A Response to Michael Jones’s Review of K-Pop Demon Hunters
There is little to disagree with in the conclusion of Michael Thomas Jones’ review of K-pop Demon Hunters. Who would argue with an exhortation to indulge in pop culture less and live your own life more? I agree that delving into fandom can lead to idolizing. (Though, if the future of the church is fandom, then how does that work out?) Jones fairly brings to light the positives and negatives of K-pop Demon Hunters. I liked that Jones compared the three main female characters with “King David dispelling an evil spirit with his music.” I also agree that there is a lack of a God figure to match the devil figure. However, Jones closes by directing fathers to prohibit their daughters from watching and to do more to engage with them directly. I wonder if there are any pop culture movies that Jones advocates his readers permit their daughters to watch? In the words of Linguini from Ratatouille, “And you’re… thin, for someone who likes food.”
A few years ago, I completed a course on Theology in Movies while at seminary. It saddens me that the enjoyment of going on the journey as a movie viewer has been fully lost to intellectualizing, and, even, moralizing— that a movie review opens not with interest in the movie itself but a review of Korean culture. While he makes many fine points about South Korea, he somehow manages to miss what I would otherwise consider to be a central feature for a Christian publication: South Korea is 30-35% Christian, mostly Protestant.
But before we begin any cultural criticism, it’s important to appreciate the movie as a viewer, the goal being to understand better how the movie is meaningful to the multitudes of people who have connected with it. Why does K-pop Demon Hunters have the most views ever on Netflix? What excellences does it possess as a work of art? If we want to succeed as evangelists in this culture, we must at the very least understand its success, if not surpass it by stealing its energy for our own purposes.
Some, particularly men, might find it hard to connect with singing pop stars, but from the start, these girls are humanized by their love for the everyday experience of common goods. They aren’t just pretty faces with preternatural voices. They are eating. Now, reader, one must understand and love the foods beloved by Asians the world over to grasp the impact of this scene. From the Cup O’ Noodles Americans ate in the 80s to the handmade noodle sit-down experience of today, Ramen has reached global popularity of iconic proportions. And, as the dominant love language of many Asians, food touches the heart on a basic level more than even music. Young women watching this film do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. They want something else which can hardly be put into words—to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it. Perhaps, we might add, to eat it. This scene of ramen and sisterhood is an essential frame that heightens the importance of the film and enables the viewer to connect, if they open themselves up to do so.
So, now that we have connected with Rumi and her bandmates, what is the character development arc in the story? The movie begins and ends with the fans and two very different songs sung by the same trio. A comparison of the lyrics and style of these two songs shows how Rumi has changed during this story.
Rumi begins as the confident embodiment of a girl boss (admittedly, not the target demographic of American Reformer). The first song is a sequence of solos with the chorus voiced in unison, the feeling of which is less of a melody and more of a shout.
Hear our voice unwavering
‘Til our song defeats the night
Makin’ fear afraid to breathe
‘Til the dark meets the light (how it’s done, done, done)
Run, run, we run the town (done, done, done)
Whole world playin’ our sound (done, done, done)
Turnin’ up, it’s going down (done, done, done)
HUNTR/X, show this, how it’s done, done, done
We hunt you down, down, down, down (down)
We got you now, now, now, now (got you now)
We show you how, how, how (show you how)
HUNTR/X don’t miss, how it’s done, done, done
The last song is, in comparison, more classically feminine. It shows brokenness, humility, and truth, which lead to group harmony. Now that Rumi’s demonic patterns are in the light, they can truly love each other and work together. She goes from boss to broken and loved.
We broke into a million pieces, and we can’t go back
But now I’m seeing all the beauty in the broken glass
The scars are part of me, darkness and harmony
My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like
Why did we cover up the colors stuck inside our head?
Get up and let the jagged edges meet the light instead
Show me what’s underneath, I’ll find your harmony
Fearless and undefined, this is what it sounds like
My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like (between, ah)
Fearless and undefined, this is what it sounds like
Truth after all this time, our voices all combined
When darkness meets the light, this is what it sounds like
By the end, Rumi is a girl boss in recovery. This is content that speaks to women who feel they have to act like a boss to get ahead. We are told to dress for the job you want and make your voice heard. We wonder if sharing our weaknesses and our differences will end with our social circles casting us out, as Rumi fears her friends have. What we really desire is to be loved unconditionally. In the movie, Rumi finds that in her singing group. In reality, girls are often catty and competitive or just unable to love others in this way because they haven’t experienced it themselves. We want this unconditional love, and as a Christian viewer, we know that God is the only one who is able to love us that way. And it is certainly not for nothing that the victory they secure would be impossible without the redemptive sacrifice of the male character, Jinu. “Hey, youth group students *sits on chair backwards* know who else offered you a redemptive sacrifice…” While these observations can seem cringe to us as hackneyed, there is a reason this theme still appeals to the millions who are moved by this film, and we refuse to explain to the world what this sign is ultimately pointing towards at grave risk.
And finally, the cultural criticism… The context of Korean culture is outlined fairly by Jones minus a few points but what interests me more is what the film has to say to our culture, the Korean concepts of filial piety (such as that shown by Rumi to Celine, her mom stand in) and of shame bring understanding to these theme’s Biblical resonance that we often can’t find in more Americanized popular culture.
Consider with me how we might interact with the culture our children live in and have conversations with them about sinful ideas vs ideas compatible with Christianity. K-Pop Demon Hunters may serve as a point of conversation to talk about the spiritual realm, negative and positive thoughts about yourself as a young woman, and how to know which of these messages are from God and which are from the devil. In a nation like ours, where half of teenage girls are struggling with persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, a movie that opens them up to a conversation with their parents about those feelings may be an important touchpoint for many of them.
As a mother, I preview much of the media that my kids ask to see. I confess, my children do watch TV. They also read books that are affected by pop culture. Would Jones advocate separating daughters from pop culture books in the same way he does film? Perhaps. I also preview books and often read or watch them. It’s not with a heavy heart that I take on the burden of reading or watching with them. It is a joy to share with them the books and movies I loved as a child and to find new and interesting insights into God’s abundant world. I find myself excited to introduce what once were the pop culture movies and books of my childhood to my kids when they come of age to appropriately appreciate them with me. I preview rather than prevent and take the parental guidance seriously. It can be a daunting task, but it’s done in conversation with other like-minded parents. Always praying like Solomon to God for the wisdom to lead your children well.
So, Fathers, go ahead, sing daughters your own songs, but for movies like K-Pop Demon Hunters, perhaps also ask your wife what she thinks before you pass it by. Jones represents the view that Christians should be separate from culture. “Who am I to armchair critique the Korean culture?” he says. But he does not clarify that he is armchair parenting as well. Guys, particularly single ones, I’m not surprised you don’t like this movie. You are not always the target audience.
