The success of jiangnan culture

Essay: The success of Jiangnan Culturestyle1; 2? PSY; 3,; 4 Since 2013 this phenomenon has last for a long time: when you turn on the TV or trying to find something interesting on YouTube, you can always see a pudgy man dancing with clumsy and ridiculous steps and repeatedly singing: Oppa Gangnam style. Even the South Korean man named PSY himself had never thought about his music video would go globally viral.

Gangnam style has been played more than 170 million times and was recognized by Guinness World Record as the most “ liked” video on YouTube (BBC, 2013). By the end of 2012, the song had topped the music charts of more than 30 countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Countless parody video clips has been uploaded almost every day. Even Britney Spears and Robin Williams imitated the horse-riding dancing and Tom Cruise shared this video through internet. It is an irrefutable fact that Gangnam style is a typical successful case in intercultural communication. Questions come naturally to our mind that what exactly it is and what makes this divine tune inter-culturally successful? This song merits detailed evaluation. 1. The song is suited to the tastes of the general public Just like many other modern Korean pop-songs, Gangnam style was given an English name.

Besides, there are some English words in its lyrics, namely Oppa Gangnam style, sexy lady and you know what I™m saying. Do not underestimate the effect of these several English words. Since language is the carrier of cultural communication, the usage of international language offers the premise for its prevalence among the world. In addition, the repeated melody and the horse-riding dancing enable this song very catchy and easy to imitate. This satisfied the need of fast-consuming culture and also contribute to the wide spread of Gangnam style. Apart from the melody in this song, many cultural elements and symbols (e. g. Luxury house, stable, tennis court and sexy lady) which represents the affluence of modern society are included in this video (M Fisher, 2012).

In this case, Gangnam style panders to the mass popular culture and is easily acceptable for the public. 2. PSY is not cool but unique PSY, chubby with round belly, portrays himself as a loaded man who lives in Gangnam district where the rich congregate. In this MTV, he is a clownish character wearing a tailored suit complete with sun glasses and even lie in an elevator with a man twisting haunch just above him. There is no doubt that he is in sharp contrast with traditional stars with charming face and hot body. However, though he is not cool, he is unique and impressive. It is exactly because of his laughable dancing that makes him stand out from a sea of sameness.

Furthermore, PSY showed his confidence and courage to others™ critique, which also individualizes himself and this ridiculous music video. His uniqueness just fits into the taste of foreign audience since westerners and Americans share the same view of emphasizing the value of individualism and personality (WS Cho, 2012). It is no wonder that Gangnam style, which is wrapped by individual elements, will become a world-wide hit. 3.

Irony provides a sluice gate for emotional release Whether intentionally or not, PSY satirized the wealthy through this MTV, which conform to the subtle psychology of global viewers. The perception that all man are created equal has deeply rooted in capitalist society. Everyone deserves the privilege to pursue the happiness. Unfortunately, the spreading impact of economic crisis broke the peaceful life of middle-class. Their psychological balance was broken either since the property concentrated on a few hands. People started to hate the rich and showed strong dissatisfaction about them. Gangnam style just provides a sluice gate for them to discharge the flood of discontents. To be more specific, PSY played a man who only looks like very loaded but actually really comical.

The sarcasm about the extravagant life of wealthy people has been expressed well in this video. For instance, at the beginning, PSY lies in the chair with ease. It seems that he is enjoying his luxury life in the beautiful beach. However, the camera then panned out and we can find out the truth is he is in a children™s park. Isn™t it clownish? The satire just reflect that people are dissatisfied with their living conditions and have no choice about the extreme disparity between the rich and the poor. Thus, the satire just reflect people™s feelings and naturally become popular. 4. New media technology broaden wider fields for intercultural communication Besides the conditions mentioned above, new media technology also provides objective conditions for Gangnam style to become a well-received song among different cultures.

If Marshall McLuhan were still alive, he would be delighted to find what he describe decades ago has come true.( M McLuhan, 1989) The global village has already been shaped. With the close tie of culture among different countries, new media technology plays a significant role in intercultural communication. After finishing making this song, PSY and his team uploaded the MTV in YouTube. Additionally, big shot stars like Tom Cruise also shared this video through internet. Thus, it is because of YouTube, Twitter and other new media technologies that make this song widely known to people all over the world.  ? Gangnam style going internationally viral represents a successful event in Korean culture transmission.

Based on equivalence and freedom, it make use of the communication ways that is happily acceptable for public and make Korean culture become more better known. It is revelatory for us to achieve success in terms of intercultural communication by evaluating the K-pop song Gangnam Style.?-Z?