Music: Fake Love by BTS

As if they needed any sort of introduction, the K-POP boyband sensation, BTS, is no stranger to hype. Most recently showcased at the Billboard Music Awards, the group has only grown bigger and bigger with each passing day but none more so than with their latest full release, Love Yourself (Tear). My girlfriend is a devoted ARMY member and I'd be remiss if I didn't disclose how much of them I've been exposed to through osmosis and listening to them on repeat whenever we're driving or even taking a shower. This is my hot take on the video for Fake Love.

Where other KPOP groups revel in their highly trained vocals, perfectly square jaw lines, or generic innocence /sex appeal, BTS is more about style than substance. An odd choice of words but let me explain. While they do have a few great vocalists (namely Jimin and V), their core strength comes from their overall flair and visual representation. The choreography in most of their videos seem easy to do but watch any of their live performances and you'll notice the boys huffing and puffing at the end of each number; they really give it all they got and you feel it.  

Each music video that I've seen isn't a promotion for their brand but rather is seen as an event. The first time I was shown a BTS video was the night Mic Drop... well... dropped. At first I had no idea what I was watching. All I could see was a group of similar looking Korean guys dancing while a Godlike ghost of Steve Aoki watched over them, pressing his buttons and turning his knobs probably muttering to himself, "these fuckin' kids..." It wasn't that impressive to me until I saw the views just rack up exponentially each time I refreshed the page. My girlfriend was ecstatic the entire time as we talked over the phone making sure we were watching the video synched up together in unison.

As the months passed I soon came to learn their names, I could pick out who was singing at any given time, and I even had come up with a few inside jokes about how hard Suga was in the hood before joining the group, how Rap Monster is incredibly embarrassed to even be seen with J-Hope, and constantly spouting non-sense words like, "Mic Mic Bungee". And so when Fake Love was released on a fateful Spring night I was tasked with watching it with my girlfriend, and we did just that... over, over, and over again. It got stuck in my brain to the point where I was driving on my own listening to Fake Love on my way to buy groceries. It's no wonder the likes of John Cena have found themselves neck deep in the craze because, to put it bluntly, these dudes are talented! Who woulda thought? I guess the teen girls were right all along.

So, Fake Love. What is there to say that some ARMY hasn't already said in the most poetic terms possible?

Immediately as the video starts we're welcomed by the cinematic nature of it all. Both Jin and Jungkook look up and face the camera; one in a brightly lit room showered in sunlight while a long flower is within a lantern, the second (Jungkook) is surrounded by darkness as he watches a closing set of curtains leave him stranded in a pitch black void. We're to think he is the flower in this illustrative angle since Jin closes the curtains in his own room, which corresponds to Jungkook's darkened fate. Also notice the oldest member of the group matched with the youngest member.

Enter V and the boys standing in front of a sculpture with hands in the position of the "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil" proverb. The group stands in contrast in the foreground against the sculpture as their shadows dance across the room from right to left until V begins is opening lines. He joins the others, however, Jungkook separates himself right away, and I thought this part looked oddly clumsy on first viewing but now I feel it's an intentional choice to show how the camera follows along with his every move as if he's going against the grain, so to speak, and to challenge himself only to then fail despite his earnestness. If you're following the translated lyrics then this all makes a bit more sense since it plays into the one-sided nature of the relationship the song speaks about and how our protagonist is trying to be something for their partner even if they're only pretending. But as Jungkook proves, it's a bit too much for him which then leads to V helping him back to his feet; he can't do this all on his own - no relationship can last like that.

As the opening ends we see the brightly lit room that Jin was standing in suddenly have its windows blown in from the outside, bursting inward as the lyrics play, "I'm so sick of this fake love". Could this room symbolize a relationship that seemed quiet and peaceful in appearance but in reality one side was being held captive, like the flower we first saw in the intro? Jin seems to try everything to shield the flower from what's going around in the room while all seven members dance and mimic the "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil" through various moves.



Rap Monster's turn. His words, "I want to be a good man, just for you... I gave the world, just for you... But I don't know me." (I've skipped around to get to the point of what he's trying to say.) We learn how much he as a person gave up for a relationship only to lose themselves and who they were during that time. That's not to say the other person stole that time from them but that it's simply a fact that our Korean brethren are so stylishly cluing us in to.

J-Hope's rap lines are a bit more poetic, speaking of getting lost in a forest in which he doesn't know the route he took to get there. He's forgotten himself, he's lost time, he's not sure of the identity of his lover, and it feels like he's talking to a stranger when he sees his own reflection in the mirror -- which we see so brilliantly in action with J-Hope and Jungkook (who again represents the sacrificing lover) pantomiming as if they are on two sides of a mirror.

During J-Hope's lyrics we also are keyed into the extremes and contrasts that this video seems to be toying with. Our first clue was the black and white foreground and background of the sculpture set introduction. The boys for the rest of the idea are isolated all to their own, each having a very distinct room that accompanies their personality but then driven to the extreme. For J-Hope, as the ever cheerful Joker of BTS ("I LOVE SPRITE"), his room is filled with toys and candy. As the video plays further we'll start to see chocolate bars beginning to enter through the keyhole of the door as he desperately tries to block them from coming in. Perhaps we can imagine that this means something that used to be sweet and rare has now becoming overbearing and is starting to drown him? There can be such a thing as too much love.

Jimin's lines and associated dance moves show him controlling the group as if they were puppets on marionette strings which plays into what he says about, "For you I could pretend I was happy when I was really sad." We return to Jungkook, who is still locked in darkness, looking into Jimin's room (which again should symbolize a bastardized version of their what brings them happiness) which appears to be a dance room with mirrors, however, they've been painted over by an oil painted landscape of trees. This entire video is connecting love to a prison and the desire for freedom. Again, extremes that can easily fade into each other if not kept in check. Jungkook continues the verse, "I wish love was perfect like love itself... I grew a flower that can't be bloomed." Another nod to the flower that is trapped and gasping for fresh air.

