Can’t You See Me?

4 min readNov 3, 2020

Greyside here, contemplating the aesthetics of real life over-depicted in BigHit’s artists’ content. As ARMY, of course I’ve seen the videos, shorts, films, art, etc. But somethings were standing out unusually, or perhaps, I was finding something too familiar in the visuals.

Through BTS’ BU, and TXT’s TU, many #MOA and #ARMY feel a wide range of emotions. And it only makes sense! The groups address vital yet often overlooked topics such as relationships (not only romantic), love (again, not only romantic), pain, youth, lies and truths, depression, community issues like finances, poverty, death, etc.

I was watching 세계가 불타버린 밤, 우린… (Can’t You See Me?) by TXT and found myself intensely disturbed and extremely uncomfortable. But why? I relate to this group of boys in no major way. I am a brown Muslim American woman living all the way in California. Actually, I don’t even stan the group like that; I simply show support as ARMY and BigHit admirer.

Still, there was something wrong about how I felt, and especially since I wasn’t into the theories and storyline of the TU, I was even more confused. Things linked and were making too much sense, and no sense at all, simultaneously. Bloody tomato-splattered walls in a high-end looking house is something I’ve never experienced, And yet, I have. Exactly that.

Bloody tomato-splattered walls and changing emotions when something gets pushed over the limit. Yelling, fires, and soaked hands. The weight of guilt nearly making a hole into your chest. Yes, TXT was able to depict exactly what it feels like for a friendship or group of familiar people to sadly lose those precious and promised ties, be they unvoiced. For those loose ends to catch fire and rip the fabric of togetherness. And yet, we all know that the most common way for people to fall apart doesn’t involve anything that happened in the MV.

It’s something along the lines of the color blue being largely or overly associated with sad emotions even if it’s just a color in this world. Something like what artist Yayoi Kusama, known for her Infinity Mirror installations did in order to cope with her psychological problems. I’d written a paper on her, and recalled what I’d learned while watching BTS and TXT. In a book which mentions artists around the globe, author Sarah Thornton states, “Kusama translates her existential terrors into works that inspire feelings of awe, elation, and plentitude.”

By using unique and definitive motifs and imagery, along with their music and lyrics, BigHit artists physically give their audience a depiction of real life situations while including all of the things that absolutely did not happen, but definitely feel like they did.

Below are examples of some of the big depictions I could think up of that BTS has portrayed in their video content. Please enjoy, let your minds and hearts feel those visuals, and feel free to share about it in the comments!

And these thematic and solidified moments of life aren’t only found in their tragic, beautiful, and heart-wrenching former content, but can be seen in the LY eras too! Examples below: