thinking-ji

[thinking-ji]

0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You), through the eyes of a depressed person

He is running through a barren site. He looks desperate, but he sees someone in the distance, and holds his keys up. He is excited.

They are running in an abandoned swimming complex. He gives one of them a high-five. He is happy.

They are walking through a field. It is full of dried crop. He trails behind them. He is eager.

They are walking outside the swimming complex, in the field. One of them is tired, so another gives him a piggyback ride. He is endeared.

They are taking a pit-stop in a car, outside their shed in the forest, his favourite place in the world. They look tired. But like them, he is relaxed.

He is in the house. (It is not home, because home is comfort and comfort is not where you are ceaselessly subjected to yelling from the people who his friends and distant family and teachers say are supposed to love you and each other unconditionally.) He is frustrated.

(His world is one of zero; endless darkness. He has no one to lean on but himself; no one who cares about him, no one who believes in him.)

He gets up from the couch. He is determined, determined to do something, anything to get away.

(There is a bird. It is free. It is flying.)

He passes by his father's jacket, reaches his hand into the pockets and pulls out a key. He holds it in his palm, checking if it is the right one, because if it was the wrong one he would be outside the house and he would be left with no useful physical possessions, nothing at all. He looks back to check that they aren't looking. He slides out of the door. He is ready.

They are waiting at the car for him. It's like they knew he would come through. And he did. He is running to the car.

I give up trying to stick to a format. I'll just write freely.

Putting his keys in the ignition, it's like he's been liberated. This is clearly his first rodeo, but he doesn't mind. His fingers tingle with nerves, but his friends are around so he isn't scared. He wants them to enjoy the ride. Because they are all he has.

His car overheats and breaks down. They don't mind helping him push it while he drives it slowly. At some point the car gains momentum again, and he drives away, teasing his friends who chase after the car. It's fun. He is high on the adrenaline, and he can't get enough.

And his friends, they get it. They're just like him – left behind, good for nothing, with nothing to lose, ready to burn in the depths of the underworld, or just dissolve into nothingness. They reached out to him like they knew he needed it, and took him away to a better place.

Before he met them, he was useless in every sense of the word. Nothing ever lit a fire in him. He could never win in this game of life.

But his friends – they help him feel, and feel useful, feel like he has a purpose in life. And that purpose is to make them happy. He knows that if they don't find him useful, he will be discarded. But he is more than happy to make them happy, because that is what makes him happy.

(They lit a fire in him. They are his warmth. They are the reason why the elusive problem that is life makes sense now.)

The fish in the tank, they are free, kind of like that bird. He wants to be like those creatures. And so they oblige. They let him drive them to a pool, to feel what it's like to be free in the water, to find everything new and fascinating, to discover that with his friends.

Sometimes, they hang out in their shed. It's chill, but it's also a fun time. And they don't judge him, or look at him funny because these days he sometimes has the urge to dance because he's just so happy and they know that's rare for him. They are really, genuinely happy for him.

They pile some of their clothes into the burn barrel. Why? Well, it's not like they need it anymore. They are one another's warmth. The wind, it's still cold though. The lighter doesn't work. Fuck this.

The car is on fire.

His friend looks at him, afraid that he's done something wrong. But he is mesmerised by the fire. It's one of the best things that has ever happened in his life. In fact, it's the best thing that someone has ever done for him. Now, he has a good reason why he can't return to that place.

Well, that's just the way it is. All the better. They can just live in the shed together, for as long as they are alive. Just the five of them against the world.

(I know it ends badly. But in this story there are no sad endings.)

[thinking-ji]

Why does TXT’s “We Lost The Summer” MV work?

Hi, I’m back again to overanalyse TXT’s MV for “We Lost The Summer”. After first watching it, I was overwhelmed by sadness but didn’t know why. After all, there have been literally tons of videos and songs about COVID-19. Until 2h ago, perhaps the most heart-wrenching song I’d heard about the topic was FINNEAS’ “What They'll Say About Us". Yet I was more deeply affected by “We Lost The Summer” thanks to its combination of brutal honesty, clever cinematic juxtaposition and images of kids suffering (from first world problems, but problems all the same).

I think what makes the MV work so well are two things:

The song conveys a message of longing for the past, for the "normal". This complements all the contrasting shots of "what is" and "what could have been". It hurts to see kids who could have had a fun summer with their friends out in the warm sun be banished to self-isolation with no one but themselves (or in some cases, a soft toy or a dog) for company.

Their acting. Their facial expressions do tons in expressing the plot, especially in the scenes where they look longingly at the camera. As cheesy as that sounds, their expressions line up perfectly with the almost resentful mood of the song.

Click ‘read more’ for frame-by-frame analysis of what makes the MV work:

0:09-0:15 Taking photos as a group in front of the toilet mirror, probably in school. Bright. Just a normal day in school with ya bros, no problems hugging one another.

0:16 Cut to Yeonjun receiving a Public Safety Alert. He's using an iPhone - this feature was not available until a few months into the COVID-19 outbreak (20 May 2020). Two possibilities - 1) This marks the point at which everything changed i.e. when the pandemic became concerning enough that quarantine was necessary (note the strict warning on screen - "If you leave home, assume you were exposed to COVID-19."); 2) canon-compliant sequence of events - this was in May 2020, when there was also a spike in cases in South Korea (see: Itaewon spike). The former is more likely, considering the lyrics "left alone on the evening of an endless March 1".

0:16-0:17 Back and forth shot - we first see the Public Safety Alert (with a jarring alert ringtone), then the video cuts to the group's concerned reaction, then back to the Public Safety Alert. Almost as if they cannot believe what they're seeing. Note also that the second shot of the Public Safety Alert is clearer than the first - they're paying more attention the second time around.

0:18 Cut to awkward Zoom call (with dog!).

0:19 Intro to main protagonist Yeonjun. Interesting styling choices here - Yeonjun doesn't himself have tattoos; these are fake tattoos. I see this as an effort to represent every kind of young person - it's not only the studious, clean-cut kids who choose to stay home. Now, even the stereotypical bad boys who would usually stay out are forced to stay home as well (that is, if they choose to be socially responsible).

Yeonjun is also putting on a simple singlet here. This is a clear departure from his school uniform. He's chosen to dress comfortably and looks disappointed. Perhaps he feels that nothing matters at this point. This will be a recurring theme throughout the video.

0:24 He gets up to hug his teddy bear, likely a source of comfort. He appears to be alone. Maybe the teddy bear is his only companion when he's at home. A stark contrast to the beginning of the video, when he had a squad of friends to hang out with.

