Tag Archives: #Culture

Alla killar och män är inte likadana – men de skiljer sig generellt från tjejer och kvinnor

Posted on by

Då och då blossar det upp debatter om könsskillnader kopplade till olika typer av våldsbrott. Den senaste tiden har det skett som en följd av ett kategoriskt uttalande av den framgångsrika svenska popstjärnan Zara Larsson, varpå Sven Melander har ryckt ut till hennes försvar efter den hårda kritikstormen.

Det finns en viss polariseringstendens i debatten: å ena sidan de som säger att alla killar är svin; å andra sidan de som menar att den absoluta merparten av dem inte är det och att det främst är ensamkommande flyktingbarn och andra individer och grupper med icke-västerländsk bakgrund som ger upphov till sexuellt ofredande och överfallsvåldtäkter. Några – kanske de flesta – intar en mer balanserad mellanposition.

Utifrån både ett sociokulturellt- och genusperspektiv är det rimligt att anta att båda dessa faktorer spelar roll, och att det numer är en betydligt mindre andel svenska killar och män med svensk eller annat slags västerländsk bakgrund som antastar tjejer och kvinnor. Detta beror delvis på att killar och män är mer genusmedvetna och att kulturen har blivit mindre patriarkal och mer jämlik. Därmed inte sagt att det enbart är individer med icke-västerländsk bakgrund som begår den här typen av brott, eller att merparten inom denna ganska heterogena grupp skulle vara brottsbenägna i det avseendet. Överrepresentation handlar dock inte om majoritet utan om andelar – ett statistiskt fenomen.

Vad många dock har svårt att förstå att vid sidan av potentiellt ganska snabbt föränderliga genus- och sociokulturella aspekter finns även evolutionspsykologiska och biologiska dimensioner med i bilden som leder till att dels skiljer sig vissa män från andra män, dels skiljer sig män generellt från kvinnor. För att förklara detta har jag utgått från Cindy Meston och David Buss bok Why Women Have Sex (2009) och artikeln “The Dark Triad personality: Attractiveness to women” (Anne Campbell et al, 2013). Resonemangen bygger vidare på en del tidigare inlägg. Min förhoppning är att människor i större utsträckning kan förstå varför en betydande andel killar/män beter sig som de gör och att detta delvis har en evolutionär orsak. Det handlar inte enbart om sexuella övergrepp utan om att en betydande andel killar och män ofta “beter sig som svin” och att det är rationellt att göra det ur ett biologiskt perspektiv.

Följande utdrag från den sistnämnda artikeln sätter fingret på vad den mörka triaden är och att män och kvinnor skiljer sig åt (min fetstil):

Narcissism is defined by a sense of entitlement, dominance and a grandiose self-view (Raskin & Terry, 1988). Virtually all studies report greater narcissism in men, including cross-culturally (Foster, Campbell, & Twenge, 2003). Holtzman and Strube (2010) propose that narcissism emerged in response to problems posed by the adoption of a short-term mating strategy in men. Adaptive narcissistic solutions include a willingness and ability to compete with one’s own sex, and to repel mates shortly after intercourse. Narcissists find it comparatively easy to begin new relationships, perceive multiple opportunities available to them, and are less likely to remain monogamous (Campbell & Foster, 2002; Campbell, Foster, & Finkel, 2002). Narcissistic men also have more illegitimate children than those scoring lower for the trait (Rowe, 1995).

Vidare om machiavellism och psykopatism:

Machiavellians are interpersonally duplicitous (McHoskey, 2001a), insincere (Christie & Geis, 1970) and extraverted (AllsoppEysenck, & Eysenck, 1991). Men score higher than women on Machiavellian traits (Lee & Ashton, 2005; McHoskey, 2001b). Machiavellianism is associated with social manipulation and opportunism, both beneficial to the pursuit of short-term mating. Machiavellians report a tendency towards promiscuous behaviours and love-feigning (McHoskey, 2001b). Machiavellian men also report more sexual partners (including affairs), earlier sexual activity, and are inclined towards sexual coercion (McHoskey, 2001b).

Psychopathy consists of callousness, a lack of empathy, and antisocial, erratic behaviour (Hare, 2003). Men show higher levels of sub-clinical psychopathy than women (Lee & Ashton, 2005). Reise and Wright (1996) propose that psychopathic traits (lack of morality; interpersonal hostility) are beneficial to a short-term strategy and are correlated with unrestricted pattern of sexual behaviour. Psychopathy is further associated with superficial charm, and a deceitful and sexually-exploitative interpersonal style (Paulhus & Williams, 2002). Psychopathy is significantly correlated with a larger number of self-reported sexual partners, longterm relationship breakdown, earlier age of first intercourse, and self- and female-rated physical attractiveness (Visser et al., 2010).

Och slutligen om den mörka triaden:

The Dark Triad is the collective term for these moderately intercorrelated, self-interested traits (Paulhus & Williams, 2002). Common to all three are extraverted behaviours likely to make a good first impression, such as a tendency to socialise and to talk about friends. All three overlap in exploitation, manipulation and selfimportance (Lee & Ashton, 2005). Consistent with findings for the constituent traits, the composite Dark Triad is positively correlated with number of self-reported lifetime sex-partners, preference for an unrestricted, short-term mating style and high rates of matepoaching (Jonason, Li, & Buss, 2010a; Jonason, Li, Webster, & Schmitt, 2009). It has been suggested that, for men, the Dark Triad ‘‘reflects an evolutionarily stable solution to the adaptive problem of reproduction’’ (Jonason et al., 2009, p. 13; see also Paulhus & Williams, 2002).

