[CC] In Defense of Sci-Fi

My life has revolved solely around science fiction for the past few months, and it's been one of the most educational and enjoyable phases through which I have ever gone.  I'd have to say it started with a week or so in which at least a dozen Star Trek references were thrown at me in an academic setting; I felt inferior for not totally catching the references and therefore not being able to participate fully in discussions in which the reference came up, but I took this as a sign from the universe telling me to watch Star Trek.  As all things should be done, I started from the very very beginning and am still working my way through the Original Series.  But of course I couldn't just limit my exploration of this fascinating genre to one TV series.  I expanded out into books, short stories, movies and other TV shows recommended to me by fellow fans of Sci-Fi.  To this day, The Transall Saga - a book I read in fifth grade for a book report - is one of my favorite books of all time.  Combined with stories from H.P. Lovecraft (thanks to John and Josiah for the recommendation), Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the two sci-fi stories we read for this short story unit (Brave New World and Welcome to The Monkey House), I finally feel like I am building up a decent understanding for the sci-fi genre of literature.  I'm no expert by any means, but there's something to be said for a little dedication to the genre.

I've learned a few things about the purpose of the genre from observing themes and effects tied to each of the works I listed above.  I'm a strong believer in the concept of fiction being fact; what makes any kind of fiction worth reading (or writing in the first place) is taking realistic, modern life as we know it and blowing some of its aspects out of proportion.  By doing this, we are able to look at parts of the realistic world and either observe ourselves as we are currently, or we can project what we might be capable of in the future.  For example, there's an episode of Star Trek ("The Squire of Gothos") in which a man named Trelane is living alone on a planet and lives his life based on his complete infatuation with Napoleon.  At one point in the episode, he tells Captain Kirk that "humans are one of the few species who prey upon themselves."  This line hit me hard when I was watching the episode.  But take the situation in its full context: an alien who receives information from Earth 500 years after the history has happened traps a few humans and a vulcan on his planet where he dwells in solitude and plays the harpsichord all day. Complete and utter buffoonery, and yet we can take away a deeper understanding of very real human aspects-- our lack of remorse for killing members of our own species-- from this surface-level hogwash.  (PSA: if you want real military commentary from a sci-fi source, watch Battlestar Gallactica-- essentially a militarized Star Trek.)  

The two stories we read in class that touched on the topic of science did a particularly good job of mentioning the ethical aspect of science.  Having written papers on the ethics of cloning and biological terrorism, I'm no stranger to looking at the critical side of science that people are afraid to observe.  In class, a very interesting idea was brought up: what's the difference between science and ethics in relation to science.  This baffled me, as I kind of figured the two were relatively synonymous.  I still don't have a full comprehension of this distinction, but I'd say ethics surrounds the contribution (good or bad) of a scientific practice in relation to society or a community, while morality is more related to the soundness of science in relation to the individual.  This difference is seen in Huxley's Brave New World; the creation of many identical people is ethical in that society can benefit from it and it eases many concerns in the futuristic world, but it may not be moral in terms of how the individual is living out their life more like a robot than a human.  This is a topic that I will be actively looking out for when reading/watching science fiction material from now on. 

There's so much more to say about the validity and importance of sci-fi in literature, but this is a nice dosage for one day. 

[FW] The Best Day of My Life - One Year Later

In honor of a year passing since the best freakin' day of my life, here is a reflection on that day that will go down in history as the most dramatic and euphoric mixture of pure joy and grief that I have ever experienced.

A Concert of Epic Proportions: BAP Live on Earth in Chicago

One does not know the immense perfection of concert culture until one has seen a performance put on by a Korean boy band.  On April 19th, 2014, a Korean music group known around the globe as “BAP” graced the Midwest with a three-day stop on their two-week long Live on Earth U.S. Attack tour.  While this concert was known as their Chicago concert, it took place an hour outside of Chicago in Merrillville, Indiana, a cement-covered town that had obviously not even known the meaning of excitement until BAP paid a visit to their lovely Star Plaza Theatre.  If you have never had the pleasure of listening to Korean pop music before, you should know that BAP is a prime example of great mainstream K-Pop.  This six-member boy group is the complete package; each well-groomed boy is between the age of seventeen and twenty-three, and each plays their own specific role in the group.  Yongguk is the dramatic rapper while Junhong (better known as Zelo) is the charismatic rapper.  Daehyun is the power vocal while Youngjae is the softer vocal, and so on.  All six are amazing dancers and can somehow belt out their high-energy songs while performing intricate choreography without even missing a beat.  Keep in mind that this went on for a solid two hours and fifteen minutes, with a total of 25 songs on the repertoire.  There were no live instruments (besides the boys’ voices), but the high-energy tracks blasting out of the massive speakers were perfectly followed by the singing portion of the songs.  Even without the auto-tuning found in most music these days, their voices were flawless and the concert went off without a hitch.

