I like to consider myself a person open to the views and ideas of others. I will hear people out, try to understand their viewpoints, and at the very least consider their suggestions. That being said, I had no real intention of watching the Netflix smash hit “K-Pop Demon Hunters”.
Being a straight white male, I think it safe to say that I am not part of the target audience for the film, and I expected that – were I to succumb to the pressure to watch it – I would be bored by the story and irritated by the soundtrack. I was, however, eventually persuaded by some younger family members to give it a chance (admittedly about a month after the film’s initial release). And so – being a man who prides himself on speaking the truth – I must admit: it was actually pretty good.
Probably a lot of you will be laughing at me (and maybe I deserve it), but “K-Pop Demon Hunters”, despite what the title and general premise might suggest, is actually a surprisingly thoughtful and interesting piece of entertainment. The animated film currently holds the title of Netflix’s most viewed movie ever, beating out the previous title-owner after only three days of its release. It has spent 15 straight weeks on Netflix’s top ten most viewed films and shows, earning itself another of the streaming giant’s records. All the while, the movie’s soundtrack has been dominating Spotify, with a fictional boy band from the film now beating out the real-life global phenomenon BTS in the US charts.
Though you could attribute the film’s success to the fandom surrounding K-pop, I think there is a little more to it. As trivial a piece of entertainment as it may seem, “K-Pop Demon Hunters” has actually revealed something about modern culture that many people are not aware of, and of which those of a conservative bent tend to be sceptical – that in some respects at least it is trending towards the good.
To begin, the film is an original story – something seen less and less frequently in modern entertainment. On top of this, it manages to do exactly what Disney and other entertainment giants have been pitifully struggling to do for years: create a lead female action heroine (or heroines) who is not an invincible Mary Sue, but a genuinely likeable and sympathetic human. It is refreshing to see studios actually use some creative vision every now and then to make something like this instead of the cookie-cutter girlboss movie Disney churns out every six months.
The more important trend that the film serves to highlight is the taste of viewers. Many studios seem to be under the impression that modern audiences can only palate narrow-minded formulaic action films built on woke faux-philosophy. However, the success of “K-Pop Demon Hunters” suggests that audiences not only find these ideas boring and distasteful, but in fact still recognise and subscribe to more traditional moral principles.
The film obviously features evil spirits throughout in the role of antagonists. However, they manage to create some characters with real moral complexity. The leader of the demonic boy band, for example, is revealed to be a human who sold his soul hundreds of years ago for fame and fortune, at the expense of the lives of his destitute mother and sister. However, his bargain led to him being consumed by the demon king, and since then being forced to hide in the underworld, reliving his mistakes over and over for centuries, never daring to change himself out of pure shame for what he had done. This kind of despair, sadly, is seen in many today. True religion has always understood that when a person finds himself going down the wrong path, he is often so disgusted with himself that, in his misery and shame, he pushes himself further along the road to hell, thus allowing the cycle to repeat unto oblivion. Sin begets more sin. This is seen today in the consumption of drugs, alcohol, and particularly pornography. In K-Pop Demon Hunters, the demon king preys upon this all-encompassing shame to keep his minions in check – mired in their own sin, without hope of forgiveness or redemption. The availability of grace and forgiveness is crucial to the climax of the film, with the tormented demon’s self-sacrificial action helping to save the world from being consumed by his king.
Early in the film, it is revealed that the lead heroine, Rumi, is part demon by blood. This defect only worsens as the story progresses, eventually leading to her breakdown against her mentor, who insisted that she hide her faults for her whole life. This emphasises another important theme: that of self-acceptance. Today’s culture, unfortunately, is obsessed with changing one’s basic and fundamental characteristics. Nothing from nose size to gender can be considered concrete anymore – except of course for non-heterosexual urges. As a result, people are constantly being told to change themselves or hide their supposed “imperfections” in one way or another. Rather than dealing with actual psychological problems like gender dysphoria, people are encouraged to push them under the rug by changing their view on reality. This kind of mindset is destructive in every way, and can only lead to catastrophe. We, as humans, are fallen creatures, and until we can accept that and learn to do the best we can with what we have, we will never be content with ourselves.
Put simply, “K-Pop Demon Hunters” shows that people still recognise and subscribe to basic moral principles – principles pushed most forcefully and consistently by the Catholic Church, which is interesting considering the film’s basis in Korean folklore.
I don’t think “K-Pop Demon Hunters” is any kind of revolutionary work of art, though it is certainly a milestone for Netflix. Ultimately, I think it is something of a cultural weathervane: it is less that it changes the direction of the wind than that it shows the change. If more studios put their creative talents into producing wholesome and morally healthy films like “K-Pop Demon Hunters” – and reaped the multitude of financial rewards on offer – laggards like Disney might finally be persuaded to catch up.
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Patrick Vincent writes from Dublin