I en recension av Meston och Buss oerhört intressanta bok kan vi läsa följande, som ytterligare betonar skillnader mellan kvinnor och män, och mellan olika typer av män:

Then I learn why women marry accountants; it’s a trade-off. “Clooneyish” men tend to be unfaithful, because men have a different genetic agenda from women – they want to impregnate lots of healthy women. Meston and Buss call them “risk-taking, womanising ‘bad boys'”. So, women might use sex to bag a less dazzling but more faithful mate. He will have fewer genetic benefits but more resource benefits that he will make available, because he will not run away.

Sammantaget är det troligt att vissa av dessa karaktärsdrag inte går att minska till fullo, och hos en del individer inte särskilt mycket alls. Med mer genusmedvetenhet kan dock fler bli varse om att alla tjänar på att behandla tjejer och kvinnor bättre och åtminstone inte ofreda dem sexuellt. Vi lever i en narcissistisk kultur, och narcissism och i viss mån även andra anknutna karaktärsdrag som machiavellism och psykopatism är fördelaktiga, och det finns därför inte incitament till att förändra sig när det gäller att bete sig svinigt (även om en viss andel killar och män själva kan förlora på att ha många olika partners i en del sammanhang). Vissa av de här sakerna har inte alls att göra med sexuellt ofredande men det är viktigt för att förstå andra intressanta saker av tillvaron och samhället.

Här kan du själv mäta din egen mörka triad.

How knowledge can lead to attraction

Posted on by

This blog has a twofold main concept: Body and Brains. That is, to develop physically and intellectually as a person. However, as with all concepts, further orientations are often required in order to describe the current ideas in a more complete way.

At this point there are clearly four chief areas or subjects that are continuously treated:

Fitness
Knowledge
Travel
Attraction

These four main areas are generally not separated but often integrated and interlinked – they go hand in hand and overlap. I will give some examples of how and why, and particularly focus on the importance of knowledge for attraction in this post.

As I have said earlier, women do generally prefer an athletic body. Hence, there is a link between fitness and attraction. I have also emphasized how to travel can lead to more attraction.

However, the links between knowledge and attraction are not as palpable. Earlier studies indicate that there is a weak yet somewhat significant correlation between male intelligence and attractiveness among females. This is not because women are turned on by smart asses in general, but because they judge men in a ‘holisitic’ way and socioeconomic status (SES) and/or level of education is one crucial factor, at least for long-term relationships.

But there are other more concrete and direct ways that knowledge can be beneficial in terms of attraction. Additionally, there are some more indirect and less obvious links that have to be emphasized.

First of all, if one has obtained some sophisticated knowledge on personality psychology, then one can understand that dark triad traits are important in the task of seeking female attraction. I am not saying that one should strive to become an overtly narcissistic and cold asshole, but many guys are just too nice for their own good. In the modern world one must have several options, calculate, express self-love and attitude, and not be too bothered about either one’s own or other people’s feelings. Simply because it is not beneficial. As long as one abide by the law and are not unfaithful to someone that one has an official relationship with, applying a reasonable degree of dark triad traits should be given a green light. As paradoxical or counterintuitive as it may seem, it can actually lead to more love and more good memories in the world. Most people love romances, if only for a single night. It is like an universal appeal.

Further, if one knows about the big five personality factors, then one can understand the importance of finding a balance between different personality traits than can be beneficial – whether direct or indirect – for attraction. For instance, being more extrovert is sometimes important, whether at parties or on a date. Not being too agreeable, if one overall is a quite agreeable person (a significant share of girls and women despise weak males, even if they may not say so publicly), is another important dimension to consider and is related to the dark triad personality traits. Gene-environment interactions are complex but a person can deliberately change one’s personality to a considerable extent and in a more beneficial direction. Instead of simply ‘being yourself’, be a top version of yourself.

Moreover, even if physical attractiveness, social skills and a fun personality are more important dimensions than being intelligent, intelligence and knowledge are sometimes crucial in more educated social settings. If one hangs out with engineers, lawyers and doctors, then all the books of Plato and Hemingway can function as a tool or proxy for cultural capital. Within the context of long-term relationships, verbal intelligence can lead to deeper conversations and a closer connection between two individuals. Especially if one’s partner is relatively well-educated. As icing on the cake, knowledge on fitness-related subjects appear to be appreciated. Girls and women love to get tips on training and nutrition.

In addition, there are some relevant overlaps between knowledge, travel and attraction. If one knows about other cultures, then one can consider other options, whether temporarily or even permanently. I am not talking about losers who go overseas to have sex with prostitutes, but rather refer to men with options who deliberately go to other locations. In this regard the language aspect can also be crucial: it is easier to connect with other people if one speaks at least some degree of the respective native language.

Quod erat demonstrandum.

Obesity around the world – where and why?

