#they played it for the fallout 3 film festival that's how i found out about it

[pilotjohngrant]

Fallout Films Friday #8 - Wizards (1977)

[nerdaboutkpop]

K-pop in 2019: BTS, Blackpink break new ground, but deaths and scandal tarnish image of Korean music industry

BTS topped the charts across the world, Blackpink broke records on YouTube and Twice made history on their groundbreaking tour of Japan

The ‘Burning Sun’ sex abuse and corruption scandal, the deaths of singers Sulli, Goo Hara, and Cha In-ha, and vote rigging, cast a shadow over bands’ successes

K-pop was in a strange place at the end of the previous decade. Its biggest artists, such as Rain, BoA and Wonder Girls showed potential to take the sound global, but there was a disconnect between the excitement for the music in Asia and the rest of the world.

Fast forward to 2019 and the K-pop scene is at an all-time high in terms of commercial success and global interest, with this past year being perhaps the industry’s biggest to date.

From the boundaries pushed internationally to the darkness that seeped into the pop-culture consciousness, 2019 was a significant year for K-pop as it moved forward with a new-found rush of interest while reckoning with a series of tragedies and scandals.

These were some of the biggest developments in K-pop during 2019.

Superstars shine brighter

BTS’ roll-call of achievements grew in 2019 as the boy band broke new ground for South Korean artists. Early in the year, they took part in the world’s most prestigious music awards ceremony as presenters at the 61st Grammy Awards, a moment of critical visibility for South Korean artists.

Two months later, BTS would release their new EP Map of the Soul: Persona, ahead of a well-received performance on Saturday Night Live (the American TV show has the ability to boost or ruin careers).

They broke records on YouTube with the video to the single Boy With Luv (scoring 78 million views in its first 24 hours of release – that is close to 1,000 views per second), and reached No 1 on the charts in countries such as South Korea, the US (where it tied a Billboard-chart record previously set by The Beatles), the UK, Australia, and Argentina.

BTS reinforced their global dominance by winning two awards at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards and undertaking a stadium world tour; their “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” concerts sold out venues such as London’s Wembley Stadium and Seoul’s Olympic Stadium. They ended the year on a high note, winning eight awards at the Mnet Asian Music Awards ceremony in Nagoya, Japan, on December 4.

Girl band Blackpink made waves in 2019 with a welcome debut at the Coachella music festival in the US on the same weekend that BTS played Saturday Night Live, giving K-pop its most high-profile week in America to date.

Blackpink also undertook a major world tour and broke records on YouTube with their Kill This Love music video. Fellow girl group Twice made history as the first K-pop girl group to undertake a Japanese dome tour.

A new generation prepares to rise

A new crop of promising superstars made their debuts in 2019.

Daniel Kang – a stand-out member of the sensational-but-temporary boy band Wanna One – became CEO of his Konnect Entertainment label; his debut album Color on Me broke records for solo artists in South Korea.

The post-Wanna One excitement continued with exciting new boy bands such as AB6IX (one of the top-selling rookie acts in K-pop this year, featuring former Wanna One members Lee Dae-hwi and Park Woo-jin) and CIX (a message-driven quintet featuring Bae Jin-young), and new solo stars.

Big Hit Entertainment, the promoters behind BTS, diversified its roster with the launch of boy band Tomorrow X Together, who showcased a more tender image. The group had a hit debut album and generated interest across the world.

Itzy was the stand-out new female act this year, and continue JYP Entertainment’s strong history of girl groups, following acts such as Wonder Girls, Miss A and Twice. The quintet became an overnight sensation with empowering singles such as Dalla Dalla and Icy, and toured Asia and America.

Groups such as Ityzy, Blackpink, G)I-dle and Everglow show the promise of powerful K-pop girl groups.

The darkness comes to light

The K-pop world was rocked by a the multifaceted “Burning Sun” scandal, named after a Seoul nightclub co-owned by Seungri, a former member of the boy band BigBang. The club was at the epicentre of one of the biggest scandals to hit not just K-pop but South Korean society.

Involving sexual assault, prostitution, hidden-camera footage, drug use, police corruption and tax evasion, it captivated and baffled a world that seemed unable to reconcile K-pop’s squeaky-clean image with this raft of crimes.

The fallout from the scandal has been major, and there is more to come. Seungri retired from BigBang after being charged in connection with prostitution. Singer Jung Joon-young was sentenced to six years in prison after admitting to filming women in sexual and compromising acts without their permission, and sharing the footage in chat rooms. Choi Jong-hoon, former guitarist and keyboardist in K-pop rock band FT Island, was sentenced to five years in jail for sharing illegal photos, illegally filming and sharing pornographic videos, and bribing police offers to cover up gang rape and drink-driving incidents.

The scandal also led to the exit of YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk. The 49-year-old stepped down after allegations of drug use, providing prostitution services, tax evasion and having corrupt relationships with police.

The music industry faced embarrassment after the revelation that it had rigged results of TV singing competitions Produce 48 and Produce X 101. South Korean authorities found that the winners had been chosen from the start, despite viewers paying to vote for their favourites.

