Hello! I Am New To BTS And Apparently Suga Is The Love Of My Life (lol)! I Was Wondering If Youd Share

Hello! I am new to BTS and apparently Suga is the love of my life (lol)! I was wondering if you’d share some of your favorite pictures and songs!

Excuse me, darling. Get in line!

Welcome to the ARMY! YES, I can share songs and pictures. ALWAYS.

I'm going to assume you mean my favorite Yoongi solo songs and photos here, so that is what I'll do. 💜 I'll add a picture per song 🥰

Gotta start off with Agust D. His first title track of his first mixtape, and a BANGER

And good lord, Yoongi in leather through the years. SIR. Sit down

The song everyone should know. Of course is Daechwita. But my god, Daechwita Yoongi has a special kind of hold on me. Will neve recover. It's been over a year and I cannot recover lol

I cannot. Sir, 2 steps back please

I am obsessed with Moonlight from him. Seriously. Sooooo freaking good. And his lyrics? He is always so so so real with us. And rhe way he just talks on the track at the start. UGHHH

What Do You Think? is on like every single Playlist I create. It's the ultimate I don't give a F song. My perfect attitude song. LOL he is such a king, I swear

The Last is such an insanely powerful song. Makes me cry. It's such an intense vulnerability that he shared with the world. He talks about the struggles and story behind his shoulder injury in here too. And I just... it's intensely emotional and powerful and musically beautiful

Intro: Nevermind is one of my favorite BTS songs. It's catchy, it's powerful, it's meaningful, it hits home. It's a power through, always get back up, don't let life stop you song. I love this man. I swear. Here is a live performance where Jhope and RM join him in it as well. I would encourage you to look up the lyrics though if you don't already know them.

First love is another song that puts me straight into an insane amount of emotion. He puts so much feeling into all his songs. Sigh. I love this one, it's softer, it's emotional, and it still hits. Again, live performance 4K fancam, look up the lyrics if you haven't seen them yet

People will make my top 10 too. I love his cadence and voice through this whole song. His lyricism is again, top notch. The way he talks about real shit all the time. His mixtapes kill me. And his mmm mmms, ugh shivers

Give It to me from his first mixtape is also a favorite of mine. It's just soooo aggressive and hits me in all the right places and is 100% him just taking over the world no matter what the world throws at him

And I have to include the Tony Montana Yoonmin stage. I have to. My 2 biases, Jimin hopping on an Agust D track, rapping. Yoongi slaying it, his voice. The flow. I watch this performance at a minimum of like 3 times a month. Lol its unhealthy, someone stop me. But also don't....

And this (minus Tony Montana) isn't even including any songs with collabs or his appearances on any other artists songs. It doesn't include any of the songs he has produced for others. My man is just dripping talent all over the place. I also have to give a special shoutout to Interlude: Shadow and Trivia: Seesaw. They are also 2 of my absolute favorites and on all my Playlists along with the above 10!

I swear, I love him so so much. It's not even funny. Thanks for the ask!! I love getting to talk about Suga and my never ending love for him 💜💜💜

GCF in Tokyo and the validity of interpretation

When it comes to GCF Tokyo, I’m not going to make a step by step analysis, but my point is to talk about meaning and interpretation. I will only look at the vlog, although contextual information can be used when it’s necessary if its purpose is to reinforce something already existing in the content in question, but that’s not what I’m doing today.

I’ll start with adding a definition of a vlog

“A vlog is understood as a deliberately constructed presentation of self, a mirror of the author or creator of the vlog.(…) Vlogs may appear to be one–way communication — the vlog creator posts a video and the audience examines it — but interaction develops if audience members utilize the comments section available on most vlogs. While the vlogger may imagine a certain interpretation and response by the audience, the audience in turn can create a response that may nor may not harmonize with the vlogger’s expectations.”.

That presentation of self comes from Erving Goffman’s theory about how people present themselves depending on the social situation they find themselves in. In public and in social interactions we are like actors on a stage, while what we call our true self happens in private, back-stage. A personal vlog works with both of these aspects. Since it’s a personal creation that doesn’t involve a team of people, and because it’s only apparently a one way communication, the author looks to present a version of his true self, but of course it’s idealized. Because of the type of medium, the person cannot change his self-presentation according to social queues, so, as it transpires from the definition, the response comes in form of commentaries, the audience has its own interpretation.

The act of interpretation is something that happens naturally in a way. Let’s take the image, or the moving image (all types of media are included here). We look at all the elements and then our brain automatically translates it. In a more fancier use of words, we can call it semiotics, which is used to make meaning from signs, codes, conventions. Everything has a meaning and we decode it. I’ll choose a very simple example from GCFT and I only have to post two shots that an audience can easily decode.