Posted on by

It is interesting to look at obesity rates for men, women, girls and boys around the globe. The differences between countries and their populations are striking and more or less pronounced, with poor places such as Ethiopia, Niger, Chad and Mali (about 2% obesity for women), and rich countries such as Japan and South Korea at one side of the spectrum (about 4% obesity for women), and a variety of emerging markets such as Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Venezuela, and wealthy nations such as The U.S., Great Britain, Saudi Arabia (50%!), Australia, New Zeeland and Finland on the opposite side. But why?

map=overview-women
Red = most obese
Turquoise = least obese

The reason for these patterns is most likely that in really poor countries, virtually no one can afford to be fat – food sources are scarce. That is true for not just a large part of Sub-Saharan Africans but also a significant share of people who inhabit nations like India and China. With regard to the two last-mentioned countries – with the two largest populations in the entire world – their middle-classes are growing in parallel with economic and material development, and their shirt sizes as well. However, it will take a while before an even larger share of people can afford easy accessible food supplies. Many are still too poor to be (over-)fed. Hence, we can expect higher obesity rates in many emerging markets, although beauty ideals and collectivistic cultural patterns may hold Chinese people – especially women – back.

In wealthy East Asian states like Japan and South Korea on the other hand, the dietary habits and beauty ideals are very distinct. People are also more collectivistic and in-group oriented than Western people. Japanese and Koreans – both sexes – eat some degree of unhealthy foodstuffs but do nevertheless keep themselves in check. This is how beautiful women in general should look, according to the current standards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5rMYc2PDro

In emerging markets on the other hand, a significant share of people can nowadays afford regular food and it has gradually become more accessible. Some products may of course be too expensive, but red meat, poultry, bread, sauce, sugar, rice, cereals, etcetera can be afforded. The same is obviously the case for rich OECD countries like The U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zeeland, Finland etcetera, and the combination of cultural individualism and relative fat acceptance can explain the current – more or less pronounced – obesity rates in these countries.

The outlier Saudi Arabia can be explained due to the fact that it is rich and that most women do not partake in regular physical exercise, and overall not nearly to the same extent as Western women. A huge share just stay home – often dressed in niqab – and eat, I guess. Similar national-cultural patterns are to be found in other Arab-Muslim countries, such as Egypt and Iraq, but the poorer share of inhabitants decrease the total obesity rate, making Saudi Arabia the most extreme in this respect. Plus, the Wahhabi doctrine magnifies the radical denunciation of female influence and activity in both public and private.

Joseph Nye

Posted on by

When I write about Korean culture this subject can be more or less broadened since studies on contemporary Korean culture are often intimately linked to what is happening in other East Asian nations, the United States, and partly also other countries and regions of the world.

One example of this is that some key concepts which are relevant in relationship to Korean studies are also used in many other different contexts. Soft power – coined by the American poltical scientist Joseph Nye (1937-) in the late 1980s, developed in his work Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power (1990), and re-elaborated in a number of later books and articles – is one such key term.

According to Nye soft power signifies ‘the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments’, and hence it is different from hard power phenomena such as miltary force, funding, and sanctions. Power – whether ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ – is often connected to foreign policy and a particular country’s will to influence other countries of the world by the means of dissemination of their own particular cultural taste.

Looked upon in a broader way, it can simply mean dispersion of culture in general and has less to do with power in the normal sense; but since soft power is often linked to current (Western) economic models and globalization, it can be hard to distinguish between soft power and hard economic power. In fact, the economic and the cultural dimensions do often overlap; or rather, soft power is often funded by governments.

I well not try to analyze or describe this complex concept in more depth. However, I will give a brief explanation of how soft power can be used these days. This I will do through a list which comprises five significant countries that use culture in one way or another – often in tandem with funding and/or export of cultural products – as a means of soft power.

The United States
The United States – the world’s largest economy and superpower (although a declining such) over the last 150 years or so – does unhesitatingly use a lot of hard power, such as military force, the almost global imposition of their currency, and sanctions against certain countries. But soft power-wise, one can also highlight the near-global dispersion of American popular culture – films, music, sports, fast food etcetera – and its largely market-based economic system and liberal democracy that many other countries either already have absorbed or wish for. The quote below offers a relevant and nuanced overall description of how hard versus soft power can be understood in the case of America:

Take the United Stated as the example. The worldwide popularity of Hollywood movies, Apple products, Google, Starbucks, and the NBA — to name just a few — may be cited as evidence of U.S. soft power, but it would be far-fetched to argue that this soft power has been a crucial factor behind the U.S. ability to get what it wants in other parts of the world. For one thing, drinking Starbucks coffee or watching the NBA does not necessarily translate into pro-American policy preferences. For another, it is difficult to imagine that the symbols of American soft power would have spread to the rest of the world and had such broad appeal had it not been for unrivaled American economic and military power.

 

China
Chinese soft power has become more evident during the recent years – a country to be the largest economy in the world in the not too distant future – and this has been manifested through for instance the large funding and dissemination of Chinese academic institutions and Chinese cultural centers around the world, as well as large-scale events such as the Summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008:

The Chinese government also has spent hundreds of billions of dollars improving the communication capabilities of its media outlets like CCTV, organizing mega events such as the Olympic Games and Shanghai Expo, funding Confucius Institutes, hosting summits attended by dozens of world leaders (e.g. APEC), and sponsoring forums on regional security and prosperity (e.g. the Boao Forum). An important justification for such lavish spending is that these activities can contribute to China’s soft power.

In democratic countries like Canada and Sweden, the academic freedom appears to have been undermined by Chinese-funded and -controlled institutes, which has resulted in several shutdowns of Confucius institutes that promote research on Chinese culture.

Perhaps China may not be as successful as The United States in this regard – people do generally long more for democracy and Starbucks than Confucian values – but the Chinese government does still strive for the use of soft power and has funded a vast amount of projects with large sums of money.

