#&039;피 땀 눈물 (Blood Sweat & Tears)&039; Official MV reviewed

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We’re not a blog that is dedicated to reviewing music (including Kpop), but because we absolutely adore BTS and their music, we decided to do a memo-style review of the Music Video (MV) for their Japanese Version “Blood, Sweat & Tears” (血、汗、涙 -Japanese Ver.-).

***Note: If this is your first time browsing the Drama Files, please read The Rules on how our Memo-style reviews work.***

***Note: We really wanted to analyze the Blood, Sweat, Tears Korean MV before, but we missed out on the opportunity. We thought this MV was very interesting as well, so we were really eager to share our theories about what they could possibly signify. There are definitely many theories, so we thought we’d propose ours. Our views are simply theories and purely speculative.***

Memo

Dear Reader,

There have been some questions regarding the recent release of BTS’s 血、汗、涙 -Japanese Ver.- (“BST”), particularly:

(1) Who/What does each member represent?

(2) How is the ending clip that is reminiscient of the “I Need U” MV connected to BST?

Conclusion

(1.1) J-Hope acts as a guide. J-Hope is Archangel Michael and Frau Eva from Demian.

(1.2) V is Max Demian (“Demian”) from Demian and the Devil/Lucifer/the Fallen Angel (“the Devil”) .

(1.3) Suga is Pistorius and the Old Wise Man (archetype).

(1.4) Jimin is Sinclair from Demian and Adam from the Bible.

(1.5) Jungkook is Icarus and Sinclair from Demian.

(2) This will be answered in a subsequent Memo.

Background

Please read the first post to understand how this MV fits in with the other MVs and the different types of reality in this MV.

Please read the second post for more information on Demian and other important concepts.

Please read the third post for a detailed analysis of Suga’s role.

Please read the fourth post to understand Jimin’s role.

Analysis

(1.1) J-Hope acts as a guide. J-Hope is Archangel Michael and Frau Eva from Demian.

Please read the first post to see this analysis.

(1.2) V is Max Demian (“Demian”) from Demian and the Devil/Lucifer/the Fallen Angel (“the Devil”) .

Please read the second post to see this analysis.

(1.3) Suga is Pistorius and the Old Wise Man (archetype).

Please read the third post to see this analysis.

(1.4) Jimin is Sinclair from Demian and Adam from the Bible. 

Please see the fourth post for this analysis.

(1.5) Jungkook is Icarus and Sinclair from Demian.

(i) Jungkook is Icarus.

Jungkook swinging on the swing

  We see signs in the Korean “BST” MV that show Jungkook as Icarus. We see the painting behind Jungkook, which is “Lament of Icarus” by Herbert James Derper. To the right is another painting about Icarus, “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

Look at Jungkook flying back/falling. Behind him is the painting, “Lament of Icarus” by Herbert James Derper and to his right, you see the painting, “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

The myth is that King Minos hired Daedalus to build a palace and a maze (Labyrinth)to imprison Minos’ son, the Minotaur. Minos also imprisoned Daedalus in the Labyrinth because Daedalus gave Minos’ daughter, a clew, to help Minos’ enemy, Theseus, to defeat the Minotaur and beat the Labyrinth. Daedalus’ plan to escape was to build wings out of wax and feathers to fly away. He fashioned wings for both himself and his son, Icarus. He warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sea or the sun and to follow Daedalus’ flight path. However, Icarus did not listen.

Jungkook first starts off swinging on the swings in the Korean “BST” MV and then leaning back like he’s flying. After, he fully falls back and the swing is gone, meaning that he is like Icarus who chose not to listen to his father and flew too close to the sea. There are bits of what seem like white feathers floating in the air to represent the melted wax and feathers from the myth.

The paintings are even clearer and damn that move must have been exhausting for JK!

Remember how in the older BTS MVs like “Run” and “I Need U”, RM is shown with a lollipop in his mouth. Here, we see Jungkook with a blue lollipop in his hand. The lollipop, in a sense, is like our desires that we know aren’t good yet we still consume them. Lollipops can also mean a new adventure starting, which is true in Jungkook’s case as he is going through a transformation.  After we see Jungkook suck on the lollipop, we get a scene of RM showing a dropping sign with his fist and then we get transported down a level of a building to meet Suga and RM.

Look at the blue lollipop!

Eats lollipop then . . . tumbles down . . .

Drop down! (RM is in the same room as JK who was swinging on the swing there)

RM is also going through a big transformation as he drinks the green liquid, which is likely absinthe. I’m going over RM’s part and Suga’s part a bit here because RM and JK are closely connected in both the “BST” MVs. I won’t go into extreme detail with the two other members as this post focuses on Jungkook, but it’s still important to recall how Jungkook is linked with these two members. Here’s a little chart I’ve made, which has been used in a previous post.

RM influences Jungkook (see the black arrow leading from RM to JK) and in turn Jungkook and Suga both influence each other. I’d say Suga is more like Daedalus than RM because Suga in the “BST” MV tries to pull Jungkook away from temptation, whereas RM leads Jungkook to temptation.

In the “BST” MV, we still see signs that prove that Jungkook represents Icarus. In the beginning of the MV, Jungkook is lying on this white plastic sheet. The walls are all painted in bright neon colours, which represents the psychological reality. Then, he gets up from his spot and looks back to see a pair of red wings behind him. Icarus, as mentioned before, flew with wings made of feathers and wax. The red colour likely symbolizes that Jungkook has fallen and has been “tainted”.

(Remember to focus on Jungkook’s clothing in this “BST” MV. Jungkook here is wearing a plaid jacket. He also later wears a hoodie with the writing “Thirteen”.)

(ii) Jungkook is Sinclair from Demian.

I think it’s interesting to note that the whole BST is really a matter of perspective. From one member’s POV, another member is a certain character. However, when you view it from a different member’s POV, then one member can represent another character. Let’s try to apply it in this case.

Jungkook, in the Korean “BST” MV, succumbs to RM’s temptation. Jungkook is Sinclair and RM is Demian in that view. However, from RM’s POV, RM is Sinclair and Jin is Demian (This will be explained further in the next post).

In the external reality, Suga is still Pistorius to Jungkook who is Sinclair. Remember that Suga is the one trying to pull Jungkook away from the toilet like how Pistorius is instilling the standard biblical beliefs to Sinclair.

Also, Jungkook here is wearing a “Thirteen” hoodie. The number “thirteen” is normally seen as an unlucky number like Friday the thirteenth and receives a darker form of symbolism. Often, apartments or hotels will also not have a button for the 13th floor. In Norse mythology, the 12 Norse gods hold a party; however, Loki, the trickster, was an uninvited guest and was the 13th to arrive. Later, we learn that Hoor slayed Baldur, using a magical spear given by Loki. We also see from the Bible that the Last Supper comprised of 13 attendees (12 disciples and the Christ). Thirteen is seen as an omen as Christ suffers from a tragic fate.

Look at his hoodie’s word: “Thirteen”.

However, thirteen can have a brighter interpretation. For example, Christ and Baldur can be considered the enlightened guests. Therefore, the number, thirteen, can be said to be associated with enlightenment, ascension, and resurrection. We also see from an Egyptian tale that Osiris, the Egyptian God of life and death, was killed by Typhon, his brother. Typhon then stole Osiris’ body and chopped it into 14 pieces. Meanwhile, Isis, Osiris’ wife, could only find 13 parts of his body. Therefore, thirteen can be said to be the precursor of completion.  (See here for more info about the number, 13.)

Here, since the word “thirteen” is written in a font that looks like it’s burning, there seems to be more of an interpretation of resurrection. Phoenixes are known to be reborn upon burning in flames. Therefore, Jungkook can be said to be experiencing a rebirth after succumbing to temptation. I wouldn’t say that going to a “dark” side is necessarily bad, as I’ve suggested in my previous posts based on Demian‘s interpretation of events.

Going back to how Demian applies to the relationship between Jungkook and Suga, recall that in Suga’s post, Sinclair eventually says a lot of harsh words to Pistorius and Sinclair’s friendship with Pistorius comes to an end. Similarly, the toilet scene is like Jungkook pushing his “master” away and surpassing his mentor. Jungkook’s relationship with Pistorius ends and rejects the standard biblical ideas.

Jungkook is also tempted by RM, who acts as Demian, once he enters the psychological reality. RM brings the absinthe to Jungkook. Jungkook has taken a seat, which seems to imply that he has accepted RM’s offer. RM then makes Jungkook drink the absinthe and Jungkook goes through an interesting experience. Notice that Jungkook is wearing the “thirteen” hoodie when he’s in the psychological reality world. He gets transported on a truck that Jin has been driving since the older MVs and at the very end of this “BST” MV. Jin, at this stage, is already Demian, so it’s interesting to see that Jungkook, a variant of Sinclair, is being taken away by Demian to experience a different world.

Once Jungkook has experienced this mental change and transformation, he is brought back to the external reality where there is a black cloud hovering around Jungkook with the hoodie. The Jungkook wearing the plaid blazer is transported back to the external reality. At the end, Jungkook is a changed person.

Another evidence that Jungkook is Sinclair from his short clip. We see him lying on this bed, which is similar to his situation in the beginning of the “BST” MV. He is tossing and turning in this bed. Then we see him closing his eyes and there’s a burning piano, which has been mentioned in a previous post as being linked to Suga as Pistorius.

