Turning Inspiration Back ‘ON’ – An Analysis of the MV for ON by BTS

Sometimes, I don’t feel inspired to create anything. Today is one of those days. I had so many ideas of things to review but as I started writing this post on each of those ideas, I quickly became bored with them and lost any will to continue. That is why I am doing something a little out of the ordinary. I myself would not usually consider a music video of all things to be worth reviewing on this page, however the more I looked into the details and narrative of the video, the more intrigued I became.

I may as well go ahead and mention that I am a fan of BTS and their music, but it is the narratives and beauty of their music videos from 2015 to present day that inspired me to work in film production. I want to create something beautiful. The music video for their new song ON is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful music videos I have ever watched. I was shocked to find that Ingenuity Studios was the company in charge of the visual effects of the video due to their affiliation with Universal, Marvel, Sony and many other big names in the film industry as well as working with Camila Cabello, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and many more large names in the music industry.

Because of the cinematic aspects of this music video as well as the narrative which has a large influence of literature, I decided it would be fine to review this. To me, music videos, short films, animation, television shows, etc. have the capability of being just as cinematically pleasing and educational for aspiring filmmakers as movies are. If we are to limit the educational value to movies alone, we limit ourselves from so much in the world.

Now that I have rambled, I should probably explain a little bit about the video. First, it’s a music video for BTS, a group from Korea. (Yes, it’s K-POP.) Therefore, the music video is in Korean. There’s English subtitles available but as beautiful as the song is and as much as I love it, the visuals of the video are what I am focusing on in this review. I may mention some names of the members that are shown in the video (there’s seven members) but I’ll provide descriptions of what scene they’re in and why they’re important to the video in great detail so there shouldn’t be too much confusion. Next, there are ties from this music video to past videos dating back to 2015 as their music videos and albums respectively have been following a storyline for each of the members including that one, Jin, is a time traveler. I don’t think I’ll be getting into that too much or at all, but if I do, understand it is all a part of the larger story.

Starting from the beginning of the video, we see a battlefield where many corpses lie. We see Jin (member of BTS) kneeling down to a dead dove, that was seemingly caught in the carnage of the implied war. We then cut to Jungkook (another member) running away from a large structure, hands bound by thorns. Then, the music truly starts and we see multiple separate clips of each of the members such as Jimin, who is in a shaded area surrounded by drums and accompanied by a young drummer boy, Taehyung who is lying down next to a small girl with a blindfold, and again Jin who is seen clutching a bird cage with the dead bird inside. Then, we see Namjoon (the leader of the band) standing in front of a wrecked ship and surrounded by a multitude of animals. As he raps, we see glimpses of Jungkook who had been seen running in a forest, far from the walls he had been running from. As Namjoon raps the lyrics “Is it the shadow that’s shaking Or is it my feet that are trembling… Of course it’s not all okay”, we see hazy glimpses of Jungkook in the forest and we can infer that he is struggling which visually symbolizes the lyrics being said. Then as the pre-chorus builds, we see multiple shots back and forth between Jin and the birdcage and Jimin with the young drummer boy, until ultimately at the end of the pre-chorus, the bird cage begins to rattle as though the bird inside is moving around, alive. Immediately after, the chorus starts and we see Jungkook running again, as though he has been given a new burst of energy as well as Namjoon seemingly praying, Jimin dancing and appearing to be energized by the sun whereas the next scene includes Jungkook looking up to the sun and then collapsing. We then see an odd scene in which Hoseok (another member) is rapping his portion of the song, standing near Jungkook’s collapsed body which appears to be dead. This scene is particularly odd as Hoseok is dancing and rapping as though he is blind to Jungkook’s suffering/collapsed body, despite being in plain sight. The next scene contains more of Hoseok’s verse, however now Jungkook is nowhere to be seen. Then we transition to the last member to be shown, Yoongi, who is rapping his portion of the song in what appears to be some sort of temple with around 30 children around him. Then as the pre-chorus starts again, we go back and forth between Taehyung and the young girl and Jimin with the young boy. In Taehyung’s scenes, however, we see him approach the young girl as she is looking ahead (despite being blindfolded) and as Taehyung turns to see what she is looking towards, we see the same structure that Jungkook was running from in the first place. As the pre-chorus builds more, we hear a prevalent drum and we see the young drummer boy with Jimin playing and as he hits one hard note and stops, the walls of the structure in front of Taehyung opens and Jungkook simultaneously opens his eyes. Then as the chorus plays out, we watch as Taehyung removes the blindfold from the girl and they hold hands and look ahead at what lies beyond the wall. As the bridge begins, we see Jungkook, still shackled with the thorns, walking towards a lake. Then as the beat comes back in, we see the remaining five members (Jin, Namjoon, Yoongi, Hoseok, and Jimin) walking towards the wall to meet up with Taehyung, along with a large group of people following them. Then, as Jungkook dips his shackled wrists into the water, Jin releases the now healed dove from the beginning and the music stops. As the bird flutters off, the scene changes back to Jungkook who is now freed from his shackles and instead is holding a shell that he blows into, releasing an almost victory-like sound. This however brings about dark clouds and fire atop a hill where we are transported to a dark scene in which the dance break for the video takes place. In between the dance break we see clips of all of the members dressed in dark robes (which have been used in past videos for the group) and Jungkook walks forward holding the shell on what appears to be some sort of staff. As the dance break scene ends, we are brought back to the large group in front of the wall, with Jungkook now joining the group. At the same time, we see the desert-like landscape around them flourish with life. As Namjoon raises his fist, the seven members ascend a large rock as seven white doves fly above them. Then the song ends and we see Jungkook run past the rest of the members towards the edge of the rock and the video ends with the words ‘No More Dream’ transitioning into the word ‘Dream’. (Sidenote: No More Dream was the debut song for the band back in 2013 when they released their first album “2 Cool 4 School”.)