        Based on the mere fact that almost 3,400 people of varying age, sex, race, and occupation came from around the country to stand in line outside the venue for (a maximum of twelve) hours to discuss how much they love BAP, it is pretty obvious that the group and its music tend to have a fairly strong impression on the people who enjoy their music.  As for the people at this concert specifically, the eardrum-puncturing shrieks of enjoyment throughout the entire concert (and even before any of the members even came on stage) were clear indications of how the music had an impact on the crowd.  With a thumping bass line and addictive melodies that stick in your mind like lint on new black pants, a lack of fist-pumping from every being in the crowd was out of the question (unless, of course, those certain beings were without arms to begin with).  I could have sworn that, at one point, I could feel my heart pounding to the beat of the songs blasting from the speakers to my left, as if the bass line were an iron fist gripping my heart and squeezing it in time with the music.

        I am sure that describing each piece from this particular concert would be enough material to complete a short novel, so I will choose the song with the performance that will stick in my mind forever, just slightly more so than every other song in the repertoire.  This song is titled “Warrior,” and happens to be the first song that BAP released upon their debut in Korea.  This sentimental factor made the whole performance that much more important to me and every other devoted fan in the crowd.  “Warrior” was composed by Kang Ji Won and Kim Ki Bum, who have written multiple wonderful songs for artists under the same music label as BAP.  The entire song is practically radiating angst and represents the inner rebellion of modern teenagers in one addictive track.  I could feel the nostalgia in the room (BAP’s debut was over two years ago and many of us have admired and followed their success from the very beginning) and I’m positive a few tears were shed over the realization of how far our boys have come.  The youngest member, Junhong (my favorite), has a rap that is faster than my internet connection; it was amazing to hear so many people in the crowd rap along with him.  The amount of time some fans put into learning a lighting fast rap in a foreign language is insane, but it was surreal to hear.  Overall, this song fit the group’s signature angsty, high-energy style and had everyone in the room singing along to all of the English parts and many of the Korean parts.  The only bad part of the song and performance was when it was over.

I am well-versed in what is expected of me at most concerts, but the culture and etiquette of K-Pop concerts is an entirely new story.  In terms of behavior, the crowd threw twice as much energy at the members of BAP as they threw at us.  Many K-Pop songs are tied to something called a “fanchant,” which is a specific map of where the crowd yells or sings along with the band members during each song, which can be found online and are all learned thoroughly before attending a concert.  BAP fanchants are special because the group has an official whistle, so most of the fanchants include specific points in the song at which everyone in the crowd blows their BAP whistle (assuming they have purchased one beforehand).  I get the sense that if the screeching fans in the crowd were to let up on the hollering by one decibel, the boys of BAP and their entire staff would think something is wrong, so the proper thing to do all throughout the concert was to test the limits of our vocal cords and eardrums.  There was one point, however, where the boys stopped to speak about the Sewol ferry sinking off the coast of Jeju Island in Korea.  At this time, everyone in the crowd quieted down and listened intently to what the boys had to say, visually and verbally showing them that we understood everything they had to say about the topic.  It was a solemn moment and we treated as such.  

Korean celebrities are known for their excellent manners, and BAP supported that cultural norm.  They all spoke respectfully and carefully when it came time to address the crowd.  Most of the members had excellent English, though I’m sure everyone in the crowd would have been content to hear them speak in any language.  When one member was speaking to the crowd, the other members stood attentively with their eyes focused on the crowd or on the member speaking, often holding their hands respectfully together in front of them.  In terms of preparation for the performance, I cannot begin to express how much I appreciate their hard work and dedication to putting on a great show.  BAP trains for weeks on end in vocals and choreography before they are even able to perform in public (let alone on an international tour), so every single dance step and high note was perfectly on point.  They could not have put on a better concert unless they had pulled each member of the crowd up on stage and given us each a smooch on the cheek.

I received a million times my money’s worth from BAP’s concert.  The energy in that room was so intense and electrifying; it was truly a feeling unlike any other.  The connection felt as if an invisible rope looped amongst the fans in the audience, the ends being held by the six beautiful members of BAP on stage.  Though my vocal cords were raw by the end of the night and my eardrums were in desperate need of a nap, I was not disappointed by a single aspect of the performance. Whether it be in Los Angeles, Busan, New York City, Seoul, Dallas, Daegu, or Merrillville, I would see BAP again at the drop of a dime.  Whether one is familiar with Korean pop music or not, one must understand that a BAP concert is one of epic proportions, to say the very least.  I just love them so much.

(Yes, this photo was taken from my spot in the 8th row.)

(My angel baby sugar muffins.)