Watching Mad Men, wishing I was back in the 60s, then realizing that I was there, but in my version everyone spoke Korean.
It’s been a week since the last one and the long wait in between is over. Episode 3 is here, featuring Buttons, Bad Trailers, Korean CSI and BBQ. Oh and the return of Dr. Paul. Don’t miss it.
The Invincible Unshow, Episode 3 from David Toyne on Vimeo.
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When man began, it was a branch-out on evolution’s part. It might have failed, like all those other attempts failed, but man did branch out and slowly developed and grew. There was something in his gait, primitive man, which set him apart from the monkeys and humanoids. He had what it took, both soft and rugged and most importantly, smart. He outwit all others and rose to dominance. As man developed, and his numbers grew, he spread out. He started to cover more and more of the planet.
However, over the millennia, as the tectonic plates shifted, the land grew farther apart and the various tribes became separated. Some regions were hot, some were cold, some humid, some dry. Over thousands upon thousands of years, generation after generation slowly improved their abilities in certain areas. Those individuals who showed skill in vital areas to the culturewere prized as mates and passed on their genetic material with more certainty. As time passed, the skills of these superior mates became commonly accepted by the whole population, as the genomes met and bore new versions. Some developed dark skin, others light skin and a whole host of variations in between.
There are very obvious differences between the races of humanity. The question is, where do you draw the line between race and humanity, in other words, where do our differences end and our similarities begin? That is, of course, the fundamental question of how racist you are. If you view the extreme view that almost everything is different between races, then golly, you are a racist. If you think it ends at skin color, then you are a PC moron.
Just where our similarities end and our differences begin is still not fully explained by science. It was long thought that hormones were different between races. This was used as a basis of the idea that certain behaviors were linked to race. However, recent studies have shown that there are almost insignificant differences between testosterone levels between black, white and latino men. The idea that certain races are predisposed to certain behaviors is tenous at best.
Yet we must admit certain differences do exist. Why are all the best sprinters black, the best long distance runners Kenyan or the best swimmers white? These differences in physicality are obvious, as certain body-types are suited to certain sports, but is this where the differences end? Compared to my asian friend, I am missing the ability to produce melanin at a fast enough rate to prevent damage from the sun. After 30 minutes, I get redder and redder whereas he just gets darker. On the other hand, he, like many Asians, has difficulty drinking milk due to lack of the enzyme used in the stomach to break down the proteins, whereas I can guzzle it down like a champ.
The trouble we have in our society is that we are so busy trying to stamp out racism that we sometimes forget to acknowledge the very real differences we have with each other. Whenever race is brought up as a topic of discussion, it is tiptoed around for fear of causing offense or not being PC enough. We, as a generation have been born into this guilt of the sins of our forefathers. Yet we can’t help but feel indignation at feeling a guilt for a thing that we had no part in. There have been many atrocities throughout history, yet it’s slavery which is often leveled as something we ourselves should be sorry for. I want to help the less fortunate, regardless of their color, but I take issue with the idea that because I’m white, I am in some way related to those racist white men and women of history.
This original sin of slavery seems as inherently racist as the policies of segregation. Both further propogate the idea of grouping people by their race, rather than as individuals. It may be for a more positive end and done with good intent, but that doesn’t make it right and it doesn’t help to solve the bigger issue.
I don’t think that humans will ever stop forming groups, however I do think that as society develops, groups will be formed on grounds less elemental than skin color. Not only that, but as genetic research continues, we may very well benefit from all the differences we have with each other. The thousands of years apart, developing differently has ended. We are now citizens of the world, who will join our strengths to form a stronger whole.
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I’m pretty beat right now. A surprisingly large amount of work goes into making the internet’s most compelling show. A lot of work goes into The Unshow too. When you’re the star, director, cameraman, producer, editor and distributor, somehow your time and energy gets well-spent. Now I understand why real productions hire many people to do all this. Of course, we’d like to have other people do a lot of those roles and more, but for now it’s me and Keith and we’re on a tight schedule before Keith goes home in July.
But while we do spend an awful lot of time, energy, patience, dignity and tin foil (you’ll see what I mean soon enough), I think we would hardly have it any other way.
The Invincible Unshow, Episode 2 from David Toyne on Vimeo.
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The long wait is over. Not only is the new season underway, but The Unshow is now a video podcast on iTunes. Browse through the iTunes store, search, or go direct to The Invincible Unshow Video Podcast and subscribe to the internet’s most amazing show-that-is-not-a-show!
A side note: The video podcast is of much higher quality than YouTube. Also, once subscribed, you’ll automatically download all the new releases. Not only that, you can take myself and Keith everywhere with you on your iPod, as you no doubt have always dreamed of doing.
Here, for your convenience is Episode 1 of the new season, hosted by our good friends at Vimeo. In it, you will see Keith’s new movie trailer for The Hobbit, Dave’s tour of the ‘hood and Namsan, plus the unveiling of our new clothing line. It’s amazing just to write about!
The Invincible Unshow, Ep.1 from David Toyne on Vimeo.
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This relocation to Korea has turned into a vacation of sorts. There I was, in China, writing blogs about my new religion, relaxing in the afternoon sun and now here I am in Seoul with dreary weather and no motivation to write about anything. People living here seem to work too much and enjoy too little. Sure, I used to live that life too, however it’s only after stepping out of that environment that I could realize how dull it is.
To be fair, there are lots of great things about this country. If you look at it in context, you can really see how they as a people have developed. The grandparents of this country have seen so much change and dealt with it. As kids, they lived through a horrible war that tore the whole country apart, and now they drive nice cars on 5-lane streets through a city lined with tall buildings and high-speed internet cables. But I’m not a historian, nor am I a Korean studies major. I’m an artist at heart and an Australian by birth. Concrete everywhere, cars cluttering every feasible space, people bustling around with the mark of stress on their face, really brings me down. Life, to me, is more than about making money and babies.
In Korean, the same word for day is the same word for work (“Il”). This really says a lot. In English, work and day don’t even have any of the same letters as each other. This says a lot too. I do believe that to be happy, one must engage in productive work, I just don’t believe that said work should encompass all of one’s life at the expense of everything else.
But don’t listen to me, I’m currently unemployed.
Sometimes decisions have to be made and they turn out to be wrong. I think there is some correlation between self-honesty and the eventual success of those decisions. It’s never too late to change one’s mind, but breaking a pattern of denying one’s dreams is very hard to identify and cure. Those who dare to do what they dream are the lucky ones, those who are not concerned with the here-and-now and more concerned with the future they envision. In this case, work is justified and fulfilling.
I came to Korea and found myself wanting to rewind the clock and stay in China. I miss my bike, my apartment, my $2 noodles, my coffee maker and my City Shop salad. Most of all, I miss the bright sunshine which warmed this artist’s soul each day. My religion and thus the world needs me to fulfill my destiny. It needs you to do the same thing. The doing is the hard part, but there is happiness in the act and in the result.
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