News of the rigged vote, and the backlash which followed, put at risk the careers of popular girl group IZ*One and boy band X1, which are made up of contestants on the two shows.

The were changes to the line-ups of many bands this year. Super Junior announced long-time member Kangin would leave the group following years of controversy over assaults and drink-driving; B.I departed boy band iKon after allegations he had attempted to purchase banned drugs marijuana and LSD; Hwall left The Boyz over long-term health issues, Woojin departed Stray Kids for reasons unknown, and Wonho left the internationally known group Monsta X following a series of accusations about his past, including that he was in debt.

Tragedies, but hope for the future

The saddest K-pop stories concerned the deaths of singers Sulli, 25, Goo Hara, 28, and Cha In-ha, 27. Former girl group members Sulli and Goo were suspected to have taken their own lives after years of dealing with online cyberbullying and malicious comments from South Korea’s hypercritical fans. Cha In-ha, a budding actor, had not faced public criticism and the circumstances of his death on December 3 are still not known.

Their deaths highlight the need for the industry to recognise the extreme stress its stars deal with and to provide resources to head off the risk of more deaths.

Slowly but surely, change has been coming to the industry. Groups such as BTS, Twice, Stray Kids and Ateez have tried to tackle the stigma in South Korea about discussing mental health by speaking about the issue in interviews and through their lyrics.

Earlier this year Twice revealed that band member Mina was suffering from anxiety and stage insecurity, and would be sitting out the group’s tour. More recently, former Wonder Girls member HyunA shared on social media how she has been dealing with depression, panic disorders, and a fainting condition.

While K-pop is dealing with growing pains – and there are probably more to come – perhaps in 2020 fans will be celebrating the global accomplishments of its superstars rather than mourning its victims and reeling at its scandals.

[vileart]

The Last Queen of Dramaturgy: Jemina Levick @ Edfringe 2017

From Uganda to Dundee – The Last Queen of Scotland confronts Idi Amin This August festival audiences will be treated to the world premiere of The Last Queen of Scotland - a Stellar Quines production co-commissioned and supported by National Theatre of Scotland and Dundee Rep.  The new play by Jaimini Jethwa traces her journey from Uganda to Dundee charting the personal fallout from events of August 1972 when the notorious dictator Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of all Asian Ugandans from the country. 

