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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Watch: Stray Kids enter arena in 'Ceremony' music video teaser
Aug. 15 (UPI) -- South Korean boy band Stray Kids is teasing a new music video, which will accompany the release of its upcoming album, titled Karma. The new music follows the K-pop group's debut mixtape, Hop, which dropped in December. A music video teaser released Friday for the song "Ceremony" indicates the members of Stray Kids will compete in various sports, as they seen entering an arena. In a trailer for the album, an apparent newscaster says, "The global sporting event that returns every year -- The 2081 Karma Sports Event... is known to have eight players participating. Will they be able to break the past records?" He appears to be referring to the band members -- Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and I.N. The album arrives Aug. 22 and will contain the songs "Bleep," "Ceremony," "Creed," "Mess," "In My Head," "Half Time," "Phoenix," "Ghost," "0801" and a festival version of "Ceremony." The music video for "Ceremony" will also drop that day.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Will There Be A ‘Butterfly' Season 2? What's Next After That Insane Cliffhanger Ending
Daniel Dae Kim's new spy drama, Butterfly, is a thrilling watch from start to finish. The first season ended on a heartbreaking cliffhanger that has us all questioning one main character's motives. Is the series returning for a second season on Prime Video? Here's everything to know about the potential next installment. In the six-episode series set in South Korea, Kim portrays David Jung (Kim), a former U.S. intelligence operative who returns to the field to finish one last mission: reuniting with his estranged daughter, Rebecca (Reina Hardesty). Rebecca is working for the sinister spy organization, Caddis, which he once founded alongside former partner, Juno (Piper Perabo). Butterfly is based on the graphic novel of the same name. In an interview with Forbes contributor Joan MacDonald, Daniel Dae Kim revealed that the novel was actually set in Virginia and in Europe with white characters. But when it was brought to him as a potential project, he asked the author and the publisher 'whether or not they'd be open to changing it to Asian people or Asian Americans and set it in Korea." "Thankfully, they were open to that,' he said, noting that he eventually found the perfect balance "between respect for the original and originality." He added, 'The idea that I could have a cast full of Korean stars, as well as well-known American actors and put them in a story that is authentic to who I am, it was really a gift." After Season 1 concluded with a beloved character's stabbing and the disappearance of another, will there be a second season of the nail-biting thriller? Keep reading to learn the latest news about Season 2. Will There Be A Butterfly Season 2? Prime Video has not yet renewed Butterfly for a second season. The espionage series premiered on the streaming site on Aug. 13, so Prime Video is likely waiting to see how the first season performs before issuing a season two renewal. The good news? Within one day of its release, Butterfly has already risen to the No. 2 spot in Prime Video's Top 10 shows. Kim also told TV Insider that he hopes there will be a second season on the streamer. Based on how Butterfly Season 1 ends, there are still many plotlines to explore in a second installment. Warning: Spoilers ahead for Butterfly Season 1. How Does Butterfly Season 1 End? The Butterfly Season 1 finale begins after Rebecca is kidnapped by Caddis' men. David speeds after her and catches up to the SUV where she was taken. The car eventually drives off, and the assailant Juno sent tells Rebecca that Juno 'wants to talk.' Rebecca tells Juno that Oliver has turned, signed a witness agreement and is planning to testify against her. David approaches his father-in-law, who runs a secretive smuggling organization, and asks for men, guns and vehicles to save Rebecca. Eunju's father says he'll help David, but only if he does a favor in return. (But as Eunju says, it's never good to owe her father a favor.) Juno offers Rebecca an ultimatum after trying to create a rift between her and her father: she can either be the black sheep of the Jung family or go with Juno. There's a jet waiting to head somewhere Senator Dawson (Charles Parnell) can't catch them. Rebecca surprisingly hugs Juno, then they're alerted that the FBI is en route to Caddis. The FBI storms the Caddis building while Juno, her team and Rebecca are driving toward the private jet. But David knows where they're going, and he's headed there, too. After an intense shootout and a physical fight between David and Juno's top man Gun (Kim Ji-hoon), Rebecca escapes custody. But Juno's not too far behind, and she tries to strangle her. David kills Gun and finds Juno and Rebecca. When David points a gun at Juno, Rebecca tells her dad that she doesn't want her dead. 'She's a part of me, Dad,' she says. 'I want her to live.' They both walk away, leaving Juno alive." On her private jet, Juno accepts Caddis' defeat following the FBI takedown. She says Caddis can burn, and they'll just start somewhere new and better. She gets a surprise call from her son Oliver (Louis Landau) and tells him that David played them, insisting she would never do anything to hurt him. She apologizes for being the wrong kind of mother before the call cuts out. David and Rebecca reunite with David's family, and they go out to eat together, finally feeling safe. Before they leave, David's wife, Eunju, excuses herself to go to the restroom, and Rebecca says she'll join her. When David goes to check on them, he finds blood splattered everywhere and his wife bleeding out. He asks her who did this, then asks if it was Rebecca, but his wife doesn't answer. He screams Rebecca's name in agony. What Will Butterfly Season 2 Be About? If Butterfly is renewed for a second season, the story will likely pick up with David hunting for the truth behind who stabbed his wife, including whether it was his daughter Rebecca, who could be deceiving him and still secretly working with Juno. Meanwhile, with Caddis finished, Juno is preparing to launch a new secret organization in a different location that doesn't abide by American law. 'What I like about the show is that we're already establishing that it's an international show," Kim also told TV Insider. "So it makes the world our oyster. We could go anywhere. And given the nature of what David and Rebecca do, you could see them traveling. You could see them settling somewhere else. That's kind of the goal at the start of Season 1. So we'll see.' Perabo, who plays Juno, added, 'My character and Daniel Dae Kim's, we just meet in one scene right at the end. And so in a Season 2, I'd like to see their dynamic together because that's what kind of got this all started. And they seem like such an unlikely couple duo. I'd like to see that in action.' Watch the official trailer for Butterfly below.
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
Global Times: GT investigates: Japan constructs image as a ‘victim of war' through WWII films, revealing distorted historical perspective
08/15/2025, Beijing, China // PRODIGY: Feature Story // This year marks the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War. With films like Dead to Rights and Dongji Rescue gaining popularity during the summer season, they have stirred patriotic sentiments among many Chinese. Simultaneously, several war-themed films have been released or re-released in Japan this summer, which focus on portraying Japan as a 'victim' suffering 'hardships' during the war, while rarely addressing Japan's historical crimes of aggression that caused huge suffering in various Asian countries. What constitutes a correct perspective on World War II （WWII） history? Can history be arbitrarily rewritten through cinema? On the day of the 80th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender, the Global Times presents an investigative article, exposing how Japan promotes historical revisionism through film narrative and creates a one-sided image of Japan as a 'victim of the war' so as to distort history. In a sense, this summer is witnessing a 'war of film narratives' between China and Japan. In late July, at a roadshow event for the film Dead to Rights in Shanghai, director Shen Ao told the audience that, beyond the visible war of fire and smoke, there exists an invisible war - a war of culture. 'To this day, this war has not ended; it continues to struggle online and within the public discourse,' Shen said. 'Therefore, I hope this film, these photographs, and these materials can alert the audience to distinguish friend from foe, and recognize right from wrong.' Perhaps not everyone immediately grasped Shen's warning, but a glance at Japan this summer reveals that since July, according to descriptions from Japanese media and publicly released trailers, at least seven films related to WWII have been released or re-released. Most of these films emphasize Japan's suffering as a 'victim,' while seldom mentioning Japan's historical acts of aggression and crimes. Why is there such a stark divergence in the narratives surrounding WWII between China and Japan, despite being situated within the same historical context? What historical perspective is Japan attempting to convey to its citizens and the world through its films? Some scholars studying histories of China and Japan pointed out that these Japanese WWII films, to some extent, aim to distort the narrative of the war, creating a false and biased collective memory among the populace that can essentially foster a 'collective amnesia' which allows Japan to forget its identity as a perpetrator and instead emphasize its pathos of being a 'victim.' A 'pathos factory' This summer, Chinese cinema screens have