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frostbytefangirls · 18 days ago

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Fandom culture, boycotts, and funeral wreaths: A case study of RIIZE and BRIIZE using reception theory

The K-Pop community with fans from all over the world has been in a state of unrest since October 11th, when SM Entertainment, one of the largest K-Pop companies, announced the return of RIIZE member (now ex-member) Seunghan from his 11-month hiatus. For some enthusiastic fans who had been patiently waiting for him, this felt like music to their ears. In contrast, others who had already invested their time, efforts, and money in the remaining 6 active members of RIIZE found this information a nuisance and could probably damage their favorite band’s reputation even more - given Seunghan’s controversies that led to his former hiatus.

The official announcement from RIIZE, and the provided English translation.

According to KProfiles, RIIZE (라이즈) originally debuted as a 7-member boy group under SM Entertainment on September 4, 2023. With multiple hits like Get A Guitar, Love 119, and Boom Boom Bass (along with the fact that they are considered a Big4 group - managed by the 4 biggest entertainment companies in South Korea), they quickly became one of the most famous K-Pop boy group in the 5th generation. Their fandom, known as BRIIZE (브리즈) has constantly shown the boys love and support, not just individually consuming their music but with collective activities such as hosting streaming parties, voting for music show wins, organizing birthday fan events, and even donating money for other supporting activities. However, this fandom, though already existing as a niche part within K-Pop fandoms, is largely divided into 2 subfandoms: OT6 BRIIZE, those who only show support for 6 RIIZE members excluding Seunghan, and OT7 BRIIZE, those who long for Seunghan’s comeback. This post will look into the reception theory introduced by Stuart Hall, and how it applies to the reactions to the original press release.

Hall’s Reception Theory was first introduced in 1973, in his essay titled “Encoding and Decoding in the Television Discourse”. He presented the encoding-decoding model, in which the producers of a media will put together a story based on events and materials of the outside world (known as the encoding process), and then the audience of said media can interpret the story based on their own experiences and knowledge (or the decoding process). However, regardless of the original message found in the media, the audience may follow the story differently and reject the message encoded by the producers. Hall argued that there are three possible reading positions: dominant-hegemonic, negotiated, and oppositional.

In the dominant-hegemonic position, the audience will accept the “preferred reading” and go along with the original message, as it also reflects their view of the story. In the case of RIIZE and their press release, this group would consist of OT7 BRIIZE who could be seen celebrating the official announcement and welcomed Seunghan back into the group with open arms.

"WELCOME BACK SEUNGHAN" was trending on X/Twitter 3 hours after RIIZE's announcement.

In the negotiated position, the audience can acknowledge the “preferred reading”, yet don’t necessarily agree fully with the message and even reject certain aspects of it to tailor the story to their own experiences. This group, in RIIZE’s case, includes the people who are hesitant about Seunghan’s return: they might be OT6s who are only familiar with the presence of the other 6 members, or casual listeners who have yet to understand why there is a change in the formation of the group.

Finally, the opposition position is seen in the audience that rejects the “preferred reading” totally. This behaviour is seen in OT6 BRIIZEs, and their reactions to the press release were rather negative, to say the least. From online posts showing dissatisfaction to offline protesting, which included sending protesting trucks and funeral wreaths to the SM Entertainment headquarters, they did everything they could to voice their objection to the announcement, and to demand that Seunghan leave the group for good.

Negative reactions of OT6 BRIIZEs to the return of Seunghan.

In response to all of these reactions from the audience, SM Entertainment eventually released a second press release, saying that Seunghan is no longer a member of RIIZE, just two days after their original announcement. Ironically, the roles between the dominant-hegemonic group and the opposition group are now reversed - with OT6 BRIIZEs cheering on the removal of the “problematic” member, and OT7 BRIIZEs angrily showing unacceptance.

SM Entertainment's final press release about removing Seunghan from RIIZE.

Ultimately, what could this mean for the relationship between the encoders (entertaining companies) and the decoders (the fans and the public) in the K-Pop sphere? The change of decision of SM Entertainment showed that the audience, in fact, does have an influence on the framing of the story presented, and in this case, the producers are convinced by the needs of a group of audience that they find most relevant and will affect their business in the long term. This is especially harmful to K-Pop idols who are directly working in the industry because it shows that no matter how they go about doing their job, there will always be someone with the financial means out there who can put pressure on their managing companies, and eventually kick them out of business.

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References:

[1] KProfiles, https://kprofiles.com/riize-members-profile/

[2] Media Studies, https://media-studies.com/reception-theory/

#riize #analysis

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rememberebonyjanice · 6 years ago

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It hasn’t been a full week since I completed all the requirements to receive my Masters degree. I didn’t attend my #graduation because I decided to #Boycott in #protest of my experience as a #BlackWoman being erased, silenced, and only acknowledged in moments of folk consuming my knowledge and my body when domestic labor was needed. Still waiting on #starrkingschoolfortheministry to properly address this matter but in the meantime I am thinking about @blackgirlmixtape LA this weekend and the joy of being able to share, on a deeper level, some of the foundation of my #HipHopWomanist methodology. This is one thing I take with me from my personal #womanist course creation at SKSM... how am I using #HipHop in a theological and sociopolitical conversation? And whose voices do I hear as I attempt to break this all down? #ToniMorrison, #EmilieTownes, #ZoraNealeHurston, and #JayZ have long been my #BIG4 || What I am most proud of is that within this degree program, and even the work I’m doing now as a #teacher, #preacher, and founder of #BlackGirlMixtape - most of all #IDidItMyWay || #BGMInstitute is coming Fall 2018! The teachers, the classes, the intention... may we never be the same! (at Wallis Annenberg Hall, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism)

#womanist #jayz #boycott #big4 #protest #bgminstitute #zoranealehurston #preacher #emilietownes #blackgirlmixtape #blackwoman #teacher #graduation #hiphop #tonimorrison #starrkingschoolfortheministry #hiphopwomanist #ididitmyway

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