Ok so first up, this video probably isn't appropriate for children or people sensitive to violence. I'm using the 19+ version of this music video because I personally like it more and it gives a more complete story line to work with.
The other version can be found here >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOuhvBJqKVY for those of you who want to know what I'm talking about but can't watch the one I've posted here. This analysis is also really long, so please bear with me and you'll get a lollipop at the end if you manage to get through it all!
Wow, this video was a ride and a half wasn't it? These are darker themes than we're used to seeing from BTS, but they pull it off really well (this song won them their first music show award, plus 4 subsequent ones) and the MV is filled to the brim with hard-core story line and symbolism (props to the creative director!).
Ok, so to start off with there’s been a few different interpretations of this music video and I'll be bringing you a sort of mixture of what I've seen in the comments section of YouTube, heard during conversations with fellow ARMYs (FYI: the BTS fandom name is ARMY) and stuff that comes from my own knowledge of imagery.
This video shows us the many different ways that people deal with grief and trauma, but it also has many symbols of rebirth and gives us hope that everything can turn out alright in the end.
Suga shows us the type of person who keeps everything to himself, which ends up destroying him and everything around him. He's first seen sitting around in a grungy hotel room by himself and he eventually ends up surrounded by flames. Fire is a destructive force that will reduce everything to ash, this shows us that Suga simply can't put up with the pain any more so he just goes crazy and tries to get rid of everything. However, fire can also be a symbol of rebirth, a Phoenix bursts into flame as it dies and from the ashes new life emerges. Images of fire are a recurring theme throughout the video and it is shown to be both destructive (Suga and Jimin use it during their grief stages) and a healing tool (the boys are sitting around a camp-fire happily and J-Hope pours his bottle of pills into this fire).
Speaking of J-Hope, this guy shows us the type of person who tries to medicate the pain away. We first see him standing in front of a mirror scrutinising his own reflection and then he decides it would be a good idea to take way too many pills (but he drops some in the sink so at least he didn't take the whole bottle). This causes him to fall down in the middle of the footpath and things are looking really bad at this point. However, we later see him opening his eyes and waking up to face the world once again, which I interpreted to be a metaphor for being able to wake up and move on from his pain.
V then shows us the type of person whose pain is manifested by anger and violence. We first see him stomping around like an angry teenager and hitting inanimate objects, which seems harmless enough, but things quickly get more violent than even V bargained for. He sees a guy hitting a girl (I assume it's probably a girl he likes since both look too young to be his parents), which causes him to grab a glass bottle and proceed to whack the guy over the head with it. He also then begins to furiously stab this guy with the, now broken, bottle. However, this violence has been intertwined with images of him laughing and having fun with the other boys. This is a really interesting contrast, which points to the possibility of being able to be calm and happy again after the storm of emotions. He also shows remorse for his actions, which strengthens this image of redemption.
Jungkook shows us the type of person who becomes lethargic in the face of pain, he just doesn't seem to care about anything. He's walking around by himself and ends up in a pretty scummy neighbourhood where he bumps into some dude and just keeps walking, no apology or anything. This guy and his mate then beat the crap out of Jungkook, he barely puts up a fight though and pretty much just lets himself be beaten. He also doesn't seem to be too phased when faced with a car coming towards him, he just looks towards it with a tired expression. However, this final part does not have to be taken as a morbid reference to his ease in accepting death. The light at the end of the tunnel imagery again represents rebirth, it is a phrase that represents the religious belief of going to heaven and starting a new life after death.
Rap Monster is showing us the type of person who acts like he's normal and getting on with life, but does reckless things as a cry for help. He’s still going to work and is actually doing his job, but he’s not exactly being safe about it. The lollipop he's sucking on is a metaphor for a cigarette and since he works at a petrol station this is a way for him to play with death. Later on in the video – after he's finished filling the customer's car – he drops the lollipop, which turns into a cigarette and prepares to embrace death. However, nothing explodes and he's given a second chance to start living his life differently, which again alludes to the theme of redemption that’s evident throughout the video.
Jimin represents the type of person who tries to leave the world quietly, without leaving a mark. He locks himself away in the same way as Suga, but he simply wants to slip away without wreaking havoc. He sits there, freezing his butt off, under the flow of the water from the bath and then proceeds to get in the bath to try and drown himself. The only thing he burns is a picture and he drops it onto the wet floor so that it doesn't burn the place down. The good thing is that he can't go through with it, he really wants to be able to get away from his feelings of grief, but he has hope that things will get better, which is shown through the images of the boys having fun together by the ocean. Water is also – like fire – seen as a symbol of rebirth and cleansing. This further reiterates the theme of rebirth and moving on after the pain has ceased.
Jin's character was the hardest for me to figure out the symbolism for, but I finally decided that he was signifying the type of person who’s in the later stages of grief. He’s the symbol of hope throughout the video and gives us a sense that, while he may still be hurting, he’s starting to move on with his life. We first see him sitting around seeming like he's contemplating what to do, he then lays down the bunch of lily petals he was holding and we later see them being set alight. This is a reference to letting go of the past, many people tend to burn things that remind them of whatever they're grieving over as a way to let themselves move on. He then gives himself some time to accept that the past is now gone and then appears with the image of a blooming lily projected over his heart, which is another representation of new life. He then opens the curtains to let in the light and start living again. He sheds one final tear for the memories of the past, but he has officially accepted that he can't change it and that he needs to forget about it.
To sum up, this video represents the journey from the lowest depths of depression to the final acceptance of life and all the joys it can bring. The images of the boys having fun that are knitted together with the gloomy scenes of depression are a way of showing how they've all eventually moved on with their lives because they now have each other to rely on.
