Beanie level: Noble idiot

I keep thinking that Janelle Monae would really enjoy Are You Human Too? Androids, love that defies social norms, and transhuman futures are kinda her bag, right?

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Are You Human Too?’s MVP Kang So-bong. When I think about how much I love this character it feels like a lawnmower running over my chest. In a good way.

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If anyone needs me I’ll be making a supercut of pensive!Nam Shin III and ugly crying into my tea.

WAAAAAAAAAAAHHH
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    right there with you T____T

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    I know it’s ironic because he’s a robot in this scene…but our Shinnamon sweetness looks like somebody crushed his soul and took out the spark in his eyes (well…we know who did that…) ((grabs helplessly for a tissue box))

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Half-dreading, half-anticipating what the week will bring for this precious pair.

*whispers* “Remember: there were good times, puppies. Come what may, remember that.”

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I’m giving Sweet Combat a whirl. Mainly for language-learning purposes tbh. I am trying to fix the tones of basic phrases in my head, so I can at least say that much correctly to the Chinese students I am working with this summer.

BUT maybe this trio of fighty ladies will make it worth my while? They have their work cut out for them. So far the drama has given us several fun gender stereotypes, such as “Girls are biologically attracted to the colour pink, including a preference for pink fruits” and “Boys are better at mathematics than girls” and “All girls are aiming for marriage”.

They better be punching a lot of folk is all I’m sayin.
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My ID is Gangnam Beauty wasn’t something I initially intended to check out. But then I read a little more about the premise, and I became curious. I don’t know how rigorously it will explore the toxic effect of patriarchal beauty norms (suspicion = not that rigorously), so I might not keep it up. However, I found Kang Mi Rae a sympathetic character whose desire to be seen as she is, rather than through the lens of what society says a young girl should be and should look like, really affecting. I also liked the brief snippet of her and her BFF. Together I think they made this show just about passed the Bechdel test? which is ya know RARE.

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So I’m giving A Witch’s Love a shot because: Yoon So-hee and WITCHES. After two episodes I am not quite convinced, but I will probably give it another week. Because WITCHES and Yoon So-hee.

P.S. final AYHT thought until next episode. Not all men have penises. Let’s stop making Nam Shin III’s nether regions the locus of his identity and source of his validity as a person and/or So-bong’s partner. K. Cool. Thanx.

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    Ohhh! I’d seen comments about this A Witch’s Love drama, but I thought it was a remake from the noona romance one! *feels interested*
    Also, thank you. I’m not even watching AYHT, but some of these comments have left me hanging.
    ~but what about sex~ ~no sex? how does that work~
    I wonder what will happen when these people discover asexuality and trans men, among many, many things!

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      Also also, stealing that gif <3

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      Yeah, I’m also assuming lack of awareness rather than malice, but it’s difficult to watch the discussions play out. It’s like hello! 👋 life is infinitely various, thank you.

      The witch’s show is cute but I am a little underwhelmed by the male lead. I can’t figure out if it’s because of the acting, the script, or the fact that I have had my fill of cold, cynical chaebols with traumatic childhoods at the mo. We shall see.

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I did not know I needed “30 But 17” but I do. These two are super cute & gentle & energetic & fun & kind-hearted. “Call me Jennifer” is wonderful. Yang Se-jong is beautiful & melancholy. More, plz.

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    AGREED! I wasn’t going to watch it but I’m slightly in love with both the leads so I broke down. Now I’m mad I didn’t wait for 2 weeks. The end of ep 4 is just when everything was getting good.

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      Ditto! I don’t know that I would have been as interested if the leads were anyone else. And I also wish I had waited. Though I needed its gentle charm after the emotional wringer of AYHT on Monday/Tuesday.

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    They’re adorable.

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AYHT is turning all the screws and my ❤ cannot take it. Stop it.

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wait wait wait. what is … is that SYMPATHY i\’m feeling? for human shin? what?

nonono

my politics is #DeathToChaebols

DON\’T CONFUSE ME, AYHT.

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KANG SO BONG YOU ARE SO WISE.
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I call this:

Out of Context Poong is a Very Coy Poong Indeed
Animated GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

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Staaaaahp, you’re giving me a toothache.
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Back for one last time with these sweet chickadees.
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Catching up on WWSK 13.

…

…

*throws phone across room*

AAAAAAAGH.

I’ll catch up with you in your next show, Park Min Young.
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    I’m just like “learn how to masturbate, nimrod”. Wtf.

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    If she had any sense at all she would have immediately run the other direction.

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      Now that I know the whole show was leading to her realisation that her ultimate aim in life was to fulfill all his needs, desires, and ambitions … yeah, I’m inclined to agree.

      I hate that the show keeps framing his attraction to her and his insistence “he doesn’t want to stop” or “won’t stop” – WITHOUT asking her what she wants – as indicative of the strength of his love and passion. When it’s just selfish, immature and entitled. I just can’t. I have known 18-year-olds with more consideration for their partners and more self-control than this 30+ jackass.

      I’m out. And back to Sae-woo and Poong’s cute kitchen makeout scene where they both seem equally delighted at the prospect of sleeping together.

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    What about that *precious* moment when he told her that if she was really sorry, she could go to his place? :))))))))))))

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Goodbye Wok of Love, you beautiful hot mess of a show. I hardly knew whether to love you or leave you at times, but I’m glad I saw you through to the end. Thanks for the jajangmyeon memories.
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lads lads lads, is there a way i can check who I \’follow\’ and who \’follows\’ me? i don\’t know how \’following\’ works on dramabeans. thanking you in advance for your insight!

