#19: After seeing a meme that questioned if Disney Karaoke existed, Stef and Ariel decided to set the record straight. In this episode, they highlight the cultural significance of participating in karaoke or noraebang experiences. Together, they share their favorite Disney songs to sing along to and how this activity can be used in a therapy session or the classroom.
Resources for this episode:
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Transcription
Stefanie Bautista 0:11
Hello, everyone, welcome to the happiest place on earth. I’m Stefanie.
Ariel Landrum 0:14
And I’m Ariel. And we’re Disney fans. But we’re really so much more than that. Like, I’m a licensed marriage and family therapist who uses clients’ passions and fandoms to help them grow and heal from trauma and mental wellness.
Stefanie Bautista 0:26
And I’m an educator who uses my passions and fandoms to help my students grow and learn about themselves and the world around them.
Ariel Landrum 0:32
And Happiest Pod is a place where we dissect is the mediums of the critical lens. Why? Because just like we are more than fans, we expect more from the mediums we consume.
Stefanie Bautista 0:40
So today, what does the media or experience are we dissecting and learning about and sharing with our listeners?
Ariel Landrum 0:47
Don’t believe the memes there is such a thing as Disney Karaoke.
Stefanie Bautista 0:51
Dj horn soundeffect
Ariel Landrum 0:51
Dj horn soundeffect
Stefanie Bautista 0:54
Yeah I don’t know where that meme came from that mean really pissed me off. Let me just say like, I woke up and chose violence when I saw that meme because I was like… It was a meme that said, “Why isn’t there a thing called Disney Karaoke?” And it confused me… Because it is part of my DNA.
Ariel Landrum 1:14
There is.
Stefanie Bautista 1:15
I don’t…
Ariel Landrum 1:15
We will share this meme.
Stefanie Bautista 1:17
Yeah
Ariel Landrum 1:17
Some memes are funny. This meme was not funny. Like, what are you questioning right now? I don’t I don’t understand.
Stefanie Bautista 1:25
I don’t understand.
Ariel Landrum 1:25
I do not compute.
Stefanie Bautista 1:27
I was like, so you’re telling me when you start karaoke. none of those songs are Disney songs?
Ariel Landrum 1:34
None? None on the docket?
Stefanie Bautista 1:36
Not even one?
Ariel Landrum 1:36
Not on the playlist?
Stefanie Bautista 1:37
Not even A Whole New…? Like None? I don’t know. I don’t understand. Which is why we decided to do this episode and talk to you all and share with you the wonderful therapeutic educational practice of karaoke. I know many of you guys don’t think about it that way. But we sure do.
Ariel Landrum 1:59
We do. It’s so ingrained in us I think, I would say more accurate meme as you remember the theme to emes where it was like “Showering is easy.” And there was like step one is this and this. And then like, “Showering as a Filipino is easy step one step in the shower. So to turn on the water. Step three and get out karaoke mic.”
Stefanie Bautista 2:16
Yup. Pretty much. Yep. See those memes I can get on board with not only and we have mentioned before that we are Asian American, we are Filipino descent. So karaoke really is ingrained in us.
Ariel Landrum 2:30
Yes.
Stefanie Bautista 2:31
We love karaoke. I’ve grown up with it. I think. Just being in and around my Aunts. Having a karaoke machine just readily available in… And people a Magic Mic to me did not mean half naked men on stage. A Magic Mic to me, man, a mic that you had a keypad on, and it came with a large book and you browse through that book, put in the number and sing your song. And it rates you. I don’t know how it rates you. It was such an archaic system back then. Like…
Ariel Landrum 3:04
Yeah?
Stefanie Bautista 3:05
Is it just reading your participation? Or is it actually rating your your level of talent when it comes to singing? I don’t think it was the latter…
Ariel Landrum 3:13
Accuracy of words?
Stefanie Bautista 3:14
I don’t think it was the was the former because like if you’ve ever done karaoke at somebody’s an Auntie or Uncle’s house, like you know, that thing is not accurate.
Ariel Landrum 3:25
No, and especially when you put that reverb on there. That echo.
Stefanie Bautista 3:30
That everybody loves so much because it makes them sound like Whitney.
Ariel Landrum 3:33
Yes, yes. Essentially, the pre-autotune.
Stefanie Bautista 3:38
Yeah, yep, it was the pre It was like a filter for your voice.
Ariel Landrum 3:41
Yes.
Stefanie Bautista 3:41
That made you sound super professional. And I know that even when you go to the Philippines, sometimes in the local bars, they’ll have the reverb all the way up. And you’re like,”Yyou need to tone it down a little bit.” But karaoke and its origins is not Filipino, as much as many of you might think. It is Japanese, hence the ‘ka-ra-o-kay’. Umm, karaoke, which is the way we say it is an English form of entertainment from Japan, where an amateur singer sings along with instrumental versions of their favorite songs. Karaoke is derived from two Japanese words, ‘kara’ from the word ‘karappo’, meaning empty and ‘oke’ means, ‘okesutura’ or ‘or-kes-tra’. ‘Or-kes-tra’ is a Roman, or it’s a Japanese way of saying a Romanized word, which is why it’s phonetic in how you say it. So it’s really literally you in front of instrumentals.
Ariel Landrum 4:36
Yes, yes. Empty, empty room of orchestra.
Stefanie Bautista 4:40
Yes. And I have had the privilege of going to Japan and singing karaoke there. And it is a whole experience.
Ariel Landrum 4:47
It’s a whole new world?
Stefanie Bautista 4:48
It’s a whole new world they, it’s not just you and your Auntie’s backyard, with like a bunch of drunk people around you. You originally and Ariel will explain noraebang in Korea, but in Japan, it’s very, very similar. Where do you rent a box of essentially a room with your friends, you have a system in front of you with a TV, you put in your songs queue up. You sing on 1 or 2 mics and you gather around, eat and drink and have like the best time. And you rent it by the hour or if they have a package, they have all of those details there. So I know it’s very similar in Korea, which I have also had the pleasure of doing noraebang but it’s a little bit different there.
Ariel Landrum 5:31
Yeah, so um, Stef has visited Korea. I have lived in Korea. In Korea, you might hear the word karaoke because there’s an understanding that the this is interchangeable. But really, it’s a noraebang. So ‘no-rae’ meaning singing and ‘bang’ means room. And though ‘bang’ could refer to any room when it’s used as a suffix, it signifies that the room has a significant entertainment function. That it’s meant to entertain you in a specific way. The bang culture in South Korea, it’s in cities, it’s in villages. There it’s really a variety of private rooms that are curated to meet entertainment needs of the community. These rooms can be found really anywhere in South Kor...
