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canyouhearthevoices · 2 years

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Oh dear, it’s here.

The epic (or maybe a little more toned-down) dystopian storyline first introduced (slightly) in ‘THANXX’ and in earnest in ‘The Awakening of Summer,’ which, coincidentally, has also been used in promotions for ‘THE WORLD.’

We still follow a group that I can only assume are HALAteez, as they grew up in their dystopian world. Looking back at the previous era (FEVER), I assume that they grew up with a pretty positive view of the world, and that the cracks and oppression only began to show after a considerable amount of time. In ‘INCEPTION’ and ‘THANXX,’ we saw them rebelling against the expectations of the world, but still able to enjoy their youth to an extent. Then in ‘FIREWORKS,’ everything went out the window a bit. In ‘Eternal Sunshine’ and ‘Deja Vu’, introduced after ‘The Awakening of Summer’ on KINGDOM, we saw as they saw the full extent of the corruption of their world, and the level of oppression, especially in the arts, enacted by the government.

Don’t even ask me what was going on in ‘The Real.’

Anyway, now we see their actual efforts to take down this government. A very common theme that I seem to have been noticing in kpop lately (especially with ENHYPEN and JUST B...). I think you could trace the origins of this particular variety of music video to BTS and ‘No more Dream’ and ‘FIRE.’ There were certainly videos like them before, but BTS were the ones who seem to have popularised it.

Anyhow, now that I have had opportunity to actually look at the MV, between work and uni and fencing, what even happened in it?

I managed to do this on a computer, so it got quite long in one piece. Full analysis below the line.

Here is our dystopian setting. I think the airships were a good choice - for a lot of history students, I think they remind us of Nazi Germany - so very sinister.

We’ve got the city that we saw several times in ‘The Awakening of Summer,’ ‘Deja Vu’ and ‘Eternal Sunshine,’ etc. The sky here is a bit darker than in ‘Eternal Sunshine,’ probably for the obvious dramatic effect.

We also have the dudes working on whatever this sphere thing is. I think they use it later to disrupt communication networks and highjack the government’s brainwashing of people? But I haven’t been paying good attention to the gadgets in this comeback.

I was wondering why in the teaser the main dude overseeing the work on the sphere was white -

But it turned out to just be Joong wearing a skin-suit. Very odd of you, my guy. Are you a 60s villain or something?

Which, speaking of, is probably actually partially what they were going for - most modern depictions of dystopian settings are heavily influenced by the novel ‘1984,’ which was released in 1949 and had significant cultural impact on representations of alternate or future societies over the following decades, including the 60s-70s.

Typical shots of our leader looking upon his future domain.

And then he leaves.

This shot mostly serves to show that this is a whole bunch of speakers which will, presumably, broadcast ATEEZ’s message to the world.

And we’ve got our buddy Joong. I really like the different style they went with for the opening and other parts of the MV - it’s snappier and has a more artistic feel, with the fisheye lenses, greyscale, and the blurred/painted-over borders of some shots. It has an old-school hip-hop vibe, which I think is why they used it - it’s unusual and unique, and shows how ATEEZ are going against society and producing something artistic and unique.

Greyscale has also been used commonly with HALAteez. At this point I will also note - the gloves and the racing jackets, which were used in HALAteez content.

Also - Hongjoong’s megaphone is back! I can’t remember the last time I saw this - was it perhaps in the promotions for ‘Answer,’ or has it been as long as ‘Say My Name?’

Hongjoong, and, by extension, ATEEZ and their message, are on the screen in this place we saw in the promos for the comeback. I’m not entirely sure what it is - either a school or a workplace. Here is my thought process;

It looks like the same kind of typical dystopian school we saw in MVs like BTS’s ‘NO’ and JUST B’s ‘TIK TOK.’ This is the typical representation of a dystopian school - all white, separated desks, with the students looking blankly forward

But we know that schools in HALAtee’s world/Stictland look like normal schools - we saw this in ‘INCEPTION’ and ‘Turbulence.’

Okay, so it might be a workplace, which is possible. But that would be odd - usually the only workplaces shown in dystopian media are the lairs of the evil government, and the evil government doesn’t need to use the screens, lights etc to indoctrinate their workers - the workers are either evil and working for them on purpose, or are already indoctrinated.

We know that FEVER followed one version of the group, but there were very different representations of the world throughout - for instance, ‘FIREWORKS,’ ‘THANXX,’ and ‘Deja Vu’ don’t all seem like they came from the same world

In which case, perhaps they all did come from the same world, and the shift in representation is more about a shift in the characters’ knowledge - they initially see the world as an imperfect but okay place, and then over time they come to see how truly horrible it is.

So, from the admittedly little time that I have spent looking into this, it seems like it is a school.

But take that with a grain of salt

Anyway, people are getting their message, and that’s what matters.

I just like this Yeosang. It’s a funny shot and I have no idea why they decided to include this shot of Yeosang jumping.

Ahh, the classic dark alleyway/shed/club/wherever else that they plan their attack and gather their allies at to have mosh parties and rallies and things.

I don’t know why they included this - are they trying to show that Joong is going insane? Is it another hip-hop aspect that shows how they subvert the masks the government pushes onto people? Or does it just look cool?

I find it interesting that they gave Joong a staff in the actual choreo - the only time I recall seeing the staff (a representative symbol of Joong) was in the promo pictures for ‘Answer.’