 

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is in total a rich country indeed – and at the same time it is one of the most authoritarian regimes in the entire world.

Saudi Arabia’s soft power is intimately connected to the country’s Wahhabi doctrine, a ‘modern’ and fundamentalistic form of Islam that was founded during the late eighteenth century and which advocates a draconican, Sharia-based (Hanbalic school) interpretation that will not allow any other interpretation, or for that matter any other religion, than their particular form of Islam. This religio-cultural framework has been funded by rich and influential Saudis since the 1970s onwards:

All in all, Saudi figures show that in the period 1973 and 2002, the kingdom spent more than $80 billion to promote Islamic activities in the non-Muslim world alone. This truly colossal sum has built a huge network of Wahhabi-controlled institutions, including over 1500 mosques, 150 Islamic Centers, 202 Muslim colleges, and 2000 Islamic schools in non-Muslim countries alone. (Alexiev 2011)

Unfortunately, far from all people around the globe stand against Wahhabism and its ideological twin, Salafism, which is manifested through the Islamic State and other organizations and movements that partially hinge on these totalitarian ideas.

 

Russia
Russia constitutes one of the largest countries and economies in the world, and like China and Saudi Arabia it is more or less authoritarian. Another current characteristic is its geopolitical expansions in for instance Ukraine.

Besides military hard power, influential Russians use soft power by the means of media channels such as Russia Today in order to spread an alternative world-view, different from the Western, pro-EU and pro-American counterpart.

This might be a relatively fruitful way to get both Western and other people more on the Russian side, or at least to have a more nuanced understanding of Russia and what it aims for both culturally, economically and (geo)politically.

 

South Korea
I have written serval posts on the Korean wave and explained why I do generally support its dissemination and proliferation.

However, I might add that the South Korean government – after recognizing the good financial results in the aftermath of the distribution particular TV dramas and k-pop – currently uses Korean wave products as means for national branding and consequently increasing revenues through tourism and export of Korean wave products, such as music, TV dramas, and food.

This will probably lead to – and has already to some exetent led to – a positive feedback relationship, since a probable consequence may be a better depiction of South Korea in the global community as well as more revenues; and the revenues can in turn be used for more investment in cultural products and their distribution, which may lead to even larger revenues.

It is also interesting that Chinese leaders are concerned about the vast popularity of South Korean celebrities in China. South Korea is definitely one of the big soft power players these days and constitutes a pop cultural alternative to both the US’ and Chinese products.

När det gäller nutida eller samtida koreansk kultur, är det ofta relevant att vidga vyerna eftersom den sällan kan förstås som isolerad från det som sker i övriga Östasien, USA och i viss utsträckning även andra länder och regioner. Dessutom kan det finnas kopplingar till aktuella saker som sker i världen. Detta inlägg utgör en sådan bredare utblick.

Begreppet soft power, eller mjuk makt på svenska, myntades av den amerikanska statsvetaren Joseph Nye (1937-) under slutet av 1980-talet och har blivit mer utarbetat i ett flertal böcker och artiklar sedan dess. Det handlar om att övertyga med hjälp av attraktion snarare än ekonomiska eller militära maktmedel (hård makt).

I detta sammanhang kan till exempel populärkultur spela en viktig roll, vilket har varit fallet med inte minst USA, som på närmast global nivå har spridit filmer, popmusik, tv-kanaler, snabbmat och mycket annat under 1900- och 2000-talen.

Nedan ges fem exempel på länder som kan sägas bedriva soft power i en mer löst definierad mening, om än delvis på väldigt annorlunda sätt.

 

USA
USA har varit världens ledande supermakt under cirka 150 år och är det alltjämt, även om Kina successivt lär komma ikapp både ekonomiskt och militärt. Detta land har också varit framgångsrikt i att sprida amerikansk (populär)kultur på många håll, till exempel filmer, musik, snabbmat och en mängd teknologiska produkter och företeelser.

Mycket av det som USA gör utrikespolitiskt kan visserligen kategoriseras som hard power, men populärkultur, liksom amerikanska politiska ideal och livsstilar, har onekligen attraherat många människor runtom i världen.

 

Kina
Kina har intresserat sig för mjuk makt under ett antal år, och har bland annat försökt bedriva detta genom att finansiera Konfuciusinstitut runtom i världen. Något tidigare har kinesiska wuxia-filmer och sommar-OS i Beijing år 2008 varit två företeelser som kan kopplas till kinesisk soft power-strävan.

Satsningen på att sprida kinesisk kultur i och genom akademiska sammanhang verkar dock ha fått visst bakslag i demokratiska länder som Kanada och USA eftersom det har lett till, eller tros kunna leda till, censur på institutionerna i fråga – känsliga ämnen som relationerna mellan Kina och Taiwan, Kina och Hongkong, och vad som hände på Himmelska fridens torg 1989 verkar inte vara tillåtet att belysa på Konfuciusinstituten, vilket leder till inskränkt akademisk frihet.

Det återstår att se om Kina kan hitta andra, alternativa lösningar och bli mer framgångsrika i detta avseende.

 

Saudiarabien
Den globala spridningen av wahhabism, liksom den mycket närbesläktade salafismen, har finansierats av saudiska oligarker sedan 1970-talet och framåt. Det rör sig om enorma summor, så mycket som 80 miljarder dollar enbart i icke-muslimska länder.