0:26-0:27 Yeonjun starts to dress up for the Zoom call with his friends later. He seems to be in a much better mood with this semblance of normalcy. Or maybe he's just practicing his smile for the camera. His room is bright despite the blinds being drawn; it's the morning.

0:28 We realise that Yeonjun was smiling in the mirror. His expression changes as soon as he looks away. He's not happy about the situation; guess he's just practicing his smile for later.

0:31 The squad's coming online, just waiting for Yeonjun. Everyone is dressed up in bright colours, against their very bright and cheerily-coloured rooms. Juxtaposed with the rather dull school outfits and blue walls at the beginning of the video.

0:33-0:36 For the first time since being at home, he appears to be truly excited. He waves enthusiastically at the squad. Interestingly, his curtains are drawn and the only source of light is a neon green light in the corner of his room. It's unclear what time it is.

0:39 Classic eyes closed, close-up shot of Kai's face. Sadness. Slight increase in exposure near the end of the shot - reminiscence of a time when the surroundings were brighter.

0:41 Flashback to old times in school with the squad. The setting is brightly-lit. We'll see that this changes as the MV progresses.

0:47 Sharing earphones. Ah, the good times.

0:52 Taehyun throws a baseball across the open area. Something you won't get to do inside unless you want to break something.

0:54 Cut to Soobin lying down on the floor of his room (peak relaxing position tbh). He's just dropped his phone on his face. First world problems. Sucks that even little things like this will happen more often now that they're home alone with their phones being their only connection to the outside world.

0:56 Guess Soobin is trying to preoccupy himself by putting together a (big, may I add) puzzle. Seems like he also tried to distract himself with whack-a-mole. But he can't help but watch old videos of him and his friends - this is marked by the school uniforms. Again, reminiscing the old times.

0:58 Closer look at the video Soobin is watching.

1:00 Dude fell asleep with a puzzle piece on his face omg. Clearly bored/frustrated/tired of being stuck at home with puzzles being the most interesting thing he could possibly do alone.

1:01 Yeah, he's not happy about it.

1:03-1:08 Beomgyu is at home with his dog. I can't tell much other than that his dog doesn't hate him, which is a good thing when your dog is your closest companion at home.

1:09-1:12 I can't think of this shot of them syncing the choreo over Zoom being anything other than a cool way to transition to the dance and juxtapose with them performing the choreography together (see: 1:13~1:19).

1:20 Jamming out to the song together.

1:21, 1:24, 1:25, 1:27, 1:28: Yeonjun jamming out alone.

1:31 It's raining/snowing...

1:32 In their hideout in school (remember it's only partially covered). Also note that the colour scheme in the school setting has gotten much duller than before.

1:34 Taehyun catches a baseball. Note that he isn't in his school uniform, so we can assume he is alone here while everyone else is staying in.

1:35, 1:38, The squad escapes the rain.

1:40 Yeonjun admiring his image in the mirror while trying on a different jacket. Compare this and the previous images of him looking into the mirror, with a later shot of him looking into a mirror. Here, we can see both him and his reflection, which gives us the impression that he isn't alone.

1:44 Beomgyu is on the floor hugging his dog. Maybe he's given up lol

1:46 Beomgyu opened the blinds a little to look outside. "Want to see you again."

1:48, 1:50 I'm not sure what Kai was trying to do, but he definitely messed up that smiley face. Seems like an allusion to how everything was fine and dandy, but then this virus just had to come and ruin it for everyone.

1:51 Seems like Taehyun is playing baseball with himself.

1:56, 1:59 Repetitions show that Taehyun is going through the motions. Has nothing better to do.

2:03, 2:07 These shots confused me at first, but "I hate my face drained of expression" clears it up. Communicating online has reduced us to avatars, profile pictures and our digital versions of ourselves. A pretty digital avatar void of human emotion - that's what Soobin has become.

2:13 Beomgyu seems pretty happy creating his personal Jurassic Park...

2:15 But yeah, there could've been better things to do.

2:16 I know Beomgyu is creating an obstacle course for his dog, but his constantly changing environment (e.g. additional bowling pins in this frame) makes it seem like he's trying every possible trick in the book to occupy himself while he's alone.

2:22 Again, the introduction of Beomgyu's dog makes it seem like he's exhausting all his sources of entertainment. I'm not complaining though, it's cute to see him try.

2:25-2:26 The transition to a wide shot showing that Beomgyu's dog is leashed indoors is jarring when you think twice about it. There's no reason to leash his dog when they're indoors, but maybe he's trying to simulate being outside.

2:28 From here onwards is where the structure of the MV changes. Before this, we'd been getting shots of TXT at home interspersed with flashbacks of their time together pre-COVID. But now they're out on a large, empty road on a bright day. They would not be dancing on such a wide road if it weren't empty because no one needs/wants/is allowed to go anywhere. Also note that these are different outfits from previous cuts of them dancing, where they were dressed in their school uniforms.

2:31 Taehyun pastes a sticker of pixel ver. squad on his drone. Perhaps highlighting the fact that the only reminder he has of them while they're separated is their online presence.

2:33 Taehyun is wearing a helmet to fly his drone even though he doesn't really need to. It's not like he's travelling outside or anything. But anything to escape the feeling of being stuck at home, I guess. You do you. Also, the fact that he's flying a drone is symbolic of his wish to travel or at least wander outside. He can't do it in person, so he lets his drone do it for him.

2:33 The squad arrives on the rooftop! Note that Yeonjun is wearing the jacket he tried on the second time - this is still during COVID times. How were they able to get on the rooftop with Taehyun when they were all supposed to be at home? REBELS. Maybe this is all just a dream... unless? Last thing - it's sunset here, which links to...

2:47 It's snowing and dark outside in their usual hideout in school. Note that Yeonjun is wearing the same outfit as in the dancing on the road cuts. Clear juxtaposition between hopes and reality.

2:48 Their bench and things are covered in snow, almost as if the winter has stopped them from doing whatever they were doing before. "Endless winter."

2:53, 2:57 They're taking photos alone. Interesting upside-down shots.

2:55 They're trying to have fun in the winter but for Beomgyu it's just not the same.

3:00 The brightly-lit toilet is juxtaposed with - gasp! - not its reflection. Without his friends, Yeonjun perhaps finds that staring into a mirror alone isi like staring into a dark void, or a duller version of reality.

3:02 Also, it's snowing on the other side. Note that in all the 'winter' shots we've been getting, it's always dark.

3:09 Is Yeonjun trying to check if there's a mirror, or reach into the void?

3:11 We get confirmation that there is a mirror in reality, but to Yeonjun it feels like a void. This image of him telling his reflection that "it's all gone" is honestly heartbreaking.

3:14 The squad is together, but the winter is depressing.

