Celebrity Review: Titled (셀러브리티) in Korean, it is a thriller revenge drama released on Netflix on June 30, 2023. The K-Drama series is written by Kim Yi-young and directed by Kim Cheol-kyu. There are 12 episodes in total with a runtime of about 40-55 minutes. The show follows the rise and fall of an ordinary girl as she steps into the world of social media influence.
The ensemble cast of the series includes Park Gyu-young as Seo A-ri, Kang Min-hyuk as Han Jun-kyung, Lee Chung-ah as Yoon Shi-hyeon, Lee Dong-gun as Jin Tae-jeon, Jun Hyo-seong as Oh Min-hye, Lee Jun-ho, Aiki, Cha Hyun-seung, Hook!, Risa Bae, Oh Jin-taek, Park Jae-min and several others.
Celebrity Review
Seo A-ri is an ordinary girl, trying to make a living by selling cosmetics going door to door. Her family used to be rich until the business went down and now her mom has to run a cloth-altering shop to support the family. Meanwhile, in the virtual world of social media, one influencer is trying to expose the other influencer, bringing both of them down in the public eye. In their fight, other famous influencers get embroiled, unwillingly. They are called the Gabin society and consist of rich socialites (or wannabes) who have built a substantial following on social media.
One member of the Gabin Society, Oh Min-hye used to be Seo A-ri’s friend in high school and when she meets her again in the present time, ends up inviting her to a high-profile party. Seo A-ri is someone who doesn’t even have a social media account but gets influenced by people around her and gets on the app, as they are always talking about something that happens in the online world.
Going to the party wearing the branded clothes of a customer from the altering shop was the first step that pushed A-ri into the vicious world of likes, followers and popularity. Unintentionally she keeps on encountering the influencers and is resolute on becoming a better/bigger influencer than them when they humiliate and look down upon her. Her one appearance was enough to make influential people notice her and even find the hidden influencing potential that she wasn’t aware of.
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But it’s not simply a success story about passing through some hurdles but a revenge story, where A-ri, who was pronounced dead months ago, comes back to reveal her side of the events and the actual culprit. When a dead person starts streaming online and dishing out the dirty laundry about so many famous people, she instantly gets all the fame for which she worked so hard but eventually loses her life. The show sheds some light on the influencer culture and how the public can put anyone on the throne, as long as the person intrigues them and throws them down the drain on any mistake or scandal.
The mob culture and trolling online are aptly shown, how every opinion can become the truth as long as a number of people consider it so. Until 5-6 episodes, the story hooks you and even 50+ minute episodes go by quickly but as it progresses, it starts to feel somewhat dragged. You start to think why are these influencers always in a bad mood and if they ever talk in a normal voice and not shout every second? But then the ending makes it all worthwhile, revealing an unexpected turn of events that’s realistically scary.
Final Thoughts
While it’s an interesting revenge story, the only lacking plotline is the romance. For the most part, the male lead looks like someone with an ulterior motive or an anonymous person trying to play with her life. Even A-ri shows complete disinterest in him from the start but then a sudden change of heart doesn’t make much sense. They could have brought the characters together without trying to rope them with a romantic angle.
Apart from that, Celebrity will make you contemplate your own relationship with social media and your favourite influencers. We are slowly reaching the peak of power influencing and it’s not far when similar stories might start coming up soon. In a world blinded by likes and followers, the line between lies and truth slowly disappears, as evident from A-ri’s story.
Rating: 4/5
Celebrity is currently streaming on Netflix.
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