Wahhabism är en “modern” och fundamentalistisk form av islam som uppstod under slutet av 1700-talet och vars lära är synnerligen intolerant gentemot andra religioner, inklusive kristendom, liksom andra inriktningar och tolkningar av islam som till exempel shia och sufism.

Tyvärr verkar den trots det ha en viss attraktion bland framför allt unga män på många håll runtom i världen, vilket har kunnat skönjas i fråga om omfattande rekrytering till al-Qaida, IS och andra terrororganisationer-/rörelser som i stor utsträckning bygger på wahhabism eller salafism.

Idén om att som jihadist komma till ett paradis fullt av villiga kvinnor – till skillnad från de sexslavar som används i dag – kan utgöra en del av attraktionen, liksom viss grad av individuella maktanspråk och det meningsskapande som sker genom att vara en del av en kollektivistisk rörelse med högtflygande målsättning.

Ett litet tecken som dock pekar i rätt riktning – och om inte annat är det lite intressant kuriosa – är dock att en saudisk prinsessa gillar G-Dragon!

 

Ryssland
Ryssland har invaderat Krimhalvön i de östra delarna av Ukraina under 2014 och 2015, vilket förstås kan klassificeras som hård makt.

När det gäller mjuk makt har dock den välproducerade och engelskspråkiga nyhetskanalen Russia Today varit ett viktigt redskap för att sprida en alternativ och samtidigt mer positiv bild av Ryssland och samtidigt en mer negativ dito av västvärlden, framför allt USA och EU. Givetvis finns även amerikanska och västerländska motsvarigheter – Russia Today har i mångt och mycket uppstått som en motvikt till dessa globalt mycket inflytelserika medier.

 

Sydkorea
Jag har redan skrivit ett flertal inlägg om den den koreanska vågen och varför jag generellt stödjer dess spridning och behöver därför inte utveckla detta så mycket.

Man kan dock nämna att den sydkoreanska regeringen, delvis i samarbete med grannländer, försöker hitta nya sätt att attrahera konsumenter av koreansk populärkultur. Man kan exempelvis tänka sig ett större fokus på det koreanska köket framöver.

Noterbart är också att ledande kineser har oroats en del över att koreanska stjärnor får så mycket uppmärksamhet i Kina, till skillnad från de inhemska motsvarigheterna. En av de allra kändaste kinesiska stjärnorna är talande nog också en k-pop-artist, Victoria Song från gruppen f(x).

Why K-pop groups are superior in dancing and East Asians in educational achievement

Posted on by

While being in the process of making final revisions on a peer-reviewed journal article on K-pop, I have looked into some K-pop-related scholarly works that I have not previously examined. Such as Wonho Jangs and Youngsun Kims article ‘Envisaging the Sociocultural Dynamics of K-pop: Time/Space Hybridity, Red Queen’s Race, and Cosmopolitan Striving’ (2013).

I will not make any subjective or personal assertions regarding the pros and cons with having a strong work ethic and highly competitive meritocratic education system and social culture. However, this is nevertheless one of the endogenous factors which seems to underlie both the high PISA scores and the hard-working K-pop stars. The quotes – and not the least the imbedded videos – below say something substantial about this general East Asian, yet particularly South Korean phenomenon (at least regarding pop music).

As one may notice, contemporary South Korean nationalism is intimately related to globalization and cosmopolitan striving. That is: to either succeed abroad, at an overseas high-ranked university (preferably in the US or UK), and hence to be acknowledged in South Korea, or to be globally famous within the frames of for example the South Korean entertainment industry (which simultaneously implies some degree of overseas fame, at least in East Asia and Southeast Asia).

One may also note that Jang and Kim emphasize Confucian elements with regard to the general K-pop talent trainee system, which, however, John Lie is skeptical about in his latest work on this subject. Since I have read both of these two contributions, as well as an earlier article on the same topic by Lie (2012), I do sort of take a middle position regarding this very particular subject; hence there is still some degree of Confucianism left in contemporary South Korea, and it seems to affect behavior among citizens such as family values, but it is no longer very distinctive and much of its former doctrines, practices and social structures have been lost in oblivion.

Additionally, since Jang and Kim regard high results and high-quality performances among (young) South Koreans in general as a part of the same socio-cultural phenomenon and dynamics, it should be emphasized that other (East Asian) countries and city regions, such as Shanghai, Singapore, Hongkong, Taiwan and Japan – and with Finland and Switzerland as prominent exceptions among European countries – have high PISA results while not being particularly successful when it comes to the production and distribution of pop music.

Thus, if the aim is to explain the relative regional and global success of the production, distribution and dissemination of South Korean pop music, i.e. K-pop, then one has to keep other endogenous and exogenous factors in mind too. (In my article I put emphasis upon some of these key factors, which scholars such as for instance Lie and Ingyu Oh have examined, and to whose works I have referred to.) Or rather, one may have to clearly differentiate between particular kinds of socio-economic and socio-cultural domains and activities – school performance is one thing, while pop performance is another (although these may overlap to some extent).

