Unsolved Problem Pointed Out From Sulli’s Concerns, “I Was Told To Become A Top-quality Product”
Netflix’s “Persona: Sulli” revealed the concerns of the late Sulli regarding her life in the entertainment industry
Rather than justifying extreme choices, Sulli presented a narrative to explain why she made such a decision. A painful feeling. Experts agreed that it would not be the experience of only Sulli. It’s a problem that everyone can have. Four years have passed since her death. Beyond the sadness of parting with her, it is necessary that we consider making a “better environment” and a “better world” for everyone.
On November 13th, “Persona: Sulli” was released on Netflix. It consists of two short films starring Sulli, “4: Clean Island” and the documentary “Dear Jinri”.
In particular, “Dear Jinri” contains an interview conducted with the deceased when she was alive. Appearing in the video, Sulli explains her daily life concerns and reveals her thoughts to the public. She shared, “I think I was always bound by this idea of being pretty, specifically the word ‘pretty’”, adding “Whenever people called me pretty, I was curious to know why people said it and what makes them say those words to me. I felt like I had to keep acting pretty. I actually got told off too for not behaving, for not being the pretty girl. It always caused some resistance inside me.”
Sulli also revealed her negative view of the job of an idol. She confessed, “Being a K-pop idol is the worst”, adding “I don’t feel people think celebrities are humans. When I started out in the entertainment business, there was one thing people wouldn’t stop telling me which I didn’t think was absurd back then. ‘You are a product. You need to be the finest, top-quality product to the public. That’s what you are’.” Sulli added, “Even when they didn’t say I was a product, everyone treated me like one. I had to be what they wanted me to be. I had to fear losing my product value”.
The statement, “People think idols are products”, sounds uneasy but it’s a fact that was concluded from cold and objective judgments. Even now, you can still find articles published before Sulli left the world that considered her behaviors “experimental subjects”. The public indiscriminately presented their divided opinions. Some said she looked unique, while others asked “Why are you doing that?”. Some editors cited experts’ opinions to criticize Sulli’s behaviors.
At that time, such discussions were considered their interest in Sulli. Looking back on it, it is questionable whether people are evaluating and controlling one’s personality with multiple standards and perspectives.
Some believe Sulli’s extreme choice was due to malicious comments. People talk about the risks of hateful comments but don’t seem to care about the social atmosphere and environment. There is still no solution to the environment in which she received malicious comments, the frustration she felt within that environment, and the situation with no communication and breakthrough.
A psychiatrist explained, “There is a possibility that one makes extreme choices due to negative emotions that they accumulated over years”, adding “Malicious comments are just the means, and negative emotions can come to anyone in modern society”. As such, a change in the environment is very necessary.
Source: Daum
