Kim Jaejoong "Mine" MV [Full Review] 3/5
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Examining The MV - part 1
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AN: I would suggest having the english-subbed video open in another tab or window while reading this to be able to keep up with the scenes as they're happening ^^
* note - I've used this video because it features mostly accurate English subtitles, but I very much encourage supporting the official upload.
Without further intro - let's get on with this LOL
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[ ] starting out - Simply him - dark forest, snow, sounds of a storm brewing.
- confusion, the "storm" coming being the explosion of emotion that always comes after that.
] cut to an owl looking straight at the camera, as if at him
- Wisdom, reflection upon Self. it knowingly faces the camera - as if the person looking at it (in character, Jaejoong) is meeting eyes with it on equal ground.
] cut to him looking around, as if lost
- confirms confusion
] cut to dog, then horned-futuristic self
- a pet - at this point docile
- what is this monotoned Self? (it's later become his Voice of Reason - objectively stating blunt feelings in times that his "real self" experiences struggle with reality)
] cut briefly back to "lost self" and for a bare moment - the snow is falling Up
- something has shifted - the line of Reality is crossed - for a moment. I would say this is the crossing point from "these exist: me, how I feel, and my voice of reason" to the *internal interactions* involved in the ultimate Journey these main characters will take.
[ ] chained self, horned self, chained self, "normal" self grabbing hair in frustration
- as if looking at Known Self vs. Reason - which is real? Which is "right"? Which is stable? Reason makes sense.... too much sense... but can I accept it and risk change? Or do I stay as I am and sacrifice potential for familiar territory?
[ ] "lost self" starts singing, but Chained Self is emphasized in the frame for,
"You're like a person who has a strong sickness"
- as though the chained him standing idly there (at this point) is "sick" - unwell - unable to see and understand what his situation is doing to him because he's accepted it, it's familiar and "normal" - but it's splitting him into so many peices that the "real him" within can't even find them all anymore.
[ ] lost self covers his mouth, horned self sings
"A poison that is spat out with congested screams"
- he's "unwell" because he's been poisoned, and yet won't/can't speak out against it.
this would make sense if the "poison" is something that influenced him enough to have him chained willingly at first - something that seeped in and became a part of him, making him a willing participant in his own captivity.
More literally - he's getting a bit of a metphorical multiple-personality-disorder here already and it's steadily getting worse - "crazy" probably doesn't feel too far off the mark to him.
[ ] "A poison that is already familiar with me" (cuts between lost self and chained self, but it's Reason singing still)
- reflecting - he knows that poison himself, he's "been there done that" - implying he's the voice of reason and observation guiding him on this path.
[ ] lost self singing now - in frustration b/c his movements are frustrated (direct juxtaposition to the horned-self singing calmly, btw - and the chained self trying to escape)
"Why are you screaming so noisily? Okay"
the dog barks mid-sentence
- chained self is trying to scream because it's realized something is a bit "off" here, but silenced - like a leashed pet (dog) barking that no one hears (b/c we can't - the visual of the bark is there but no sound is) - but forest-self can hear it (because he lived it and the frustration/screaming is internal )
[ ] the horned self (Reason) puts his hands over his ears briefly as if slightly frustrated
then sings, "i'll wake you up from the dream - why do you feel empty?"
- voice of reason again
shots of chained-self mixed in here (implying that's who it's addressed to)
[ ] lost self looks like the frustration built until utter helplessness and confusion - falls to his knees
- is lost self frustrated because he's living the memory of being chained, and Voice of Reason is the one screaming to him that he can wake up - but he feels helpless because he's chained and can't make a decision?
but then he does - must have because he's trying to escape now, and it's one big enough to bring him to his knees in awe at its magnitude. kind of a "i can't DO this shit anymore!!!... i can't... I won't... my god, I won't *thinks of what NOT conforming really means*"
he's not just struggling with what has him chained - he's struggling with himself unable to vocalize his own pain (and as before, thinking he's unwell because feeling like that is feeling like you're a fucking nutcase LOL)
[ ] chained self suddenly doesn't have the muzzle on and sings, but his face looks scratched ( except the scratches are around his eyes) - as if he broke free for one moment, long enough to scream
"don't come here, this is my ocean"
- he made the decision to vocalize his pain and assert his identity. The realization he made must have been that he exists as a being outside of the limitations placed on him, and now that he sees and understands that... he *wants* it.
but realizing that you've been blind that long is like a feeling of being violated - mostly likely by the "poison" or influence that affected him but also by *himself* in willing blindness, and vocalizes that he won't be a willing participant anymore. that influence isn't welcome anymore.
