"While talking amongst ourselves,
we even considered disbanding...
I want to thank my members for staying
and ARMY for all the support. Thank you so much.”
Hello kiomis!
My name is Liry Onni.
Today I’m going to make my contribution
on the interpretation of
BTS’ new MV "ON"
It’s not the first time I’m doing something like this
If you want you can take a look at my video
where I do the same with BTS' "Boy with Luv"
or BLACKPINK’s "Kill This Love".
Doesn’t matter if you are an ARMY or not,
I would like you to watch the video because
it is more interesting than what you think.
You wouldn’t believe the tons of symbolisms
and hidden messages this MV has.
Isn’t it something really ambitious to connect music
with lots of other disciplines? Such as art,
literature, religion, mythology and even psychology?
They went beyond music.
This year they made something really original
called “CONNECT, BTS”.
Which is a series of artistic activities all over the world
and BTS promoted these artistic movements.
Guys I'm at "Campana" (Bell) Street
Turn on the notifications please!
Don't forget!
First of all you need to know that all of BTS’ discography
is inspired by Carl Jung’s analytical psychology.
Jung tried to explain how our psychology works
by making a map out of it, known as Map Of The Soul.
Just like BTS’ latest album is called.
This is Jung’s worldwide famous map.
I’m not going to explain every part of it but
I will explain the parts that you need to know
to comprehend what I’m going to talk about.
“Persona” which means mask in Latin,
It’s the conscious part of ourselves
that we present to the world and
by that we act in a different way that what we truly are.
It's our public image.
“Shadow” is our dark side.
Our repressed thoughts, personal weaknesses and insecurities.
It’s the unconscious side of ourselves.
The “Ego” decides what is going to the conscious
and what’s going to the unconscious part of ourselves
just like a filter.
It's everything that we are conscious about but,
whatever that menaces our integrity, goes to the shadow.
“Anima” is the female part of a man
whereas “Animus” is the complete opposite.
The “Self” is the balance between
the persona, the ego and the shadow.
It joins the conscious and the unconscious.
This is our life goal and is known as “Individuation”.
This process leads us to the peak of life.
This is the way Carl Jung describes the human psyche.
And now with all of this in mind, let’s analyse BTS' MV "ON".
We have to see this MV as a journey
inside their psychology which shows
the process of the individuation.
Just by the lyrics we can make out
that the song is based on their personal experiences
throughout their career.
At the beginning of the video we can see
a hopeless scenery, which is the complete opposite
of their actual situation.
Instead, inside of them there’s a war.
The dead dove means there’s no hope nor peace
nonetheless, Jin decides to protect the dove inside the cage.
Even if it is dead.
This meaning that people always find their way out of hardships.
The many empty cages in this scene
represent the yearning for hope.
It's all the attempts Jin made, trying to send doves
searching for some hope.
With this, we know that
on the inside the boys are struggling,
trying to escape from their destiny.
“I… in the BBMAs couldn’t…
but when the AMAs were over…
like... that day…
after our performance…
I cried while showering.
I didn’t cry because it was over
but for the fear.
What I thought, what I dreamt…
was surpassed by all that and (I thought) from now on…
How are we going to deal with all the pressure?”
“Sometimes…
I think about how this load weights a lot…”
In the “Making of” Jung Kook tell us
the reason of why he's scaping.
He says that people kicked him out
because he had magical powers and people thought he was a monster.
This + the thorns around his wrists
imply a reference to Jesus.
He could heal sick people,
return the sight to the blind
and resurrect the dead.
The people having witnessed those miracles,
thought that he was damned.
The thorns meant the suffering
and all the pain they are going through.
The price of fame,
the resignation, the lack of freedom,
the pressure, the desire for perfection,
the judgement
and the fear of being forgotten.
These could easily be some of the thoughts
artists’ could have.
Thoughts that hide deep on the unconscious,
the shadow that follows them everywhere.
On his part, RM is surrounded
by animals that are not part of the CGI.
And behind him there’s a ship.
This could be inspired by the bible’s story of Noah’s Ark.
According to the bible God told
Noah to build an Ark to save his family,
and two of every kind of land animal from the global Flood.
After the flood, everyone was saved.
It’s surprising that the day the MV was released,
the 27th of February matches the day Noah’s Ark landed,
according to the Jewish calendar.
What we have to keep in mind
from these stories (Noah&Jesus),
is that the fate of a single person had a bigger impact all over the world.
There are a lot of theories involving this kid.
He could represent the “drummer boy”
which were kids that played the drums at the American Civil War.
Kids were too young to fight
so they had to play the drums at the battlefield
to communicate orders or just to give support.
Although they didn’t fight at all
they were attacked too.
The fact that there are so many drums is
a reference to all the lives that were lost in war.
There’s also a theory that the kid represents
“The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”
+ truck is similar to the trucks Nazis
used to move the Jewish from a place to another.
