loyalnprecious

Written bits and writing pieces

" Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us" (P. Theroux) She/her - Writer on Ao3 (Jikook own me to the moon and back)

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A Remarkable Approach, Which Had No Trouble Steering Me Towards A Different And More Enriching Perspective

A remarkable approach, which had no trouble steering me towards a different and more enriching perspective than the one I had before. Brilliant!

G.C.F. in Helsinki

Normally I’d stick to analyzing words and shy away from writing about a video or editing choices, but the overall response to Jungkook’s latest gcf (at least that I’ve seen) has kind of been disappointingly lacklustre, so I felt I had to throw in my two cents.

I’ve seen praise of how aesthetic it is or how his editing skills have become more polished, but the general opinion seems to be that gcf Helsinki lacks a story or that it was made mainly for work and therefore is missing something.

Of course, the video acts as a promo for the winter package, but it’s character is so distinctly Jungkook. And by god, I felt so emotional watching it the first time. If some of his earlier gcf’s read like stories, this one to me reads like poetry. A bit more subtle and abstract in its message perhaps, but not without meaning.

What I got from it was an anticipation of change and the members trying to realize themselves as individuals. This seems especially obvious to me if you think about where they are in their careers.

They’re facing military enlistment soon, and the end of their old contract. They have a new contract, but I don’t doubt that it will mean changes in how they work in the future. And the enlistment of some, if not all, members will certainly mean big changes to the group dynamic.

There are even clear references to coming war in the lyrics of the song JK chose: “why’d you spend your time leading the chorus, when the war was just waiting before us, as if you didn’t know.”

Thank you also to @aishirii (KMDestiny on YouTube) for pointing out that a large part of the gcf was filmed at the Castle of Finland, a sea fortress on the coast of Helsinki. Another reference possibly hinting at military enlistment.

And I don’t think this is a stretch, because it would be almost more odd if this wasn’t on all their minds.

Another reason I interpreted it this way is because of the clear division between before and after JK interrupts his own gcf with a sniff and a “sorry”. It’s almost jarring when the screen turns completely black and the song cuts out for this interruption, so you really can’t miss it.

Up until this point, this gcf had followed JK’s usual style. He shows his members as a group and individually with some silly moments thrown in where they pretend to fight each other. (If anyone thinks Jungkook doesn’t pay attention to lyrics just know that during this play-fight scene there’s a line that goes, “set away your hate”.)

Then comes the interruption and Jungkook seems to apologize for the silliness he just showed us. It’s almost like, “ok, I’ll get serious now.”

And after the interruption we only ever see the members on their own. They each get their own series of solo shots, but we never see them as a group again.

The couple shots there are of birds also mirror this.

Pre-interruption, we get the lyrics, “lose the sight of what’s to come, below or what’s above”, and on the “above” JK switches to a shot of three birds flying overhead as a group:

And immediately after the interruption, we get the shot of a single bird flying alone, mirroring how each of the members will be shown solo from now on:

Add to that the fact that Talos’s song used in the background of this gcf is called To Each His Own, and seems to be about making one’s own decisions and self-determination: “I’ll take the desert, you take the coast, to each his own.”

I’m sure with the changes headed their way they’re all trying to figure themselves out as individuals, who they are outside of BTS and the group.

The use of the colour in this gcf was also so transformational and seemed to indicate change.

Everything starts off bleakly grey and rainy:

But there are moments when the colours change and grow warm.

There’s a moment when RM smiles and the colour grading warms up, but the most stark is right after JK’s own solo shots. The black border transforms into a white one, the focus on the colourful leaves is shifting, and though the redness of the leaves indicates fall, this moment felt to me like spring suddenly arrived.

The shot we get of Jimin immediately afterwards is also filled with movement and colour with his bright red coat.

He ends the gcf on a similarly transformational shot, where the sunset/sunrise turns from greyscale to brilliant, warm colours.

I could ramble on, but there’s only so much I can say with confidence, and I think I’ve outlined the major themes Jungkook was toying with here. I just appreciated the heck out of this gcf and hope others will too, for more than just its aesthetic.