Celebrity (2023) follows Seo A-ri, a young woman who makes it to the upper echelons of the influencer world, only to find out how toxic it truly is. The series is streaming on Netflix.
Story
Seo A-ri is a regular person that is pulled into the extravagant world of social media influencers due to her past, and while she isn’t interested in it, to begin with, it eventually catches her intrigue.
She builds her brand and gradually makes a name for herself, but the other established e-celebs are threatened by someone upsetting the natural order, and they do everything in their power to stop A-ri’s rise.
The more A-ri is exposed to the fancy life, the more she realizes how entitled and corrupt these people are. She doesn’t enjoy it and slowly comes to regret the decisions that brought her to that point.
However, she perseveres to ensure that the people that wronged her get what they deserve and that she gets to walk into the sunset happy.
Performances
The characters in this series are well-written, and the performances from the entirety of the cast are spot-on. They play slightly heightened versions of people that exist in the real world, and they are truly convincing.
The level of contempt, jealousy, and spite that the performers display will surely draw visceral reactions from the audience for how impressive they are.
Positives
The hook is established right from the beginning with a very engaging opening sequence, and the build-up to the climax is well-structured. The story is well-written and never gets too far-fetched.
The visual representations of the texts and other information displayed on the screen are very eye-catching. The special effects are wonderfully done.
The concept of toxicity and class disparity that is portrayed here is brilliant and very gritty. The series tells a truly authentic narrative that has a bit of spice for flavor as well.
Negatives
12 episodes is a total slog and this particular obsession in Korean media with longer episodes and seasons is certainly something to wrestle with. Getting through the entire season is not an easy task.
A minor nitpick is that A-ri’s faked death is not explained clearly and the director hopes that everything that happens before and after sort of pulls attention away from that.
Verdict
Celebrity (2023) is an engaging series with a great story about how social media is so prevalent in society and how people sometimes get consumed by it. Humanity craves attention but some people need it more than others and they become horrible people when they don’t get what they want.
Most of what this series portrays is very real and emotional and can be enjoyed over multiple sittings.
Celebrity
Director: Kim Cheol-kyu
Date Created: 2023-06-30 12:30
3.5