In order to create meaning, the author and also the audience, looks at the vlog, film, etc. in its entirety. (I’m not talking here about something experimental that focuses only on form, but something conventional, which applies to GCFT). I have read opinions about this vlog, from multiple perspectives. The one which I reject completely, simply because it makes no sense, is the one that focuses on what people understand as Jungkook’s artistry, mainly looking at form, ignoring the content. This vlog showcases his technical skills, of course, but he is also a director, which means his purpose is also to create meaning using those skills. So what is the meaning then, looking at the form and content? It’s a vlog that focuses on two elements, a city and the person which appears in the vlog (Jimin) while the director becomes an observer. He uses diegetic sound at the beginning of the video while for the rest of the material, he uses extra-diegetic sound, that is a song used as background music. Looking at the type of editing (transition of the shots, the fact that there is a certain rhythm, using slow-motion for certain shots emphasized by a certain part in the song) can lead to the conclusion that the background music is used to create meaning as well.

My point is, we cannot separate form and content when we decode this type of vlog, or any other for that matter.

Let’s go back to audience and interpretation now. Looking at all the elements, there is a validity of interpretation if the audience sees the video as one that has as its focus a main subject – Jimin - (due to the majority of shots, the way he was filmed) and uses a certain song to give another layer of meaning to the video. We cannot separate stylistic choices from content if we want to understand the meaning of it. It’s as simple as that.

he looks like a dream ♡

this is dangerous to have on my blog but I’m missing Jimin,so...

WHO ALLOWED THIS PARK JIMIN HOW DARE YOU WHAT THE FUCK

This was super interesting,and the answers too. The main post deserves an essay which I’m not capable to write,but I wanna do the thought experiment at the end :) On tumblr fans might skew older,so the answers might be very different from the ones you would get on Twitter. For some very young fans,this is the 'BTS canon',and they get very upset when someone insinuates that they might not all live together,for example. But I can't blame BTS for wanting to protect their privacy and not making any statements.

The only one where I would feel upset is if they aren't close. Because then,almost all on-camera interactions we have seen between them are fake? Honestly,if they were able to act so fond of each other so well for 8 years,then they all deserve Oscars not Grammys. I don't think all of them are best friends. But that they get along well with each other,and are a genuine team,even almost family.

I don't believe any of the rest. They might have been starving,but wasn’t that because of brutal kpop diets rather than cheap healthy food not being available to them? I surely hope they didn’t go hungry during their trips,at least. I was actually relieved to see Taehyung use his own card to pay for food once in BV1. I don't think them starving brings any prestige to anyone,and it would make me hate Hybe to hear they only get to eat what they win during games.

Their future was very uncertain,being from a small company. They didn’t have the fans or the attention a group debuting from one of the BIG3 has even pre-debut. They did slowly and painstakingly build their fandom from scratch.

But they also did have some opportunities. They had good producers and choreographers,a boss who they are on good terms with,chances to perform. All the creative talent at BH who did their best to give them songs and concepts that allowed them to shine and capture the attention of fans. They had a team that actually cared about the message of the songs,which is more than half the kpop groups have,even the ones from big companies. They had a media-savvy team which capitalized on their individual and group charms. They each were lucky to have teammates they ended up having amazing synergy with. They were lucky to have Namjoon as a leader. Also,they are men. A girl group might have had a very different story,even under BH.

Knowing that doesn't make me me feel manipulated at all. I'm also extremely lucky they had these opportunities,because I can be a fan of them now and enjoy their music and content. Also,I think while the fact that they struggled is real,using the underdog story to flex in front of fans of other groups is half Army's doing. No need for BH,we can manipulate ourselves lol. Like with BE as the 'entirely-self produced' album. BTS say one thing,and Army go lachimolala with it. BTS straight up say they are not living together(Namjoon's "Yes,we are all living at the same time" answer.),but people still choose to ignore that.

During their first years I have no doubt that it was hard for them and they weren't rich by any means,but they personally never milk their own experiences for sympathy. If you once lived in a small apartment with six other people,and weren’t sure your efforts will be rewarded,and then got super rich,of course you’re going to compare your current experience with your past one. Like,wow,do you remember those times. Wow,we can't believe we got here from where we were. They are allowed to reminisce and be surprised by their own success.

But there is other stuff that might make me feel cheated if it happened: -They aren’t the ones who post on their weverse/twitter(someone else might..)

-The scripts for all the run episodes and even lives are so tight there is no room for them being themselves. We know they have scripts,but I think they’re mostly guidelines?

-if BH pushes fanservice for them in their 8th year (not Jikook,but I sometimes feel like that with Yoonmin. Like,the company knows they are a ship and they have to interact on-camera to keep the fans happy)

-Diets. Do I want to know? Jimin recently said he didn't eat for 5 days so he won't have any fat on his face in the Butter MV...Is this mandated by the company?

 -No freedom AT ALL. Yes,they’re shareholders,but they are also under a contract,and we don’t know what that contract entails.

- If they secretly hate their own songs/hate Army (not very likely)

Basically I would feel manipulated if it turned out their working conditions were worse than we expect,or if the whole foundation of who they are was fake. But I actually like that they aren’t trying hard to sell the recent content,when they look bored or when Namjoon is passive-aggressive in interviews. It allows me to know what they are really thinking. Maybe?

