Celebrity immerses us in the universe of Korean influencers and their ruthless universe. After joining this elite, one of them decides to blow everything up, for our greatest happiness.
Sclerotic society and trinkets
Seo-A-ri is a door-to-door cosmetics saleswoman. She belonged to Korean high society in her youth. Unfortunately, her father went bankrupt, she was never able to go to higher education and since then she has worked hard to support her mother. We admire the philosophy and perspective she demonstrates. She takes the situation with an almost European phlegm.
It may seem surprising to read this. But, as we saw in The Glory, Korean society seems extremely sclerotic. For French people, such a situation is beyond comprehension, especially since everything seems to be based on two factors: money and social class. That the reader does not see in it a gratuitous criticism of Korean society, but rather a misunderstanding.
Korean productions are another way for the country to do soft-power. Apart from new technologies and pop music groups, South Korea is trying to make itself known culturally on a global scale, thanks to its series. But, there are also Korean influencers, who manage to get an audience outside of Asia. Celebrity plays on these two channels of influence: social networks and audiovisual productions.
Seo-A-ri comes face to face with a former high school classmate, who has become a successful influencer and by a combination of circumstances, Seo-A-ri becomes a successful influencer herself. The most amusing being that she seems to despise this universe.
She looks at the thing with a certain disdain, a distance that is ultimately quite European. Maybe that’s why unlike The Glory, Celebrity works.
We are surprised to chain the episodes because the plot with drawers works extremely well. This is all the more true since the heart of the subject is a theme that has been talked about a lot in France in recent weeks, namely influencers. But, here, no conspiracy theory or other nonsense, we are talking about handbags, clothes, fashion accessories, etc.
Influencer: a real job?
Let us return to our French prism. Without going so far as to say that French influencers look like barely literate turkeys, we will admit that there are very few of them that we really want to take seriously once we have passed adolescence. It’s even the opposite effect, probably because many of them are from reality TV.
Conversely, Americans and Asians look much more professional, at least to those that pop up in my Instagram feed. We do not necessarily see their face, but each publication is calculated, thought out, calibrated. We know that it is a question of selling one or more products. But, the overall staging makes you want.
Moreover, a detail that may seem trivial: publications do not need to have sound to be effective. Most French influencer posts need audio.
In Celebrity, we are in front of real businesswomen, who take advantage of their notoriety and their income, to create their own companies, their own brands and shops. Influence serves as a starting point, but is not an end in itself. Of course, we see them in their daily lives, but without (too much) excess, without delirium. Everything is measured to the point that it makes you want to become an influencer.
We are also shown an agency, through which Seo-A-ri goes, who supervises influencers, finds them contracts, gives them a makeover, etc. They are taken in hand, at least at the beginning. In a nutshell, here, we talk about business in an extremely serious and framed way.
The favored social network in the series is Instagram, and that also explains a lot, not only in the aesthetics of the series, but also in its plot. Everything is “clean”, everything is calibrated, millimetered, optimized, corrected. Exactly like in an Instagram post. It is clear that it works.
Mix of genres
At first glance, we think we are in front of a teenage bluette. Then, we say to ourselves that it is a Korean version of Dynasty. To come up with something akin to Remember Last Summer (the movie, not the show). Does that seem absurd to you? Said like that, of course it is. The most difficult thing now is to explain to you why the whole story holds together, without revealing key elements of the plot.
The first few minutes of the first episode show us Seo-A-ri doing an Instagram live. So far, nothing surprising, especially for an influencer. Except she died. When these old friends/rivals discover the live, they freak out and reunite. They understand that the video is not a delayed recording and are in the middle of a fit of hysteria.
It is in the very last episode that we will understand how she did it. Just be aware that the technology used exists. It is still rudimentary, but it will be democratized in a few years and this is extremely worrying for all of us. Although here we are talking about technology, we cannot say more without spoiling the plot for you, and that would be a great shame.
Who is Celebrity for? Honestly, everyone, even if you’re not a fan of k-dramas. The subject matter is global enough to speak to everyone and the plot is written in such a way that anyone can relate to it one way or another. Several themes are addressed, including harassment. We’ll go even further: if you’re one of those parents whose child wants a career in digital influence, you should take a look at the series to show a very professional view of the profession, with all that that entails.
If necessary, keep a currency converter nearby, because you are quickly lost with the different amounts involved. Beyond the Korean counter-example of influence, Celebrity is a very good series and it is rumored that Netflix is considering a second season.
Celebrity is available on Netflix.