They’re bringing a lot of things back, it seems. As befits a new (and possibly hybrid) era.

I’ll also note that, from what I have been able to catch by watching the MV very very slowly, the outfit he wears when in the white/greyscale space doesn’t have his captain’s mark/armband, but the outfit that he wears in the choreo shots does have the armband.

All of the stage and other promo outfits I have seen him with so far have had it this comeback.

Yunho in the phone booth - phones, voices, communication, and sound have always been important to ATEEZ, but especially so this comeback.

Also, note the ‘Hearts Awakened, Live Alive,’ anarchy poster in the background.

We’ve got Yeosang being the tech guy in the van. I like how Yeosang and Yunho were cut together here - it implies that they are working closely together, which is in line with their positions on the ship - Yunho as the Second Mate and Yeosang as the Pilot.

Seonghwa’s in the lift with this wonderous range of posters - we’ve got the ‘Guerrilla’ posters, the anarchy posters, the ‘Wake up world’ posters, the ‘HALA HALA’ posters, etc.

Oh, to be the set designer for ATEEZ.

Anyway, I like to think that Seonghwa is leading the ‘attack’ on the ground, like in ‘Don’t Stop.’

San is packing this bag - I think I saw posters/money, and a change of clothes?

And our magnificent shot of Hwa. I don’t know why people don’t like this hairstyle on him - I think it makes him look unique, majestic, and a tiny bit crazy.

I also like how one eye is shadowed - not only does it make him look a tad unhinged, it also makes up focus on his eyes - we want to see if there is some reason for one of them being hidden.

Hwa going forth on his journey.

Classic TV shots. And a very dramatic Joong.

He’s my bias, and he’s the most central to the storyline, but by this point even I am kind of irritated at how much screen time he’s been getting compared to the other members. We haven’t even seen Jongho, Wooyoung, and Mingi yet.

Also on the TV - San is running from these dudes with masks.

And Jongho is with the speaker sphere.

I guess Wooyoung is leading their band/music production and broadcasts. Is he in charge of the radio?

Our second dance set is this city with ‘Guerrilla’ on it.

It’s hard to tell, but the yellow/gold symbol behind Seonghwa in the centre of the screen is a sun medallion with the Cromer on it.

The fact that the Cromer is inside the sun (a common symbol of power, leaders etc), is on an elevated platform and in a place of prominence, and is in the centre of the screen, rather than the dancers/ATEEZ themselves, almost makes it look like ATEEZ are worshipping it.

And here we have them highjacking the screens in the school/whatever it is.

Apologies for this very blurry photo of Yunho yelling into the mic. But I’m sure we can all see his beauty through the blur.

And here is everyone else doing it. I’m pretty sure everyone is here. Hongjoong’s sitting at the back and I think Yeosang + Wooyoung are on the seat behind San.

Joong is running towards the smokestack things. I don’t know what exactly their purpose is. These aren’t the ones we saw in the trailers for the comeback, because these ones are in a grassy field and the others were on the outskirts of the city. Anyway.

He also throws his jacket away. Maybe revealing his identity to the world?

Nothing to say here, except that I love Yeosang’s hat and hate Hongjoong’s hairstyle.

Mingi also gets to be in this greyscale, rotoscoped world. I wonder if it’s a rapper thing?

He also gets to be in the van with Wooyoung. It’s the same van that Yeosang was in, but I can’t see him. Interesting - are they working together, or did they kick him out?

More of the gathering.

Woo and Mingi distributing the fliers.

Yunho alone in the radio room. Interestingly, it still says ‘on air.’

This shot reminds me of Yeosang in ‘Turbulence.’

This time the white guy was Wooyoung!

He looks like he’s trying to highjack some board full of controls and things. At the same time that Yeosang is turning on the radio.

And we have more of the radio spheres. Very sinister-looking.

Destroying stuff - very HALAteez. Especially mirrors.

OMG WTF is going on here?

Alright, first of all, we have the ATEEZ flags back, although some of them are anarchy flags and some of them have the ‘THE WORLD’ logo. They also have the fliers everywhere. They’re clearly in some kind of conflict involving smoke bombs and things.

I don’t think there’s anything particularly exciting that the individual members are doing.

Dang, ATEEZ got control of the airships!

I mean, if there was ever a HALAteez airship, this is pretty close to what I imagine it would look like.

The backup dancers are all dressed in their black pirate/HALAteez costumes.

ATEEZ have growing support.

They also die like in HALA HALA.

And we have ATEEZ in their hideout with their mentor dude. I wonder why the dude never showed up in the MVs before - were they waiting for the perfect person to cast?

There’s a kid trying to get into their hideout, who came from the same school that they went to, and which, based on the outfit, I presume is the same school as the one they highjacked.

It seems that the school changed over time, and used to be pretty normal, like in ‘The Real,’ then became a dystopian mess here.

And that was ‘Guerrilla!’

I liked it, although I’m still not entirely sure what is going on exactly in the storyline. I mean, it in regards to everything else. On the bright side, both KQ and I can cite multiple dimensions, dream states, and time travel whenever we need to assimilate anything.

It’s fun, I like it, but ‘Sector 1′ is still better.

#ateez #atiny #ateez theories #mv analysis #the world #the world ep 1 #the world ep 1 live #the world ep 1: movement #movement #guerrilla

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