SHINee’s 1 of 1 MV (Music Video Analysis)
The views presented in this analysis are a part of my own individual interpretation of the video, which means they are subject to error. This post is based off of the video from the official SMTown Youtube channel.
When I first watched the video this morning, I wasn’t planning on doing an analysis post–because it’s a dance video in a box set. Nevertheless, I think it’s worth it to explore the concept of “one of one.” I’ll just try to make it relatively brief.
1of1 means one: As a whole, I find the easiest explanation for why there are so many girls in the video is that it makes this particular definition of “1of1” more impactful. The “one” is one person, but they are not the only person in the world. 1of1 means they are not the only one. It means there are others. It means there are countless others. But even so, that one person is not one out of 10, or 20, or 100, or 1,000,000. Only the fact that they are them is taken into consideration. It’s not “I pick you out of a room,” it’s “I pick you out of a room because for me there are no other options. You are the only one I see.“ There are 25 other girls, but there is only one you. That’s all they care about. That’s all that matters.
1of1 means many: Generally, I think that’s the message the video is trying to get across. However, there’s also another interpretation of the video I find compelling. In that wonderfully dorky promo video we got a few days ago, SHINee came to the conclusion that 1of1 equaled SHINee World. In some ways, it’s possible that this video is portraying the relationship between SHINee and Shawols. In this interpretation, the general meaning of “1of1” remains–the one you choose no matter how many options are given–though with a different explanation for why there are so many girls. There are enough girls to the point where their sheer number becomes a unifying factor. It’s like how a crowd is many, but is still just ‘a’ crowd. All of the girls are “one,” and this “one” they represent is another crowd–Shawols. More than that, SHINee is our “1of1.”
The video begins with clips of a few different girls. Though we see specific parts of them, we don’t see their faces as a whole. We don’t see enough to properly identify them. We have elements of many girls but not a clear image of a girl as a whole. The non-specificity helps to support the theory that “only one” refers not to a literal “one” in this case, but to many individuals who can be categorized as one.
There are several instances of dance solos within this video. Not that there aren’t videos with solo shots of the members, but I can’t really think of another instance like this, where they’re dancing without the others and it’s not just a trick of a camera angle. That being said, who do you look at in these instances? You look at Taemin, and Key, and Onew, and Minho. It’s almost preposterous to ask who you would look at in these shots, because obviously you’d look at the members. But these aren’t solo dances. There are backup dancers there, but we hardly pay attention to them, if at all. In each of these instances, there are five people on screen dancing (except Onew who’s sitting), but we only notice one. They stand out against the professional dancers, against the pretty models. In this way, the video fosters a sort of reciprocation of the “1of1″ concept between the viewer and SHINee.
The metaphor can extend beyond the video, to the extent that SHINee is the group we notice amongst others. They’re the group we pay attention to, the group we choose. (This concept gets a little tangled for those who are multifandom or don’t have SHINee as their bias group).
All of the girls are also color-coded in accordance with a specific member. Taemin’s girls are a mustard yellow, like his suit. Jonghyun’s wear blue and red, like his suit and sweater. Key’s girls wear blue, like his sweater. Onew’s girls wear a bright red, and Minho’s a deeper maroon. Within the Shawol as 1of1 theory, these groups could symbolize each member’s individual fanclub. Shawols choose SHINee and SHINee chooses Shawols, but this can speak of a more specific dynamic within the fanclubs. Because these girls match to a member, and we match to our bias as well. The reason we choose them is because they suit our preferences in one way or another.
These shots are also an extension of the ways in which the viewer reciprocates “1of1″ with SHINee. Even amongst these gorgeous girls, we still tend to look at SHINee, don’t we? These specific shots even offset SHINee in a way to ensure that our attention goes to them. Onew is in the center of a circle. The girls lean back to reveal Jonghyun standing behind them. Taemin is on another step entirely.
This image further supports the relationship between fans and SHINee. Jonghyun’s girls mirror him, with their legs crossed, sitting relatively still. Onew’s girls sit with their legs crossed as well, but they dance along with him. They match the members. But they also match each other. This uniformity can reflect the unity between fans.
From the outside, fandoms can appear messy. We all mix together. It looks chaotic. Some fans are close. Some are on the fringes.
But when you look from above, there’s a definite pattern. There’s a harmony. We as fans all work in relation to each other and to SHINee. There’s unity here.
We pick SHINee. They pick us.
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