3:20 The most direct reference to COVID in this entire MV. "It's all gone". The masks serve as a tangible representation of the new normal. Their expressions are all gone now ("I hate my face drained of expression") since half their faces are hidden. It no longer matters if they smile or laugh; no one can see it anyway.

3:21-3:25 Direct reference to social distancing.

3:25 The toilet gets progressively darker.

3:36 It's snowing on the road now, almost as if the bleakness of their reality has permeated through to their imagination of a brighter future.

3:39 Interestingly, compared to the past few shots of the boys in the dark winter, they seem to be slightly happier here, getting used to the new normal.

3:40 Butterfly on Beomgyu's face a representation of summer.

3:46 Cut to someone's phone on the bench, the only thing that hasn't been covered in snow, the only bright thing in the darkness. Looks like this is the last video they filmed while they were out on the road dancing.

Overall, it seems that:

bathroom, bright school hideout scenes = the past

road scene = last time they were able to see each other, transition period OR a time between strict quarantine and "new normal" where cases were low enough that people felt comfortable going outside

home scenes = quarantine period

winter scenes = new normal

[thinking-ji]

A Detailed Linguistic Analysis of ‘Singularity’

Over the past week, I’ve listened to this song an unhealthy amount. While the melody itself is haunting, looking up the lyrics made me realise that the words that accompany the music are even more poetic. The lyrical metaphors always send shivers down my spine, so here I am trying to find out why.

I found two different versions of translated lyrics - one from the official video released on ibighit (which I assume is the official translation), and another from pop!gasa, a source trusted by both fans and the artists whose lyrics they translate. Unfortunately, since I’m not fluent in Korean, I can’t analyse the original lyrics; the best I can do is analyse the English translations and compare the nuances I find in both.

I’ll look at the official translation first; if I feel like it in the future, I’ll continue with an analysis of the pop!gasa translation and then compare both to stitch together a coherent English translation that captures the nuance of this song.

1 A sound of something breaking / I awake from sleep 2 A sound full of unfamiliarity / Try to cover my ears but can’t go to sleep 3 The pain in my throat gets worse / Try to cover it 4 I don’t have a voice 5 Today I hear that sound again 6 It’s ringing again, that sound 7 A crack again on this frozen lake 8 I dumped myself into the lake 9 I buried my voice for you 10 Over the winter lake I was thrown [into] / A thick ice has formed 11 In the dream I shortly went into / My agonising phantom pain is still the same 12 Have I lost myself? / Or have I gained you? 13 I suddenly run to the lake / There’s my face in it 14 Please don’t say anything / Reach my hand out to cover the mouth 15 But in the end, spring will come someday / The ice will melt and flow away 16 Tell me if my voice isn’t real / If I shouldn’t have thrown myself away 17 Tell me if even this pain isn’t real / What I was supposed to do back then

Right off the bat, there are multiple instances of repetition and parallelism on the word and sentence levels. The latter doesn’t particularly surprise me, since music relies on structure and repetition to create a sense of wholeness. Notably, there doesn’t seem to be much lexical variation in this text. This highlights its three key semantic fields. First, the semantic field of sound includes nouns like ‘sound’ and instances of onomatopoeia such as ‘ringing’ and ‘crack’. (Note: It can be argued that ‘crack’ in line 7 refers to one that can be seen, rather than the sound of a crack.) Second, the semantic field of physiology includes nouns that describe human anatomy (‘ear’, ‘throat’, ‘face’, ‘hand’, ‘mouth’), words that describe human physiological processes (‘awake’, ‘sleep’) and words that describe human sensations (‘dream’, ‘pain’, and the phrase ‘phantom pain’. Last and most distinct is the semantic field of nature, which includes nouns like ‘lake’, ‘winter’, ‘ice’ and ‘spring’ that lend the text its more obvious metaphors. Overall, the repetition of key content words like ‘sound’, ‘lake’ and ‘pain’ highlight the relatively dispassionate production of this text and imply that this text was a product of deep reflection.

This text also contains significant parallelism on the clausal level. Lines 1 to 11 include declarative clauses that emphasise the free-flowing, uninhibited nature of the text producer’s narration. These declarative clauses that emphasise the truth of the text producer’s observations seem to increase the impersonality of this text; the elision of personal pronouns that would typically be present also contributes to this impersonality. For example, the first person personal pronoun ‘I’ is omitted from the sentence “[I] try to cover my ears, but [I] can’t go to sleep” to give the second clause of line 2. Similarly, ‘I’ is omitted from the clause “I try to cover it”, to give the second clause of line 3. While these instances of elision could be due to constraints in the song’s syllabic structure, they are significant should they be a deliberate lyrical choice.

The declaratives in lines 1 to 11 are sharply contrasted with the interrogatives in line 12. This invokes an image of the text producer lazily musing about his pain, then suddenly asking the listener the questions in line 12, perhaps wondering if the listener had been attentive to the text producer’s thoughts and emotions. The interrogative clausal mood of line 12 is again contrasted with the declarative clauses in line 13, adding to the feeling of urgency that the text producer emphasises with the adverb ‘suddenly’. It is possible that the text producer came to a realisation after asking the questions in line 12, perhaps as to where his ‘face’ (a metaphor for his sense of self) had gone. Alternatively, this sudden change in clausal mood could be representative of the text producer’s unstable state of mind.

(Before I continue, I’ll point out the obvious, but not especially important, presence of both first and second person personal pronouns in this text. I’m not sure if the instances of the 2ppp ‘you’ are cases of synthetic personalisation. I’d say that the text producer is confiding in/speaking directly to someone — hence, making these ‘you’s instances of direct address — but my evidence is more literary than linguistic, so I won’t include my reasons for believing that here! Either way, I firmly believe that at least two characters are involved in the story that ‘Singularity’ tells.)

While declarative clauses also appear in lines 14 and 15, the imperatives in lines 14, 16 and 17 are much more noteworthy. In line 14, the text producer implores, “Please don’t say anything.” The inclusion of the politeness marker ‘please’ seems to highlight the desperation felt by the text producer in this situation. This desperation is echoed by the parallel structure of the sentences in lines 16 and 17, particularly with the repetition of the following structure: “…if (conjunction) my voice (subject) is not (verb+adverb) real (complement)”; “if (conjunction) I (subject) shouldn’t have thrown (verb+adverb) myself (object) away (adverb)”. This repetition gives the clauses a sense of rhythm and urgency; they seem to follow one another in quick succession. In addition, the incongruent mood of these clauses very effectively emphasise the desperation felt by the text producer. Instead of simply asking if “[his] voice isn’t real”, the text producer passionately implores the listener to “tell [him]” the answers to his questions, specifying the action the listener must take to adequately participate in this otherwise one-sided interaction.

Again, the contrast between the moods of both clauses in line 17 is jarring and further highlights the desperation and dejection felt by the text producer. The text ends with an interrogative clause in line 17 that conjures up a visual of the text producer finally resigning to his emotions, straying from the impersonality of the rest of this text, and pitifully asking his final, most burning question — to which he receives no reply.

One thing I initially found peculiar in this text was the syntax of its penultimate clause. The position of the adverb ‘even’ was strange to me, and I’d read line 17 as “Tell me, if this pain isn’t even real, what was I supposed to do back then?” However, it soon became clear to me that the first three clauses of lines 16 to 17 form one coherent sentence (“Tell me if my voice isn’t real, if I shouldn’t have thrown myself away, [and] if even this pain isn’t real.”). The position of the adverb ‘even’ is as such due to the elision of a pronoun —  in this case, the most suitable one would be ’everything’ — from the penultimate clause. The sentence would typically read, “Tell me if everything, even this pain, isn’t real.” It seems that this elision of ‘everything’ could have arisen from the text producer’s denial of the severity of his situation. Either way, the inclusion of the adverb ‘even’ before the noun ‘pain’ suggests that the text producer finds his pain to be the worst part of his regrettable situation.

(What follows strays into the realm of literary, rather than linguistic, analysis, so… tread with caution?)

Another pattern I find interesting is the presence of what seems to be two distinct parts to this song. One part (lines 1-6, 9, 11ˆ-12, 14, 16-17) tells of reality through metaphor; the other part (lines 7-8, 10, 13, 15) compares this metaphorical reality to nature. ˆI will be discussing my conflicting thoughts on line 11 later in this post.

In the former part, the text producer repeatedly draws contrasts between sound and silence. The text also suggests two parallel dichotomies. The first is between the text producer’s own voice and silence. Apart from the clear mentions of his own ‘voice’ in lines 4, 9 and 16, he also sings of the ‘pain in [his] throat’ getting worse and that he “[tries] to cover it”, suggesting that he has little choice but to remain silent. This suggests that the text producer’s own silence is discomforting.

The second dichotomy is between the foreign sound that the text producer repeatedly hears, and silence. This foreign sound is referred to as “a sound of something breaking” (line 1), “a sound full of unfamiliarity” (line 2) and “that sound” (lines 5-6). The text producer also characterises the foreign sound as a “ringing” (line 6), though this could be due to the sound getting progressively louder and more persistent. The text producer’s contrasting preference for silence in this case is expressed through the clauses “try to cover my ears” and “reach my hand out to cover the mouth”. This suggests the eerie presence of a character who seems to be repeatedly preaching a gospel that the text producer finds discomforting.

In the latter part, the text producer uses a metaphor to describe his situation. In short, the text producer threw himself (or rather, his sense of self) into a lake, over which a thick layer of ice has formed. However, there is a crack in this lake. The text producer then muses about how spring will come and the ice will melt away again, but doesn’t seem to entertain the idea of widening the already-present crack. After a sudden realisation (line 12), the text producer runs to the lake and sees his face (another comparison to his sense of self) inside. This reference to Narcissus adds a layer of meaning to this metaphor; in all variants in the Myth of Narcissus, he dies as he fails to acquire the object of his desires. This is similar to what the text producer is experiencing. In line 12, he wonders if he has lost himself after he “dumped [himself] into the lake”, or if he gained someone new (who he refers to using the 2ppp ‘you’) — a manifestation of the free man he once was.

ˆI am still conflicted as to the meaning of line 11. On one hand, I’m inclined to believe it somehow links both the lake metaphor and the sound-silence dichotomies. The first clause suggests that the lake constitutes part of the text producer’s ‘dream’; the mention of ‘phantom pain’ in the second clause is reminiscent of the other instances where the text producer speaks of the pain he feels in his throat (and perhaps also his ears, since pain is commonly associated with tinnitus). On the other hand, line 11 could be the link between the two sound-silence dichotomies I discussed earlier. In this case, the ‘dream’ could refer to the the foreign sound that prevents him from sleeping — perhaps he feels so involved in this nightmarish dream that he feels like he is awake. This ‘dream’ could also be an extended metaphor: the foreign sound could be something that distracts the text producer while he is awake. The ‘phantom pain’ in the second clause would then refer to the pain he feels all the time, when he hears the foreign sound, and when he doesn’t.

(Back to your scheduled linguistics-related programming!)

The final thing I want to discuss is the consistent theme of hiding, or covering up, or elusiveness. Fundamentally, we are not made aware of what is making the sound that the text producer finds so discomforting, or whose mouth he is covering in line 14, or even what is ‘breaking’ in line 1. In the first place, we’re not even sure about who threw the text producer into the lake — do we trust his words in line 8 or 10? The text producer also repeatedly uses the verb ‘cover’ (lines 2, 3, 14). He ‘buried’ (line 9) his own voice and “reach[ed] out to cover the mouth’ (line 15). He seems to have lost his sense of self and is struggling with his identity (as is clear in lines 12-13 and 16-17). All these instances of imagery highlight this theme of hiding that is clearly expressed throughout the text.

‘Singularity’ has a few senses — it could refer to the state of multiple things being one singular whole, or it could refer to a peculiarity. A more poetic take on the title of this song comes from its physical manifestation as a black hole, where matter is infinitely dense and appears to be, well, one singular whole. The text producer’s struggle with his identity and questioning his separateness from his elusive listener is representative of the former sense of ‘singularity’. Conversely, ‘singularity’ could refer to the uniqueness of his struggle, or his quest to find what truly defines him.

I could go on and on about the imagery in this song (as if I haven’t!), but I think I’m going to end this here. I’ve been typing this up for almost 4 hours now. There’s truly so much to unpack here, and I haven’t even linked this analysis to what RM and V have said about this song. (By the way, props to them for this clearly deeply-considered work of art.) As I said at the beginning of this post, I’ll look into pop!gasa’s translation of this song if I’m up for it later on. If you’ve made it this far, thank you! And do make sure to share what you think about this song and what it could mean.

[thinking-ji]

Weird Thoughts at 2349

While watching this video of BTS performing at the AMAs just a couple of minutes ago, I suddenly had a very dark thought from last year resurface. Some people might find it provocative. Click away if today’s not the day for an honest opinion. You have been warned.

When I watched their performance in 2017 (?) and saw all the memes of Ansel Elgort smiling and filming the performance, I remember thinking, “Wow, look at all these white people enjoying watching the Asians put up a performance, lmao. It’s like going to a zoo and watching the animals perform and getting some sick pleasure from it.”

