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!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

But can he eat a live octopus?

From Huffington Post, which I likely wouldn't read were it not for the occasional Korea news alert, comes news that Josh Brolin will star in Spike Lee's remake of Oldboy.

I guess Spike Lee has moved from making movies about Koreans swinging brooms to remaking movies about Koreans swinging hammers.

My thoughts later, but right now I'm working on a deadline. I'll leave you with a past post that explains the title of this current post.

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1 comment:

AnonymousWednesday, August 31, 2011 2:14:00 AM
It's not going to be as good. The only way it can is if they do an original take. But to recreate the storyline in terms of the daughter being a Japanese restaurant waitress, having incest happen at a school, is not going to work for a Hollywood film. Can you imagine a white woman as a Japanese waitress? Sure, they exist, but it's not going to be as meaningful as the Korean film because Japanese restaurants are more common and there is a certain aura about them in the Korean context, which does not really apply to the U.S. Having the incest happen at a Korean school where there are certain associations just made it all the more creepier. If they did that scene in an American school, it would not add more to the creepiness factor, but would look more random. Spike Lee may have some talent, but he's no Park Chan Wook. Based on interviews, I think he has mellowed since "Do the Right Thing" though, but I haven't seen enough of his work to judge the effect on his filmmaking. I just don't think Spike can bring it in terms of the rawness and virtuosity of the original.
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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.

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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.