Task 1: My House of Values

Love:

The value most important to me is love. To me, love means an unconditional connection between people that can be expressed in many ways such as compassion, trust, and honesty. Love doesn’t have to be romantic, you could just to trust a someone enough to show vulnerability. This value impacts my life as I always strive to look out for others and build connections. One time, I cheered up a classmate after a tough day, and ever since we have been great friends. I think this displays how love is contagious – the more you give, the more you get. Interactions with others include encouraging them to achieve their best in everything. This affects my decision making, as I see myself to follow my heart rather than my head. For example I would pass on an opportunity I had to someone in greater need. To me, love is a mixture of many values, all of which relate to caring for others.

Friendship:

Friendship impacts my life similarly to how love does. However a main difference is that friendship focuses on building a connection within people. In my opinion, friendship might be less profound than love, yet still equally significant. Friendship creates a comfortable and content place for people; interactions could be joking around with each other light-heartedly. My decisions are also affected by this value. An example is I once chose to sit with a different person than what I usually would because they seemed down. I find friendship is the closeness between people, a chill vibe.

Future Generations:

One of my main goals in life is to try help people in anyway possible – this includes people that may not be on this Earth yet. I believe future generations should be able to experience everything, if not more, than what we have today. This value is one of my driving forces that impact my life – my motivation to study and find ways to help future generations stem from it. Interactions with others could include talking about issues that may affect the future, and ways to mitigate them. An example of how I implement this value at home is that I follow the reduce-reuse-recycle idea. I take something that is considered waste to others (for example cardboard or packaging) and incorporate it into the artworks I make. It impacts my decisions as many of my career dreams are influenced by this, for example I might want to research sustainability or work in law to reinforce many of our existing joys today.

Task 2: Healthy and Unhealthy Role Model

Healthy Role Model: ‘Bang Chan’ from Stray Kids

Introduction to chosen celebrity: Bang Chan is the leader of the K-pop group Stray Kids. In 2010, at the age of 13, he left his home country Australia and moved to South Korea to pursue his dream of becoming a K-Idol. He trained for 7 years before finally debuting under JYP Entertainment with Stray Kids. He is well known globally for his talent and his genuine and compassionate disposition.

What behaviours does this person do to show
that they are healthy?

The main behaviour and values that Bang Chan displays is outstanding hard work, resilience, and kindness, all of which are traits that derive from a healthy mental state and moral compass. This is seen in his immense determination to improve himself and help others through being an idol – whenever he has spare time he always tries to improve aspects of the band e.g. he composes his group’s music or writes lyrics to future songs.

Bang Chan is very resilient as he deals with the struggles of being a celebrity – one of them being extreme unjustified hate from consumers (some ‘fans’ commented death threats on his live broadcast over small mistakes). However, he still keeps a positive outward behaviour to his fans and surrounding people, showcasing his resilience to ‘bounce back’ from adversity.

Bang Chan displays kindness through his talks on his live broadcast. A direct quote from the idol:

“…So I think it’s best to really do what you really want to do – really, just enjoy being alive. And also… Expressing who you are – and I know you guys know what I mean…”

– Bang Chan on V Live

This shows how Bang Chan wants the best for his fans and therefore tries to help them by encouraging them. This is an obvious display of kindness as he cares about others and he wants to try help them in any way possible.

Being an idol involves practicing vigorous dancing (while singing simultaneously) for hours every day, which proves his strong physical health. Additionally, Bang Chan’s diet is nutritious and he makes time for socializing and other healthy practices.

Bang Chan has a healthy mental state and moral compass shown by his behaviours, and he has great physical health due to his lifestyle. This makes Bang Chan a healthy role model.

What do they look like? Are they healthy? How
do you know?

Bang Chan’s ethnicity is South Korean. He is physically healthy as shown through his appearance. His natural hair and eye colour is black/dark brown and he has a muscular build. His skin is naturally pale (not due to being unhealthy) and clear. This shows that he is physically healthy as he is devoid of any visible illnesses/afflictions.

Some celebrities may have an appearance that was created due to excessive amounts of cosmetic surgery. This promotes an unhealthy self-image to any fans, as it suggests that to look ‘good-looking’ you need to undergo painful surgeries. This can leave fans unhappy with their body-image, which is unhealthy. However, Bang Chan has not undergone any plastic/cosmetic surgery, and his appearance is healthy and realistic.

What message does this celebrity promote?
Why is it inspiring and healthy?

Bang Chan uses his fame to promote many messages – all of which I believe to be valuable life lessons. An example of this is when he talks to his fans online through the means of live broadcasts (using the app ‘V Live’). Fans sometimes comment their situation and Bang Chan does his best to comfort and give advice to them. An example of this – one fan commented they are struggling with self doubt. In response, Bang Chan said (quoted word for word):

‘…I mean, you might not feel confident, but trust me, you’re doing good at something. Even if it’s something really really small, believe me, there is something you’re really really good at… It’s just another step that you need to step on to go further up…’

In saying this, the idol uses V Live to connect with fans and create an environment where fans can talk about their troubles comfortably – and receive valuable life messages!