After looking this up, I found out Ansel Elgort actually does respect BTS and their work (and it goes both ways). So my brain just made a weird connection then. And to be honest, I don’t really like thinking about race and relating every little transgression to racism, so having this thought scared me. I’ve been afraid of acknowledging it. For all I know, this could be a turning point for me ideologically.

I can already hear some people arguing that BTS is objectively good and everyone at the AMAs is enjoying the performance. And I agree -- BTS are objectively good. They clearly practised a lot; their choreography is flawless and they’re all vocally stable. Their fans are there too, so it’s not exploitative; they’re welcome there.

I think what triggered these frankly out-of-character thoughts is the fact that they’re dancing in front of a foreign audience; that 6/7 of them are essentially unable to easily communicate their needs to people around them who are supposed to help them; that their situation bears a startling resemblance to that of circus performers/animals.

I keep having flashbacks to my linguistics classes, where my teachers constantly brought up a time when African-Americans were to be of service to Caucasians as the ‘inferior race’ and were expected to cosy up to them and make them feel happy. (I just almost threw up in my mouth.) I frankly find it terrifying how I made this connection.

ETA 5/4 0016: Also, we don’t really know how hard they work behind the scenes. We know they do it ‘for ARMY’, but how much of their work involves making sure famous sunbaenims they might not like very much are satisfied? I acknowledge that this is an industry expectation, though. Personally, I dislike cosying up to people just because ‘they’re better’, so perhaps that’s me imposing my values on others. Argh, I really hate thinking about this and seeing my weird thoughts put down in words, but I need this closure...

And the more I think about it, the more I can’t help but wonder how much BTS has had to deal not just with foreign standards of them, but also people who might refuse to work with them. There are other things to consider, too: how many of the people attending the AMAs had never seen the group before then? Did any of them film them out of some sense of amusement at the novelty of their performance? Of course, I’ll never be able to get into their heads and pry an answer out of this particular demographic, but it’s something I’d really like to find out.

It seems that this group is getting more and more recognition internationally, especially after their BBMA wins. I hope this thought will leave my head soon. It’s really weird. But I won’t apologise for having thought this. It’s a real concern I’ve faced while dealing with people unlike me (who are usually superior in society’s Race Hierarchy). The fact that I subconsciously thought such a weird thing probably says quite a bit itself.

[thinking-ji]

Korean Update #1

It’s been a couple of days since I started properly studying Korean!

Day 1 (4/29): Used this website and found the comic within especially useful. Learned the consonants and vowels. Still was confused about vowels, e.g. the difference between ㅐ and ㅔ. Contrary to what was advertised, I spent just under an hour (not 20 minutes) to understand and internalise the new information. Pretty good!

Day 2 (4/30): Pinned these two new Hangul flashcard decks to my Tinycards dashboard. The latter has been pretty helpful for quick revision purposes.

Interim (5/1): Didn’t really touch Korean.

Day 3 (5/2): Headed to work today, so had very little time to revise. Used the second Tinycards deck to revise for about 3 minutes before going in for my shift. Felt pretty dejected while revising in the evening, because I forgot quite a number of Hangul character romanisations. Journal entry below pretty much sums it up (‘mr IQ 148’ refers to Kim Namjoon...):

Day 4 (5/3): Spent the morning in the library and started on the Tuttle Elementary Korean Workbook I purchased a while ago. (Later, I’ll update this post with the pages I attempted.) Managed to put my Hangul knowledge to good use and I think I’m slowly getting the hang of it! I’m still confused about the pronunciations for the combined-vowel characters (e.g. ㅘ). Hopefully, I can clear that up soon.

All in all, I’m pretty optimistic about the direction my learning is going.

[thinking-ji]

Found this Reddit thread very useful in understanding BTS fans’ relationship with Big Hit (BTS’ management company).

As with many management companies in the K-Pop/boyband business, some commenters expressed concern over work hours and scheduling issues. I’d also point out the pressure placed on BTS members to restrict their intake, among other things.

Overall, Big Hit seems to give its idols considerable liberty, compared to other companies (such as the Big 3). However, I think it’s important to recognise it could still be actively pushing for unethical standards or passively perpetuating them.

If you’re interested in this issue, I discuss my initial thoughts about management standards in K-Pop (and the music industry in general) here.

[thinking-ji]

[Part 3] Takeaways from my K-Pop Immersion Exercise

(4/26 20:14)

Part 3: Differences between K-Pop and pop culture in the Western world

(read: Differences between BTS and One Direction fan culture)

I’ve taken a few days to adjust to K-idol culture and semi-understand forums like allkpop, including, but not limited to:

1. Korean terminology (daesang, saesang, maknae, etc.) and the word ‘delulu’

This has probably been the tallest hurdle so far. I haven’t been able to read a single article without either a) looking up the meaning of some Korean term, or b) moving on without understanding the whole article. I can’t believe there’s another barrier between international fans and Korean fans, who end up becoming the gatekeepers of insider information. Spare a thought for harmless researchers like myself, please!

As for the word ‘delulu’... I didn’t know of its existence even as a One Direction fan. I assume it has its roots in K-Pop fan circles.

2. Fan-artist interaction

Some things in K-idol culture have made me, an outsider, feel more comfortable playing the role of a ‘fan’. For one, the fact that idols pick their fandom’s names and refer to them as such at any available opportunity definitely plays a part in fostering a sense of unity, in which both the artist and fans belong in the same team. It’s heartening to see! At the same time, though, I don’t blame artists for not referring to their fandoms by name. In all honesty, ‘Directioners’ still makes me cringe.

Another thing that’s fascinating to me is how fans access idols. For Korean groups, fans write fan letters and send gifts to the artist’s agency. V Live is a common platform that Korean idol groups use for live streams. Specifically for BTS (I’m not sure if other idols have this), they have a Fancafe – a blog that members update rather regularly, on which they express their thoughts and the day’s happenings. BTS, in particular, seems to be more open on the Fancafe than on Twitter. Even if members of a group have individual social media accounts, rarely do they respond to fan queries online. Meet-and-greets and fan events happen regularly (at least yearly!), and are not restricted to album release dates. These include anniversary celebrations and fan club events.

In my experience with Western artists, fan letters and gifts are rare. Actually, I doubt anything that gets sent to management companies gets relayed to the artist, especially if the artist is famous and busy (lol). In the past, One Direction used Twitcam a lot; Panic! at the Disco uses Periscope, some other artists use Snapchat, Twitch, Instagram Live, etc... There isn’t really one platform to head to. Capitalism, competition and product variety, I guess. If artists blog, they use Tumblr. I haven’t seen a major artist use WordPress, LiveJournal or any other platform in quite a while. (In the old days, One Direction used TwitLonger for longer posts that couldn’t fit on Twitter.) Artists share intimate details about their day and respond to fan queries rather freely on social media. In contrast to Korean idols, though, fan meets are few and far between. They’re usually limited to album release or early listening parties.

