트리스트럼의 하비 호스(Hobby-Horse)와 싸이의 B급 순수 에너지:『트리스트럼 샌디』와 함께 <강남 스타일> 읽기

Tristram’s Hobby-horse and Psy’s B-rated Pure Energy: Reading Gangnam Style alongside Tristram Shandy

This paper examines the source of South Korean rapper Psy’s B-rated pure energy in his globally viral song and music video(MV) Gangnam Style. In doing so, this paper focuses on the notion of Tristram’s hobby-horse in the novel Tristram Shandy. Despite the vast temporal and spatial distance that separates the novel and Psy’s MV, Tristram’s hobby-horse, that is, the lively movement of the pen evoking the dynamic movement of a nimble horse, could serve as an appropriate conceptual tool for examining the way in which Psy’s hobby horse, that is, his singular and comic B-rated pure energy manifests itself in the diverse and compelling forms of invisible horse-riding movement in the MV. Psy’s intense enjoyment of self-absorption, the main source of his comic charisma, is derived from the strong affirmation of his hobby-horse. Furthermore, Psy’s hobby-horse becomes a profound and compelling comic medium through which the MV pungently critiques the snobbish pretentiousness and wooden conventionality of Gangnam culture in unique and hilarious ways. In the process, the artist himself becomes an object of parody and derision without locating him at a privileged and exceptional position. That is the essence of Psy’s comic spirit. As opposed to recent attempts to exploit Gangnam Style’s global popularity through commercial and government-based institutional means, this paper focuses on the source of the inventiveness of Psy’s hobby horse, which gracefully embodies the spirit of Tristram’s motto, “to let people tell their stories their own way” and its significance in various cultural contexts.