#3 Lifestyle or Popular Culture

A Very Sticky Situation!

    Have you ever made a mistake that you thought you could correct later when you have time? Has a mistake occurred and damage has already been done? Well that holds true to a 40-year old woman in Louisiana who spray gorilla glue spray on her hair.  More than a month ago, Tessica Brown, a 40-year old Louisiana woman ran out of her Got2B Glued hairspray and turned to Gorilla Glue spray believing it would hold down her hairstyle in a similar way (WGN Tv). In a video released on TikTok, Brown explains that she uses the Gorilla Glue as a substitute for Got2B for a quick fix to run to town. In the video, she asked for help on how to remove the substance as she has tried to wash it out many times. Unbeknownst to her, Gorilla Glue mixed with water makes it harden even more. 

    With this dilemma, she endured this pain for a month. Seeking guidance from users of social media and how to remove, Tessica Brown tries all avenues and fails again to remove the superglue. People all over the world raised money an GoFundMe and donated 20,000 and helpful hair products. With nothing left to do, Brown visits the hospital and gives her acetone wipes to try to fix the problem. She then goes home with the supplies and her friend removes the ponytail with Goof Off (yet another mistake!) but the superglue is still intact

    As a last resort, It took a trip to Beverly Hills and a visit to celebrity plastic surgeon Michael Obeng last week for Brown to finally get rid of her sticky hair during a four-hour procedure (New York Post).The surgeon did the surgery completely free and Brown is so grateful that hair was able to remain intact. She has since used the money for donations to go to charity. Even though Brown was met with lots of love and concern, she was also hit with ridicule and malicious tweets. 

    For this incident, she received an opinion of mixed views. Some were empathy and compassionate about her ordeal but some would say she used her platform as a way of  getting clout. The ones that say this was a form of catching her 15 minutes of fame has to do with people on the Internet doing foolish things in the past. For example when the cinnamon challenge was introduced. In 2012, the cinnamon challenge was a viral internet food challenge. The premise of the challenge is that one films themself eating a spoonful of ground cinnamon in under 60 seconds without drinking anything. Also the Kylie Jenner challenge or people were dared to eat Tide pods because it was trendy. I can see how some would say this mishap is equivalent to these challenges. Overall, Tessica Brown says it was a colossal mistake that she would not make again. Whether or not you believe this to be true, your guess is as good as mine.

#2 Television Review

     Netflix's Original Series "Sweet Home"

    Netflix is one of the biggest streaming platform and continues to dominate all over the world bringing new and exquisite content of movies and shows. Recently on the rise since the pandemic has started is the influx of K-dramas introduced on Netflix. 

Now, international content on Netflix are nothing new and have brought great shows from overseas such as Money Heist and Dark, and have solidified a mark on success of foreign shows. What better way to expand the international content further by implanting K-dramas into the mix. Netflix has include K-dramas little by little to their platform but with the success of K-dramas like Crash Landing on You, It's Okay Not Be Okay, and Itaewon Class, Netflix has took a step to adding splurge of K-dramas. With that comes Netflix making original shows and movies featuring K-dramas. One original K-drama series had fans raving all over the world. This series is called "Sweet Home". 

    Sweet Home is is an apocalyptic horror South Korean television series starring Song Kang, Lee Jin-wook and Lee Si-young. Sweet Home is about following the death of his family in an accident, loner Cha Hyun-soo moves to a new apartment. His quiet life is soon disrupted by strange incidents that start occurring in his new building.  As people turn into monsters which take the form of their hidden desires, Hyun-soo and other residents try to survive (Sweet Home Wiki). Sweet Home showcases 10 action-packed episodes. Sweet Home leaves you on the edge of your seat with every episode. The success of Sweet Home is because the portrayal of strong female characters and excellent special effects. 

The emotion between the characters and their will to survive carry the storyline beautifully. Another factor that puts Sweet Home above rest is that it is like no other K-dramas. Typical K-dramas are romantic and one-dimensional. This specific K-dramas combines all the elements of thriller and sci-fi drama all in one. The milestones Sweet Home have broken for K-dramas will pave the way how other writers and directors will showcase their dramas. Sweet Home is the first South Korean series to enter Netflix Top 10 in the United States, reaching the top 3Three days after its release, the series ranked one in eight regions and was within the Top 10 in forty-two regions. The show was viewed by 22 million paid subscribers worldwide in the first four weeks of its release and appeared in the Netflix top 10 in more than 70 countries (Sweet Home Wiki). Now I will give you 4 reasons as to why you should watch Sweet Home.

                                                1.  'Sweet Home' is adapted from a webtoon!

'Sweet Home' is based on the popular Naver webtoon '​Sweet Home' (written by Kim Carnby, art by Hwang Young-chan). It recorded more than 500 million in cumulative views with its fresh storyline and immersive suspense! The webtoon has been loved and appreciated by domestic and overseas fans from all around the world. You may wish to check out the webtoon here. With the popularity of the webtoon, this blockbuster project by Netflix and Director Lee is expected to bring K-Content beyond its domestic borders, to Asia and even globally as the most anticipated series of 2020. 

2. The Monsters

Other than the very-talented actors and actresses of the series, the monsters are the next leading characters and they have a big role to play in the series as well! The movements of the ‘Lotus Root Monster’ (named after fans as the top of its head was cut off) was choreographed by Kim Seol-Jin. He is a top contemporary dancer in Korea whom the public will find familiar on 'Dancing 9'! He used animals living in nature as a reference in creating the “instinctive movement to survive” for the monsters in ​‘Sweet Home’.​ Other monsters we can look forward to include the ‘Muscle Monster’, ‘Bloodsucking Monster’ and more. 

3. High-quality visuals, Special Effects and Computer Graphics 

The visual of creatures in ​'Sweet Home​' was brought together by Legacy Effects and Spectral Motion. They are one of the best special effects and FX studios teams in Hollywood, known for their works in blockbuster films including 'Avengers' series, 'X​ -men' series, and 'Avatar'.​ Westworld, a top VFX team in the Korea, also participated in the production of ​‘Sweet Home’​. As the frontrunner in “virtual production,” a technology which allows real-time monitoring of videos made with computer graphics (CG) on the filming location, Westworld contributed to the elaborated CG and spectacular visuals significantly! This cutting-edge technology has similarly been used for the production of 'Game of Thrones' and 'Aquaman'! 

4. And finally Emotional Plot and Message of the show

The plot of ‘Sweet Home’ extends beyond battling the terrifying monsters and fighting for survival. The series will give viewers a touch on the meaning of life and allow the audience to reflect on their desires in life. Director Lee has portrayed the characters with their in-depth personality and stories, so as to allow viewers to resonate with them. ‘Sweet Home’ hopes to provide viewers with insights that allow them to view others from a different perspective.

Source: www.gokpop.com