To me though, K-idols seem just slightly more accessible than Western artists for some reason. Perhaps it’s because I’d prefer expressing my thoughts in writing and taking the effort to prepare a gift to someone I admire. Social media interactions seem frivolous to me. But that’s coming from someone who doesn’t have social media accounts, apart from LiveJournal, Twitter and Tumblr (I don’t even use my Twitter and LiveJournal accounts often). And I’m buying into the illusion that K-idols get to read every single fan letter sent to them, sooner or later. Feel free to @ me; we can have a chat about the effect of social media on pop culture today. /wink

3. Definitions of ‘scandalous’

I’m talking about this in the context of interviews. In general, it seems that fanservice-y questions in K-idol interviews are the definition of Content among fans. I remember only being truly affected by One Direction interviews when they included talk about drugs, alcohol and sex. Young people things, you know? Young people things... /cries

4. Clear hierarchical structure in groups

This was the weirdest but oddly, it came the most naturally to me. The fact that main/lead/sub roles were well-defined was strange, but once I could draw a direct parallel to One Direction, it was fine and dandy, easy peasy.

For anyone who’s wondering, Harry would be the Lead Vocal in One Direction, while Zayn and Liam are the Main Vocals – Harry gets a lot of choruses, but Zayn and Liam (the more technically stable singers of the group) do harmonies in addition to choruses. I’m basing this comparison off their early days; the line gets harder to draw around the time Zayn leaves).

For me, this is just for record-keeping purposes, but I hope this has been useful to someone else!

(4/26 20:54)

[thinking-ji]

[Part 1] Takeaways from my K-Pop Immersion Exercise

Here I am again, back with another BTS- K-Pop-related post.

I seriously wasn’t expecting myself to post so much about BTS when my Taekook post went live on Tuesday. But the last three days of full-time immersion in whatever BTS videos I could find online, I have some thoughts that I’d like to organise and put up here, just so that I don’t lose them as time goes on.

I suppose the past few posts on my blog could seem exploitative to fans... But this is my blog, and so I’ll just be frank!

This is going to be a long one, I think. It might take a while.

(4/26 16:32)

Part 1: The industry, companies and past encounters

I look back fondly on a time when One Direction’s management team was my biggest nemesis. In those days, I learned more about the Western entertainment industry than I would have from textbooks and research papers. Being involved in campaigns to protect the people I looked up to, we encountered uncomfortable (but definitely not physical) situations with money-focused tabloids and the very people in charge of maintaining the band’s clean-cut image.*

During that same time – in 2013, I believe! Wow, it’s really been a while, huh – I learned that someone pivotal to One Direction’s management looked up to many K-Pop industry giants. I imagine that included the Big 3 CEOs. Some observant fans very quickly linked odd incidences to their management team taking some inspiration from K-Pop managers. These things included instances of rapid weight loss and drastic measures to curtail personal choices and actions.

After learning about these things, I became increasingly wary about where my money was going and what exactly I was supporting. Exploitation? Disrespect? Underpayment? At one point, I truly considered boycotting anything related to that side of the music industry. But after a while, I began disliking not the band, but the people in charge of the band. Their overlords, if you will! A sizeable part of the fandom sabotaged (what we thought were) planted publicity stunts and made sure to show support in fan-driven projects instead.

Cue my shock when I realised that generally, K-Pop fans don’t seem to vehemently hate music companies; the same music companies that went to even greater lengths to restrict their artists and withhold profits. Some Korean fans even admire and appreciate them for their work, joking about their CEOs. While I do know of some fans who believe the companies behind their favourite bands are ineffective and incompetent, it seems the consensus is that “this is how it is, and this is how it will be, so whatever”.

Is it ethical, then to be supporting these endeavours? If you asked me that question in 2015, I would have smacked you over the head and said the answer was obvious. But now, I’m rethinking my opinion. Though I really, really dislike the fact that companies take a large cut of profits, I can’t help but feel like buying merchandise and supporting idols on tour undoubtedly has a positive impact on the idols themselves, albeit not monetarily. The material support fans give artists can be empowering. Just look at Thirty Seconds to Mars – they left their own management team and at one point, were supportive of fans who pirated their albums. (It was truly glorious.) What’s more, I’m pretty sure many who aspire to become idols do so because they want to pursue their passions. Seeing fans sacrifice their time, effort and money to show up at events and purchase merchandise can be especially encouraging in trying times.

I’m slowly starting to reconcile this with my enduring opinion that music companies’ exploitation of artists must be condemned at any available opportunity. I respect scandal-free groups whose members haven’t been in jail, who actively advocate for living honestly and healthily, and who don’t lash out at the media or make fools of themselves in public. I understand restricting dating activity (destructive rumours), alcohol intake (health concerns), tobacco use (also health concerns), and heck, even tattoos (taboo). Honestly, though, I still wonder how fans feel knowing their idols aren’t allowed to exercise (to maintain a boyish image), or that they aren’t allowed to send drunk tweets (image) or dye their hair a different colour without permission (image, once again). Granted, idols are grown adults and teenagers who know how to handle themselves and decide what rules they want to follow, and what they don’t. But with the weight of punishment and the potential collapse of a carefully-crafted, scandal-free exterior, who is to say they won’t forget to do so?

[*I’m sure whatever’s left of the fandom on Tumblr, especially Larries, will know what I’m talking about. Just be sure to ask someone who was heavily involved in that mess from 2013 to 2016, and they’ll probably be glad to inform you of the stressful situations that surrounded One Direction during that time.]

(4/26 17:14)

[thinking-ji]

First Impressions of Hangul

I just looked up the web for some Hangul table or guide to start with, and I found this, and had the shock of my life (lol)...

Compilation of Hangul learning tools: How to Study Korean, Unit 0 zKorean, Appearance and Sound of Hangul JosefWigren.com, Korean Hangul in 20 minutes (this is the most tempting to me, but it’s definitely not going to be a quick fix...) Guide to Korean, Learn Hangul in Less than 2 Hours

I ramble below the cut.

This feels like a complete culture shock to me. I’m not used to seeing this many new characters and new ways to write things, and I honestly can’t imagine memorising all of them. I’m feeling a little disheartened, but I suppose that’s how it is with every new language, right? Just have to get through the initial fear and everything will be fine with practice and consistent revision.

But this is different. With Japanese and Bahasa Melayu, there were similarities in their writing systems with Mandarin Chinese and English (respectively), so it wasn’t too hard learning to pronounce words and write the characters. Even katakana was fine for me, because I could relate them to Chinese characters. (Ha! Suck it, everyone who made fun of me for taking my second language seriously.)

