Producing artists not idols

By David Tizzard

Last week Easter fell on April Fool's Day and thus many of us embarked on a social media experience filled with both blessings and satirical news stories. Even someone as cynical as me was not adverse to the latter, though I shall attribute my falling victim to a story of punk and hardcore bands heading to Pyongyang to some self-inflicted, port-induced reverie.

The date, however, also marks a very inauspicious day for many people here in Asia. In 2003, cinema legend and music icon Leslie Cheung (known here in South Korea as Jang Guk Yong) took his own life after a long battle with depression when he jumped from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong. His death sent shock waves around the industry and to the many millions of fans that adored his work.

I must confess that before embarking on my exploration of this highly revered figure for our latest show, I had little indication or knowledge of who he was. The findings themselves though were, at times, unfathomable. Here was a best-selling pop singer who had won the hearts of millions of fans through his delivery of ― the now admittedly questionable genre ― Cantonpop.

But then he was also a critically acclaimed actor that had won a slew of awards both here in Asia and Europe. From 1991 to 1997, his films (“Days of Being Wild,” “Farewell my Concubine,” “Happy Together,” and “Ashes of Time”) saw him nominated for countless best actor awards, many of which he won.

The level of adulation and devotion Cheung was witness to was rather remarkable. A 2009 CNN poll saw him place third in a Global Music Icon list among such luminaries as Michael Jackson, the Beatles, Bob Marley and Elvis Presley. In fact, it is the latter of whom many comparisons have been made for his successful navigation of both the film and music industries.

I have more recently likened him to David Bowie. It was through my co-host Amos Kim and our guest, writer and director Robert Joe, that I was able to realize that one should not always look for equivalence though. Sometimes, for some reasons, things don't necessarily translate, nor should they.

What made Leslie Cheung even more fascinating was that at the height of his powers, he came out to the world. He had had both male and female partners and often described himself as bisexual ― finding attraction in men and women. And yet, in the late 1990s, when this part of the world was even more Confucian-orientated than it is now, he still had the courage of his convictions and belief in his art to follow his own path. It was piecing all this together that made me reconsider the life and nature of the artist. And Leslie was that ― not a mere performer or entertainer willing to conform to unreasonable levels of expectation.

He was not like one of the many indiscernible K-Pop stars we see today who are held up as role models for youth and, in doing so, often asked to sacrifice their own desires, whims, and any artistic merit they might have in return for fame or perhaps even the chance to perform for Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.

Leslie Cheung was a man that crossed borders because of his talent and ability instead. His drive and determination were not to be seen as merely a pretty face or a commodity, but instead a man of the world ― a man of art and deeply skilled in his craft.

Fifteen years after his death on April 1, in researching and discussing his life, he was still able to teach me some valuable things. Let's hope that his message does not become completely lost in our modern, overly commercialized and overly sexualized world of pop and video where any individuality or angst quickly becomes either commodified and sold or, conversely, silenced. Let's make sure that the people that make the art are the artists themselves. And, moreover, that they make the art that speaks to who they truly are.

David Tizzard (

datizzard@swu.ac.kr

) is an assistant professor at Seoul Women's University and host of TBS eFM's cultural radio show "A Little of a Lot." The show can be heard every Sunday from 4pm-6pm on 101.3 FM or downloaded via online platforms such as iTunes and Podbang.