Theorising Audience Outrage (03 August 21)

I’ve been racking my brain why Nevertheless has sparked this much outrage, story-wise and character-wise, from viewers. I’ve finally figured it out, I think.

I think it’s because people take these kinds of dramas as some sort of personal attack just because the characters are relatable. They are still, first and foremost, fictional so any exaggeration is meant to cause drama and friction in the story.

Although I admit kdramas get me right in my feels, I am a viewer and listener of a story first and a human being who can sympathize second. What does this mean? It means I mostly view stories objectively before I try to imagine myself in a character’s situation.

Try to imagine it this way: you’re a spectator in other people’s lives. Fictional people but with real world problems. It is easy to lose yourself in the story and say, “Oh, I wouldn’t do that. That’s so dumb. Why can’t you do better? I would never.”

That’s where all the hate and vitriol for this drama and its characters come from. A lot of people use fiction to escape reality, so many are uncomfortable, even when they don’t realize it, when fiction and reality not just cross paths but make a head-on collision.

They say Na Bi is an unlikeable character because she makes bad decisions. Personally, I think she’s real and raw. I can name three people off the top of my head who have done some of the “mistakes” Na Bi’s done. And yes, that includes me.

But again, I’m just a spectator. Every decision and situation Na Bi has gotten herself into is her own journey. It isn’t mine. It isn’t yours. It’s hers and hers alone, no matter how much you say you relate to her.

So you have to look at her as someone separate from you and your experiences and prejudices. The same goes for Jae Eon. I have also been racking my brain about why people hate him with a burning passion. 

From the get go, we know he’s a flirt. He’s a bit touchy-feely. Women like him and he likes them back. He gets around. Again, we all know or know of someone like that, don’t we? I know a name just popped into your head just now.

Then he sets his sight on Na Bi. He’s attracted to her and he’s said just as much. But he doesn’t date, and he’s honest about that. She knows all of this and more before she agrees to sleep with him and pursue a fwb… arrangement.

Not once, never once, has he pressured her or anyone else into doing whatever with him. He’s a decent guy who takes liberty with his sexuality and openly strays from commitment. Everyone in that school and their mothers know this.

He’s not perfect. Hell no, he’s far from it, but Na Bi didn’t get with him because he’s a dreamboat — she agreed to the fwb thing because they’re both attracted to each other. The sexual tension is there and so is their libido. So why the hell not?

But people want to shame her for this. Want to shame them both. Now, you as a viewer are privy to her inner monologue. You want her to do better, find someone better. Because Jae Eon is a bad guy, because she’s being dumb, because she caves in easily. Dot dot dot.

But, AGAIN, you’re a spectator. That’s not to say you can’t empathize and sympathize with them, but you can’t forget about the bigger picture: this is their story, not yours. It’s a thin and hard line to navigate but necessary to understand them better.

A good majority of the viewers now seem to love-hate this drama. I’m seeing a trend of people getting frustrated because Na Bi isn’t choosing Do Hyeok. The mind boggles because I’ve never seen it that way, that she has to choose one over the other.

As a viewer who’s been privy to Na Bi’s thoughts, it’s always been about choosing to open up for another possible heartbreak or simply closing off to protect herself. Two choices that are vital for any character’s growth, especially for someone her age.

But people want to project and project they will. Viewers want her to choose Do Hyeok even though it’s pretty obvious she doesn’t have any romantic feelings for him. But because he’s the “better” man, they reduce the story to team this versus team that.

But anyway. There isn’t one “right” way to watch and understand the show. Projecting your emotions onto fictional characters isn’t a bad thing. But if you want to delve deeper into the message of a story or at least the whole point of it, maybe step back a bit.

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