The Highlander February 2019 Vol X Issue IV
Carlmont High School — Belmont, California
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the adventures of captain culture C
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captain.culture enjoying a blend of Hawaiian and Japanese culture, poke! #combiningcultures #onepokebowlatatime
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Foreign influence expands into US culture Anna Feng
New York Citi Field, one of America’s most famous music stadiums, thrums with anticipation, as fans eagerly wait for a glimpse at their favorite singers. The seven-member boyband Bangtan Sonyeondan, more commonly known as BTS, is one of the biggest international successes in the history of Korean pop, or Kpop, consistently topping charts in both the United States and Korea. And they’re not alone. Korean musical acts, such as BLACKPINK, and PSY, have also become household names in America. “I think the U.S. finds the entertainment in Asia to be quite different from Western entertainment, and that makes people curious to know more about it,” said Nina Chung, a junior and member of Japanese Culture Club and Korean Culture Club. America’s exposure to the entertainment of other nations expands as these acts emerge on the global stage. On Jan. 2, a new TV series, “The Masked Singer,” premiered on the Fox network. The premise is simple: multiple celebrity contestants compete hidden under masks in a singing competition. Although the show originated in Korea, it quickly became popular with American viewers. However, it isn’t just Korea’s entertainment industry that is expanding into the U.S. Japan and Latin America have considerable influence as well. In the summer of 2017, the Spanish song “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy
Yankee became the most-streamed song of all time, with 4.6 billion streams and 3 billion views on YouTube. It also became the first primarily Spanish song to make the Billboard Hot 100 in over 20 years. AP Spanish teacher Maria Robinson grew up in Mexico and believes younger generations are largely responsible for the globalization of cultural music. “I think the popularity of Latin pop has to do with modernizing some of the music because before Generation X, a lot of the music was very traditional from whatever country you were from,” Robinson said. “I think the younger generations are looking for something new, something to push the boundaries.” “Despacito,” though already popular, shot up the charts in the U.S. after a remix of it was released featuring Justin Bieber. “It’s a beautiful thing because both artists won,” Robinson said. “Bieber reached out to younger generations and the nonEnglish speakers, while Fonsi was able to promote his music to a different audience.” Latin pop and K-pop are rising on music charts, in the U.S. but other forms of entertainment are becoming popular as well. Anime, a popular Japanese film genre, has found a receptive audience overseas. In 2016, MAPPA, a Japanese animation studio, released the series “Yuri!!! On Ice (YOI),” about the struggles of a Japanese figure skater in the attempt to win gold. YOI quickly became a phenomenon in America and around the world; American Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon
tweeted enthusiastically about the show, and it even found its way into the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, serving as the soundtrack for a pairs skating program by Ryuichi Kihara and Miu Suzaki. “I think anime explores more of what imagination is,” Chung said. “People like that because they still want to feel like they’re a different person or the ideal person that they want to be.” The expansion of foreign popular culture in the U.S. is in part due to the rise of the internet, allowing people with different interests to connect and share information. “With the internet and social media, you can reach a bigger audience and promote your music. When you have something in common and you like a song, you’ll strike up a conversation with somebody you never would have really talked to otherwise,” Robinson said. The internet plays a big role in the expansion of other cultures into American pop culture, but this expansion also boils down to word-of-mouth. Yannie Lam, a senior and a BTS fan said, “I discovered K-pop because my friend is Korean and she would talk about BTS all the time. I decided to watch some K-pop videos and was like, ‘They’re really good.’” In 2018, BTS became the first K-pop group to grace the cover of Time magazine. And BLACKPINK will become the first female K-pop group perform at Coachella in April, according to Rolling Stone. Big name American artists such as Cardi B and Selena Gomez have teamed up with Latin
American artists such as DJ Snake and J Balvin to release hits such as “I Like It” and “Taki Taki.” And YOI is set to release a movie this year due to its success in 2016. Pew Research reports that the youngest Latino-American population (under 18 years old) has grown by 22 percent in the past decade, making it the largest youth demographic in the U.S. However, the AsianAmerican population is set to surpass it by 2055. These statistics can be seen in Carlmont’s demographics as well, with Hispanics and Asians making up about 40 percent of the student body. Because of such diversity, interest in Asian and Hispanic cultures at Carlmont are slowly growing as well. Chinese Culture Club, Japanese Culture Club, Korean American Student Association, and Latinos Unidos spread awareness of their own respective cultures on campus. Popular culture is a reflection of the interests and the people of the time. Chung said, “I think it’s good that people are getting more interested in other cultures, even if it’s from mainstream entertainment.”
for more on pop culture:
Pop Culture Evolution SundCloud Art and the Artist Relationships Culture Clubs
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In This Issue
News Sports Campus Lifestyle
Carlmont Boys Basketball The Scots make a fast break in the 201819 season as they head to postseason. Page 5
10 Years of Entertainment The Carlmont Performing Arts Center kicks off its 10th Anniversary with “Into the Woods.” Page 6
Pop Culture and Relationships TV and movies influence relationship expectations. Page 13
2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 The Art & The Artist 10-11 Features 12-14 Opinion 15-17 Community 18-19 Award Season 20