[ ] the owl flies off
- it's not "observing" anymore. Wisdom has noticed what is wrong (realization) and has taken flight (action).
[ ] cut back to him muzzled but flashing between unmuzzled and lost-him again who switch off singing,
"don't think about it, I can't help you, I'm busy fighting"
"this is my ocean" - forest and chained area again
- he's still chained and switching between vocalizing and not vocalizing - almost as if he's speaking out when he *can* but can't always
- forest-him is still remembering the feeling and frustratingly looking all around him in the forest, shaking his head like he just wants these thoughts out of it
he's still fighting himself and the "poison" within - the realization has been made, but action is still necessary and it's scary - intimidating
[ ] "my ocean" - horned self sings this part
his voice of reason reminding him that he can assert himself, Reason is a part of him, too.
[ ] "don't try to cover even the sun that shines on me" - forest-self singing to the sky with hands up as if pleading
- he just said he was busy fighting, so the thing he's fighting must be something trying to cover the light on him
- he's fighting the shadows and dark (or, what comes with shadows and dark - things hidden there like secrets, monsters, evil - that is the influence and poison affecting him) but he's now made a decision to fight, vocalized it, and asserted his own identity.
[ ] chained-self breaks free, single crow flies in facing camera
muzzle-chain self and no-muzzle-chain self flash,
odd observation - the cuts on his face look like "T L" and "L" is going through one eye. True Love, and Love nearly made him half-blind?
he struggles to break free and succeeds, but it's not easy - once he breaks free, he's faced with (a crow - typically this can mean "death" or "evil / bad things" in some symbology, but this one's *really* interpretive. it's broad-topic meaning is mostly "an omen" - a portend of things to come, whether good or bad. However, in some cultures the crow represents wisdom, magic, a guardian, a trickster, the sun, power, or a guide. At this point we know he's come face-to-face with *something* - but it's a bit vague as far as what it is and not enough is given to even make a fair estimate quite yet. We'll wait and see.)
[ ] the chain/collar falls,
- this is a bit interesting. obviously he's been freed - but the collar didn't fall until it flashed between two versions of his "chained self".
the un-muzzled one has what looks like T and L in the injuries, and L is going through one of his eyes - it's almost as if the second he vocalized his injustice, even though that decision was made, True Love nearly made him half blind before he broke free completely. The injuries around his eyes aren't there until the muzzle is off, so I find it odd and it stands out to me. I'm also speculating on TL being "true love" - but just looking at it, the letters seem to be there * very intentionally* - the lines are too clean, not jagged, and the lines of the letters are clearly separated from the "entry lines" as well. it's in that design for some reason.
as far as what "true love" could be if it IS that - I would think, in the context of this song and its imagery so far, it would be love of what was keeping him in captivity. Not the BAD parts of it - not the evils of it - but love of what he *gained* being in captivity or it's meaning to him. He was there willingly at first - something tempted him and lured him there. In that context, it could be love of what tempted him - whether that was following his dream, a person, a feeling he enjoyed, his art, or all of the above. This would hold with the struggle he had with himself theory.
[ ] all goes silent, he's running in slow motion - but only his legs are visible
- I think this is just meant to emphasize the fact that he is running, but it could also present the possibility of "getting away = slow progress and feels like it takes forever", too.
[ ] crow flies towards the opposite direction he's going, but a white flash comes over it's eyes, as though clouded or veiled.
here we might begin to determine the crow's meaning by process of elimination because quite a few of the options above can't really relate to "blindness" or anything covering it's eyes the way it's doing, and it going the opposite direction of him helps eliminate a few as well.
My own personal bias of the crow symbol is due to my love of the movie "The Crow" and the series of sequels and related-movies that went with it, so I'm a bit partial to some Native American interpretations of the crow and it as a symbol of transformation/rebirth of a sort to begin with, but i have to say this does seem like it could fit.