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tfw you’re filled with determination and there ain’t nothing or nobody gonna stand in your way
Animated GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

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I am a little perturbed by some of the decisions So-bong is making on Nam Shin’s behalf. There is some weird infantilisation/objectification malarkiness in latest episode, which I hope will be a blip
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    While I love her newly discovered uber-protective streak, I agree that she is underestimating him just as everyone else (though JYH, David and Gramps do it to a less degree).

    One thing I’d say in her favor is that she said I love you without expecting reciprocity (in fact despite believing that reciprocity is impossible) so it’s not like she is forcing him into something he’s not sure of. Still, I wish she did a little less kill-switch related protecting. Especially since they are usually very good at talking openly about stuff. The discussion with his mother proved that Shin is perfectly capable to deal with everything by himself. Also I get this vibe of still-waters-run-deep – the feeling that he knows and understands a lot more than he lets on. Time will tell…

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      I was also gladdened by how she declared her feelings without expecting anything in particular in return. And how she articulated her feelings and sense of loyalty when speaking to Oh Ra was also lovely. But it seems like a grave overstep for her to (a) withhold information from him about his own body and (b) turn him off without asking permission to do so. The latter was quite a violent act in its impact on him, but that is glossed over by the gentle way in which he powers off. It was a misstep, and I know there all sorts of mitigating factors but if she (and we) respect him as an autonomous being then he should have had a choice.

      Also, I am a little uncertain about Shin acting out boyfriend-ish behaviours for So-bong’s benefit. If he does not have any feelings or desires to do those for his own sake, then does doing them to satisfy her needs/desires just mean he’s servicing her in some way. Is this being driven by his logic that he must be useful to someone? And is that a good enough approximation to love?

      Also Also. While I was amused at Reporter Jo’s inspection, I was also like: is this okay? I mean Shin gave permission. But isn’t this according him less dignity than you would a human? Idek .

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        Hmm
        Here are some thoughts:

        1. Battery removal: She did ask for permission before switching him off “Do you trust me?” were her exact words. Also she explicitly apologized before doing it.

        2. Not telling him about the kill switch: I agree with you but I find it forgivable to some degree. SB (and David) could not get themselves to tell him because they care about him and don’t want his feelings to get hurt. Learning to let your loved ones make their own decisions despite the instinct to protect them from the ugliness of the world is also a process. I am hoping she’ll get there in the end.

        3. I have so many questions reporter: I did not see it as demeaning. Rather indulging her curiosity was a rational decision that Shin made. He knows that humans are suspicious and uncomfortable around a realistic android (as he has had plenty of evidence from any human who got to know him). He lets her check him out because it’s a way to alleviate those fears and for to them to establish a connection. SB has a similar response after she got over her initial fear/aversion. But unlike SB, reporter Jo is kind of shameless and juvenile so of course that the anatomy bit came up as the most urgent question (especially since her friend is in love with said robot and it would be rather useful to know)…

        4. Boyfriend Shin: this is a tricky one. Although he does not and cannot feel romantic love the same way a human would, he cares about her, he is curious about her, wants to protect her and make her happy — all in his own way.

        There is no precedent on how a robot-human relationship should be like, so they need to figure it out by themselves. Shin’s trial-and-error approach to what-should-I-do-if-gf-is-mad-at-me seemed to me very much in character. He identifies the problem (Shin: “Are you feeling jealous?”, SB: “No way!”, Shin: “You totally are!”) tells her about it and tries to find a way to fix it. Actually I find their open discussions of what does it mean for her to be in love with him (for her, for him, and for them) very cool.

        Shin’s eagerness to please does not make him a pushover. He is nice not just by design but to some degree by choice. Like when he agreed to DogShin’s request to meet with his mother. I like to think that he did it because he wanted him and mum to say their goodbyes properly – and indirectly to reassure human Shin of his place in the equation.
        Again, time will tell…

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          Hey,

          Re: (1) battery removal. I don’t think “Do you trust me?” is equivalent to “I want to remove your battery for a short time. I have a good reason but I can’t explain right now. Do you trust me to do that?” And, yup, she did apologise, because she knows it’s not a decision to be taken lightly. But I really don’t think her asking for his trust is the same as informing him of what she was going to do to him and asking for his permission to do so.

          2. Kill switch. It’s all very understandable and mostly forgiveable, but it’s still infantilises Shin and prevents him from making important decisions about his future. It is also a nonsense given that one of the people best placed to solve the problem of the killswitch is Shin himself. Retention of important but potentially difficult to accept information is such a tired drama trope as well. It fatigues me.

          3. I agree with your reading of the internal logic of the scene, but I think the way the encounter was framed to the audience played on this curiosity about whether Shin is a “real boy” but also presented him as an object for inspection. It is complicated in that I enjoyed the humour on one level, whereas on another I knew I would be very uncomfortable if the same scene was enacted with reversed genders. And there is the fact that Shin did give permission. Additionally, as a robot, he has none of the body shame or vulnerability that a human might experience during such an inspection and assessment. Nevertheless it jarred for me. As an audience we have been moving towards seeing Shin as a person, not an object, and I felt that was compromised a little in exchange for easy laughs in this scene. I understand why others might not see it that way, but that’s still my take.

          5. Yup, I do not think there is a definitive answer to this at this stage. I do not really think about it is a question of whether he is a pushover. For me, the question is whether he is able to prioritise his own wellbeing over So-bong’s. If he is able to do so then it will be good evidence of him having his own agency as opposed to having simply replaced Oh-Ra with So-bong in his priorities/rules etc.

          Sidebar: I hate when jealous behaviour is used as an positive indicator of romantic interest in Kdrama (or anywhere else). How is insecurity and distrust cute? GAH.

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    I have no opinion as I dropped this drama after 2 eps but I appreciate your use of the word Malarkiness. Malarkey is a word that doesn’t get near enough love and I applaud your use of it.

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Just appreciating Nam Shin’s lovely form.
Animated GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

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