awoo
posted on wordpress 4/22/15
image heavy
(awoo)
“fooling around again? i thought you said you’re not interested in guys? i can totally tell, by the way, you got everything done except your hands and feet.”
I find this song amazing on its own but the video enhances it. The opening lyrics of the song, seemingly sung from the perspective of a boy, set the tone for the rest of the video. The cat imagery and the idea of the chase are littered throughout the video. The production company that made the video Digepedi or Digital Pedicure seem to work best with bright colors and pastels (although that’s not all that they do) and this is no exception. I’m drawn to the brightness but the cautious and a bit angry flirtation of the words and the girl. The isolation of having someone want you and fall for you while you push them to do so.
That’s what makes the Awoo video so enjoyable.
(added 7/25/19)
The song is so heavy with what it wants to say. The songwriters, Primary and SURAN, wanted to talk about the lookism in korea and the manufacturing. The song on the surface is about a girl that can “have” any man. But there’s heavy satire in it. The lyrics are biting and rude (“you smile but when you turn around the look on your face isn’t even funny”) and make fun of the assumed motives put on women, put on Lim Kim. Although sonically different, her new song, SAL-KI, espouses the exact type of ideas of womanhood put onto her, particularly asian women. Her songs have always had hints of antagonism but this was just the beginning.
Years later I’m still drawn to the song and the music video. The way she looks at the camera, the closeups, her attitude are all unappealing. She “entices” the man but he can’t catch her. In the video she’s presenting herself as a gift and someone she can trap if she wants to. But it’s really her confinement and what people expect her, expect women, to do. The attention she’s receiving isn’t something she wants. Why must she give in to the demands set upon her? Why is her existence inherently sexual? It pushes back onto the male gaze and autonomy.
She spins on a table top, brushing her hair with yellow flakes coming out of it, and says “seems like I already own you.” The obsession is their downfall. It’s their problem, not hers. Her reaction..whether she rejects or accepts is her choice. She chooses what you see but stop looking, because you won’t like it.
My appreciation for this song and video grow everyday. I’m glad she has moved on with her life and feels free not being tied to a company in a capitalist, misogynist, and stifling industry.