Bts Jungkook Blood Sweat and Tears Water Color Drawings
Hi.
Have you ever witnessed an extremely artistic yet confusing piece of text that is just so well producedand confusing that you just can't get it out of your head and spend countless nights thinking about it and trying to dissect it and trying to figure out what it's really telling the audience??????
Well. I have. And for me, this piece of text is the Blood Sweat & Tears Music Video by BTS. I have watched this music video more times than I can count this past month because its just that good. And confusing. So for today's blog post, I figured I'd share my interpretation and analysis.
LET'S BEGIN.
First and foremost, if you have not yet seen the music video, WATCH IT NOW.
Before I begin with my analysis, let me just introduce the members starring in the music video, just in case you don't know who they are yet:
JIMIN SUGA JIN
RAPMON J-HOPE JUNGKOOK
TAEHYUNG (V)
The music video begins with the boys entering an art museum full of Greek and Roman style statues and paintings. All seems to be normal as they observe the statues. Everyone also seems to break up into pairs: Jimin and Suga, Rapmon and Jungkook, J-Hope and Taehyung. Keep this in mind, I'll expand on these pairings later. Everyone naturally finds their partner and goes off to do their own thing except for one person… Jin. Instead, Jin wanders towards a painting that catches his eye.
The painting he notices is theFall of the Rebel Angels, by Pieter Brugel the Elder. It depicts a struggle between God's angels, and the rebel angels who have chosen to follow Lucifer, and have fallen from grace in the process. It illustrates an ongoing and fierce battle, with the forces of good and evil at a stalemate.
It is because of the emphasis placed on Jin at the beginning of the music video that the audience is able to immediately pinpoint him as the protagonist of the music video. Jin's enthralment to the painting almost mirrors his own struggle against the forces of good and evil, and provides a starting point for our protagonist.
Now, we've established who the protagonist is, and his starting point. But things are still a little vague. Fortunately, more information is revealed briefly, if you can catch it, the next time we see Jin.
It may not look like much, and Jin's face is so obscured that we initially do not know it is him. But this short scene tells us a lot. Not only is Jin struggling against the forces of good and evil, but he is caught up in the middle of two equally powerful and opposing forces. The war waging between the two are so intense and chaotic, that Jin cannot see clearly. His vision is eclipsed by the hands of the other members, who represent the forces of good and evil to varying degrees.
The spectrum of good and evil, though are balanced with equally powerful opposing forces on either end, are also unstable. The spread and divide between the two creates chaos and conflict, obscuring Jin's vision and sense of direction.
Now let's introduce the roles of the other members, beginning with the inherently good force: J-Hope.
J-Hope is pictured before a statue of Mary the Mother of God, though Jesus' face has been reshaped to resemble a more geometric structure. Obviously the statue has been secularised, but the general image still communicates a type of motherly love and protection, all things which can be aligned with the force of good. He is also sitting in the midst of a generally still and calm water. Water, especially still water, symbolises purity and clarity.
Now, within the same image, there is not only evidence of good, embodied in J-Hope, but the lead the force of good has in comparison to evil. J-Hope sits upon a lavish chair, a chair that can resembled a throne, and next to the statue of Mary are evergreen hedges, trimmed neatly. Both of these are evidence of wealth and power, power that comes with being in the leading position.
But hold on, how can one force be in the lead if both good and evil are at a stalemate? You can only have one or the other, right?
Well, let's examine J-Hope's opposite and the inherently evil force: Taehyung.
The above gif shows the Big Reveal scene, and Taehyung is revealed to be the Fallen Angel. He seems to be passive throughout the entire music video, further reinstating J-Hope's lead over him. He is pictured multiple times under a veil, seemingly not doing anything. One would think that good truly is triumphing over evil… except for one thing.
J-Hope resembles the Biblical archangel, Michael, with this imagery of wielding a bow and arrow. With these weapons, he actively wars against Taehyung. When he releases his arrow, paint (which BTS has revealed to symbolise blood, sweat and tears) splatters over the veil covering Taehyung. Except the blood, sweat and tears shed from this act is not Taehyung's. Instead, it is J-Hope's. Despite having the advantage, J-Hope still cannot defeat Taehyung, and is left exhausted (hence, spilling some blood, sweat and tears) and at a stalemate.
