Reacting to STRAY KIDS I am NOT trailer (Film Studies Professor Reacts)

[@oddinaris]

as someone who's been following the lore, this really amazes me so much! the way you explain every detail that you could see on the video makes me very happy 😭 not everyone could crack the lore like that but you did! and also you are really good at this 😭 how i wish i could be one of your students too!! but anyways for the context, all i understood is that when chan said, "Wasn't until I saw my reflection, that's when I woke up and realized that the truth had been hidden away from us." i'm thinking that he was talking about the world that han saw back then in hellevator! and in the part 'Wasn't until I saw my reflection' gives a hint on how I.N saw a different version of himself in the bus.. also it seems like they kinda gave a reference from a movie that was called 'upside down'.. the movie has a two worlds that was coexisting on top of each other.. and as far as i could remember, i think it was chan who said that the lore was inspired from the maze runner too!! anyways i LOVE the reaction so MUCHHH and i absolutely learned a lot from this 😭

[@oolola]

TY so much!! It's a bit intimidating wading into lore when I know people have unpacked it in great detail already and have all sorts of terrific insight, but it's really fun to unpack it for myself and go on the journey rather than go into it knowing how it all fits together. And I'm really glad that it's fun for you to come along for the ride as someone who already knows the lore well! Haha I wonder what my students would do if I suddenly started going on and on about stray kids lore... actually they'd probably be into it :D

[@liri100000]

찬이가 그영화(거꾸로)를 언급한적이 있었나요? 아끼는 창작물이 한 개인에 의해 일반화될때 (비슷함) 팬으로써 불쾌합니다. 아티스트를 존중해주세요. 표절 의혹이 있더라도 확실한 증거없이는 함부로 얘기하지 못합니다.

[@oolola]

I am not at all suggesting plaigarizing! In my mind all art and culture draws on other art in different ways, and also sometimes viewers may have associations that weren't intended by the creators, but it's still interesting to think about the chains of association. I mean no disrespect to Chan or any of the creators involved! I'm sorry if it seemed at all that I was suggesting these were definite intended references. And I definitely think SKZ MVS are very creative in their own right! @@liri100000

[@liri100000]

​@@oolola 반복해서 미안합니다. 이번으로 마무리할게요~ ​아시겠지만 윗분에게 하는말입니다. ​답은 안주셔도 됩니다. 예술을 즐기는 방식에 있어서 개인의 기억(편견또는경험)을 대입해 본인의 틀안에서 맞춘다면 설득시키기를 포기하겠습니다. 스트레이 키즈 그대로 새로운 시선으로 봐주세요. 각자의 고민과 문제들이 보이고 함께 하려는 그들이 보이는데 어떤 부분에서 거꾸로라는 영화가 떠올랐습니까? 아니면 그 영화를 알고있다는게 포인트였나요? 화가 난건 아니고 비슷한게 생각나도 요점을 벗어나지말고 입을 잠가두길 바랍니다.

[@cassc23]

Love that you're going through these. I swear they help with understanding the meanings/underlying themes behind the songs in each album. They're not just a hype up to the album that’s nonsensical and I love that they do this!

[@oolola]

Thank you so much! This is lovely to hear :)

[@GolyenHighway]

When I fist became a Stay. I decided to go album by album from the beginning. I enjoyed my journey, and found the story along the way. So. I made that list. I hope it helps. The I Am Not trailer is very interesting. Not only is it calling out the K-Pop industry for it's hypocrisy of saying every group is different & then punishing the groups who actually are, but it's doing the same to society as a whole. How can we tell people to be unique & themselves, then turn around and force them to conform to rigid social structures. You saw Woojin at the tablet typing all the things he is supposed to be, what is expected of him by teachers, parents, governments. When he stops typing, the other people disappear, leading his to start questions. And he left the last one blank. You see Felix on the roof practicing dancing in front of mirrors. But mirrors often distort reality a bit. things are flipped, and sometimes slightly off if the mirror is imperfect. When he realizes the reflection he sees isn't real, it breaks. Because what's reflected in a mirror isn't quite what is really there. You see Seungmin in a room painting a picture that is copied many times before. Then he realizes that it is just going to be repeated to infinity of sameness, and he strikes a line through the painting to make it individual and imperfect. You see Lee Know approach a board with nonsense and half sayings scrawled across it by people in hoods that can only see right in front of themselves. He writes that he isn't & leaves. He isn't partaking in nonsense. You see Changbin in a room of tvs looking at his own smiling face. It looks forced & nothing like how he feels. So he covers his eyes & the room disappears. You see Hyunjin in a VR class learning something from a faceless teacher. Every time he tries to see who is teaching him there are more & more faceless teachers teaching the same thing, so he removes himself from the headset. You see Han in a spotlight seemingly worshiped by masses of people in front of him. Then he realizes that they are not actually paying him any attention. They are focused on the shadow he casts. So he turns his back on them. (There is actually a story about cave people worshiping the shadows created by someone who can see the sun. It's an interesting read. That is for sure being referenced here. It also references that people pay attention to idols in the spotlight, but only really care about the shadows they cast. Not the idol themselves, just the larger than life image of them.) You see I.N on a bus & when they pull up to a stop, he sees himself sitting there. This startles him & he gets off the bus. (This is actually important. It's the first GLITCH that happens & sets them in motion) You see Bang Chan in the beginning in a crowd of people, then he sees the glitch in the sky & it makes him realize there is something more. Something out there, just beyond what was handed to him & told this is what is. So he stops. The others stop with him. And then we start the story. It is a story of self discovery, growth, doubts, fears, and friendship. There are so many songs that don't fit in the story line, but are worth checking out. You will be finding songs, and versions of songs for a long time.

[@oolola]

Listening to you describe it here (such a fabulous analysis, thank you!) I am now starting to see the I am not trailer as a sort of alternative origin story to Hellevator, with many of the same themes but different emphasis. They're both about breaking out of a system that doesn't want you to be yourself/an artist with individual perception, they both have a glitch moment with a double (Han in Hellevator, I.N. in I am not), and they both suggest that breaking out is possible. The emphasis in Hellevator is hard work, determination, and collective support, and in I am not it's more about self awareness and recognizing the system as false. But of course those can coexist as thematic frames! Also, yes, when I mentioned Plato's Cave, the story you mention was what I was thinking of! When I first said it I was thinking it was a bit of a reach as a reference but I should've realized, this is stray kids, why shouldn't that be the reference! :) I seriously love that.

[@liri100000]

한국인도 모르는 KPOP산업을 외국인들이 더 잘알고있네요..안좋은 내용만.. 이유가 뭐죠? 어디서 듣는겁니까? 한국에 대해 아는척 그만하고 음악만 들읍시다. 한국좀 건들지 마세요,

[@oolola]

I'm sorry! I didn't mean to cause offense, and I love the music and MVs I react to; I am not meaning to suggest anything bad, but just sharing my appreciation and love for the music and MVs. @@liri100000