The Bangtan Theory: Run Analysis

All the boys of BTS, at one point, were alive. However Jin dies and ends up sharing all these past memories he has of them from before through these music videos. Eventually they all die because they are unable to move on. BTS portrays death as an event that shouldn’t keep you from living. By showing the effects of depression on youth and allusions to other pieces of literature or forms of art, including greek mythology and the band Nirvana, they show love is not over at death.

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Run

Please watch their video.

Disclaimer: This is a story line created by BigHit Entertainment and is completely made up for the sake of other's enjoyment.

The first scene shows Jungkook falling back into water which goes back to the allusion to Nirvana. Jungkook has passed through the stages of youth and has reached Nirvana, which in this case is adulthood. The images in the video reflect the past and fill the gaps of the storyline. Run is a video that presents the perfect bildungsroman initiation. The boys run together as a crew, which most high schoolers do. They hug their friends and make jokes, just like kids do every day of their lives. They fight and make up, they party to the break of dawn and cause chaos in the town. This is the stage where they just let back and have the time of their lives because youth is fleeting and they need to cherish every moment they have.

One of the things that stands out in the video is when they outline Jin’s body in red and cross him out at the party they have. This can symbolize his future death or the fact that he’s not a part of them anymore after he dies. There is also an inscription on the wall where it says, “Wasted youth, enter the void” which helps to back up the theory that they are going from their youth to adulthood. The void is adulthood because most people believe at adult hood your life is void of all the things you used to enjoy. However, V is stuck and can't enter the void like the rest of his friends.

In the video V is seen stuck in the water trying to floating up but he can’t, he’s stuck in the past of his childhood because of the dream he had about killing his dad and is unable to move on. In many theories, fans state that this is the final video of the album and that V is stuck in this void and has become an adult.

The video also shows the pairings of the group. RM and V are a pair of best friends with RM leading V to do chaotic things such as vandalizing property and running from authority. However after Jin's death, RM becomes more mature and is better at controlling himself and his chaotic tendencies which can be seen in the post containing I Need U.

V is influenced by RM because he looks up to him. This is an allusion to Sinclair where he falls into sin. This sin is known as the fifth commandment listed in the Bible. The commandment is, "Honor your father and your mother, breaking civil laws when taught by parents to do obey the laws, failing to take care of aged parents..." This is connected to the novel aforementioned because he thinks about killing his father because he feels guilty about stealing the money to pay Kromer back. Even in the solo song in Wings sung by V, Stigma, talks about the sins that he committed. Stigma's lyrics relate back to the I Need U video because it talks about how someone (V's father) received punishment for a crime he committed. The lyrics also bring up glass, which couuld be a refrence back to the glass bottle that V used in I Need U to kill his father in his dream. In this song he is repenting, and the events that happen in Run also are the sins that he committed. He was supposed to honor his parents by honoring laws of land by not stealing those apples but he does. The lyrics that say, "That light, that light, please illuminate my crimes," show that he wants someone to call him out so he can stop feeling guilty about it.

Jimin and JHope which have been together since the beginning even as far as the prologue. Obviously, Suga and Jungkook are best friends and it is obvious that Suga has a temper and gets upset easily but Jungkook persists to be by his side until in I Need U where all the pairings are ruined due to Jin’s traumatic death. This is a step in becoming an adult because many of the friends one makes in their youth do not remain their friends when they grow up. Letting people go is a significant step in growth in anyone's life and is important in bildungsroman novels.

A motif that is prominent in this music video is feathers. It has been theorized that these symbolize the Peter Pan tale. In this childhood story, it is believed that children began as birds and that is why they are able to fly. The next album is called Wings and the video starts with black birds flying in the sky. Another motif that constantly comes up throughout the videos is the ideas of butterflies and they even have butterfly as one of their songs. Butterflies can be used as a way to symbolize that they have gone through metamorphosis. In many other cultures they also represent dead souls, which is why in the video there is a card with a butterfly on it. Death has dealt its hand of cards and it means that the boys are going to die. However, Suga cannot accept this.

Previously, I mentioned that Suga represented teenage angst. In this music video it is obvious he is upset. He doesn’t want to let go of the past but he is being forced because everyone else is. He is also heard saying, "'Just burn me out, yes. Keep pushing me out'" This is important because one of the main story lines that follows Suga is that when he was a child that his house burned down and his mother died. This is known through the notes that the boys attach to their albums. These notes are puzzle pieces to the big picture. Jimin is seen in the same bathtub as the one shown in the I Need U music video, where he attempts to drown himself.

He is also seen visiting JHope in the “hospital” which really represents their heaven. They are both in white which means that they are dead and that they were meant to be together. Their youthfulness is shown through their pillow fight after they first see each other.

At the end of the video Jungkook nearly gets hit by the car but the video ends on a cliffhanger which makes fans theorize that Jin dies because he sacrificed himself for Jungkook. He didn’t value himself enough but he knew that Suga needed Jungkook so Jin came and pushed him out of the way. Proof is shown in the Wings trailer of Jungkook’s solo song, Begin. These songs that are released which are solo songs are important to the theory as well as they have some direct allusions to the novel.