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Hi there, @annemcelvoy and @emilybell . Hope y'all are doing OK. I became #BTSARMY in 2018, and I'm a degreed librarian. I'll take your tweets as a request for a curated list of #BTS resources, which I'm happy to offer. You can start by reading the linked @Reuters article. 1/ https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1283349352094801923
Next, you can take a look at a few of @bybrianbyrne 's videos in his excellent series on the impact of @BTS_twt . You might be surprised at the expertise that is being brought to the #BTSARMY table. We'll start with Jungian expert Skip Conover: 2/
We can continue with these two: and . 3/
It's also important to take a look at the charity work of #BTSARMY . @OneInAnARMY has been instrumental in coordinating and tracking the worldwide humanitarian efforts of ARMY. Website: https://oneinanarmy.carrd.co/ and Project Map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=14gsXdpztf77Uj91DT1UNq33413iNdwtq&ll=-3.81666561775622e-14%2C-39.07271707839391&z=1 4/
But to really get an understanding of why @BTS_twt attracts this kind of fandom, you need to know what they've been through. They trained for years, barely debuted (2013) against fierce competition, and were from an underdog company. Through 2016 they faced horrific treatment. 5/
This thread explains some of this. There are others, but I'm compiling resources on the fly. :) https://twitter.com/dimpleddaeng_/status/1285861818502508545?s=20 Point being, some horrific adversity that could and did break them became a transformative experience. 6/
We never want people to go through horrible things. And when they do, we never want to add to the trauma by moralizing or cheapening it. That being said, what happened next I'm not sure the likes of which has ever been seen. 7/
ARMY supported BTS through their rough times. And at one concert, ARMY surprised BTS by covering the lights with purple. The synergistic reaction has characterized the relationship of ARMY and BTS ever since: https://twitter.com/happinesspjm/status/1046828025973596160?s=20 https://twitter.com/IOt7army/status/1308816045055053827?s=20 8/
BTS took their horrific experiences and remade them into hope for ARMY. Their message of hope that they brought to the UN isn't a gimmick. It's lived experience. They've been nurturing and honing hope since before their debut. 9/
This is RM's profound 2018 speech at the UN about finding your name. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that this is rooted in principles of healing trauma. 10/
And if you haven't yet seen today's speech by all of BTS, it flows very nicely off the 2018 speech. It's honest, it's raw, and it's true. 11/
But really, the best way to get to know BTS is through their music. And ARMY has all kinds of fun discussions about BTS having a no-skip discography. I'm going to link a few vidoes. Watch with captions. 12/
We'll start with the stark societal commentary that is
N.O:
N.O:
We're going to insert a dance break here because BTS was routinely given awful stages, camera angles, and Big Hit had to start innovating back. More on that later. 14/
Understanding I'm skipping over a ridiculous amount of material for brevity. I Need U signaled a turning point for BTS, but not relief from adversity. 15/
And this is where the climb started accelerating... "I reject rejection." BTS was always talented and hard working, but the maturity in storytelling begins to emerge. 16/
Whalien 52 speaks of intense loneliness, the suffering that reaches across. BTS has been speaking of hurt and hope for years. Music: Lyrics translation provided by @doolsetbangtan : https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/?s=whalien+52
17/
17/
Silver Spoon/Baepsae ... More scathing societal critique. I'm linking the behind-the-scenes dance practice and the translations. Make sure you read the nuance with this one! Translations again from @doolsetbangtan
Are you getting an idea of the depth and complexity and breadth of BTS? But we are just getting started!! (And I'm also skipping over songs, the omission of which could legit get me thrown out of ARMY ha.) 19/
The release of Fire literally became a flashpoint.
https://twitter.com/charts_k/status/1256264577152679936?s=20
MV:
20/
https://twitter.com/charts_k/status/1256264577152679936?s=20
MV:
20/
At this point we move into the Wings era, which is so iconic that I'm sure whole dissertations are going to be written on this in the future. 21/
For this though, I'm simply going to highlight 2!3!, and the origin of purple.