We see a narration of a quotation from Demian and Jungkook, in a white button-up with a sparrow hawk on his heart. This quotation “because it’s darkest at dawn right before the sun rises” is from BTS’ song “Tomorrow” and then the next one is “The fifteen year old me who didn’t have anything” comes from his song, “Begin”. Here, Jungkook is like Sinclair who starts off in a very sheltered, structured family. I think it’s interesting that this quotation was picked because “Tomorrow” is about following your dreams and struggling with these. It makes sense that that particular line of “Begin” was used because it sets the tone that Jungkook was young then.

Then Jungkook has this painting in his hand of a young boy. After, he starts painting this larger portrait of another boy and as he is painting, the scene of a piano burning is seen through his eye. The painting then bursts into flames.  Jungkook becomes very distressed upon viewing the portrait more. The portrait’s young boy seems to change in its appearance.

The changing painting is reflected in Demian as well. At first, Sinclair is inspired by Beatrice, a woman he meets after walking in a park, to paint. He tries to reproduce her face, but fails.  This is like that scene in Jungkook’s short film where he first sees a picture of a person and then proceeds to paint it.

After Sinclair lets his imagination do its work and he paints again. When the painting is complete, it looks half-masculine and half-feminine, ageless, and mask-like.  When he wakes up from another dream, he believes that the face knows him and calls to him. Sinclair notices this weird brightness at the painting’s forehead and its eyes and recognizes it as Demian. However, after placing the painting to his window and letting the light shine through it, he realizes that the painting is actually a reflection of himself, his daemon, and his inner self. This whole scene happens in a dream-like state, so whether he actually puts the painting to the window is up for debate.

This part of the scene in Jungkook’s short film has also been portrayed when he watches the painting burn and turn into another painting. Jungkook is struggling to believe what he is seeing and is crying a bit too. It first looks like Taehyung, who we’ve said is Demian to Jin, but then if you look carefully, it also seems to look like Jungkook. Jungkook realizes that the painting is actually himself, which is just like what we’ve seen in Demian.

In Demian, Sinclair then starts recalling his last meeting with Demian. Demian and Sinclair talk about Sinclair’s rebellious stage. Demian notices that Sinclair has been drinking and frowns upon that habit; however, Demian points out that sometimes a life of hedonism is a precursor to sainthood and refers to St. Augustine as an example of this concept. In his youth, St. Augustine lived a hedonistic lifestyle where he was related to several young men who bragged about their sexual adventures. He also had an affair with a young woman. It wasn’t until he was 31 did he convert to Christianity and wrote extensively in the areas of theology, sociology, and philosophy. He developed many ideas related to Christianity as well. Sinclair identifies with this example that Demian has given and believes that Sinclair’s life is headed in a similar direction as that of St. Augustine.

On the night of this flashback, Sinclair has a nightmare where Demian forces him to swallow this coat of arms above this doorway. He senses that this bird is bursting into life within himself and starts to eat his insides. After this dream, Sinclair begins to paint this bird.

After Sinclair finishes the painting, we see that he has painted a sparrow hawk. The sparrow hawk is trying to break free from this dark globe; it’s like it is hatching from an egg. However, this sparrow hawk is fully grown, and so this means that this painting is about rebirth.

Here, the egg is an archetype, formed through Sinclair’s collective consciousness. The egg has its origins to the Roman times where Bachofen, a late anthropologist, claims that it represents the two poles of the world. Therefore, the sparrow hawk, which is breaking out of the egg to be reborn, is breaking the world of false polarities, unreal, and the arbitrary.

Going back to the short film, we see that Jungkook is holding onto this picture of a sparrow hawk and staring at it. The final scene ends with Jungkook standing in the middle of the room and his shadow has grown wings.  These scenes are similar to those of Sinclair. Though we don’t see Jungkook going through a memory recall of a meeting with Demian, we have seen him waking up from nightmares before. We aren’t sure whether he has actually painted the sparrow hawk, but that sparrow hawk is just like the one described in Demian. Moreover, the fact that Jungkook has grown wings shows that he is going through a rebirth like in Demian.  This also indicates that Jungkook has activated the part of himself that wants to be broken free.

It’s interesting to note that Jungkook is also wearing a “sparrow hawk” button-up shirt. That’s a signal that supports the notion that he wants to be free from his past views. That’s why his eyes show the burning piano–a remnant of the old principles.

      Memo: “Blood, Sweat & Tears” (Japanese Version) Music Video Analysis Part 5 We're not a blog that is dedicated to reviewing music (including Kpop), but because we…