So what is Taehyung's veil? Well, from the previous gif, it is clear to see that the veil serves as some sort of protection. But judging from the constant movement of the veil as well as his position as a fallen angel, the veil also helps him heal and regain his strength. It is only when Jin wakes up that Taehyung returns and reveals himself.
J-Hope and Taehyung are the major players in the war between good and evil, having the most influence on Jin. They are constants in a world of change and transformation, but are polar opposites, being the main source of struggle and conflict for Jin. This is why they are paired together in the beginning of the music video. However, due to them being either inherently good or evil, they remain at opposite ends of the good/evil spectrum. They cannot be moved or changed.
But how does Jin wake up? Jin's awakening is only partly due to his own accord. In fact, his awakening is largely dependent on the development of the two younger and more volatile angels,Jungkook andJimin.
Let's begin with Jungkook. Jungkook is a minor angel, and although he isn't as powerful as J-Hope or Taehyung and doesn't have a direct influence on Jin, he still plays a key role in the protagonist's development. He begins good and pure, almost child-like. The first time we see him, he is on a swing, eating a lollypop.
However, innocence is also very much synonymous to being ignorant, and unaware of real issues. In the same way, Jungkook blissfully enjoys himself on the swing in an immobile state, indicating his ignorance to the world around him. He only really begins to show some development onceRapmonis introduced.
Rapmon is neither a good nor evil force, and is instead a neutral angel, acting indirectly to allow Jin to wake up. He is an overseer, being the angel of transformation. He is pictured with the drink absinthe, which in some cultures, is a symbol of transformation and change. He also burns the picture of a bird, which represents Jungkook's innocence.
Because he acts as the catalyst for change, he is assigned to Jungkook, who is blissfully ignorant and requires guidance. This is why they are paired together, though their relationship is more of a mentor-mentee relationship as opposed to J-Hope and Taehyung's enemy relationship.
He lights a candle and gives Jungkook some of the fallen wax, allowing Jungkook to finally taste the sweetness of a new life without ignorance.
Under the guidance of Rapmon, Jungkook begins to break free from his blissful ignorance and innocence, progressing further and further away from the good side on the spectrum of good and evil. We see him again later, surrounded by white feathers. Whilst this scene may indicate his innocence once again, one can see that he is actually shedding his white feathers of purity upon closer observation.
Like Jungkook,Jimin is a younger angel who, though does not have a direct influence on Jin, still is a key component to Jin's awakening. However, he is initially orientated towards the evil end of the spectrum, already being exposed to the world and aware of its evils. When all the boys are sitting at the dinner table, each as an apple on their plate. The apple represents each member's potentiality to fall into sin and temptation.
Jimin is the only one who has accepted the apple and has fallen into temptation, bringing him to Taehyung's end of the spectrum. However, the burden of sin is something he does not want to carry anymore. In order to change this, he appeals toSuga, the other neutral angel.
Like Rapmon,Suga does not have an inclination to good nor evil, and remains in the middle as an overseer. However, his role differs from Rapmon's, being the Judge, and the Messenger Angel. Though he has the same goal as Rapmon to pave the way for Jin's awakening, he does not independently seek out Jimin, and instead officiates the change that Jimin sought out himself. They are paired in the beginning of the music video as well, though their relationship is harsher than Rapmon and Jungkook's; one of a strict father, disciplining his rebellious son.
As mentioned previously, Jimin, no longer willing to carry the burden of sin, appeals to Suga. Suga, being the Judge, must test Jimin first before Jimin can be granted his desire. In the scene where the two meet, Jimin holds out his apple representing his desire to be rid of the temptation, and Suga holds out a blindfold, which is Jimin's judgement.
Jimin's blindfold not only removes his vision, but tethers him to the room until he can break free. Suga's test represents Jimin's current position, trapped in the darkness of temptation. Jimin, longing to be rid of sin, fights and struggles against temptation, proving his desire to be good.
Because of Jungkook's gradual awakening from the world of innocence and purity, and Jimin's fight to overcome his temptation, both are gradually pushed towards the centre of the good/evil spectrum. Jungkook moves away from his world of good, and Jimin moves further from the evil side, leaving them both very close to the centre of the spectrum.
The spectrum is now more stable, as the forces of good and evil are slowly making their way to find the equilibrium. There is less chaos and opposing forces because of this, and Jin is able to gain some clarity. This is represented through the hands moving away from his face and allowing him to see.
