What the hype is all about? 防彈阿米為何中毒？

我在這裡很少上載英文文章，不過因為防彈少年團剛在5月20日在Billboard Music Award演出及得獎，在美國娛樂媒體或一般電視觀眾造成很大回響，他們最常見的疑問，就是不明白為何防彈在美國這麼受歡迎？為何防彈的飯圈阿米這麼瘋狂地支援防彈。

我在推特看到這些疑問及一些海外阿米的回應(一般都是說他們七個很努力，自己創作歌曲等等不太能說服到外人的表面答案，老實說，那有完全不努力的藝人，而且西方已習慣了歌手應該要參與製作歌曲)。我受不了這種問與答都觸不到癢處的來來回回，昨晚就寫下這篇放在推特。我明白來看這部落格的華語阿米，可能不會完全看得懂，但都希望你們盡量嘗試看，不要因為是英語就自動關閉，阿米這個全球飯圈需要大家更努力互相了解及體諒。我不是站姐不拍照不辦團購亦無能力做翻譯，我做飯能做到的，就只是偶爾在這裡那裡寫一點點，希望東西方的阿米更了解對方。

另外各位不是阿米的舊讀者，看下這篇可能會明白一點為何我這個中年婦會迷上這個韓團。

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People that don’t understand the hype of BTS is because they don’t understand BTS is not just an idol group for ARMY to fangirl (or fanboy). A more accurate comparison would be: BTS and its fandom is a religion, or a social movement, or even a cult, but just without the usual hypocrisy combo. That’s why ARMY are a lot more motivated to do collective actions to support or represent the group, than maybe any other boy band fandoms before them. Let me explain further.  

I will ignore the fact that their music is not in some universal language like English first, because obviously there is something more profound and overpowering for people of all ages, all races, from different corners of the world to be motivated, to look for and understand their songs, watch videos with subtitles and so on.

What were some common factors for successful boy bands in the past?  Good looks, catchy songs, some could dance, and the illusion of creating a fantasy for mostly female fans to daydream about.  BTS has it all and does it better. They pay attention to how they look, what they wear, they write and produce their own songs, their choreography and stage presence is insane, and they make sure the only fantasy you may even have is among the members themselves. 

What drove the general public away from idols/boy bands in the past? Mostly bad personal conducts, like sleeping around, hiring hookers, doing drugs, drunk driving, bad attitude to fans, the media or the public (on or off cameras), or internal conflicts among members that drove the fandom apart.  BTS does none of those, you can say it's luck because they all had good parenting and grew up decent, or you can say their company picked the right kids to begin with. They are so careful with what they do and what they say because very early on, they realized what possible consequence of even a slight hiccup in public image could do to their success.

And yes, obviously social media contributed to their success globally.  But social media has been around way longer than their existence, so why was only BTS successful in utilizing it?  Don’t forget, social media is “just”, and always will be “just” a channel.  It’s the CONTENT you push through the channel that makes the difference.  Most celebrities use social media as a one way promotion outlet, they feed you stuff they want to promote and that’s it, exactly like a media outlet.  In a group level, BTS use social media as a communication tool to their fans. When you use it to “communicate”, it’s always two ways, or multiple ways. They tell you what they are doing, where they are going, what music they listen to, what they’re wearing, or jokes or shenanigans among members.  It’s like you’re in their family chat room.  In a corporate level, Big Hit makes sure you know how hard the kids work, pretty much everything they do and present to the public, there will be a behind the scene footage of how everything is done.  The extend and generosity of the amount of behind the scene footage is insane.  No one is saying other KPOP groups or western groups don’t work as hard, but you don’t know about it because it’s not shown. That’s how smart Big Hit is. From the hundreds of hours of footage, you also get to know the members at a personal level, when they are goofing around, or getting ad lip interviews, you get to see each personality, the dynamics between the members, and most important of all, their strong bond and friendship.  It’s like watching a feel good sitcom with no season ending. In a way, they could do this endless hours of behind the scene filming without hesitation is also because these kids are genuinely nice kids with good heads on their shoulders, it’s easy to trust them and show them off, on or off cameras.

Another important factors to draw fans in, is the positivity of their music productions.  In this day and age, be it in politics or youth or other social issues, cynicism and helplessness penetrate to the core of all generations.  BTS comes out being all critical, but also at the very same time, “not” cynical.  Just bitching and mourning about everything can only get you to a certain point.  However, being insightful and critical of reality, but still wanting to search for a light in the tunnel, gives people hope. Remember how Obama motivated people just with the notion of “hope”?  It’s not like there aren’t singer song writers who are critical of the world, or there aren’t feel good singers that only want to make cheer up “safe” songs.  But you go out and try to find one that does BOTH on their own, and does it well with catchy tunes and insane choreography. 

People in the western world don’t understand BTS hype or sudden popularity, I get that, because just from a few songs they watch on TV or hear in radio, you won’t get what the hype is all about.  Why are the fans so insane, so motivated?  Because to ARMY, it’s never just about the songs.  It’s the whole package.  It’s also the sense of community we have within the fandom, across the globe.  How many boy groups in the history of boy groups can you say the artist and the fandom trust each other and genuinely care for each other?  Devote their time to make sure the others get what they want or dream of? (You try to find some other boy bands or artist who would ditch AMA or BBMA after parties just to rush back to the hotel rooms to do a live chat with fans, or spend weeks or even months in their insane schedule to come up with a debut anniversary program with free songs and performances every year just to thank fans.)  How many fandoms in the history of fandoms try so hard to represent their idols in a positive light and not do anything to get their idols in trouble or bad press?  If it’s just catchy tunes and great dance, or cute faces, I don’t think it will do the trick.  It’s because BTS has no fault, no bad angle, nothing negative in every aspect, which motivate the fandom to do what they do.  Yes, that certainly includes loud fan chants when they perform live because we know it will make them less nervous in western prestigious awards shows.

Stanning BTS is NOT just about fangirling cute faces and catchy tunes, it’s also a SOCIAL MOVEMENT to stand up for social justice, believe in self love, tolerance, hard work and sincerity.  That’s why ARMY are so motivated to support them, more than any idols before them.  If the western media, or any media will just pay a little more attention, do better research, or … ask the right fan, then they wouldn’t need to keep asking what the hype is all about.  BTS and its ARMY, are here to stay.­