@doolsetbangtan translation: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/two-three/ 22/
@doolsetbangtan translation: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/two-three/ 22/
This is a good place for me to pause and share that so much of BTS' works are an ongoing conversation with literature, including Hermann Hesse's Demian within the Wings narrative. Here's a tweet thread with BTS recommended literature: https://twitter.com/NamjoonGranger/status/1272212870525153280?s=20 23/
The Love Yourself era brought us EVERYTHING. I can't possibly go into the entire discography. Keeping true to the theme of BTS having the authority to speak on hope, I'll link Magic Shop, inspired by Into the Magic Shop. 24/
I cannot recommend Dr. Doty's book highly enough. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0399183647/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_CAbBFb8Y44C9S
The song:
The translations, provided by @doolsetbangtan : https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/?s=magic+shop
The song:
The translations, provided by @doolsetbangtan : https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/?s=magic+shop
After skipping a ridiculous amount of material, we get to the Map of the Soul. This album set is inspired from Carl Jung's work, specifically Jung's Map of the Soul from Murray Stein. I'm currently reading it and it's phenomenal. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0812693760/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_2EbBFbW1STE8S 26/
Hope is healing. Healing is hope. Knowing ourselves is foundational to both. You can't find your way back to yourself without introspection. Again, this is not a topic that BTS arrives at uninformed. But let's specifically look at the messages of hope from the MOTS era... 27/
Here's the iHeartRadio performance of four songs of hope. Spring Day is not from the MOTS era, and has its own history which I cannot do justice to here, but they have chosen to sing it during this time. 28/
Translations via @doolsetbangtan
Make It Right: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/?s=make+it+right
Boy with Luv: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/?s=boy+with+luv
Spring Day: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/?s=spring+day 29/
Make It Right: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/?s=make+it+right
Boy with Luv: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/?s=boy+with+luv
Spring Day: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/?s=spring+day 29/
I want to specifically include Mikrokosmos for your consideration, because it is alluded to in their UN talk from today: 30/
Finally, three songs that are uniquely suited to paint a backdrop for the BTS UN talk...
Louder than Bombs: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/?s=louder+than+bombs
Black Swan:
ON: 31/
Louder than Bombs: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/?s=louder+than+bombs
Black Swan:
ON: 31/
To recap, BTS has taken their adversity and made it into our comfort. I don't know that anyone has the same kind of experience and platform both to speak to hope to an entire world.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. Any errors and omissions are mine alone.
Fin.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. Any errors and omissions are mine alone.
Fin.
Ahhh, the pesky post script. I forgot to elaborate on why I included the dance break. BTS has always been an industry outsider, and so Big Hit has had to innovate in response. Bad angles? Put out their own camera work. Variety shows abusing BTS? Create BTS Run! 1/
Radio excluding BTS? Offer ARMY the tools to boost BTS on our terms.
So, I'm sure you'll forgive our fandom exercises in ratio when we see snarky tweets. For you it may be a novelty. 2/
So, I'm sure you'll forgive our fandom exercises in ratio when we see snarky tweets. For you it may be a novelty. 2/
For BTS and ARMY, it's a tired tune. We react, and then we move. Because really, it's all about making the message of hope more accessible.
BTS has literally saved lives. We don't put it like that often, it's almost too sacred for the Twitterverse. 3/
BTS has literally saved lives. We don't put it like that often, it's almost too sacred for the Twitterverse. 3/
BTS gives people the tools to hope and to think and to act. It's frustrating to see to that disparaged, to see them judged, to see us written off.
Yet it's worth the struggle. For BTS, for us, for future ARMY. It's all worth it. I guess that's what it means to hope, after all
Yet it's worth the struggle. For BTS, for us, for future ARMY. It's all worth it. I guess that's what it means to hope, after all
Last tweet on this!! Any ARMY looking for people to follow, who do not already follow the excellent ARMY I referenced here, please read what they write!! https://twitter.com/LilyBorahae/status/1309024641088970752?s=20
https://twitter.com/LilyBorahae/status/1309024641088970752?s=20
