Erasing homosexuality and reworking it into ‘bromance’… Extreme ‘gangster glorification’ is controversial

by times news cr

2024-07-01 22:39:47

[선넘는 콘텐츠]〈10〉 Authentic net novel for the drama ‘Gangster Excessive’
Reducing the extent of net novels to present them a ‘noir’ really feel… Highschool pupil possessed gangsters carry out the enjoyable
Launched concurrently on Wave, Tving, and Watcha…Working for first place in Thailand and Indonesia

Within the drama ‘I’m a Gangster and Grew to become a Excessive College Scholar’, highschool pupil Tune Yi-heon (Yoon Chan-young, left) is combating towards a gangster. Courtesy of Quantity Three Footage

“I’m drained. I hate faculty.”

A scene from the drama ‘I, a Gangster, Grew to become a Excessive College Scholar’ (Jopokgo), which was concurrently launched on on-line video providers (OTT) Wave, Tving, and Watcha on the twenty ninth of final month. Center-aged male gangster Kim Deuk-pal (Lee Search engine optimisation-jin) unintentionally reads the diary written by bullied highschool pupil Tune Yi-heon (Yoon Chan-young) and discovers this passage. Within the diary, Yi-heon confesses his lifetime of being a sufferer of faculty violence and writes, “I wish to give up every little thing. I wish to die.”

Cover of the web novel 'I, a gangster, became a high school student'. Courtesy of Ridibooks

Cowl of the online novel ‘I, a gangster, turned a highschool pupil’. Courtesy of Ridibooks

Deokpal is in a scenario the place he’s ‘possessed’ by Lee Heon’s physique attributable to an sudden accident. Earlier than he can calm his confused thoughts about why this occurred, he finds Lee Heon’s diary saved on his pill PC. Whereas studying the diary to know Lee Heon, he learns why he tried to take his personal life.

In contrast to the drama, the unique net novel of the identical title, serialized on net novel platform Ridibooks from 2021 to 2022, is filled with ‘gay codes’ in the identical scene. The setting is that the explanation Lee Heon was bullied was as a result of his pals came upon that he was homosexual. Within the authentic, Lee Heon confides in his diary, “Once I went into the lavatory, the children inside got here out. They stated they did not wish to use the lavatory with a homosexual child. They had been the primary time I noticed them. However they knew I used to be homosexual.” The unique title consists of the ‘BL’ (Boys Love) notation, which signifies a romance between males, and you will need to undergo grownup verification to learn the content material.

Within the authentic, Lee Heon confesses his emotions for his same-sex buddy Choi Se-kyung (Bong Jae-hyun). He describes his secret crush by saying, “Once I flip my head, Se-kyung sitting on the window seat on the opposite facet appears to be like small. Se-kyung resting her chin on her hand and smiling.” The explanation Lee Heon loves Se-kyung is due to ‘admiration.’ In contrast to himself, who’s small and doesn’t get alongside nicely together with his pals, he envies Se-kyung, who lives as a ‘kingka’ along with her excellent appears to be like and persona. Deuk-pal, who possesses Lee Heon’s physique, describes Se-kyung like this. “She was wonderful, and she or he was tall and sloppy. How proud would his dad and mom be if a pupil like that had been their son?”

The drama, which is ranked #1 in Thailand and Indonesia on the Asian OTT platform VIU, defines the connection between Lee Heon and Se Kyung as a ‘friendship’ and focuses on the premise {that a} gangster possesses the physique of an outcast highschool pupil. The story has been modified to 1 the place Lee Heon, who lives in silence because the illegitimate baby of a conglomerate, and Se Kyung, who lives a tough life beneath her prosecutor father, consolation one another as pals and transfer ahead. It seems like a Hong Kong noir movie depicting a ‘bromance’. Within the drama, Lee Heon mentions in his diary, “I am glad Se Kyung is in the identical class. I wish to be pals with Se Kyung.”

The explanation for this adaptation is that, as a result of nature of the drama being delicate to fashionable values, it’s burdensome to carry the gay code to the forefront. In a current interview with the press, the manufacturing group of ‘Gangster Excessive’ said, “The BL style has limitations by way of funding and restoration of manufacturing prices,” and “We wished to painting the work as a ‘bromance.'”

Nevertheless, the drama is being criticized for glorifying gangsters. The gangster Deok-pal dreamed of residing as a mannequin citizen for a very long time, however his life trajectory modified attributable to poverty, and his battle to take the school entrance examination are paying homage to the gangster comedy movies ‘Two Masters’ (2001) and ‘Let’s Play Dalmaya’ (2001). That is why there may be criticism that warning is required when making net novels that comprise comparatively extra provocative content material into dramas for most people.


Reporter Lee Ho-jae [email protected]

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2024-07-01 22:39:47

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