I’m sure this week’s “Tune” comes as a surprise to absolutely no one. I mean this is BTS we’re talking about. I kinda have a habit of freaking out over them so naturally I have to squee over this comeback, and “Run” in particular, because HOLY FLIP! It’s so darn amazing I barely know where to begin!
As ARMYs the world-over are very well aware, BTS promised to make a comeback with The Most Beautiful Moments in Life Pt. 2 way back in September when they released their “On Stage: Prologue” video. Though at the time they said they’d be making their comeback in October, it wasn’t until November that the boys of BTS began teasing us with their comeback concept photos and teaser videos.
After enduring comebacks by VIXX, B.A.P and GOT7, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to survive a BTS comeback as well and quite honestly, I’m not sure I have survived. I think my fangirl heart has reached the utter limits of what it can endure in a month and if one more bias group makes a comeback, my poor heart may explode!
I think the reason my heart is so fragile (other than the obvious overabundance of mega-feels) is because BTS has managed to strike a chord with me this go-round and OH MY GIDDY FLIPPING AUNT! I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to hold up against such a powerful onslaught of emotions! Making their comeback with the aforementioned sequel to The Most Beautiful Moments in Life, Pt. 1, BTS has found a way to break my heart and fill it with hope, all at the same time and it’s all because of one beautiful song entitled, “Run.”
I know there’s a lot of talk right now about the meaning of video for this song and I have my own two cents to add to the mix but before I do, I just have to say, “Run” in and of itself is the perfect embodiment of absolutely everything I love about BTS. It’s such a powerful song and the combination of soul-stirring rap and hauntingly beautiful vocals convey such a depth of emotion, it’s impossible to listen to this song without being moved. (Unless you’re a rock or something equally unmovable.)
As for the video, it’s the continuation of the story that was begun when the boys released “I Need U” way back in April. From there the story continued in the “On Stage: Prologue” and it wraps up here with “Run.” While it seems to me there’s an awful lot of focus on trying to figure out how which (if not all) of the members end up dead in the end, to me that’s so far off from the point it’s not even worth talking about. What is worth talking about is the lessons we can learn from this video trilogy when we look at it as a whole.
Now bear with me here, I’m about to delve deep into the world of my own opinions (as if I didn’t do that on a daily basis anyway). What I’m sharing is simply what I see as I watch this story unfold. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, I’m just saying it is what it is. The beauty of music is that it’s open to as many interpretations as there are artists who create it and people who listen to it; so here’s mine in regards to The Most Beautiful Moments in Life.
The way I see it, life is a series of moments that, when combined together, shape us into the unique individuals we are. The longer we live, the more moments we experience and the more moments we experience, the more we come to realize that while yes, some of those moments are beautiful there are also moments so ugly we wish we could find a way to go back and erase them. The thing is, these moments, both the beautiful and the ugly, make us who we are and to have one without the other would leave us misshapen and under-developed. In my experience, it’s during the ugliest of times that we learn and grown the most, which is usually a painful process but when we come out the other side, we’re better people than we were when we started.
What makes these ugly times bearable is having a group of friends and/or family around us who will always be there for us. Having a group of people surrounding you, who love you for who you are, who are willing to shenaniganize with you, laugh with you, cry with you, bail you out of trouble, pick you up when you’re down, punch you in the face when you deserve it… This is what makes those ugly moments in life bearable and if you don’t have at least one person like this in your life, you need to find one. STAT!
The things you have to remember is that even when you do find a friend (or friends) like this, life with them isn’t always going to be sunshine and rainbow ponies. We are only human, after all, and we all have shortcomings that will cause conflict from time to time. It’s knowing this and being able to deal with these conflicts that arise that makes a friendship stronger. You just have to be able to work through your problems.
At the same time, you can’t expect even the most amazing of friends to be able to carry you through all of life’s ugly moments. There are times in life when you’re going to find yourself in the deepest, darkest of places and in these moments it’s very easy to feel like you’re drowning. If you’ve never found yourself in such a desperate place, a place where everything seems out of control and you feel like you’re drowning, I’m happy for you. But for those of you who have been here, struggling to catch your breath as life tries to push you deeper, trapping you in an endless ocean of despair, you have to know that you have the strength within yourself to fight your way back to the surface. You don’t have to give up, you don’t have to let life drag you so far down you no longer feel like you have the strength to fight. You can find a way to drag yourself out of that dark pool and stumble towards the light. Is it an easy thing to do? Heck no. Will you fall into another equally dark pool somewhere down the road? Maybe. But if you can pull yourself out of this first pool, you can pull yourself out of all the others because you are strong enough. Even if you don’t believe it, you are and that, more than anything, is what I see when I watch this video.
Yes, things seems chaotic at times, desperate even, or out of control, but there is always hope for better things to come. Will life be the same as it once was? Probably not. Will you be the same as you once were? Nope! But that doesn’t mean you give up. You simply find a way to adapt and move on. As the song says, you “run, run, run” because even when living takes every ounce of strength you have, you find what makes life beautiful and you keep going.
And on that note, I’ll stop with the sermon. Jeeze! I told you BTS struck a chord with me this time. I just see so much hope in the midst of all the chaos of life and I love the way BTS has portrayed this crazy messed up but beautiful thing we call life. Maybe I’m reading way too much into it. Maybe I’ve missed the point completely but this is how I see it so I’m just gonna go with it.
I suppose I should shut up now and let you tell me what you think of “Run” so that’s what I’m going to do. What you can do is tell me, do you like it? Do you hate it? Do you think I’m certifiably insane? You know I always love hearing from you so be sure to let me know what you think by leaving me a comment below!