Volume 01 Issue 08 part 2 (BTS)
On chronological consumption and fandom
Aia and I had a passing conversation this past week about our shared urge to consume BTS content chronologically. We were talking about her playlist of “all BTS songs” on Spotify and I was begging her to add the mixtapes for ~comprehensiveness~ and so that I could listen either newest to oldest, or the other way around.
I still think there’s no “right” sequence to consume BTS content. But for people like me and Aia, diving into a fandom that is by now seven years old is a jarring experience. I also mentioned before that ARMY Twitter operates on a hive mind, and that means the timeline swerves from one topic to the other - interrupted only by a fresh BTS content drop. Many times this week, I have hopped on to ARMY Twitter and not been sure whether people were discussing a clip whose events happened five months ago or five years ago. Frequently, the only clues are the member’s hairstyles and varying degrees of babyfaced-ness. I’m learning to just roll with it and enjoy the clip for what it portrays, even when I don’t understand the bigger picture or context behind it.
Sometimes I wonder though, how it feels like to have your past selves so accessible to the world. I don’t think I would be able to handle people “getting to know” me by watching footage of me from seven years ago. I’m not that person anymore! It also must be strange to be known in such a deep and intimate manner by millions of people. The BTS Twitter account posted something the other night without a name attached to it (usually they write their names in the hashtags) -- literally it was a reply containing OP’s name and emoji -- but ARMY could tell it was Taehyung posting. Isn’t that wild? That their tweeting styles are so recognizable? I never even thought of a person’s tweeting style before.
Although it is nice that all their quirks and habits are joyfully embraced by the fans, I imagine the lack of privacy and sense of responsibility to be a good role model weigh heavily on their shoulders. I wonder, too, how much they think about their public personas vs. their private selves. (Probably often, given the Jungian themes of Map of the Soul.) I suppose this is what it means to be a public figure, regardless of industry. That people will always have a relationship with the idea of you, and how you are received by others is under your control only to a certain extent. Also something I picked up from that h***y boybander book I read this week!
I do think that them being so themselves regardless of what they’re taping - variety show, travel show, game show, concert documentary, random Vlive - has made me reflect on their overarching message of “love yourself, speak yourself.” There is peace in being vulnerable, authentic, and so comfortable in your own skin; showing all your weirdness to the world; and being loved for everything that makes you “you.” The adoration I feel for them grows deeper the more I get to know them, even when the picture being built in my head about each of the members is not coming together chronologically. Everything is endearing, and nothing has turned me off, not even Taehyung’s weird toe heart picture?!? Their brand of authenticity has made me reflect: “What if someone loved me the way I love BTS?” What if someone was obsessed with my nose scrunch, the way I cover my ears when I’m shy, my head tilt when I’m confused, with my highest levels of happiness laugh, with my fearlessness? (These are from a video called “What does ARMY love about Jungkook?” lol) What a hopeful line of thinking. It’s nice to think about!
It’s worth noting that when I talk to my longtime ARMY friends, the intensity of their gigil is still the same as mine. Surely the members have changed as people throughout the years, but ARMY loves these more grown-up versions just as much as they did the baby versions. It makes me eager for my ever-growing list of old content to watch, and hyped up to be along for the ride as they continue to evolve as artists and as human beings.
Resources and content I consumed the past two weeks (excluding the MOTS:7 ON:E concert - my thoughts on that can be found here):
I found a 62-page (!) PDF starter guide for baby ARMY, made by @armydutchies on Twitter. Useful for people who need visuals! It is very comprehensive and I wish I had found this two months ago.
Thanks to the link above, I found out that Bangtansubs the website is waaaay more comprehensive than Bangtansubs their Youtube Channel. Look at their progress tracker! I am in awe of these fans’ dedication. ARMY really is like a company, as that one person in the NYT article said.
Also thanks to the PDF above, I finally found the video where Suga says “What a relief we are seven. What a relief we are together.” <333 I love him. Yoongi is the most husband material of them all! Ella was right, I also see 90% of my friends having him as their bias or bias breaker.
It’s a big deal that Jimmy Fallon’s team has updated all the BTS Week performances to include subtitles after much petitioning by ARMY. Huge win for inclusivity!
The last episode of In the Soop was a joy to watch. The whole series is great and I have been raving about what a genius idea it is, but the last 30 minutes in particular -- when they’re recording the theme song in the studio -- made me smile from ear to ear. I realized I haven’t seen much footage of them doing the actual work of creating music. This was such a treat. Note that this link above isn’t the full clip. Ask me where to watch it if you need help!
This video of Jin saying he’s not as good as the others and Tae immediately refuting the statement was extremely moving to me, especially in the context of their fight! Huhu <3
Christmas season is my season, and Tina alerted me to BTS performing a Christmas carol medley at a music festival last year. Whoever came up with this idea: thank you!! Inject this directly into my veins, because I AM LIVING.
Dr. Colette Balmain’s review “BTS’ “Map Of The Soul ON:E” Online Concerts Worthy of a Las Vegas Residency” on View of the Arts is one of the best I’ve read. She goes deep into the symbolisms and visual elements and I’m a huge nerd for that kind of stuff. She also put together an academic conference all about BTS and reading this article made me sad I wasn’t a fan yet then.
ARMY is extremely discerning about which articles are good. This one is good: BTS’s Loyal Army of Fans Is the Secret Weapon Behind a $4 Billion Valuation by Ben Dooley and Su-Hyun Lee of The New York Times.
Read part 1 of last week’s newsletter here (regular non-BTS content) and everything I’ve published about BTS here. The next issues will land in your inbox if you subscribe using this button. Thanks for reading!
I purple you,
Pinky