“For some Christians, references to demons can feel deeply uncomfortable because they associate them with spiritual forces opposed to God and goodness,” Allington wrote, per the British public service broadcaster.
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He added that the school was not asking parents to tell their children there was something wrong with enjoying the movie or its songs, should they align with their family’s own personal beliefs.
The school’s role was, according to Allington, “simply … to help children understand that some of their peers may hold different views and to explore how we can respect and support those peers in upholding their faith”.
It’s not the first time pop culture has resulted in a “satanic panic”. After kicking off in 1980 with the release of Michelle Remembers (which has since been discredited), conservative Christians became concerned with tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons (though creators Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson were themselves devout Christians).
Then, as J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter book series grew in popularity, some conservative households banned the novels for their promotion of the occult. “Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of darkness, the devil,” said the late Father Gabriele Amorth, who was the late Pope Benedict XVI’s “caster-out of demons” at the Vatican.
The voices of KPop Demon Hunters: Ji-young Yoo (voice of Zoey), Arden Cho (voice of Rumi) and May Hong (voice of Mira).Credit: Netflix/Ricky Middlesworth
KPop Demon Hunters, which has been available for streaming in Australia since June, became Netflix’s most-watched movie of all time in August. It took 91 days to rack up 325 million views – surpassing the previous record holder, Red Notice, by 94 million views – and is, per the Los Angeles Times, a driving force behind Netflix’s third-quarter revenue jumping 17 per cent to $US11.5 billion ($17.7 billion).
Part of its popularity can be attributed to the catchy original songs, three of which – Golden, Your Idol and Soda Pop – have been mainstays on radio for months.
Golden, which has been nominated for a Grammy Award, was dethroned from its #1 spot on the Apple Music Top 100 (US) singles chart only when the most powerful woman in music, Taylor Swift, released her new album The Life of a Showgirl in October. It’s still in the top three, behind The Fate of Ophelia and Olivia Dean’s Man I Need.
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But to ignore the film’s narrative and its themes would be a disservice to creator and co-director Maggie Kang.
The story is centred on fictional K-pop girl group HUNTR/X, whose three members – Rumi (voiced by Arden Cho/Ejae), Mira (May Hong/Audrey Nuna), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo/Rei Ami) – secretly fight demons and protect humans from them. In the process, they show those watching at home the power of self-acceptance and friendship.
It’s been so popular that Lilliput Church of England Infant School may have to issue another ban in 2029. That’s when, per Variety, Netflix and Sony plan to release the film’s sequel.
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