The second Jin turns his back from the broken lantern we see the flower is gone, the relationship has ended, Jungkook escapes and he begins his mad dash to find out again who he was / or who has become. The world begins to transform, the floors disappearing, and I'm thinking that this could mean that leaving the safety of a relationship only to find yourself all on your own can make the world feel distorted and odd upon returning to it alone.

Hello V. A smartphone in his hand but it quickly fades away, which could signify his inability to contact the outside world. His connections gone, like sand in the wind. He stands in front of an archway with the words "Save Me" scribbled behind himself as the room turns dark, the walls dressed in ringing smartphones, screens furiously lighting up. I like to think that these are all the people he had put into the background while he was in this one-sided relationship. Family and friends, are now trying to reach him, however, since he doesn't know who he is he can't communicate with them; his own connection to them has become that sand that fell between his fingers. He just doesn't really know where to even begin.

When we hit the lyrics, "Love you so bad, mold a pretty lie for you, love it's so mad, try to erase myself and make me your doll," we see the dance moves that sync up quite well for this. Each member throws their hands up energetically and dangle them as if they are the marionette puppets or dolls being toyed with. My girlfriend said that this made them look like zombies, and I agree because  aren't dolls simply made to pretend that they are animated bodies?

Everything from lyrics to the choreography, and yes, even the choice of clothes (see V and Rap Monster's bondage fashion), all represent the battle in this relationship of trying to keep your own individuality even when you truly care about the other person, despite knowing that this love is nothing but fake at this point and it's destructive in nature.

And we've reached the second chorus. Jimin goes all out and does a signature pirouette as the others cover their ears, mouth, or eyes, almost as if they don't want to accept the fact that this has all been a disaster and Jimin's own self is finally breaking free, albeit quite apologetically along with the lyrics, "I'm so sorry but it's fake love".

Rap Monster and Suga combine for what is probably the most revealing portion of the song when it comes to its meaning: "Look at me, even I gave up on myself. Even you can't understand me. You say I'm unfamiliar, changed into the one you used to like. You say I'm not myself which you knew so well... I'm blind. Love? What the heck is love? It's all fake love."

Each member has had to give up a lot about themselves for this relationship. One that started promising but has now faded into something that our dudes just can't handle anymore. So much has happened, perhaps even so much time has passed that they don't even recognize themselves and they've given up on passions, dreams, and maybe their own desires to keep their lover happy -- keeping their fantasy alive. Rap Monster stares at himself in the mirror and sees a completely different person than who he is now. Curiously he also is in a warehouse with large storage containers. Could this illustrate how much of himself he's had to lock away?

Suga comes in from his decrepit music room. A piano and guitar are placed next to each other, but he's frustrated and throws his guitar. There's no time or inspiration left when he's locked away with nothing to look forward to; another sacrifice. He defiantly spells out that all love is meaningless and in vain.

From here we see Jimin turn off the water to the sink (the one placed in his dance room that's been turned into a prison cell) and as that happens Jungkook reaches an underground dam. Somehow the same lantern he escaped from is laying on the flower on a mound of sand. He picks up some of the small pebbles into his hands but when they fall they turn into fluttering petals; the flower that was trapped has found its way out and flies away. An opening in the dam creates a passage for Jungkook to walk away unscathed. The others aren't so lucky as they succumb to the pains of their sacrifices:  Jimin's begins to become flooded with enough water to kill, Suga's room catches fire and it explodes as he smiles in glee, and as for J-Hope... well, there's a lot to say when you see someone's completely overtaken by heartache or depression.

The ending mostly consists of more dancing, though, more aggressively than before to signify the emphasis of all we've seen thus far. The crew go back to the sculpture and pantomime two people slowly coming together and then locking arms only to then break away sadly. One final scene from the more colorful dance set shows us that Jungkook and Jin are placed in opposite positions, more contrast to the beginning and end of our journey. However, we do get one last glimpse of Jungkook as  his route has led him to a room full of empty coat racks with a single hooded garb awaiting him. I'm assuming this will lead into promotional material for a second video that's upcoming for their next MV (but then again it could be referring to some literary stuff and 4th-dimensional chess where all their videos have been connected since day one, so I'm not going to assume this means anything in this video's own context.

As we reach the finale, we are once again at the "See No Evil" sculpture, the guys dressed as silhouettes close in on each other as two reach up above with another holding on to them. The camera zooms in as the second hand lets go of the first and we're left with only one reaching for what we can imagine is what they've been looking for all this time.

Similar to the part where I thought Jungkook looked a bit clumsy running from one side of the room to the other much earlier in the video, I thought that this part too looked a bit out of place. But with BTS and their production team, nothing is ever done half-heartedly or without reason. I'm assuming that when the second hand unlatches itself it's meant to signify the eventual acceptance of the partner and figuratively letting go, allowing their sacrificing lover to go off on their own once again. It can be done begrudgingly or like ripping a bandaid off a wound, but regardless, this relationship has gone its course and its eventual end. Our bois will live to see another day.

In conclusion, I must say that while this isn't high art by any stretch of the imagination, BTS is operating on a level all to their own. Their unique flair truly makes them one of a kind and Fake Love is the one video people should see if they're curious about the group and their music. Not only is the song catchy as hell but the dancing is some of the most animated and fun to watch, and its video, as we've analyzed and taken apart here, is interesting and fully loaded with relatable emotions and symbolism.