I guess I’ll have to pull through... At least for the content, if not for ease of reading video subtitles, interviews and Korean celebrity gossip (even though I’m not big on Korean culture)... /cries.

I’m realising that my motivation for learning Japanese is way different than that for Korean. I probably learned (and am still learning) Japanese because it’s rather easy and I’m good at it. But before even properly starting on Korean, I’m already shying away... TT Well, whatever.

[thinking-ji]

[Part 1] Tracks 3-7 of Love Yourself: Tear

I’d planned to post about MAMAMOO some time ago, but after watching a ton of BTS videos, I can’t help but feel like I need to know what they’re all about (lol).

RM from BTS recommended a very specific listening order for this particular album and emphasised that there’s a story from tracks 3-7. So here goes. I’ll be listening to the songs first without referencing the lyrics, then I’ll go back and look at the lyrics in Part 2 of this instalment. Here, I’ll just ramble about any interesting musical choices I find. Post continues under the cut.

Track 3: The Truth Untold

I’m already feeling feelings. There’s a very interesting progression from a lower to higher vocal register from the first verse to the chorus. Singing “show you me, give you me” and “I still want you” with that desperate feeling is gut-wrenching. Second verse: Jimin’s voice stands out, and in the bridge between Verse 2 and the chorus, I can quite clearly hear who I think is V. The contrast between the light and dark tones of both Jimin’s and V’s voices is very very fascinating! I’m wondering what that high-pitched ‘boop’ sound is. (I’m also trying to remember which artist uses a similar effect quite often in their more ‘broody’ songs. Troye Sivan? I have to go back and check.)

Ah! When the instrumental layering arrives, it’s glorious. It’s not too overpowering but just enough to make you feel emotional. The drop at the end is an interesting choice. It probably would’ve ruined the mood of the track if it came earlier, though. Ending with “I still want you”. Stop tempting the waterworks, man.

Overall, a pretty subdued song. Emotional, and probably super sad. I don’t understand Korean, though. So they could be singing about happiness, satisfaction and redemption or something and I wouldn’t even know, lol. Title says otherwise.

Track 4: 134340

What do the numbers mean?!

OH that intro is cool! It reminds me of those lo-fi hip-hop playlists people listen to, just to chill. Or elevator music! From the get-go, it sounds slightly... sultry? Suga’s rap (? I think?) is always a jolt. The sudden low register adds to that sultry atmosphere, actually. LOL. I like the flute in the background a lot. It lends this song that jazz vibe. Verse 2: That fade in contributes to this old-style vibe too.

Again, the contrast between high and low tones is interesting. And the wave sound with J-Hope’s (???) rap. Trippy. I’d totally chill out with this song playing in the background. I’m trying to remember (again!) what artist this vibe is reminding me of. But I’ll update the post when I do remember.

Oh, the song is over. That was abrupt.

Track 5: Paradise

Same lo-fi hip-hop vibe as before. I’m really enjoying the percussion in this song. The beat is trippy! Verse 2: I’m really enjoying the rap! Amazing flow.

This song sounds like it’s in a major key but for some reason, I’m getting minor key vibes here. *checks*: F major. This sounds like one of those songs about longing, maybe? Like someone’s trying to get the other person back LMAO, but like, in a cool way. (Hi, Harry Styles.)

Again. The bridge is here. I love Suga’s rap. So cool. This track closes with a lot of English...? Fan chant alert. Is this a crowd favourite? Hahaha.

I’m realising that these songs seem really short. Do they tail off at around the three-minute mark? *checks*. Oh, they don’t. But then why do these songs sound so short?! Am I hallucinating?

Track 6: Love Maze

BTS seems to really like vocal distortion and making voices sound distant. The guitar riff that starts in the middle of the first verse is really reminiscent of some other songs I like! The vocal transition is smooth. Whoever’s coming in with those high notes in the chorus is doing a great job.

Judging by the key, this sounds like one of those dreamy love songs, lol. Reminiscing about young love or something.

The beat is coming really naturally to me. I can’t help but snap my fingers to this. I’m realising here that they’re levelling up the vocal layering with each song. In the third track, there isn’t much vocal embellishment, which gives it that raw emotion... But here, the layering makes this seem like a serenade. Which gives me warm fluffy feelings. Moving on!

Track 7: Magic Shop

I love the guitar plucking. Arpeggios, anyone? (I haven’t touched a piano in ages and this is giving me flashbacks.) TwT AND THE HIGH NOTE IS AMAZING, listen to that damn SMOOTH change in register! Woah!

I find it interesting that the chorus always seems to be placed very high in terms of tone. Is this to cater to majority-female fans? (Is that offensive?) Either way, it seriously shows off the vocalist’s skill.

The very beginning of the second verse is interesting. It sounds choppy, so there’s a sharp contrast from the chorus. Also, I’m enjoying the vocal-rap-vocal-rap sequence here. It’s very obvious where in the chorus the fans are supposed to sing lmao.

As for the bridge. Pretty standard house music-style beat progression. And I’m really enjoying that high-pitched thing that comes before the vocals! Again, gives this song that dreamy vibe haha.

And that’s it. That’s tracks 3-7 of the album. Overall, I’d definitely listen to these songs just to chill (and Magic Shop to hype up, but not too much, you know?). It’s a welcome deviation from what seems to be BTS’ more popular, hype songs. Do they listen to a lot of R&B?

In terms of the presence of any... musical storyline, we seem to go from sad, to sultry, to more upbeat and then finally a freaking stadium hit or something. I guess if this is a love story, things get better as the story progresses.

Anyway. Next post will be about the lyrics to these songs. We’re finally coming to what RM is actually talking about. It’ll probably take some time for me to break it all down, though. /loud sigh

[thinking-ji]

I’m learning Korean!

One of my biggest regrets is not tracking my progress in learning Japanese. Without the reflection and recap that come with journaling every study session, I realised that I lack the discipline to truly go somewhere with learning a new language. So, here goes.

Since a couple of years ago (read; about 10 years ago), I’ve been mildly interested in K-culture. I have a couple of favourite K-Pop artists, but I don’t follow them religiously. Yesterday, I discovered CHANNEL GIMCHEOLSOO on YouTube, which features stunning, simple filmography. I was finally pushed over the edge and decided to learn Korean after I missed their 8-hour long livestream yesterday. I seriously wanted to know what they were saying the whole time, instead of just gushing at their cats. LOL

I also think this is a good time for me to pick up Korean. It’d be interesting to discover the differences between Korean and Japanese while learning these languages side-by-side. As I’m already fluent in Mandarin, I think I’ll hold up alright. Perhaps the only -- and worst -- problem I’ll encounter in learning Japanese is Hangul. It’s really, really different from the Chinese characters I’m used to seeing. The various romanisations of each Hangul character will probably make it worse. That’s considering that this problem has already arisen, even while I’ve been learning Japanese, whose characters are relatively well-defined in terms of pronunciation.