Now, to say thanks for reading all of this, here is the sugary goodness I promised you! (I would give you all real lollipops but, since I'm only a virtual presence in your life, I can't)
The other version can be found here >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOuhvBJqKVY for those of you who want to know what I'm talking about but can't watch the one I've posted here. This analysis is also really long, so please bear with me and you'll get a lollipop at the end if you manage to get through it all!
Wow, this video was a ride and a half wasn't it? These are darker themes than we're used to seeing from BTS, but they pull it off really well (this song won them their first music show award, plus 4 subsequent ones) and the MV is filled to the brim with hard-core story line and symbolism (props to the creative director!).
Ok, so to start off with there’s been a few different interpretations of this music video and I'll be bringing you a sort of mixture of what I've seen in the comments section of YouTube, heard during conversations with fellow ARMYs (FYI: the BTS fandom name is ARMY) and stuff that comes from my own knowledge of imagery.
This video shows us the many different ways that people deal with grief and trauma, but it also has many symbols of rebirth and gives us hope that everything can turn out alright in the end.
Suga shows us the type of person who keeps everything to himself, which ends up destroying him and everything around him. He's first seen sitting around in a grungy hotel room by himself and he eventually ends up surrounded by flames. Fire is a destructive force that will reduce everything to ash, this shows us that Suga simply can't put up with the pain any more so he just goes crazy and tries to get rid of everything. However, fire can also be a symbol of rebirth, a Phoenix bursts into flame as it dies and from the ashes new life emerges. Images of fire are a recurring theme throughout the video and it is shown to be both destructive (Suga and Jimin use it during their grief stages) and a healing tool (the boys are sitting around a camp-fire happily and J-Hope pours his bottle of pills into this fire).
Speaking of J-Hope, this guy shows us the type of person who tries to medicate the pain away. We first see him standing in front of a mirror scrutinising his own reflection and then he decides it would be a good idea to take way too many pills (but he drops some in the sink so at least he didn't take the whole bottle). This causes him to fall down in the middle of the footpath and things are looking really bad at this point. However, we later see him opening his eyes and waking up to face the world once again, which I interpreted to be a metaphor for being able to wake up and move on from his pain.
V then shows us the type of person whose pain is manifested by anger and violence. We first see him stomping around like an angry teenager and hitting inanimate objects, which seems harmless enough, but things quickly get more violent than even V bargained for. He sees a guy hitting a girl (I assume it's probably a girl he likes since both look too young to be his parents), which causes him to grab a glass bottle and proceed to whack the guy over the head with it. He also then begins to furiously stab this guy with the, now broken, bottle. However, this violence has been intertwined with images of him laughing and having fun with the other boys. This is a really interesting contrast, which points to the possibility of being able to be calm and happy again after the storm of emotions. He also shows remorse for his actions, which strengthens this image of redemption.
Jungkook shows us the type of person who becomes lethargic in the face of pain, he just doesn't seem to care about anything. He's walking around by himself and ends up in a pretty scummy neighbourhood where he bumps into some dude and just keeps walking, no apology or anything. This guy and his mate then beat the crap out of Jungkook, he barely puts up a fight though and pretty much just lets himself be beaten. He also doesn't seem to be too phased when faced with a car coming towards him, he just looks towards it with a tired expression. However, this final part does not have to be taken as a morbid reference to his ease in accepting death. The light at the end of the tunnel imagery again represents rebirth, it is a phrase that represents the religious belief of going to heaven and starting a new life after death.
Rap Monster is showing us the type of person who acts like he's normal and getting on with life, but does reckless things as a cry for help. He’s still going to work and is actually doing his job, but he’s not exactly being safe about it. The lollipop he's sucking on is a metaphor for a cigarette and since he works at a petrol station this is a way for him to play with death. Later on in the video – after he's finished filling the customer's car – he drops the lollipop, which turns into a cigarette and prepares to embrace death. However, nothing explodes and he's given a second chance to start living his life differently, which again alludes to the theme of redemption that’s evident throughout the video.
Jimin represents the type of person who tries to leave the world quietly, without leaving a mark. He locks himself away in the same way as Suga, but he simply wants to slip away without wreaking havoc. He sits there, freezing his butt off, under the flow of the water from the bath and then proceeds to get in the bath to try and drown himself. The only thing he burns is a picture and he drops it onto the wet floor so that it doesn't burn the place down. The good thing is that he can't go through with it, he really wants to be able to get away from his feelings of grief, but he has hope that things will get better, which is shown through the images of the boys having fun together by the ocean. Water is also – like fire – seen as a symbol of rebirth and cleansing. This further reiterates the theme of rebirth and moving on after the pain has ceased.
Jin's character was the hardest for me to figure out the symbolism for, but I finally decided that he was signifying the type of person who’s in the later stages of grief. He’s the symbol of hope throughout the video and gives us a sense that, while he may still be hurting, he’s starting to move on with his life. We first see him sitting around seeming like he's contemplating what to do, he then lays down the bunch of lily petals he was holding and we later see them being set alight. This is a reference to letting go of the past, many people tend to burn things that remind them of whatever they're grieving over as a way to let themselves move on. He then gives himself some time to accept that the past is now gone and then appears with the image of a blooming lily projected over his heart, which is another representation of new life. He then opens the curtains to let in the light and start living again. He sheds one final tear for the memories of the past, but he has officially accepted that he can't change it and that he needs to forget about it.
To sum up, this video represents the journey from the lowest depths of depression to the final acceptance of life and all the joys it can bring. The images of the boys having fun that are knitted together with the gloomy scenes of depression are a way of showing how they've all eventually moved on with their lives because they now have each other to rely on.
Now, to say thanks for reading all of this, here is the sugary goodness I promised you! (I would give you all real lollipops but, since I'm only a virtual presence in your life, I can't)