At this point, the music video stops and we see Jin's silhouette in a saturated red background releasing a balloon over a voiceover. The voiceover reads,"He too was a tempter. He too was a link to the second, the evil world with which he no longer wanted anything to do." Whilst these words can be interpreted as Jin choosing to stray away from the evil world, they have a different meaning, especially when voiced over this particular scene.
The act of releasing the balloon symbolises Jin letting go of something, namely, the same thoughts that were the voiceover during this scene. Jin initially begins in the midst of chaos between the forces of good and evil. He begins confused and conflicted. Because of this confusion, his natural inclination is to choose whichever is the most conventional, which is the good. By choosing good, he, similar to Jungkook, blinds himself from the other half of the world; the evil side. As the hands are removed from his face, he is gradually able to see more clearly, and see the need to accept the evil side as well. By letting go of the balloon, he is letting go of those past thoughts of confusion, accepting the evil world as well as the good.
Next, we see Suga, the Messenger Angel, playing a darker sinister tune on the organ. He narrates the entirety of what is happening through his music, the music dark and sinister as it welcomes the return of evil. As he plays, we see the boys running out of the museum, whilst Jin lingers behind. He looks back at the museum, as if he had noticed something that he couldn't quite see. Taehyung notices and seems pleased with this awakening. He goes up to Jin and covers his eyes, an act of clearing his sight and allowing him to see.
Because of Jin's acceptance of the evil world as well as the good, Taehyung is finally able to actively act upon Jin, opening his eyes to the evil world as well as the good. When Taehyung removes his hands, Jin sees a different sight. He is still looking at the same museum; the same reality, but from a different perspective.
The main attraction is the statue of the Dark Angel before him, a representation of Taehyung in his former glory, and the keeper of his power. Jin, now awake and accepting of the evil world as well as the good, immediately goes over to the statue and kisses it, fully immersing himself and becoming one with the evil.
Jin is Abraxus.
Who is Abraxus? This text draws a lot of inspiration from the German novelDemian, by Hermann Hesse. Abraxus is an all powerful and superior being explored within the novel, who transcends the power of both God and the devil. Abraxus is a being that embodies both the good and evil forces of the world, his role being to overlook and bridge the gap between the two.
Jin awakens and assumes his role as the being Abraxus, brigding the gap between the two worlds. So what happens as a result of this?
1. J-Hope loses his advantage over Taehyung and sacrifices some of his power as the forces of good and evil find balance. His world erupts into chaos.
2. Jungkook fully wakes up and becomes aware, finally being able to cross over to the evil world for the first time.
3. Jimin finally overcomes his sin and breaks free from the blindfold. He shows some blood sweat and tears, showing his struggle and eventual triumph. He crosses into the good side.
4. Jin unlocks Taehyung's power, and the statue excretes blood, sweat and tears as Taehyung's power is returned to him.
The music video ends with Jin moving over to the mirror, which takes the place of the painting that originally catches his eye. Above the mirror is a inscription that reads, "Man muss noch Chaos in sich haben, um einen tanzenden Stern gebären zu können." This is loosely translated from German to,"You must have chaos within yourself to give birth to a dancing star."
Although mirrors traditionally reflect an image, this mirror instead acts as a window, proving another perspective of the same reality. We know this because the background behind Jin in the mirror is pure black, where it should be the museum and its art, and the white lilies is reflected back into a purple flower.
When Jin looks in the mirror, his reflection breaks, reflecting his inclination to the evil world as well as the good.
In conclusion, this music video tells us the story of a struggle between the forces of good and evil, and Jin's journey to accept both sides.
So what is the message of this music video? Well, the forces of good and evil do not necessarily represent good and evil in this world, but tradition and innovation respectively. It can be daunting for many to transition into a new world of creativity and explore ideas differing from the norm, and many choose to remain in the safe zone of conventionality. This music video urges us to embrace innovation and take this path, yet hold on to tradition. This text is all about finding the balance between the two.
THANK YOU FOR READING THIS IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR I APPRECIATE IT.
Bts Jungkook Blood Sweat and Tears Water Color Drawings
Source: https://arganaincorporated.wordpress.com/2016/11/20/bts-blood-sweat-tears-mv-analysis/
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