusing. Then, Gangnam took children by storm and I still thought it was amusing the way the Gangnam affected them; how it influenced them to eat, sleep and how it made them dance. Somehow, the children have a real soft spot for Gangnam which I felt was cute.
Until it stole my child’s attention.
Now what I’m about to write may strike a parent or two’s cord but I think that all parents have the right to determine how to bring their child up and there is no one “suitable for all” type of parenting, which is fool proof and guarantees a child’s upbringing and future.
So, my style of parenting is that my child doesn’t get entertainment, well at least not primarily or predominantly, from a gadget. Meaning we don’t have an iPad, Tab or the likes (at least for now) for him to watch videos, play games etc. from. Heck, we don’t even watch TV that much. I know that at some point I’d have to expose him because realistically speaking, we do live in a world where dependence on a gadget or two is inevitable, but surely entertainment can come in other forms, right? Plus, I did pretty well without and I think my children should do fine too.
But like I said, I’m realistic enough to realise that I can’t keep my child away from a gadget forever. So, when my parents bring out their gadgets and show my son animations like Pocoyo and the Sesame Street songs, I’m rather happy that he’s getting the occasional exposure for short periods of time. At least, he’ll grow up knowing what those things can do and not miss out on the “childhood” that every other kid goes through.
And then, Gangnam came into the picture.
Now, at first, I really honestly thought it was cute how Gangnam made my son dance. He would wait patiently for the part where the beat gets a little faster just before the chorus starts and then, he’d start shaking his butt. Which is all well and dandy with me, until I saw the MV for myself.
When I saw the MV, I was literally quite lost for words. I mean, really, do all those suggestive and erotic moves have to be in the MV? I know that those dance moves are moves imitating people riding horses, but having to watch some random guy thrusting his crotch so forcefully throughout the entire 4:15-long video? I found that to be rather disturbing.
To have a child watch that? Even more disturbing.
So, you can guess how I unhesitatingly expressed my displeasure to my mom when she wanted to see her grandson dance to Gangnam again. I don’t really mind him listening to the song, but to have him watch it again? Eik. Such a distasteful video that is and the last thing I want my son to learn is to think that it’s okay to dance the way Psy dances.
Sometimes, we’ve got to know that children should get entertainment in other forms and we adults shouldn’t use children as our entertainment. At least where Gangnam is concerned.
Because clearly they don’t have a choice but hey we surely do.
Day in, day out, people post videos of parodies and localised versions of the Gangnam and frankly, some of them I thought to be quite amusing. Then, Gangnam took children by storm and I still thought it was amusing the way the Gangnam affected them; how it influenced them to eat, sleep and how it made them dance. Somehow, the children have a real soft spot for Gangnam which I felt was cute.
Until it stole my child’s attention.
Now what I’m about to write may strike a parent or two’s cord but I think that all parents have the right to determine how to bring their child up and there is no one “suitable for all” type of parenting, which is fool proof and guarantees a child’s upbringing and future.
So, my style of parenting is that my child doesn’t get entertainment, well at least not primarily or predominantly, from a gadget. Meaning we don’t have an iPad, Tab or the likes (at least for now) for him to watch videos, play games etc. from. Heck, we don’t even watch TV that much. I know that at some point I’d have to expose him because realistically speaking, we do live in a world where dependence on a gadget or two is inevitable, but surely entertainment can come in other forms, right? Plus, I did pretty well without and I think my children should do fine too.
But like I said, I’m realistic enough to realise that I can’t keep my child away from a gadget forever. So, when my parents bring out their gadgets and show my son animations like Pocoyo and the Sesame Street songs, I’m rather happy that he’s getting the occasional exposure for short periods of time. At least, he’ll grow up knowing what those things can do and not miss out on the “childhood” that every other kid goes through.
And then, Gangnam came into the picture.
Now, at first, I really honestly thought it was cute how Gangnam made my son dance. He would wait patiently for the part where the beat gets a little faster just before the chorus starts and then, he’d start shaking his butt. Which is all well and dandy with me, until I saw the MV for myself.
When I saw the MV, I was literally quite lost for words. I mean, really, do all those suggestive and erotic moves have to be in the MV? I know that those dance moves are moves imitating people riding horses, but having to watch some random guy thrusting his crotch so forcefully throughout the entire 4:15-long video? I found that to be rather disturbing.
To have a child watch that? Even more disturbing.
So, you can guess how I unhesitatingly expressed my displeasure to my mom when she wanted to see her grandson dance to Gangnam again. I don’t really mind him listening to the song, but to have him watch it again? Eik. Such a distasteful video that is and the last thing I want my son to learn is to think that it’s okay to dance the way Psy dances.
Sometimes, we’ve got to know that children should get entertainment in other forms and we adults shouldn’t use children as our entertainment. At least where Gangnam is concerned.
Because clearly they don’t have a choice but hey we surely do.
Shy to comment? Well, never mind! Your reactions mean the world to me! Make me smile today :)
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