So much self-praise.
Click to viewIs this what the SMTown documentary is like? Well, minus the awkwardly-glossed-over moments of dissatisfaction. Lol Gene don't give a fuck. He can speak bluntly if he want to.
Lena is speaking so carefully. Or at least right up until that commissary crack. Oh, burrrrnnnnnn.
June and Debbie's interview bits, detailing the star development and glamor systems, show the most parallels to idol development machines of today. Debbie speaks so straightforwardly that it appears to be neutral, but you can see some of the negative undertones simply in the content of what she says about how much the company controlled their stars' appearance and PR. And Mickey speaks nothing of the drugs, much less everyone not speaking of what MGM did to Judy.
But if there's one thing that can be said about what the studio system instilled in their stars, it is that their professionalism is undeniable. It is remarked upon again and again by all of the staff concerning the stars involved in this documentary, how professional they were in any of the circumstances that they were put in. I do think that our current demand for "authenticity" in American pop culture has lost some of the advantages of that. (Of course, I've argued for the other side before, with regards to Asian idols.)
Also, cameramen PLEASE LEARN FROM GENE ON HOW TO SHOOT DANCE NUMBERS. Kpop live camera work is the worst.