I’ve always wondered if people realise how Hybe (I won’t say BTS but …) is manipulative in the content they release to keep fans engaged almost 24/7. Because they are! Obviously every brand can be manipulative to a certain extent. We are customers and they need to make money 😅 but some people really do seem naive. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a bit older than the average demographic and work in Marketing but yeah - sometimes it irks me the wrong yeah. I don’t want to start drama on your blog so no need to post this if you don’t want to 😉

Hi @lololypopy ! Thanks for the Ask. And it's okay; if someone wants to start drama that's on them. We're gonna have a mature discussion.

These days, many people view marketing as manipulative because marketing is about persuading consumers they need whatever what the brand is selling: a service or a product. But many times brands are really selling ideas and values, too, and this is the case with Hybe, BH and BTS. [Hybe is the parent company, while BH is the record label and the specific brand (end product) is BTS.]

INSEAD says that marketing should be influencing not manipulation. They want marketers to make this distinction more clear, too. Manipulation for them is the use of deception or underhanded tactics to influence consumer behavior instead of using facts. Basically, if a consumer wouldn't choose a brand if they knew the truth about important aspects of the product or brand, then that is manipulation in marketing. A prime example is when Volkswagen fooled its customers into thinking its cars were more green than they were. That level of deception is also criminal.

The reason people find BH's marketing tactics manipulative is because of the false reality and social media addiction they create through their content. Content is delivered near-daily, and sometimes several times per day. This creates constant engagement, addiction and reliance on the brand as part of their consumer's daily lives. The normal and healthy boundaries between brand/consumer and artist/fan are blurred. Participation in activities related to the band becomes almost compulsive (hello, here we all are on Tumblr... lol).

It also heightens an already intense para-social relationship between consumer and brand, where the consumer becomes an object of love and appreciation of the brand ideologically (such as MOA or ARMY), which intensifies brand loyalty. There is a false sense of reciprocation there, and it is driven further through certain narratives. Being labelled as ARMY strips consumers of their identity, too. We become an unknowable collective instead of indivudals withour own needs and values. This is rather cultish, but that's a post for a different day. :D

In this type of setup, fans are made to believe they must act to defend the brand and help the brand achieve its vision. The brand's vision becomes the consumer's vision, which is genius or diabolical, depending on how you look at it.

A lot of people believe that the marketing narrative of BTS in particular was constructed well before their debut. They were setup to be the loveable underdogs that would appeal to a western market where a rags to riches story is universally loved. Do I believe this? Honestly, I don't know because it seems slightly over the top and maniacal. Like, a little too Hank Scorpio to me. But there are a couple things that leave me wondering.

One of the interesting facets of this argument is that I haven't come across any hardships BTS faced that other groups didn't also face. Their company being new and the group not being taken seriously is par for the course and lots of other groups have been through the same and were not successful. Being cut from a show at the last minute is also routine in show business. However, I imagine there are things I don't know about, so feel free to share what you know in the comments but please do so respectfully. This is an adult discussion, not fan wars, etc.

Another reason that this strategy could have been in place from the get-go is because it seems to still be in place despite incredible success. The underdog narrative is difficult to sustain in the face of success, which is perhaps ironic. Conan O'Brien is probably a great example of this. His schtick on Late Night was based around being the underdog with the low budget and the bad/weird ideas. This did not translate well to The Tonight Show, nor did any attempt to retool his persona/schtick.

Recently, there was gratitude expressed by BTS for the protection that ARMY gave the group. Personally, I'm uncomfortable with this because it furthers an unhealthy para-social realtionship that is truly unbalanced. It creates a drive for recommitment to fan labor (streaming, posting, reporting, etc), which of course the group relies on for their outstanding numbers when it comes to views, likes, streams, and ultimately record sales. It was RM who made the comment, and I was really surprised to hear it. And, as ever, it's about the way things are said. Fans should be encouraged to speak out against racism and other prejudice the group ecounters, but the idea that there is a specific protection that only the fans can give is disingenous because the vagueness of the comment can be misinterpreted to support the wealth of fan labour. Basically, it furthers radical commitment to the brand.

Now, don't come at me in the comments because I haven't said I believe this theory. It is one perspective and I do think it has valid points, but that doesn't mean it's true. Circling back to the heart of our topic, this is what I would ask: If you found out any of the following were true, how would you feel about the brand BTS? Would you still feel like supporting it, or would you feel lied to or otherwise deceived? (Keep in mind that I'm not saying these things are true AT ALL; this is a thinking exercise. Got it?)

none of the group live together (you could argue this lie provides privacy but it also creates a false reality)

they aren't all great friends

there were no hardships faced by the group that others of the same or previous generations didn't also face

they had plenty of food and ate out often, even during pre-debut (this is an interesting one because many ARMY circulate the idea that they could barely afford to live)

all of the money challenges in reality and variety programmes that made it seem like someone wouldn't eat or otherwise would suffer were fake (this is 99% likely, btw)

the group actually had opportunities that others didn't

the group has had an autonomy and freedom that other groups have never had, giving rise to more opportunities

Share your thoughts! Do you think BH and Hybe market their brands ethically? Do you ever feel manipulated? Why or why not?

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