With regard to educational achievement in East Asia and Singapore – particularly test perfomance scores such as PISA (국제학생평가프로그램 in Korean) – and work ethics, Confucian or post-Confucian elements may be – combined with largely Western-influenced capitalism and meritocracy – part of the explanation, but then it is more about general regional characteristics than local endogenous factors. However, the largely export-oriented South Korean economy is definitely one key component in this respect; both in relationship to overall economic patterns and outcomes and pop cultural circulation, and clearly differs from the more insular Japanese economy. [1]

The tenative conclusion at this point is that there is not any single main factor that underlies neither educational achievement nor pop cultural success, but strong work ethics and a vast amount of practice or studies are unhesitatingy linked to all of these outcomes. Over the last ten years or so, K-pop has become the – at least commercially – the superior form of pop music in Asia, and to less extent the entire world, and once its talent system is put into place new stars will continue to be educated within its highly competitive frames. The reason for this may in turn partly be due to what is labeled as cosmopolitan striving.

[1] Apart from the first-mentioned article, among several studies of significance in this respect one may also mention John Lie’s K-pop (2014), Donald Baker’s Korean Spirituality (2008), and Niall Ferguson’s Civilization (2011).

To reiterate, both the exogenous and endogenous features of a particular music genre or a particular group of singers must be discussed in order to explain such massive success. Many scholars have underestimated K-pop’s endogenous success factors, although they highlight the exogenous ones, such as globalization, regionalization, and the influence of J-pop and other Asian pop music on K-pop (Iwabuchi 2001; Chua 2004; Cho 2007; Allen and Sakamoto 2006). Even when endogenous factors were investigated, only the negative factors, such as the long-term contracts which were even referred to as “slave contracts,” were unnecessarily highlighted (Ho 2012), without addressing the validity of the harsh training system based on such long-term contracts. This system has only been effective in Korea and is seen as largely responsible for the global success of K-pop, particularly because such intense training and long-term contracts in other countries, such as Japan, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, have not had any positive influence on singers in the long run. This section, then, attempts to shed light on the endogenous elements that are deemed germane in the formation of the global K-pop fandom. In order to do so, the reasons for K-pop’s success should first be discussed before examining the negative endogenous factors that may cause its possible future failure. We suggest three specific features of K-pop that have been pivotal in K-pop’s ascendance to its present global status: the contemporaneity of the uncontemporary, the synchronized dancing to melodic music (vis-à-vis beat music), and the multi-top dancing formation.

Boy and girl bands all over the world usually dance to beat music in a synchronized fashion. However, the preference of harmonized melodies over beats in synchronized group dancing is not common, as it is hard to dance to certain types of trendy beats, while singing a song that incorporates complex harmonies. A common claim regarding the reason K-pop bands are able to master synchronized group dancing while singing complex harmonies is that these singers were harshly disciplined and carefully controlled by their so-called “slave contracts.” For example, Nusrat Durrani of MTV World pointed out that the nine members of Girls’ Generation perform “every dance move in sync, every [melodic] note precisely hit.”

Cosmopolitan striving is a metaphor for a collective motivation toward upward mobility in a transitional society from Asian or developing economies to modern and Western economies (Park and Abelmann 2004). In Korea, it is widely thought that learning English, for example, is a quick way to become rich and powerful, as English is thought to provide one with new cosmopolitan opportunities, such as studying in the United States and the United Kingdom (Park and Abelmann 2004). Learning about Western culture is also considered to be an important stepping stone to advance one’s economic fate in society. Under this type of biased Western-centric, promodern social rubric, cosmopolitan striving motivates people to pursue what Oh (2009, 436) calls “forward learning.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XmVpk1K6jU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NE2GWQQ5_k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc3__KmrlnU

Jag håller för närvarande – parallellt med andra sysslor – på och reviderar en peer-review-granskad tidskriftsartikel om k-pop. Inte bara om denna företeelse i allmänhet utan om vissa särskilda aspekter av detta ämne.

I samband med denna process har jag även tagit del av ett antal studier som jag inte har läst tidigare, till exempel Wonho Jang och Youngsun Kims artikel ‘Envisaging the Sociocultural Dynamics of K-pop: Time/Space Hybridity, Red Queen’s Race, and Cosmopolitan Striving’ (2013).

Denna sätter till stor del fingret på unga nutida sydkoreaners höga utbildnings- och prestationsambitioner, och är i sin tur en av orsakerna till att k-popstjärnor och -grupper, som exempelvis TVXQ, Girls’ Generation och Super Junior, kan träna så pass enträget och frekvent att de klarar av att göra mer eller mindre perfekta synkroniserade dansformationer, både i flera av sina musikvideor och live (även om de ibland förenklar sina framträdanden, inte minst danskoreografin, i en del livesammanhang).

Snarlika typer av hårda och envetna tränings- eller studieprocesser tycks ligger till grund för sydkoreaners höga PISA-resultat, och benägenheten att vilja söka till utbildningsinstitutioner i andra länder, allra helst de högst rankade universiteten i USA och Storbritannien.

När det gäller åtminstone PISA-resultat kan man dock notera att andra (till stor del östasiatiska) länder och storstadsregioner som Shanghai, Singapore, Hongkong, Japan och Taiwan, samt vårt grannland Finland, också har mycket höga resultat inom matematik, naturvetenskap och läsförståelse. Därför måste man belysa även andra för Sydkorea typiska faktorer när man förklarar k-popartisternas högutvecklade förmågor. Dessutom är k-pop en transnationell företeelse, som över huvud taget inte kan förstås utan USA, Japan och i mindre utsträckning även andra länder, varför fokus delvis måste ligga på exogena faktorer.

