Translation

[ehowton]

^{Thanks to somebritinmass}

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Someone smarter than myself, or with more experience in these matters please explain to me why I find this clip so very humorous.

The creators of the clip claim they 'translated' this freestyle rap battle as part of their doctoral thesis and view it solely as a sociological interest. And while I viewed the original and understood very little, I indeed found this translation quite helpful. Also, very funny. The creators of the clip go on to say that they would "like to discourage the further misreading of this video as some sort of comedic entertainment which it most certainly is not." So...why am I amused by it?

When I was in Korea, I was astounded by the belief that taller structures were viewed as superior - accomplishments which demanded subservience. It is assumed that the nation with the tallest buildings are "better" than nations with shorter buildings. Take the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) for example - though technologically inferior, and economically devastated, the building the North Koreans built in the Joint Security Area (JSA) of the DMZ at Panmunjeom is taller than any of the surrounding buildings on the South Korean side...to prove they're supercilious.

I heard this story firsthand during my visit to the DMZ (Reprinted from Wikipedia):

During the 1980s, the South Korean government built a 328 ft tall flagpole in Daeseong-dong. The North Korean government responded by building a taller one...

So perhaps its this bravado, this archaic chest-pounding which I find so amusing. Well, certainly from my comfortable chair in my comfortable house. Those guys could so kick my ass.



ehowton in North Korea, across the Military Demarcation Line

Comments

[quicksilvermad.livejournal.com]

Firstly: OMG, the music at the end... *snorts* PERFECT.
There is a group of guys at AI that hang out in the parking garage on Tuesday nights and freestyle (like fifteen guys all huddled in a circle). I actually find it incredibly annoying. Not just because they're blocking the goddamn parking areas but because they're loud. LOUD. And it sucks. Guys... Stop loitering. It's fuckin' cold out and I'm going to be late to class.

*ANGER*

Secondly: My father spent a year stationed in Osan and took a photo of his foot "across the DMZ" to email to us one day. He said that you could see so many buildings over in North Korea, but no people.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

Firstly: The video struck me as Shakespearean play, actors orating in their native tongue, over emoting in their soliloquy's. That being said, today's 'freestyling' could be said to have its roots in 16th century England. Does this make them posers? That's it, I'm revoking their street cred.

Secondly: It was assumed that the North Korean built empty cities within view of the DMZ to make themselves appear prosperous. It was indeed unsettling to see. The tour of Panmunjeom was creepy. Physically imposing South Korean soldiers standing as statues, staring across the other side in 8-hour shifts. The entire place is a powder keg.

[quicksilvermad.livejournal.com]

Dude, they are ripping off Shakespeare... Though I would pay good money to watch a "freestyle" battle in Shakespearean. That man wrote some really scathing insults...

He said it was like looking at some post-apocalyptic city after some kind of biological outbreak. I remember picturing Raccoon City in my head... Large spires of buildings with nothing in them and very few people walking about like the living dead.

That's right, he did mention the guards... Stiffer than the guys in front of Buckingham Palace.

[celtmanx.livejournal.com]

Yo homes, that video is brilliant!!!

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

Fo'shizzle! (I don't know what I just said.)

[celtmanx.livejournal.com]

Dizzle!!! Yo dat!!!

[joey-glover.livejournal.com]

" I wass atounded by the belief that taller structures were viewed as superior"

Maybe they were trying to compensate for something....

Yes, I drove a Cavalier

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

In June '05 I authored a post entitled. Automatic Circumciser (http://ehowton.livejournal.com/6400.html) I posed the question, "Why do men who drive gigantic trucks get ridiculed for compensating for a small penis, yet men who drive sub-compacts never get accused of having overly-large cocks?"

No one has ever commented on the entry.

Re: Yes, I drove a Cavalier

[joey-glover.livejournal.com]

people assume the worst. I believe it's part on their nature

[scareypete.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Butter_Battle_Book

Arms race, architecture race... its all the same...

Just an international game of "My Dick's Bigger"

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

How very silly. You know who's lyrics I enjoyed? Turbo B. from Snap! Always sang about gaining self-respect through knowledge and understanding.

[unixwolf.livejournal.com]

effing priceless!!!!!

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

I'd like to capture the lyrics to that little display. I can see myself replying to someone on here:

"I've had sexual intercourse with a great number of the opposite sex. In contrast, and despite legitimate evidence, I believe you to have been involved in a fair amount of homosexual activity. I am so much stronger than you, and my power of rhetoric's so much greater than yours, that you could employ an army of some sort to aid in your fight with me, but I would of course prevail, because I am so much stronger than you."

[unixwolf.livejournal.com]

If you want to see the untranslated version It's available here.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

Yes, and I didn't understand a word of it!