Viewers Make Meaning

I was sitting in a restaurant in Mongolia. There were nine of us, out for a late Friday night dinner to celebrate a birthday. As we chatted around the table, I started talking about Gangnam style. Why, you ask? Because that’s all I’ve been talking about since I began analyzing it for class. Another person had read an article about it and started to explain the meaning to our British friend who wasn’t familiar with the song. I thought a subtle hand motion, just a little part of the dance, might trigger his memory. Twenty minutes later, after we a rowdy round of singing happy birthday, a tabled yelled across the restaurant at us:

GANGNAM 
STYLE!

Did they overhear our previous conversation? Did they see my hands dance?
Why were these Mongolians yelling at us, asking us to join in the international dance craze?

Gangnam Style may be just one in a long list of internet viral sensations, but it distinguishes itself in that it does not originate in the states. Hailing from South Korea, Psy’s song, music video, and dance are now popular far outside the borders of the bottom half of the Korean peninsula.


But what does it mean?

          I interviewed three Western women (in China) to learn their interpretations.

Person 1: upper 20’s, single female. From the United States but a teacher at an international school in China for the past four years.

Person 2: upper 20’s, single female. From the United Kingdom. A midwife on holiday, visiting her brother who teaches at an international school in China.

Person 3: young 30’s, single female. From the United States but a teacher at an international school in China for the past three years.

Person 1 and 3 had heard of the song, heard the song, and seen at least part of the video already. For Person 2, this was a new aspect of visual culture; she knew nothing of the song or video. Person 1 knew Gangnan to be the name of a wealthy district in Seoul, and that the video was a parody of the affluence. Person 3 stated much more detail about the video. She mentioned having a discussion at school with her students about the song and that she believes it to be popular in the United States due to the pop sound. She recently read an article about the meaning and the concept of Ramen noodle culture—South Koreans who are not actually wealthy but maintain in the image by drinking a Starbucks in public and surviving on instant noodles at home. She recited facts from the article, such as the average Korean having 5 credit cards and being more in debt that the American people.

After watching the video, participants stated their first impressions. Person 2 answered in one word increments. eccentric, colorful, beat, a bit crazy. Person 3 mentioned that she doesn’t think of Korean visual culture as very sexy, but this video is much more. She feels it is not to the same extent as American visual culture, but she believes the creators worked hard to make it seem American, which is why it is so popular. Person 1 said she could not figure it out. She remarked on the quality of the production, calling it thought out and highlighting the depth.

Next, I asked them to describe the main character, the others in his life, and how he interacts with them. Finally, I asked them to explain the message they understand from the words, then the music, and finally the visual images in the video.

Person 2’s reading could be considered oppositional in her ignorance of the song, video, and dance. She was apathetic about all aspects of the video, though she called him an energetic middle aged man who likes his dancing. She noted that he seems to have lots of friends of all ages who are dressed super cool and funky. The only bits of the words she understood were “something like ‘sexy baby.’” The song was fast paced, busy, and repetitive. She didn’t know what the video meant but answered again in one word blips: horses, swimming, lifts.

Person 1 demonstrated a dominant-hegemonic reading, stating that Psy was trying to be “posh,” but also poking fun at the Gangnam culture. She discussed the disrespectful and satirical use of a variety of people and places. The people around him include lots of female (which he seems to like) and those who are rich and well off. “He’s an idiot around them.” Person 1 noted that she can only understand “hey sexy lady” and “gangnam style,” but when paired with the images from the video, this becomes more powerful. She would be interested in googling a translation of the lyrics. For now, she understands it to be lots of scenes, none of which are serious or respectful.

A negotiated reading is the best way to describe Person 3’s response. While she thinks the main character (Psy) is nothing spectacular and quite average for Koreans, she commented on his contradictory state of being surrounded by beautiful people. To her, it seemed like they were all not important. He has no relationship with the other characters; they exist to dance and “pretend like he’s sexy, if they’re girls.” Despite having read much about the song/video/dance phenomenon and discussing it with students, she said that she doesn’t know if the video has a message. The song is peppy, a lot of fun, and makes her want to dance, but the video is ridiculous. She doesn’t think she would understand a point if she hadn’t read articles, and even now, she doesn’t know if there is a point. While in the initial stage of the interview, she explained the intended message of the makers, after rewatching it, she didn’t believe that to be the message being communicated.

Like Person 3, I do not believe non-Korean speakers would arrive at the Korean dominant-hegemonic understanding if they merely watched the video. The visual needs to be paired with language and cultural background of South Korea. The popularity of the video, though, has led to many parodies, blog posts, and articles in English. The intended message is spreading around the United States via these channels. A dominant-hegemonic reading, critique of the wealthy elite, is clearly modeled in the parody Mitt Romney Style. While American people might not understand the original, they can understand


          “Hey wealthy ladies!”

And lest we think one candidate is favored,
there is also Obama style…