If you read the small bit titled "Crow Medicines and Legends of the New World" from here , it's brief but gives a bit more detail on this symbolism than I'm giving here, but here is why I'm leaning towards this interpretation:
the "white" coming over it's eyes could symbolize a transformation beginning. He's decided to escape and has the opportunity, but where does he go? What does he become, if he's not the "kept pet" anymore? It could also symbolize a literal space/time transition because as soon as the crow's eye flashes, there's a sweeping/flash *sound* and the camera pans out to Jaejoong full-bodied and not just his legs running anymore. It's also in slow motion and an empty room separate from all other "worlds" shown - as if disregarding space and time completely. This could easily be seen as "the Void" mentioned in the above article - or more generally, the place where space and time don't matter anymore (and the place crows reside in that mythology). He's running through a void - which I see as "easily connected" because the room he's in is greyscale and completely empty.
except...
[ ] he runs determinedly through a flock of crows
... there's a shitton of crows in the way. Let's just hope the "shitton" stays related to number and not state-of-action! O.O
(But they don't - he escapes un-poopified, that's just me being odd. )
My feeling of "the transformation/guide/transition" symbology feels a bit more solid at this point, because the first/main crow's eyes flashed after running - in opposite directions but *towards* each other, after I thought about it a bit. If he was running *to* it and it was "transporting" him through The Void into a transition of himself, it would make sense that they'd meet in the middle.
He's now running towards a *flock* of crows though, and I think this could be seen in different ways:
1) going against the mainstream of society - the "flock" representing either the people of society or the ideals it holds - or in this case, possibly Industry.
2) it's the Void - what's "beyond the viel" of reality vs. "the in between" - it's their natural home. they may just *be* there to emphasize that - and they're not even remotely trying to *attack* him either. he's just running through them and they're not really making much effort to stop him, so I'm inclined to think there may be some dual-symbology going on here, too, leading to..
3) both, because regardless of what the flock represents, the single crow that started it all was very emphasized and very distinct from the rest with the eyes flashing as they did.
the silence and then soft piano also gives me this "otherworldly/void" impression, as well - it's so set apart from the rest of the video, the tone very lilting and gives a "falling" feeling because the notes trickle in a soft downward fall.
he himself is even dressed and appears differently than *any* other iteration of himself throughout the entire MV. there's a lot of changes and shifts - but they all stay constant in their character - except for this one part alone. Why is he different only here? Is this his true self in that moment? Is it the ideal self he sees in freeing himself?
and then after he runs through this empty space - he's suddenly changed again.
* note - the symbology of "crows" also applies to crow-like birds in the same family, and Ravens are often used in film for dramatic effect, as they're simply usually bigger and easier for handlers to work with. Please don't nitpick the physical bird too much - "crow" was more than likely intended in the concept.
[ ] vamp-self plays piano - first appearance and it's blurred
- He's a new being that only just now appeared post-transition out of the Void, but the images fluctuate -
[ ] jeweled-self appears, playing piano and covering his face - also first appearance and it's blurred
- I feel the "jeweled self" represents the fake image - the shining beauty others see, but it covers his true identity and face and isn't completely *him*. He's still there - underneath it and in between the lines of it, moving it and influencing it, but it's a mask he wears.
Interestingly - he's covering even the *mask* with his hand here, specifically his mouth. perhaps the captive in him has vocalized it's discontent enough to escape, but his image still remains silent.
[ ] piano part flashes between those two
- Both versions (vamp-self and jeweled-self) are controlling "the movement of the fall" here - the fall/exit from the Void is how I feel the piano break - and they are indeed "controlling" that sound/movement.
I feel like this could represent both his "beauty image" and his "monster image" - positive and negative aspects of himself carrying through the transition. Also "past vs. present" - because he's not quite that beauty-image/masked concept anymore, but there's a new being there and it seems like that's the being he's becoming. I feel like we're getting much closer to the "true Jaejoong" he's been trying to create/find so far and it seems like it will be a combination by the end of things with these aspects both controlling his "return to reality".
random observation - this point is almost exactly halfway through the entire video and I'm loving that his "transition point" has equal balance in distance between "what he was" and "what he will become" - don't know if that was intentional or not but it's awesome either way. (I'm big on balance hehe)
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