been presenting a series of films commemorating the War of Resistance. Dead to Rights tells the story of ordinary people risking their lives to preserve and disseminate photographs documenting Japanese atrocities, embodying the national spirit of 'defending every inch of our land.' Dongji Rescuerecounts the humanitarian act of Chinese fishermen rescuing Allied prisoners of war while under Japanese gunfire, offering a different perspective on the history presented in the documentary The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru. Mountains and Rivers Bearing Witness vividly portrays China's significant contributions to the global anti-fascist victory on the Eastern Front. Set for a September 18 release, 731 Biochemical Revelations exposes the heinous bacterial warfare crimes committed by the Japanese army. Yu Peng, chief director of Mountains and Rivers Bearing Witness, told the Global Times that the film extends beyond the battlefield between China and Japan to present the attitudes of countries such as the UK, the US, and the Soviet Union at different stages. From patriotic sentiment to the shared future of humanity, these currently released or upcoming works collectively shape China's cinematic portrayal of WWII history: a remembrance of suffering, but more importantly, a commemoration of justice, resistance and peace. In sharp contrast, around the same time in Japan, at least seven WWII films released or re-released have constructed a completely different historical narrative. The documentary Kurokawa no Onnatachi, which premiered on July 12, according to Japanese media, focuses on some maidens 'who were forced to 'sexually entertain' Soviet soldiers' and aims to 'show the strength of the women who publicly spoke about their tragedy,' while seldom talking about the fact that Japan waged the war as an aggressor. Similarly, Nagasaki: In the Shadow of the Flash, released on August 1, presents the tragedy of the nuclear explosion at Nagasaki through the eyes of three students, repeatedly questioning the value of life, while downplaying the fact that Nagasaki was a crucial military base for the Japanese army during WWII. Friday marks the 80th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender. According to Japanese media, the film Yukikaze will be released on this day. The film portrays the WWII Japanese destroyer Yukikaze as a 'lucky ship that rescued crew members,' promoting its narrative of 'saving lives during fierce battles,' while glossing over the fact that the ship was a weapon of Japan's aggression. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the World Anti-Fascist War, Japan has skirted around its heavier historical responsibilities, using films like these to construct a 'factory of pathos.' On social media, some Japanese viewers expressed emotion over the students in Nagasaki: In the Shadow of the Flash, who, 'in a time when the atomic bombing itself was not yet widely known,' 'faced the destruction of their city and massive casualties - an experience no one had ever endured before.' While the trauma indeed existed, these Japanese films, through single-perspective narratives, transform serious reflections on aggression and anti-aggression, war and peace, into simple laments for Japan's own 'suffering' from its defeat, said several Chinese history scholars reached by the Global Times. Xu Luyang, the screenwriter of Dead To Rights, told the Global Times that Japan has yet to offer a sincere apology or face up to history objectively and honestly. Although 80 years have passed since the war, attitudes and understanding of the war reflect the subjective tendencies of people's spiritual worlds. Germany has continuously reflected on its fascist war through various aspects of national thought, law, intellectuals, and media since WWII; Japan, while having sporadic reflections, lacks a comprehensive and thorough review, standing in stark contrast to Germany, he noted. Against the backdrop of insufficient societal reflection on the war in Japan, it is unsurprising that some Japanese films, which are steeped in a 'victim mentality,' find a market in Japan. Sun Ge, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences focusing on critical Asian studies and comparative ideology, attributed the lack of deep reflection on war in Japan to a 'generational fracture' that emerged in the 1960s. 'In Japan, post-war accountability has primarily been driven by those who personally experienced the war. They advocate for social reflection, emphasizing the need to understand China's position as a victim,' Sun told the Global Times on Wednesday. However, with the restructuring of the Cold War landscape, the strengthening of US-Japan relations since the 1960s, and the complex relationships between Japan and the Taiwan Straits, the continuity of this historical accountability has been disrupted across generations. With the gradual decline of reflection on history by Japanese authorities and society, a 'victim mentality' started taking its place. Industry insiders indicate that this mentality is fully reflected in many Japanese WWII films, which have become one of the main producers and disseminators of Japan's 'victimhood narrative.' Self-proclaimed 'victim' In this 'war of film narratives,' Japan frequently employs the tactic of portraying itself as a 'victim' in its films. In an interview in May 2024, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda frankly said that when Japanese people make films about the war, they very often depict Japan as a victim. 