Doc review: Popstar academy

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this documentary. It's an 8 episode Netflix documentary about the training and survival show of the new global girl group Katseye. It's a South-Korean and American collaboration between Hybe and Geffen. 20 girls compete to be part of the 6 chosen ones for the group.
The main themes are competition, hard work, collaboration and fame. There's a lot of jealousy going on between the girls as not all are on the same skill level but some are more popular according to the votes. The girls have also formed friendships during the training so it's hard for them to let go of their friends. It's difficult to see girls who work hard not make it to the group. Entertainment industry is relentless and so is the documentary in some parts. Some people say it shouldn'tve been published because it puts so many of the girls in a bad light and many have received hate and even racist comments. But on the other hand it shows the reality of the competition of entertainment industry. This doc reminded me so much of my days in drama high school and how competetivie environment can affect you. You have to have a lot of confidence not to break down. The teachers and mentors are really tough and so are the people online leaving all kinds of comments. I feel like this is somehow similar to the LE SSERAFIM doc which also goes backstage with the performers to showcase the hard work behind them. It's an interesting choice to show fans (and haters) that side as well.

Overall the documentary was well made. There's still drama going around surrounding Manon and the other girls who critisized her. She is one of the most popular members with fans and was scouted for her star quality even though she had no prior experience with singing or dancing. She missed practise and lot of the girls didn't like it. It doesn't look good if you don't put in hard work but still are popular and succeed. The drama is what is making the documentary go viral at the moment and I've had to take a pause from socials because i feel like i've already processed it. The drama left a bad taste in my mouth and the documentary was sometimes too intense to watch so I couldn't binge it. Regardless of the drama I hope both Katseye and the former trainees who didn't make it to the group find success.