Come Back Home: On Dystopias and Technology



I'm a big fan of Asian culture and tend to enjoy watching/listening to their shows and music. I've recently become quite interested in K-Pop and K-Dramas so I thought I would branch out and combine some of my other hobbies with my love for reading. 



Music is another way of expressing ourselves and telling stories. I especially like Taylor Swift's music because I'm not the most talented in interpreting songs to a story, but her's are quite relatable and easy. 

2NE1 is one of the most popular South Korean bands out there, especially among the female bands. They are also known to have some interesting music videos. Come Back Home is a part of their newest album and I can relate to it easily.

I don't understand a word besides the english lyrics much like other international K-pop fans but I enjoy what it sounds like. The visuals on the other hand I understand. Come Back Home is like a dystopian book where virtual life has become a lot more interesting than real life. 


This automatically rings the bell in my head screaming:

Under the Never Sky - Veronica Rossi

The people live in Riverie, a protected city from the "wild" that is outside. The citizens live in a highly technological environment and are always plugged in to their virtual world.

I would not mind living here.

It's a scary idea that has been on everyone's mind for years. What if technology comes to a point that humans become mindless robots, addicted to a virtual world? It's something that we can all understand given that we're all hooked up to our Google machines, ready to get the latest news at any given time.

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

I haven't read Ready Player One but it's a modern classic, I feel. This one follows the same idea of the world around us having crumbled to an extent that the people resort to a virtual reality in which to live, love and play.

Of course, the ending of the video signifies the people, especially the youth and the technology generation, standing up for themselves. Technology is expanding and we are becoming increasing dependent on it, but it doesn't mean that we are its slave. 


P.S. If you want to listen to an english version Impaofsweden sang a cover and it's quite good.

-MARI

6 comments:

  1. Very cool! Obviously there are themes weighing on the minds of today's artists, whether they choose to express that in book form, music, painting, etc. It's so fun that we get to make the connections. :)

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    1. I agree. I think this reminds us that music is also a medium of telling stories, even though it is not true for many of the songs playing on the radio now a days.

      -Mari

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  2. It's always fun when we find something that reminds us of certain books or book genres! There's a song by Alter Bridge called Water Rising that also has a proper postapocaliptic/dystopian feel!

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    1. Yes it is. I can't think of many other dystopian songs but Moon over Burbon Street is another great werewolf one.

      -Mari

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  3. Great post! I love k-dramas/pop too, and would love to visit the world (wouldn't want to actually live there though) of Ready Player One (haven't read Under the Never Sky..) "Technology is expanding and we are becoming increasing dependent on it, but it doesn't mean that we are its slave" *nods*

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    1. I agree. I like what technology has given me but what it's doing in Ready Player One is not a life I would want :)

      -Mari

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What do you think?