'But when you look at it objectively, Japan wasn't a victim, and we're not good at admitting and dealing with our status as the aggressor. You don't really see that in Japanese films,' Kore-eda said in an article published on the website of the Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2024. Kore-eda's observations are vividly echoed in Japan's recent WWII films. Some industry insiders and audiences may notice that these movies frequently employ several cognitive tactics to construct and amplify a 'victimhood narrative.' For example, many of these films focus on the tragic stories of certain Japanese soldiers or civilians, creating a 'pathos aesthetic' that evokes sympathy for the 'sacrificed,' thereby sidestepping the causes of the war and the essence of Japan's aggression. Additionally, many films conflate 'anti-defeat' ideology with anti-war sentiment, concentrating on Japan's 'pain of defeat' rather than reflecting on its acts of aggression. Moreover, some of these films prefer to personalize war narratives, delving into the 'growth' stories of one or several Japanese individuals during the war, while downplaying discussions of national culpability. These tactics are evident in recently released films. A Chinese moviegoer in Japan who goes by the name 'Sun' shared with the Global Times her thoughts after attending a preview screening of Yukikaze. She said that despite the film's star-studded cast, she found it difficult to empathize with the content. 'The plot is dry, overly sentimental throughout, and even laughably ridiculous in some parts,' Sun said. A few critical voices have also emerged on social media regarding recent Japanese WWII films, including some sober reflections on history. 'Convey [the reality of] war without beautifying it,' one Japanese netizen commented on X on August 6. 'War must never be repeated.' There are still voices within Japanese academia and civil society calling for honest acknowledgment and reflection on the country's history of aggression. Unfortunately, amid Japan's generally right-leaning social climate, these voices often go unheard, with the truth of history drowned out by nationalist rhetoric. Sun told the Global Times that today, most Japanese born after the war don't feel a responsibility for the war. Although exceptions exist, such as the renowned 'Article 9 Association' dedicated to preserving anti-war and peaceful thought, these voices remain marginal in mainstream discourse in the country. The overall silence in Japanese society regarding historical reflection is due not only to the right-leaning atmosphere, but also to a collective tendency to evade these issues. 'Anti-war stances inherently require presenting the complexity of reality, which entails self-criticism or reflection. For both the media and the public, this is an arduous task - yet for various reasons, the (Japanese) public often shies away from confronting these issues,' Sun said. During an interview with the Global Times, Wang Guangsheng, director of the Japanese Culture Research Center of Capital Normal University, referenced the perspective of Japanese scholar Masaki Nakamasa in his work that can be translated as Japan and Germany: Two Traditions of Postwar Thought. Nakamasa contends that Germany's earnest postwar reflection was, in essence, 'born of necessity,' as it was compelled to improve relations with neighboring nations to secure space for development. In contrast, under the US-Japan alliance framework, Japan's geopolitical reality eliminated the imperative to seek forgiveness from victimized nations like China and South Korea, objectively diminishing incentives for profound remorse, Wang said. Furthermore, disparities in postwar tribunals created unresolved historical burdens: German war criminals faced explicit accountability for crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Japan, however, lacked comparable judicial processes, with its government frequently evading responsibility by invoking 'sovereign immunity,' resulting in its lack of a clear understanding of its own culpability, the expert said. 