Bang Chan also promotes his messages simply by displaying them through the way he acts.  One example of his many messages is to follow your dreams and tackle all the obstacles that may block the path to your ambition.

Bang Chan stated that his dream is to spread joy throughout the world using the music he creates. Following that he has many talents related to being a performer, he auditioned to be a K-pop Idol. After his audition was accepted, he decided to take the opportunity – even knowing that the process to become an idol means leaving his home county and family. This showed that even the ordeal of leaving behind the familiar didn’t stop him from his journey to make his dream a reality.

After travelling to Korea, Bang Chan had to go through the arduous K-pop training process. This included competing against million of other trainees for fame. It is said that becoming a successful idol is rarer than winning the lottery, and yet Bang Chan persisted, following his message to follow his dream. He trained for a total of 7 years – each day of training consisted almost entirely of improving idol skills (singing, dancing, composing, etc.) Finally, using persistence and moving past the hardships in his life, he became the leader of a well known K-pop group: Stray Kids.

Those are just two examples of the many life lessons Bang Chan promotes. Other examples stated in the previous sections are: to always be empathetic, persistent, kind, hard-working, and resilient. He promotes these lessons directly by talking with fans and displaying them in his role-model behaviour.

Why should young people look up to this
person and try to follow their message?

I believe young people should look up to Bang Chan and follow his message as Bang Chan demonstrates behaviours and personality traits that are very valuable for a person to have – especially at a young age. As covered in the previous sections, Bang Chan displays empathy, kindness, resilience and a disciplined work ethic. If young people look up to him as a role model, they will view all the positive traits he carries as personality traits they want to have. I think it is vital for young people to have these personality traits as they will establish a positive mindset early on. Empathy, kindness, resilience and a disciplined work ethic are essential in almost all areas of life – e.g. interactions with others (empathy and kindness), overcoming problems (resilience), and school and work-life (discipline). If more people can look up to Bang Chan and try to mirror the positive traits he models, I believe they can make positive impacts on the world around them.

Unhealthy Role Model: ‘Oli London’

Introduction of chosen celebrity: Oli London is an internet personality that focuses on creating unofficial ‘K-Pop’ content. He was born in January 1990 and was born British. After discovering K-Pop, he decided to undergo 18 rounds of plastic surgery to imitate the look of his favourite K-Pop idol (Jimin from BTS). He is known worldwide for being ‘transracial’ and part of the LGBTQ+ community.

What behaviours does this person do to show
that they are unhealthy?

The main physically unhealthy behaviour that Oli London displays is his extreme dissatisfaction with his body image, causing him to spend about $140 000 on cosmetic plastic surgery. This is unhealthy and dangerous as extreme plastic surgery can be physically harmful (including risks of excessive bleeding, infection, failure to heal etc.). Oli London had to get large amounts of tissue and skin removed during the procedure, which is very unhealthy as you are vulnerable to diseases. This is also shows Oli London has an unhealthy body image, he quoted (word for word)

“…and I never feel good enough, when I look in the mirror, I never feel beautiful.” from: ‘You’re Really Selling Yourself Short; You’re Not Being Your Own Best Friend,’ Dr. Phil Tells Gue…

This makes Oli London unhealthy as he felt the need to change his look permanently and drastically due to his unhealthy body image.

The reason Oli London wanted to change his appearance drastically was because of his unhealthy obsession with the BTS (K-pop group) idol ‘Jimin’, that he stated to be ‘transracial’ and as a result, appropriated the Korean culture. His obsession is shown from the footage of him being affectionate with a paper cut-out of Jimin, repeating the words ‘I love you Jimin!’ (from: I Identify As Korean – Now I’m Getting My Sixth Nose Job | HOOKED ON THE LOOK“. He also stated to be transracial, saying that he ‘identifies as Korean’. His acts of cultural appropriation are shown by his quote: “I am 100% Korean”. He also creates ‘K-pop’ music videos – one titled ‘The Heart of Korea”. This is problematic, as cultural appropriation (an oppressed culture has elements of their culture adopted without permission by a dominant culture – in this case the Korean culture is adopted by Oli London who is British – known as a ‘dominant’ culture) continues oppression. Because of his inappropriate obsession and his acts of cultural appropriation, Oli London is morally unhealthy as these acts can be offensive and morally wrong.