Both theories refer to the sacrifice of
the weak and the loss of victims that are the result of wars.
There’s also a third theory that says
the boy could be inspired by “ The Tin Drum”.
Starring “Oscar” a boy that decided
he was not going to grow up anymore at the age of 3.
. At some point Oscar interrupts a Nazi meeting
by playing the drums.
Proving that music has the power
to defeat war and hate.
Based on this, the drums
mean that music is a powerful weapon.
A way of freedom that anyone could find
amidst their difficulties.
Even if he has the power,
what’s frustrating is that he’s not playing it.
And what about the little girl besides V?
There’s a lot of theories about why she is using a blindfold,
most of them saying that she represents ARMY
just like the Make It Right MV.
Another possibility is that she is the “Anima”
(the unconscious female side of men) or maybe both of them.
Having in mind that the girl is ARMY, the fact
that she’s blindfolded means that she is being protected.
They are keeping those issues like a secret from her.
However, she could be the key to overcome that difficulty.
“I think everyone knows why we are doing this.
If no one listens to your songs then what’s the point of (making) it?
Books… one writes because someone would read it.
It might sound obvious but…
Why are we here talking about this?
We know why we are doing this.”
“Hope” is a Symbolist oil painting by George Frederic Watts
that resembles the image of the little girl.
It’s called “Hope” because the lyre
has only a single string remaining.
V is lying on the ground and his pose
mirrors the one of Jesus Christ Crucified.
At the moment of his crucifixion, Jesus
submits to his fate and that symbolizes sacrifice and pain.
J-Hope dances in a field of dried trees,
They have to be put through tough circumstances,
to grow up like this.
Is odd that J-Hope is wearing modern clothes too.
Maybe he traveled back in time from Ego,
The signals point out the Future
but the car is going the other way.
JK could represent
the J-Hope of the past whom was victim of the shadow too.
Carl Jung says that crows symbolize "The Shadow".
The pain is so intense
that ends up killing Jungkook.
The touch of the crow helps Jungkook
to connect with the unconscious side
of his soul, The Shadow.
In my personal opinion this
is the “first death” that is mentioned on Black Swan’s MV.
“a dancer dies twice – once when they stop dancing, and this first death is the most painful.”
The fact that JK died overwhelmed
by his shadow could be the symbolic
representation of giving up their careers
to get out of that pain.
Suga is in some kind of temple
surrounded by people holding candles.
At the back, we can see these symbols
that represent the four elements.
According to alchemy, everyone
had these four elements
and when we manage to balance all
of them we reach evolution and perfection.
Carl Jung compares these stages with the individuation stages.
Will he notice that it could be
a bigger nightmare is he gives up his career?
Give up his achievements and the influence he has with his music?
JK resurrects after his first death, the most painful of the both of them.
The kid that plays the drums announces the fight.
The shadow has to be shown to the
conscious side to finally accept it
and keep moving forward.
That’s why the gate starts opening,
to let the shadow see the light.
Baptism is the decision to die spiritually
and reborn besides Christ.
It’s an act of purification and transformation.
The thorns (his suffering) finally vanish.
The seashell could be taken in a lot of different ways
(its related with spirituality) but mostly it:
wakes up people
gives strength and courage,
and it is a form power and sovereignty.
In this scene they are placed
in the deepest part of their souls where the shadow is.
They fight against their shadows
and they finally accept them.
They don’t need to use masks anymore.
They moved forward on the individuation process.
Trees start growing again in both sides of the wall
The conscious and the unconscious have united.
Now the seven of them are together.
Before JK was missing. But now,
they are not only seven, but eight.
Number eight (in a biblical way) means a new phase.
God created the world in seven days, the eighth day started a new phase.
In Noahs story the world started again with 8 people.
In this final scene where they announce a new beginning,
it’s not an accident there were 8 people instead of 7.
[This was my husband’s interpretation]
Their shadows have the shape of a dove
meaning that hope has returned.
+ 7 doves are flying.
Of course this part recalls The Lion King
where they address the topic of “The Circle of Life”
just as Noah’s story, as soon as a stage finishes starts a new one.
“No More Dream” was BTS’ debut song
and this MV finishes with “Dream” such as
what happens with “N.O” that turns into “ON”.
Long story short, we can say that the "hidden message" is that
you shouldn't try to avoid your Shadow because  it will always be there.
You should learn how to balance and accept it.
and keep moving forward just as how they did.
“Our concerts are like a huge party
and we are the centre of attention
but as soon as it finishes
the moment we got on the car
I felt completely empty and then…
I finally got over it”
[I hope at least you could understand half of the video since I'm not a real translator
but I really wanted more people to learn some of these theories.
Please give a thumbs up to this wonderful woman.
Keep streaming ON and that's all for today folks!]