Now for the actual review. I’m going to discuss two main ideas/theories that I enjoy the most as this video is meant to be a progression of a storyline, but the visual aspects included and used in this music video are what create those theories.

Again, I know a music video is not a movie. However, film, again, should be fun and educational for aspiring filmmakers. This music video is inspiring for me because I can only hope to be able to create something as visually pleasing that delivers a deeply constructed narrative at the same time. For my aspiring filmmakers out there, find inspiration wherever it strikes you. Nothing is off limits and inspiration is still inspiration.

For this video, I really like the theory of Omelas. For those who may not know, BTS often includes references to literature in their music videos and although this one may not be as obvious, I believe they hint to the short story “Those Who Walk Away From Omelas” in this music video as well as a past music video for a song called Spring Day.

Here’s a link to a quick synopsis of the short story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ones_Who_Walk_Away_from_Omelas

In essence, the city of Omelas housed many people who all learned of the young child who had been locked up for the good of the town. While most learned about the child and became enraged, they accepted the child’s fate as they relied on the child’s suffering for their own happiness. However, there were some who left Omelas, never to return to the city. For the context of the music video, I fancy the theory that BTS and the group of people following them are the people who left Omelas, while Jungkook is the child who had been held prisoner there. In a recent behind the scenes video for the making of the music video, Jungkook himself said the character he was playing had been locked up within the wall and that he had some special power.

Going along with that theory, we see the responsibility of storytelling that comes with filmmaking. In past blog posts, I’ve covered the importance of sound effects and music, editing tricks, or symbolism, but for this post, I’m focusing on the ability to tell a story. For this, the overall story as I’ve understood it is that Jungkook is the child from Omelas and the thorn shackles are what key viewers in to that. He is running, shackled and still tied to his past pain and suffering, but still free nonetheless. I see the rest of the BTS members as different citizens of the city of Omelas who saw the truth of their happiness and chose to leave. If we include the past running theory that Jin is a time traveler, this will make more sense. Keeping that in mind, the birdcages that Jin has collected in the room we see him in throughout the video symbolize multiple attempts at freeing Jungkook, or the child from Omelas. Some speculate that the multitude of corpses at the beginning are the crowd of people we see at the end of the video following the rest of the BTS members, insinuating that at some point during the video, Jin travels back and changes something to bring them back to life, perhaps freeing Jungkook in the process. This is supported by the dove and its reincarnation.

The story of Omelas leads readers to believe there must be something different about the child in order for the city to flourish from the child’s suffering. This idea matches with Jungkook’s description of his character being locked up within the walls and harnessing some power. Overall, the music video holds many similarities between the child in the story and Jungkook’s character.

However, there is another way to interpret this music video which I love just as much. For background, BTS have faced many hardships in the music industry since their debut and they were not treated fairly or with respect until they began to gain recognition in the west around 2016. Throughout the video, we see multiple symbols of hope represented.

For example, both Jimin and Taehyung have roles with children. Children often represent hope due to the abundance of innocence as well as the ability to shape the future into something greater. Specifically with Taehyung’s case, we can make the connection that he is shielding the young girl from all of the hardships that she may have witnessed without the blindfold in order to maintain her innocent spirit.

On the other hand, Namjoon represents the biblical story of Noah’s Ark in which no one believed Noah about the flood and suffered while a dove was sent and returned with an olive branch to symbolize that they had made it. This is heavily symbolic of hope and this also ties to the dove that we see Jin caring for so deeply and ultimately freeing it at the end.

The water we see Jungkook enter can be seen as yet another biblical reference as baptisms symbolize a renewal or rebirth of one’s self and it can give one hope for their renewed future. Water itself can also represent freedom which we see Jungkook heavily tied to as he is freed from the prison he had been trapped in/the shackles he bore.

Overall, the music video, corresponding with this theory, represents something greater for BTS and their fanbase (referred to as ARMY). In the past, BTS music has always been a source of hope for the fanbase. As recently as 2017, the group has expressed concerns over their growing fame as they did not expect it and frankly, were afraid of it. However, this music video seems to symbolize for ARMY that BTS are not ready to quit just yet and that they want to continue to hope, want to continue to reach new highs and break new records. They want to continue to dream, and so should we.

Overall, I think this music video is beautiful with its symbolic references (there’s so many more jam packed into this video that I didn’t even being to cover) and the inspiring message they intend to share with the world.

I know this post wasn’t a typical post for me, but I want to stress that film is not limited. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and the ability to tell an intricate story without explicitly telling the narrative like a movie or a show often does is highly impressive. Sometimes the stories we tell don’t need to be told word for word. Sometimes the journey to tearing apart a piece and finding the story yourself is worth so much more.

We all have a story to tell, and with everyone having their own story, their will never be a shortage of discovery. What will you discover?

That’s all for this post. I’ll have another post up by the end of this week that should be a bit more on the normal side of my posts, so stay tuned!

Until then, you can find me peering through the viewfinder.