Oli London pursues internet popularity obsessively that he uses sensitive/problematic topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement for attention. This is seen in his voice mail quote (it was posted onto Tik Tok by his past friend ‘Frenchy Morgan’):

” …So basically every time I get a music video it’s like… It’s a million [views], which is a thousand pounds…” and “…then also because there’s been a lot on Twitter; so many people talking about on Twitter supporting the Black Lives Matter protests and stuff so I had 200,000 views on a video, so because of that as well I’m getting a lot of progress. So it’s just, you know I’m just staying relevant…”

– Oli London speaking on voice mail to Frenchy Morgan

This is problematic and another example of having unhealthy morals as he speaks about the Black Lives Matter movement insensitively, as if he only feels it’s significant to improving his internet popularity. It is clear he is acting problematic to get fame and monetary income, which is very morally unhealthy.

Oli London is physically unhealthy due to his extreme cosmetic surgery, and morally/emotionally unhealthy due to his body image, inappropriate fan behaviour, cultural appropriation acts, insensitivity and his strong desire for fame and money. This makes Oli London an unhealthy role model.

What do they look like? Do they look
unhealthy? How do you know?

Oli London currently has blond dyed hair, and artificial facial features (unnaturally shaped eyes, nose and lips) due to cosmetic surgery. He has an average build. His natural eye colour is blue. His skin, however, is clear, but unusually shiny. Due to his extreme amount of surgically altered features, Oli London looks unhealthy. This is because plastic surgery is often associated with a negative, unhealthy body image (see previous question), and is physically harmful to the body.

What message does this celebrity promote?
Why is it unhealthy?

Oli London’s message he tries to promote is that: You should be free to express yourself, whether it’s through coming out as LGBTQ+ or transracial*. I think this message is partially healthy, as you should be free to express and be confident with your true self. However, I think you should only ‘express’ yourself in ways that aren’t harming others in offensive or problematic ways such as acts of cultural appropriation or speaking insensitively about Black Lives Matter. While his message might not be fully morally unhealthy, his behaviours contradict the positive teachings. I think Oli London values his beliefs and his self expression very much, but I also think he values internet validation and money – this alone isn’t entirely unhealthy, but when it shapes your behaviours into harming others, it becomes an unhealthy value. There are various ways you can promote your messages through your behaviours, his message is unhealthy.

*(not directly quoted word for word, but rather a combined understanding of many of his other quotes such as ‘I want to express myself’ etc.)

Why should young people not look up to this
The person or try to follow their message?

I believe young people should not look up to Oli London and follow his message as Oli London demonstrates behaviours and personality traits that are problematic and twisted for a person to have – especially at a young age. As covered in the previous sections, Oli London is physically unhealthy due to his extreme cosmetic surgery, and morally/emotionally unhealthy due to his body image, inappropriate fan behaviour, cultural appropriation acts, insensitivity and his strong desire for fame and money. If young people look up to him as a role model, they will view all the negative traits he carries as personality traits they want to have. I think it is dangerous for young people to have these personality traits as they will establish a harmful mindset early on.

All the behaviours he displayed will impact a young person’s life in many negative ways if they try to look up to him – e.g. They might display an unhealthy body image only plastic surgery can fix. They might also come off as inappropriate (London’s obsession with Jimin), or potentially offend others or talk insensitively about topics. If people look up to Oli London and try to mirror the negative traits he models, I believe they run the risk of behaving negatively, which impacts the world around them.

Final words:

I understand that there are many claims that claim Bang Chan’s true intentions are hidden behind the camera and behind his Idol reputation he has to uphold. There are also claims that Bang Chan’s behaviours are staged/scripted I also understand that there is a chance that Oli London might act differently online to how he is in real life. These possibilities make celebrities’ true values/motives hard to decipher and it might be said that because of the chance that their actions are not sincere, they shouldn’t be looked up to or down to.

My argument to this is that in this sense, it is almost impossible to tell anyone’s true intentions; it is not just limited to celebrities. However, the fact that their behaviours and actions are impactful to their viewers means that the intentions behind it are irrelevant to what they influence. This is the same way of how someone can role model a fictional character’s great achievements – their intention is obsolete as they are fictional, yet it still impacts the person in a positive way. Especially at a young age – people who are uncertain about what is considered right or wrong will often learn from older influencers. This is why choosing and looking up to the healthy role models is vital, as you are guided to continue to impact the world around you in a positive, inspiring way.

Bibliography

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Luquin, J. (2020, October 2). 5 Times Stray Kids’ Bang Chan Inspired Us. Retrieved from The Honey Pop: https://thehoneypop.com/2020/10/02/5-times-stray-kids-bang-chan-inspired-us/

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Quora. (2020, October 3). Why is Bang Chan from Stray Kids getting hate at the moment? Retrieved from Quora: https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Bangchan-from-Stray-Kids-getting-hate-at-the-moment

Tran, C. (2021, July 22). Influencer spends $140k and endures EIGHTEEN painful cosmetic procedures to look like a Korean popstar – after becoming ‘infatuated with the culture and people’. Retrieved from Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9812135/Oli-London-reveals-cosmetic-procedures-underwent-look-like-Korean-popstar-Jimin-BTS.html