"Your color is in motion."
February 22, 2001 4:03 am

I've actually been watching more TV this past week than I usually do. But I'm sick and tired of all the channels that come before 50, because they're all toothless crap like MTV or Studio 23 (or MCM, which is being consumed by most people these days as Euro-jerk fodder for the masses. Ditto for FTV. I'd name names, but they don't read this diary, so there wouldn't be a point in doing so.)

So what do I watch? Chinese soaps that have absolutely no English captions and Arirang, the Korean channel that is English accessible by way of their technical shows and subtitling all the Korean language programs. I've seen stuff like Ghost Mom and the weekly dramedy collection, Theme Shorts.

Today, I saw a movie called The Blue Within You after happening upon it during browsing. It's strange in that stereotypical art film manner. That means lacing the dialogue with philosophical discussion and making use of strange narrative devices and visual metaphors (but without devolving into simian like displays of artsy fartsy psychedelia, apparently a no-no in philosophical art film, Asian, European or otherwise)

The Blue Within You is narrated in an extended and sparsely narrated flashback by way of memories resurfaced from a VHS tape in the mail. It chronicles the past of a young fashion designer named Kim Yu-rim and the terse relationship she had with with an enigmatic fashion wannabe visionary named Lee Ho-suk. 

After running away from her wedding, Yu-rim is hired by Ho-suk, who sees potential and talent in the young woman. Ho-suk rarely does any work at all in his studio, content with manipulating and juxtaposing images of the female form, as well as smoking a lot of cigarettes and making nightly sex visits to a woman named "X", known only to viewers as cloak and dagger voice recordings on an answering machine.

Ho-suk disregarded concerning himself with marketing trends and business competition long ago, and his real goal at his design studio is the "image of a dynamic woman", and he is intent on training women to self-enlighten themselves towards this ideal. To this end, he provides financial support and coldly dispensed advice.

Cynical, and highly dispassionate with his relationship with human beings, Ho-suk believes only in sex and his artistic ideals. He criticizes the ideal of love and regards it as nothing more than an: "...an ideology for man to use women as a tool of sacrifice."

Honestly, I haven't taken the time to clearly sort out my thoughts on this film, and it often takes me a while to do so. I don't know whether it is supposed to be feminist or counter feminist or if it's supposed to relate anything about feminism. On the other hand, I haven't taken the time to analyze the intricacies of the relationship of the two. It often does sound like a whole load of bull.

Oh well, whatever. Nevermind, I can just make a pretty write up and send the review to any of the half-dozen low-cost glossy magazines out there and make a little money. Unless of course, SPIN hasn't covered it, then I can make more than a little money. Ha ha.

Maybe I can even start educating myself on Korean pop culture and cinema, develop it into my niche and make a subcultural name for myself before it becomes hip. All the Jap pop culture geeks did it, got work with Viz Communications and made money.

Yeah, right.