Mastodawn

Jonathan Emmesedi Aug 1, 2025

STAYC -- I Want It
https://youtu.be/is03siMfTU0?si=Ts_kxxlIju-DR-Nt

I enjoyed this stage, both for the performance and the outfits.

Looking at not just the outfits but also the American West inspired imagery projected behind the group, I am reminded how rich a source of myth and symbol the US in general and the US West in particular have been in global popular culture.

I'm aware, of course, that the US West is a real place, with its own history populations, and challenges, as opposed to being merely a location for frontier "process" or myth .

Yet its mythic function does exist and does matter to the global imagination -- the west, and perhaps the US more largely, imagined as a place of openness, abundance, youth, freedom....all suggested in this and a million other pop videos.

How deeply rooted is this myth? Will it survive the years of cruelty, tyranny, and the inward looking closure of opportunity and of minds that MAGA is bringing to us?

#Kpop #STAYC #IWantIt #USCulture #PopularCulture #AmericanWest #MAGA

I WANT IT - STAYC (스테이씨)

YouTube

Jonathan Emmesedi Jul 27, 2025

Every Sunday I look back at the preceding week in Kpop and pick out a music video or performance that I have particularly liked. This week I have chosen STAYC – I Want It.

A fun summer song that doesn’t feel as though it has been abbreviated to maximize streaming.

I chose this stage because it doesn’t have that awful headgear they put on Yoon during the second half of the MV.

What do those who have had little exposure to Kpop make of stuff like this?

Although I’m always curious with regard to kpop about the views of who aren’t fans, in this case my curiosity was prompted by the number of times I’ve seen “I Want It” described as “100%” or “pure” Kpop.

https://youtu.be/KuhA74l7DM8?si=ljZJRrzwfmRkLGzS

#Kpop #KpopOfTheWeek #STAYC #IWantIt #KpopStyling #GirlGroups

@kpop @[email protected]