Monster Island (actually a peninsula)*

Pearls of witticism from 'Bo the Blogger: Kushibo's Korea blog... Kushibo-e Kibun... Now with Less kimchi, more nunchi. Random thoughts and commentary (and indiscernibly opaque humor) about selected social, political, economic, and health-related issues of the day affecting "foreans," Koreans, Korea and East Asia, along with the US, especially Hawaii, Orange County and the rest of California, plus anything else that is deemed worthy of discussion. Forza Corea!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Miley Cyrus does her part for the pornification of America

[above: Is she just being Miley? Well, at least this time her questionable judgement didn't involve a racial slur.]

What parent who allows their child to watch the Teen Choice Awards on Fox TV wouldn't want their kid to see a sixteen-year-old pop idol clad in short shorts straddling a pole during a risqué performance?

Again, to quote Marge Simpson:

You know, Fox turned into a hardcore sex channel

so gradually, I didn't even notice. Yeesh!

5 comments:

reijeneWednesday, August 12, 2009 6:25:00 PM
how do these parents define risque? She's wearing a decently-elevated heels (i know my heels are higher than that), she was not shaking the way beyonce does, so what's that? i cannot find anything wrong with the dance routine...

although, she fell flat a couple times while singing, but hey.. she's just 16.
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kushiboWednesday, August 12, 2009 6:32:00 PM
I don't know... Kids are more likely to look at Miley Cyrus and say they want to wear what she's wearing than to look at Beyoncé and do the same.
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reijeneWednesday, August 12, 2009 9:34:00 PM
Good point.

Every generation has its tweetums to risque... i guess this time it's Miley's turn.
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John from DaejeonWednesday, August 12, 2009 10:12:00 PM
What will the kids do once they see the "octoidiotmom" on FOX's 2 hour special on August 20th with never before seen footage? I know I will be boycotting this garbage.

At least Billy Ray's offspring has jettisoned her geezer boyfriend. However, today my mind was blown when I found out that a 16 year-old Natalie Wood, of "Rebel Without a Cause" fame, had an affair with the film's 43 year-old director, Nicholas Ray, during filming. Not quite as bad as Roman Polanski's love of young flesh though.
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kushiboThursday, August 13, 2009 12:13:00 PM
Wow, John from Taejŏn, I did not know that about Natalie Wood. A sixteen-year-old and a forty-three-year-old. Hmm...

Apparently this post has attracted some media attention, a bit:

We knew Miley Cyrus’ brief pole dance at the Teen Choice Awards was going to spark a debate and, lo and behold, it has. Parent advocacy groups are up in arms, and blogs are crowing: “Miley Cyrus Does Her Part For the Pornification Of America.” In Newsday, child psychologist Wendi Fischer opined, “She’s sending the message that this is ‘OK’ to do, and I don’t think it is OK to do.”

That's me who's doing the "crowing." If you don't believe me, go Google it. I'll wait. I've got a Starbucks and an Internet connection; I'm not going anywhere.

Of course, they didn't link to here, and then they went on to mock me, but I'm used to that by now. :)
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Ask Kushibo.

My Google/Blogspot data shows that a lot of the 2 million people who have landed on my site (yes, that's the real number) are looking for cultural information on Korea (e.g., “When did Syngman Rhee die?” “What did the Indians bring to the first Chusŏk?’ etc., etc.), as well as practical or historical stuff.

That got me thinking that, hey, I have a master’s degree in Korean studies and a minor in Japanese studies, I’ve lived in Seoul far longer than most foreans my age (whether they're kyopo or non-kyopo), I teach introductory courses on Korea and its cultural trappings and history, so why not offer a free service where I attempt to answer people’s questions, point them in the direction of where they can get them answered, and/or offer my regulars (that’s you!) a chance to take a stab at some of this stuff, too.

So if there’s something you’d like to know from a “contrarian scourge,” click on ASK KUSHIBO and just ask a succinct question in the comments section below.

Oh, and play nice. Please don’t make me regret this.

九十五大怪獣란? 쿠시보의 몬스터 아일랜드란?

Pearls of witticism from 'Bo the Blogger: Kushibo's Korea blog... Kushibo-e Kibun...
Now with Less kimchi, more nunchi. Random thoughts and commentary (and indiscernibly opaque humor) about selected social, political, economic, and health-related issues of the day affecting "foreans" ("foreigners" in Korea be they kyopo or non-kyopo), Koreans, Korea and East Asia, along with the US, especially Hawaii, Orange County, and the rest of California, plus anything else that is deemed worthy of discussion. Forza Corea!

* Monster Island (actually a peninsula)

The name of this blog comes from a line in "Lisa on Ice," a beloved episode of The Simpsons, perhaps my all-time favorite television show (even though for several seasons there, it really did suck). Lisa is imagining being sworn in as president, but at the last minute, it is discovered that she failed P.E. (physical education) and she is thus "sentenced to a lifetime of horror" on Monster Island. "Don't worry," the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court confides in her, "It's just a name."

Fast forward to Lisa and other prisoners running in panic through a tropical jungle, chased by Godzilla-like creatures, including a monster turtle and a monster firefly.

"He said it was just a name!" Lisa screams to the man next to her. While he, too, runs for his life, the unidentified man calmly says, "What he meant is that Monster Island is actually a peninsula."

Anyway, I thought in some ways that punchline summed up modern-day Korea in a nutshell. For many people—foreigners and Koreans—the ups and downs and everyday travails of the Republic of Korea make it as precarious as a Monster Island would be (and with the DMZ being the only land border, it really is like an island). But it actually is a peninsula. Okay, it made sense in my head.

So as you can see, despite the hits I get from people looking for Japanese tentacle porn, it has nothing to do with anything salacious as that.