Som ett flertal olika studier visar när det gäller många östasiatiska länders – inklusive Sydkorea – höga resultat kan säkerligen konfucianska element och värderingar spela en viss roll, men ännu viktigare är de västerländska influenserna som har kommit till och spridits inom denna region via framför allt USA och Japan. Den är i sin tur en historisk förutsättning för den kosmopolitiska strävan som finns bland en stor andel unga sydkoreaner. [1]

 

[1] Se till exempel John Lies K-pop (2014), Donald Bakers Korean Spirituality (2008), och Niall Fergusons Civilization (2011).

5 main authors to focus on

Posted on by

This blog’s main focus is related to a specific concept, body and brains, and hence to develop both physically and intellectually as a person. To develop physically does also imply and include phenomena such as fashion, and to develop intellectually is also related to for instance traveling, so these two main areas do partly overlap several subjects and domains and consist of a rather broad spectrum of dimensions and activities.

An additional aspect of relevance is what is sometimes called life-hacking. Life is full of choices, and therefore it is both hard and ineluctable to recurrently make choices related to how to invest and spend one’s particular time and money. So if one is striving for to develop intellectually, one must select a reasonable quantity of books, journals, blogs, documentaries and podcosts to read and/or to watch and listen to. The keywords in this respect are what can be labeled as smart selection.

Throughout the years, I have read a lot of books – both academic, fiction and other categories – and hence is able to give som proper guidance with regard to which authors and works that one may chose in this respect. However, in this case I will focus solely on novel authors and their fictional works.

I will do this by to exemplify five fantastic novel authors, and in connection with each one of these mention some of their masterpieces. It is quite subjective, of course, but I have considered many aspects while making my decision in this respect, such as that a quite broad age spectrum might be able to enjoy these. For instance, one relevant dimension that I have thought of, is that all of these authors and their respective works, are often easily accessible, and can be found in many libraries and/or in bookstores, and they are available in both English and Swedish editions (and well, Strindberg wrote primarily in Swedish, of course, but his works have in many cases been translated into English and other languages) and very often as audio books too. I hope that some may find these tips useful.

 

1. Yukio Mishima
I have briefly written about the Japanese author Yukio Mishima (1925-1970) in earlier posts, and in conjunction with this emphasized his interesting lifestyle (he was one of the early pioneers – particularly in East Asia – in bodybuilding, and one of the most talented authors of the whole 20th century: what a combination!).

Mishima produced quite many novels during his active years, but if I would only mention one piece of work it has to be The Sound of waves (1954). It is a fantastic novel about male bravery and love between a boy and girl. It is so well-written that almost every piece of word is like a small section of art. A definite must-read.

 

2. August Strindberg
Strindberg (1849-1912) is, as most real or potential readers already know, one of Sweden’s most famous authors, and like Mishima he produced a vast amount of different kinds of works – not only novels, but also plays, essays, poems and journalistic material, and he was also an Impressionist painter.

With regard to his fictional works – often influenced by his own life experiences – I would have to chose Inferno (published in French in 1898, and in English the first time in 1912) as one of his absolute masterpieces. If a person is interested in existential, scientific and religious topics, this splendid piece of work is the proper one to focus on.

 

3. Umberto Eco
The Italian semiologist, literary critic, essayist, medievalist, popular scientific and fictional author Umberto Eco (1932-), is one of the leading intellectuals of the 20th and 21th centuries, and possesses an extraordinary amount of knowledge about many different subjects, but medieval history and literary theory in particular.

This broad and deep knowledge is showcased in many of his fictional works, such as The Name of the rose (first published in Italian in 1980 and in English in 1983) and Foucault’s pendulum (first published in Italian in 1988 and in English in 1989). Read these two – you will definitely be a lot smarter afterwards, and their plots are quite thrilling and entertaining too. Eco is the predecessor of Dan Brown but only much better.

 

4. Haruki Murakami
The second Japanese author on the list is Haruki Murakami (1949-), one of the most best-selling contemporary authors on a global level, and behind critically-acclaimed works such as The Wind-up bird chronicle (1994) and less prominent but commercially successful pieces such as the 1Q84 trilogy (2009-2011). You can find his pocket books in virtually every book store in the developed parts of the world, I guess.

Since Murakami is one of my absolute favorites, it is hard pick only one or a few of his works. But I think that Kafka on the shore (2002) still has to be one in this regard. It is a phantasmagoric and multilayered novel, which contents – among other things – overlap psychoanalysis, Greek mythology and Japanese history, while mainly taking place in modern Japan and thus is a interesting reflection of this country’s many facets.

 

5. Michel Houellebecq
Houellebecq (1958-) is one of the most controversial but also acclaimed – at least in his native homeland France and other Western countries – authors in current times, and behind partly provoking novels such as The Elementary particles (originally published in 1998, and in English in 2002) and Platform (2002).

Although it is possible to find stylistic and other sorts of flaws in all of Houellebecq’s works, I do still insist on that one should read all or at least most of them, particularly his novel debut, translated into English as Whatever (1994), and The Elementary particles (in English in 1998).

Houellebecq’s works are at the same time funny, deeply serious and regardless of aspect relevant, and treat many topics and sub-topics such as the sexual market, prostitution, ageing, existential puzzlement, and some of the obstacles that charcterize the contemporary French society. It is not easy to figure out which side he is on so to speak – for instance, is he a misanthrope or not? – but that is partly why he is worth reading. You have to think for yourself and try to figure out what your own thoughts are regarding these contentious issues.