I also want to find out how my mastery of Korean and Japanese will differ due to my learning journey. For Japanese, I started out watching anime and listening to Japanese music, before starting on Duolingo/Tinycards courses that were pretty easy, so I breezed through them without much revision, lol. Now I’m suffering when it comes to Kanji.  Therefore, I’m much better at speaking and listening to Japanese than reading and writing it. Since I don’t consume much Korean media and I’m starting out by picking up its writing system, I reckon I’ll wind up better at reading and writing Korean than speaking and listening to it, haha. But I’m determined not to let that happen!

I headed down to Kinokuniya this afternoon to get a Korean guidebook. (While I was there, I also picked up TRY! JLPT N5.) I’m excited to see where this goes!

[thinking-ji]

"You’re next” Part I

A.K.A.: Actually, it’s 次は、君だ - my linguistic analysis of what has been the most controversial topic of the past 24 hours in the MHA fandom.

(S) Fallen Angels’ and Manga Stream’s translation: You’re / next. (V) Viz’s translation: Now it’s... / ...your turn! (SUB) Anime subtitles: Next, it’s your turn. (DUB) Funimation Dub: Now, it’s your turn.

In terms of similarities, all are in the declarative clausal mood. In addition, all include the adverb ‘next’ or ‘now’.

Perhaps the most salient similarity, however, is the inclusion of the 2PPP ‘you’, which could be interpreted as a 2P singular personal pronoun, or a 2P plural personal pronoun, with vastly different implications. Here are the two main ones.

Majority: ‘you’ as 2P plural personal pronoun. All Might was referring to the villains. “You’re next” on my hit list. It is also possible that ‘you’ is a case of synthetic personalisation (and is used as a 2P singular personal pronoun). All Might is referring to a group of villains as if they were individuals, threatening each of them personally. Needless to say, that makes his statement even cooler.

Midoriya: ‘you’ as 2P singular personal pronoun. All Might was referring to him.

Now, let’s analyse each translation for its nuances, before moving on to the visual aspect of the scene. I’ll be focusing on Midoriya’s interpretation of All Might’s words, as well as how he thinks the majority interpreted them (which is further elaborated upon in his subsequent monologue).

S: You’re (2P singular/plural personal pronoun + 2P singular/plural present inflection) + next (adverb) + full stop

Unlike the other translations, this sentence does not follow the standard SVO(C/A) structure. It’s simply S + adverb. The inflection ‘-re’ (are), however, also has different implications depending on its interpretation. This is especially since is it a verb, which implies that All Might is giving an instruction of some sort, or a prediction, of what the hearer could be or do, now or in the future. This sentence would be more likely to threaten the hearer’s negative face, constraining his actions.

Majority: This statement threatens the negative face of villains, implying that they cannot escape punishment for their actions. This, in turn, threatens their positive face, as it implies that they are inferior in skill and are unable to defeat All Might both ideologically and physically. Of course, it could affirm the positive face of Stain supporters and All Might-inspired villains like Spinner – All Might deems them worthy of his effort, and will take them on in time to come. He recognises their power and influence over society.

Midoriya: “You’re [the] next” Symbol of Peace/holder of One for All/person with the responsibility to protect the peace. Or simply, “you’re next” to carry on this legacy. In saying this, All Might threatens Midoriya’s negative face by thrusting upon him this duty. Alternatively, he could be affirming Midoriya’s positive face, as the sentence implies that he is worthy of being “next”. Being entrusted a duty by All Might himself is a compliment by society’s standards.

V, DUB: Now (adverb) it’s (pronoun + 3P singular present inflection) your (2P singular possessive pronoun) turn (noun) + exclamation mark

Since the sentence is split into two bubbles, the ellipses between ‘it’s’ and ‘your’ were likely inserted for formatting purposes. As such, I will disregard them.

Part of this sentence is ellipsed. His sentence, in its entirety, would have been something like “Now it’s your turn to be defeated/to carry on this legacy.” Obviously, this ellipsis makes it unclear who exactly All Might was speaking to.

EDIT: This sentence is not necessarily ellipsed, as SVC structure applies here; ‘it’ is the subject, ‘is’ is the verb and ‘your turn’ is the complement, since it describes ‘it’.

This translation follows the SVO(A) sentence structure. The use of the exclamation mark in Viz’s translation, together with the purely visual nature of the medium (manga), makes it unclear whether All Might is making a confident declaration to the public or a desperate appeal to Midoriya. This is unlike the use of the full stop in other scanlations and the anime, where All Might seems to make a more solemn statement.

Additionally, in the majority’s interpretation, the use of the possessive pronoun ‘your’ is a case of All Might making a declaration of his future actions, while much subtly implying that villains could suffer All For One’s fate in the future. In this sentence, All Might is the agent of the sentence. He will mete out the punishment. In this sense, he threatens villains’ positive face by implying that they are inferior to him. In contrast, in Midoriya’s interpretation, he himself is the agent. He must carry on this legacy. In this case, All Might is threatening Midoriya’s negative face, constraining his actions and preventing him from making a choice about his own goals and actions. He must carry on this legacy. All Might has entrusted this duty to him. (Like in the previous section, the same argument could be made about All Might affirming Midoriya’s positive face.)

SUB: Next (adverb) + comma + it’s (pronoun + 3P singular present inflection) your (2P singular possessive pronoun) turn (noun) + full stop

This is the same as Viz’s translation, except the adverb used is ‘next’. The comparison between ‘now’ and ‘next’ reminds me of the book The Time Paradox (http://www.thetimeparadox.com/2008/08/03/an-overview-of-time-perspective-types/). The adverb ‘now’ injects a sense of urgency in All Might’s statement, making it seem as though he could kill the next villain at the next possible moment/it is high time that Midoriya takes over his status as the Symbol of Peace. However, ‘next’ postpones these actions to a future time, perhaps once All Might leaves the scene (however you interpret ‘scene’), or after he recovers from his injuries. The villains, and Midoriya, can take their time planning their future actions.

It is also pertinent to note the differences between the use of ‘next’ in S and in SUB. In S, ‘next’ implies a proposed lineage, whereas in SUB, ‘next’ implies a proposed sequence of events.

In the next part (i.e. when I next find the time), I’ll analyse the original Japanese text, and determine how well each of the translations fits the visual and auditory complementary material.