Hotdogs are the food of our country’s pastime, and those originate from Germany. That’s because, as a nation of immigrants, we like foreign things. But no one wonders why Americans are so entranced by it. It turns out that there is already a fair amount written on what it means to have “Gangnam Style.” American journalists pounced on the “real meaning of Gangnam Style,” explaining the satire and symbolism of the horse-riding elite and fitness-crazed females. That’s pretty deep for a neon-coated pop song that animates the global masses. The song is indeed a parody of material wealth, ultra-delicate women and the social status associated with those two. In the English translation of PSY’s “Gangnam Style,” the lyrics, “A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down” reportedly refers to how coffee shops are the place to see and be seen in Gangnam. Now we have a dance named not after a guy or teetering motion, but an actual “culture.” Gangnam is a very wealthy territory in Seoul, South Korea, kind of like the Beverly Hills of the country, known for its conspicuous consumption of most recently, coffee. I seriously think it’s the first dance in a while to catch on in America that requires more than acting like a semi-animated Jell-O mold I never did catch on to the Bernie, the Wobble or even the coveted Dougie. I also wondered just how many calories I could burn doing that sideways double-step. My first reaction was probably not unlike many who sat through the four minutes and 13 seconds of “Oppa Gangnam Style.” What the heck did I just watch? I’m curious, what is it about K-pop now that everyone loves? (Sorry, I almost forgot the stables, the sauna, a crosswalk and a playground.)
Seriously - he’s on a boat, in a subway, in a basement garage … the dude is everywhere for no apparent reason at all.
Nothing says welcome back to America like an adorable Korean man in a baby blue tuxedo jacket gyrating around every form of public transportation. Maybe I’m a little late to the party when it comes to the 34-year-old rap artist PSY’s Gangnam Style, but it was the first thing I saw when I opened my laptop after nearly two months of being out of the country with limited Internet access. But is our American take on an international craze at the expense of a cultural image? And unless you’ve been on a social media cleanse for the past three months, you’ve probably seen the viral YouTube video. The chorus played for under a minute at this weekend’s football game against Louisiana Tech, but it got more crowd feedback than the Illini’s few meager touchdowns.