The Last Queen of Scotland  Venue: Iron Belly, Underbelly Venue 61 Dates and Time: 3 – 26 August 6:50PM (60mins) no perf 9 & 16 Aug Tickets: £6.50 previews (3, 4 August) £12(11) Off peak £14(£13) Peak Age 12+  Box Office: Call 0844 545 8252 or buy online at underbelly.co.uk  What was the inspiration for this performance?  It’s inspired by Jaimini’s experience of the Ugandan Asian expulsion, and her move to Dundee as an immigrant in the early 70’s.  About how she chose to explore her past in order to be in control of her future – a story of where she came from and where she now belongs. Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas?  Absolutely.  It’s a live medium, so it’s currency is inherently in the present.  There’s a visceral experience that comes with a live performer sharing a story with an audience, and it’s that shared experience, the exchange, that encourages us to debate and discuss what we just saw.  There’s less separation (no screen!) between the stage and the public, so that discussion and the subject feels more available.   How did you go about gathering the team for it?  I was keen to work with Anna Orton (designer) and knew she had recently graduated from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.  She had worked as a scenic artist at Dundee Rep when I was AD there, and I wanted someone who understood the Dundee landscape.  She’s also very talented.   Which helps.  Ian Dow (Lighting Designer) I had worked with previously in Dundee also.  And Patricia Panther (music and sound) was actually a recommendation from Cora Bissett.   Originally I wanted to work with someone from a refugee background, but when talking to Cora she didn’t hesitate to mention Patricia’s name.  She has an incredible singing voice, so I was keen to find a place for her to perform live in the show.  How did you become interested in making performance?  My mum was an actress when I was small, and although I was always mortified at her performing, I was hooked from an early age.  It just felt so exciting being in the same room as people who were so invested in telling me a story.  Is there any particular approach to the making of the show? This is Jaimini’s first play, and we’ve been on a fairly unusual path in terms of its conception to production.  Her background is in film making but not in theatre, so we’ve spent about four years working together, alongside George Aza-Selinger (former Literary Manager at the National Theatre of Scotland), to get to this point.  It wasn’t a formal commission in the traditional sense, we didn’t say, “oh you’re an interesting playwright, go away and write us a play”.   Jaimini had an idea about what she wanted to write about, we had to help her find the best way to do it; the structure, style and so on.  It was only after working together for three years that she was formally co-commissioned by Dundee Rep and the NTS.  Once we get in the rehearsal room, I guess as with any new play, there will be a lot of time spent working out how the text works - what works, what doesn’t, what goes, what stays.  Also, because this is so specifically Jaimini’s story, we need to make sure it fits in Rehanna’s mouth (so to speak) so it begins to belong to her too. Does the show fit with your usual productions? It’s an untold Scottish story, which is something I’m always keen to give an audience access to - much like our recent co-production of The 306: Day.  At Stellar Quines we want to make work that inspires women and girls, and I think that this does that.  It’s about knowing who you are, and belonging and defeating the powers that be from controlling you.  What do you hope that the audience will experience? I hope they’ll feel energized, and more informed about an event in history that they didn’t know much about.  I also hope people will open their minds in terms of immigration, and what journey people undergo to get to their new ‘home’ and how, even after a lifetime of integration, it might not necessarily be clear to you where you truly belong.  It’s a very human story, told in a Dundee voice with great music, more than anything, it should be enjoyable. What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?  The integration of music is a key element for me, as music can transport you faster and more instinctively than any other medium.  And as with any production, the design will work to help the audience go on the journey with us, from Dundee to Uganda and back.  I also think that seeing two performers, both strong young women from Scottish/Nigerian and Scottish/Pakistani descent, is a real signaler of how diverse Scotland has become, and how central diversity is to making this nation a better and more interesting place. Directed by Jemima Levick and performed by exciting young actress Rehanna MacDonald to a live soundtrack [Patricia Panther, Glasgow Girls] The Last Queen of Scotland is a powerful polemic rewriting Amin's relationship with Scotland. Jaimini Jethwa Jaimini is a playwright and independent film maker with specialist skills in working with vulnerable young people and adults. In March 2014 Jaimini travelled to Uganda to explore presenting The Last Queen of Scotland at National Theatre Kampala as part of ‘Banta in Uganda’ – in a research and development project supported through Creative Scotland’s International fund. Jaimini is currently based at Abertay University, Dundee and has previously worked on drama production for BBC short Films, Scottish Screen, BBC Screen writing Migrations, Lemuria Music Events Film-Maker, Diversity Films, GMAC. Jaimini was born in Uganda but was expelled in August 1972 with her family by Idi Amin. The family headed to Britain and ended up living in Dundee.  Jemima Levick Jemima was appointed Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Stellar Quines in May 2016. Prior to that, she served as Artistic Director and as Associate Director at Dundee Rep Theatre for seven years. She trained at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh and also on a Scottish Arts Council Director Traineeship. She has won and been nominated for a number of awards and directed more than 18 productions at the Rep, including Great Expectations, The Glass Menagerie, Time and the Conways, The Tempest, The Elephant Man and Beauty and the Beast. As a freelance director and producer she has worked with a number of companies, including the Royal Lyceum Theatre, The National Theatre of Scotland, Perissology Theatre Productions, Borderline, Grid Iron Theatre Company, The Traverse and Paines Plough. Stellar Quines Stellar Quines is an award winning Scottish theatre company that celebrates the value and diversity of women and girls by making brilliant theatre, provoking change, nurturing artists and empowering participation.  The company achieves this through a year-round programme designed to excite and inspire the audiences and artists we work with that includes producing and touring world class performance, commissioning research, championing campaigns and delivering activities to support artist development and community engagement. http://ift.tt/1i3mLeZ   Made in Scotland Made in Scotland is a curated showcase of high quality performance from Scotland at the world’s biggest arts festival, made possible by support from the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund. It is a partnership between the Festival Fringe Society, the Federation of Scottish Theatre (FST) Scottish Music Centre and Creative Scotland. http://ift.tt/1MybL6n   The National Theatre of Scotland The National Theatre of Scotland is dedicated to playing the great stages, arts centres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations of Scotland, the UK and internationally. As well as creating ground-breaking productions and working with the most talented theatre-makers, the National Theatre of Scotland produces significant community engagement projects, innovates digitally and works constantly to develop new talent. Central to this is finding pioneering ways to reach current and new audiences and to encourage people’s full participation in the Company’s work. With no performance building of its own, the Company works with existing and new venues and companies to create and tour theatre of the highest quality. Founded in 2006, the Company, in its short life, has become a globally significant theatrical player, with an extensive repertoire of award-winning work. The National Theatre of Scotland is supported by the Scottish Government. http://ift.tt/UdKoq2 Told through the street sounds of Dundonian dialect The Last Queen of Scotland is a homage to Jaimini’s city “the D”. From 'messy' parties in Dundee's housing schemes to the baking heat of Kampala, Jaimini Jethwa's personal journey of self discovery sheds light on a unique period of untold history. Sharing the story of a community in exile, The Last Queen of Scotland sees Jaimini retrace her parents steps following their expulsion from Uganda and the decisions that have made Dundee her home. On her return to her homeland she finds more questions than answers as she confronts the past and imagines the life she should have had.  The Last Queen of Scotland sees award winning company Stellar Quines return to the Fringe following the success of The Jennifer Tremblay Trilogy (2015).  The company also received rave reviews for The View from Castle Rock (2016) an Edinburgh Festivals Expo Funded Co-production with Edinburgh International Book Festival. The Last Queen of Scotland is Artistic Director Jemina Levick's first festival production for Stellar Quines and is part of the 2017 Made in Scotland Showcase.

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