'Collective amnesia' in Japan The prevalence of Japan's 'victimhood narrative' regarding WWII on the screen is regarded as an inevitable result of the country's long-standing rightward political shift and the pervasive influence of historical revisionism. Ryuji Ishida, a scholar of modern and contemporary Japanese history, told the Global Times that contrary to the notion that 'historical revisionism [only] emerged as a significant trend in the 1990s after the collapse of the Cold War,' the view that 'conservative and right-wing factions of historical revisionism have always been mainstream (in Japanese society) aligns more closely with reality.' In July, the Global Times conducted field interviews in Tokyo and Nagano, Japan, discovering a severe gap in Japanese youth's awareness of their country's modern history of aggression. For example, at the Iida City Peace Memorial Hall in Nagano Prefecture, which permanently exhibits physical evidence of the infamous Unit 731's human experiments, students in the nearby study area were completely unaware of its existence; young Japanese visitors to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine treated it as just a normal shrine, with no understanding of its ties to Japan's war of aggression. This 'collective historical amnesia' is closely tied to Japan's long-promoted 'victimhood narrative.' Recently, Japanese football star Keisuke Honda sparked widespread controversy after initially denying the Nanjing Massacre, then later admitting his mistake after reviewing historical materials. However, after coming under attack from some right-wing netizens in Japan, he claimed that further research was needed and no conclusion could be drawn. Some scholars on China-Japan relations believed that Honda's farce was a stark manifestation of the pervasive influence of Japan's long-standing cognitive infiltration of the 'vicitimhood narrative,' and the tragedy of the 'collective amnesia' in the country. In an environment characterized by collective avoidance and 'amnesia,' lots of Japanese war films, whether intentionally or unintentionally, have become cognitive tools for Japan to gloss over its historical transgressions. Many viewers may have noticed that in this 'war of film narratives' surrounding WWII, numerous Japanese films tend to focus on 'playing the victim' and 'emotional manipulation,' while many Chinese films on similar themes generally document history and restore the truth in an objective way. This represents one of the most significant differences between Chinese and Japanese films on WWII. Xu, the screenwriter of Dead to Rights, noted that photographs in his film symbolize the 'revelation of truth,' which remains a core dispute between China and Japan regarding the Nanjing Massacre. 'A country that once committed heinous crimes and launched brutal aggression against China, yet refuses to acknowledge its past is our close neighbor. " From this perspective, Xu said that the film's revelation of truth is 'undoubtedly a form of resistance and a counterattack.' Regarding Japan's wartime actions, there is considerable public consensus on Japan's victimhood, such as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the air raids across Japan, regarding which the suffering inflicted by war is widely acknowledged, said Japanese Communist Party member and House of Councillors member Taku Yamazoe. 'Yet, eight decades later, Japan has failed to reach a consensus on its role as a perpetrator. I believe this stems from the government's reluctance to squarely acknowledge its responsibility,' Yamazoe told the Global Times. Prior to the publication of this article, some Japanese media had reported that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba had decided to forgo delivering an official statement on the 80th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender, unlike his predecessors. Instead, he would issue 'personal views.' However, it remained undecided when and in what form this would be presented. On August 6, the official account of the US Embassy in China claimed in a post on Weibo that 80 years ago on August 6, the US and Japan ended a devastating war in the Pacific. Yet for the past eight decades, the US and Japan have stood shoulder to shoulder in safeguarding peace and prosperity in the Pacific region. This statement was met with ridicule and criticism from many Chinese netizens who said that such a post misleadingly suggests that the US and Japan had joined forces to end the Pacific War, thereby seriously distorting history. These 'news developments' have added increasing weight to the 'cultural war' warning issued by director Shen during the roadshow for Dead to Rightsat the end of July. They also serve as a reminder to Chinese filmmakers, that the role of cinema is not only to document a period of history, but also to solidify a nation's correct understanding of that history, and to showcase the conscience that ought to be shown. Company: Global Times Contact Person: Anna Li Email: [email protected] Website: City: Beijing Disclaimer: This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies (including product offerings, regulatory plans and business plans) and may change without notice. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