Under årens lopp har jag läst en stor mängd böcker – både akademiska, skönlitterära och andra slags kategorier – och kan därför ge en del vägledning gällande vilka författare och verk som man kan välja bland i detta avseende. Tiden är knapp och det är därför viktigt att göra smarta urval. I det här inlägget kommer jag dock endast att fokusera på romanförfattare och deras respektive fiktiva verk.

Jag kommer göra detta genom att lista fem stycken i mitt tycke fenomenala författare, och i samband med att var och en tas upp också nämna en eller ett par av deras bästa verk. Det är förstås till stor del subjektivt, men jag har ändå tänkt igenom detta ordentligt och det gäller även beträffande åldersspektrum; tanken är att alltifrån 20- till 70-åringar skulle kunna tänkas få ut någonting av samtliga dessa. Dessutom har jag lyft fram författare och verk som i de flesta fall är väldigt lätta att få tag på, både på bibliotek och i boklådor, både på svenska och/eller engelska, ja kanske även på koreanska.

1. Yukio Mishima
Jag har tidigare skrivit lite om den japanske författaren Yukio Mishima (1925-1970) och i samband med det tagit upp denne minst sagt intressante mans – han var bland annat en av pionjärerna inom bodybuilding, åtminstone i Östasien, och definitivt en av 1900-talets mest begåvade stilister – syn på olika samhällsfrågor. Om man endast ska nämna ett av hans verk, måste det bli Bruset av vågor (1954, utgiven på svenska 1965), en fantastisk kortroman om manligt mod och kärlek mellan en tjej och en kille. Oerhört välskriven, och man slipper politiskt innehåll.

2. August Strindberg
Strindberg (1849-1912) är, som de flesta läsare redan vet, en av Sveriges mest kända författare, och har dessutom skrivit pjäser, noveller, dikter och journalistiska texter, samt var även impressionistisk målare. Om man endast ska lyfta fram en av hans romaner får det lov att bli Inferno (utgiven på franska 1898 och något senare översatt till svenska), som behandlar en mängd existentiella, religiösa och vetenskapliga perspektiv och frågor, och är inte minst enastående formulerad. Särskilt skildringarna av Paris är fenomenala.

3. Umberto Eco
Den italienske semiologen, litteraturkritikern, essäisten, medeltidskännaren, populärvetenskapliga- och romanförfattaren Umberto Eco (1932-), är en av de ledande intellektuella under 1900- och 2000-talet, och han besitter onekligen ett enormt, både brett och djupt kunnande, om många olika ämnen.

Detta färgar också hans romaner, som Rosens namn (utgiven i svensk översättning 1983) och Foucaults pendel (utgiven på svenska för första gången 1988), som båda verkligen bör läsas. Som läsare kommer man garanterat att känna sig betydligt smartare efteråt. Eco är föregångaren till Dan Brown fast oerhört mycket bättre.

4. Haruki Murakami
Murakami (1949-) är den andra japanen på listan och utan tvekan en av de mest framgångsrika författarna – på global nivå – i dag; man hittar mängder av hans böcker i inte minst pocketinriktade butiker och på snart sagt varje svenskt bibliotek. Hans långa roman Fågeln som vrider upp världen (1995) är tämligen kritikerrosad, medan flera av hans lite senare verk – som i många fall blivit översatta till svenska under de senaste 10-15 åren, oavsett när de exakt har skrivits på originalspråk – har inte mottagits med samma entusiasm av kritikerkåren, men det varierar och är inget man behöver bry sig alltför mycket om.

Eftersom Murakami är en personlig favorit är det svårt att välja endast en bok, men det får likväl bli Kafka på stranden (i svensk översättning 2007). Det är en fantasieggande och väldigt mångbottnad roman, vars innehåll och teman överlappar bland annat psykoanalys, grekisk mytologi och japansk historia, samtidigt som handlingen primärt utspelar sig i ett nutida Japan med allt vad det innebär av långa bussresor, shintohelgedomar och västerländsk popmusik. Fantastisk och kan läsas flera gånger.

5. Michel Houellebecq
Houellebecq (1958-) är utan tvekan en av de mest kontroversiella nutida författarna, men det är också svårt att kategorisera denne och lista ut vad han så att säga egentligen tycker om sådant som den sexuella marknaden, prostitution och människan som biologisk varelse – läs därför denna utmärkta recension av romanen Refug för att få en bra inblick i hans tänkande och hur det tar sig uttryck i den litterära produktionen.

Trots att fransmannen Houellebecqs verk – för några han för övrigt fått motta prestigefyllda pris i hemlandet – har en hel del brister, vill jag dock påstå att man bör läsa nästan alla eller i alla fall de flesta av hans romaner, för så intressanta och underhållande är de.

Om man vill göra ett något snävare urval i det avseendet kan man dock kanske ta itu med den korta debuten Konkurrens till döds (i svensk översättning 2002), följt av Elementarpartiklarna (i svensk översättning 2000), Refug (i svensk översättning 2006), och Kartan och landskapet (på svenska 2011).

저는 특별한 소설 을 미시마 요키오 (특별한 ‘파도 소리’), 아우구스트 스트린드베리 (‘지옥’ 특별한 ), 움베르토 에코 (예를 들면 장미의 이름 ), 무라카미 하루키 (특별한  해변의 카프카), 하고 미셸 우엘벡 (예를 들면 소립자 ) 쓰으로  좋아해요. 그 소설 들을 다 읽어주세요.