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before i begin, i would just like to say that i am black and i am speaking as a poc who has done research and spoken to people from other communities about this. i am not intending to speak over anyone, but just provide clarification on what idle has done actually wrong.
you are completely entitled to not read this thread. all i ask is that you do not spread misinformation about gidle or soyeon. this thread is a response to the people who claim that idle "does ca in every comeback".
let's start with idle debut song, latata. the main criticism was that they appropriated middle eastern culture with their use of henna and desi culture with their dance moves.
henna is used by countries in the middle east, africa, and south asia, including minnie's home country, thailand. soyeon mentioned that she admired and appreciated the beauty of henna in an arabic interview and understood what it meant to their culture.
most of my followers from these cultures have said that whether or not henna is ca is subjective. some people don't mind since it is already used for aesthetic purposes, unless it includes sacred designs or symbols, but others may be offended by any use of henna.
the dance moves used in latata are referred to as tutting. this type of dance has been used in several different kpop choreographies. it's insensitive to see prayer hands and immediately associate it with desi culture.
hann was criticized for seemingly being inspired by middle eastern culture. some people called it ca because of the desert imagery, which is simply stereotyping. the desert was used to resemble the song title, hann, which means "alone".
next is senorita. senorita was created with a brazilian producer, who soyeon did research with to learn about the right instruments to use in a latin inspired song. soyeon worked hard with the producer to make it sound as authentic as possible.
some people claim that uh oh appropriated chola/black culture from the early 90s. although uh oh is inspired by boom-bap, soyeon did her research and learned about 90s fashion and hip hop before creating it. she even paid homage to a rapper in the music video.
as a black person, i appreciate that an idol did their research on hip hop and where it came from, as black culture is often appropriated in kpop without idols understanding the importance of it to the black community.
the concept of song lion was created because soyeon wanted to go see lion king but couldn't, but the lyrics are inspired by idle's fight to get to the place they are now. in no way is it "tribal" or "african".
oh my god is not queerbait. soyeon was writing about self trust and loving oneself but left it open to interpretation for her lgbt fans to see it as a wlw love story.
dumdi dumdi was inspired by the movie zootopia. it was never meant to be related to any culture. although some people said the choreography seems like ca, the girls did not create the choreo and most people have said it's not ca at all. i'm not hawaiian so i won't comment.
that's the end of this thread! as you can see, idle does not do ca in every comeback, so let's stop using that as a drag! if you want to educate yourself more on why stan twitter makes idle seem like ca poster children, i suggest watching this
just wanted to add the video of the girls confirming that they did not work on the choreography. the choreographers were apparently inspired by hula auana, also known as the aloha dance, which is not sacred to hawaiian culture.
the sacred dance in hawaiian culture is called the hula kahiko. the aloha dance was created to attract western tourists. this is the dance that the dumdi dumdi choreo was loosely inspired by. here's an actual hawaiian person who explains it. https://twitter.com/chartsandfunds/status/1302848285405839360?s=20
if you still have any concerens about idle and if they're problematic, please give this thread a read! i explain everything that idle has been involved in why stan twitter uses them as the face of ca in kpop even though they aren't. https://twitter.com/ceosoyeon/status/1310307981456801792?s=20
