7 Nation Army - Part 3: And the Oscar goes to …
Listening to album FACE - by Jimin ON REPEAT
[Music is a very big part of my life and I’m MOSTLY INCAPABLE of writing without music, so I just thought I'd share what I am listening to while writing this]
–🐺–🐺–🐺–
FACE by Jimin is a movie.
Before the pre-release of Set Me Free pt. 2, when I tried to guess what the theme of the album could have been from the information that we had, I perceived this alluring masterpiece as an opera, but, my dear ladies, gentlemen and enbies; I was wrong. This album is a movie and my filmmaker heart is all over the place in excitement to this realisation. As always, anything I write is my opinion, that being said, please allow me to introduce and dissect this elegant Psychological-Thriller named FACE.
Director: JIMIN
Writer: JIMIN
Starring: JIMIN
Taglines: Amazing Face, how sweet the pouring sound.
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Certificate: 16 - Profanity, Alcohol
The typical structure of a Psychological-Thriller usually has the movie/series start at some point which is a tiny bit earlier/forward than the current timeline so as to give you a imagery that will be very contrasting with the flashback/flashforward which will immediately follow, which will properly set the tone for the actual main part movie, which provides with all the issues and challenges of the main character. Towards the end we finally reach the actual current timeline, which in thrillers tends to be a situation worse than the beginning of the story. From here we would go to the conclusion where one of two things can happen; either it ends in tragedy or the character is able to find victory. Every once in a while depending on the story there might be a hopeful filler, and depending on where it is placed in the storyline, it affect the plot differently.
A bit before/after current timeline: Face-off
The circus-like music starts, giving us immediate context. When used as a metaphor the circus, or any circus-like imagery, almost always is indicative of the opposite of anything that is genuine. All the makeup, the constantly smiling, happy and funny entertainer, basically; we are in a farce. From here on the beat becomes a distorted and distant reproduction of the farce. A distant sound represents disassociation within the context. So for a moment, the protagonist is separating from their reality for a particular reason.
In this case, Jimin has had it and is finally confronting/facing someone or something that has hurt him deeply. Following the lyrics, at this point, we’ve just started the movie, so we have no clue what is going on. However, we do understand that there is indeed an antagonist. Nothing we can do for now, all we have to do is to proceed within the plot:
🎵It's a beautiful night (Beautiful night)
I think you found me
Tonight, I don't wanna be sober (Sober)
Pour it up, it's all fucking over🎶
So what exactly has happened between our protagonist and this mystery antagonist?
Flashback/Flashforward: Interlude : Dive
The beginning of this track sounds like the typical time-wrap as you either fast forward or rewind. Usually, psychological thrillers go backwards, so rewinding we go, all the way to October 15, 2022 at the Yet to Come concert in Busan:
"Wow, everyone, I really missed you a lot.
We get to meet like this.
Everyone, this is Jimin."
The absence of vocals shows how this track isn’t an interpretation of any sort of feelings or thought, but simply a display of truths of the time; there is NO farce here, only facts. This is 2022 and the pandemic has been over. Jimin should finally be able to meet with ARMY freely and life is seemingly going back to normal. Yet, at the very end we hear the sound of something pouring. Thanks to Face-off, we can deduce that it is some kind of liquor.
Hence, even though everything is supposed to be “back to normal”, something seems to have stuck with him, Jimin seems to be carrying some baggage he acquired during lockdown, something amongst perhaps many things he quite can’t seem to get rid of / set free from. This is the life he has now been used to; this is his Jimin’s new reality.
What does Jimin's new reality look like?
Main part/plot: Like Crazy
It’s a blur but it feels amazing, and it beats having to feel everything that he has been feeling thus far. Even though it is not eternal, because it will come to an end, he knows very well, but he doesn’t care, he needs “that fix”, so if it is just for a night, then the night will have to do:
🎵Baby don’t think about it
There’s not a bad thing here tonight
Baby, it’s okay to leave
Just stay for today🎶
When your poison of choice is alcohol, you are not going to have a trip or experience sensations you never had; alcohol is not that sophisticated. What it does though, very quickly and quite efficiently, is blocking inhibitions. When you are relaxed, and in a friendly environment, the body follows actions, like in a chain reaction and starts thinking happy thoughts, relieving joyful memories and just having a jolly good time really.
For the sake and sole purpose of the plot of this movie, we are not going to mention how, at the same time, while drunk, functioning as a regular human being, is out of the question, as self-consciousness isn’t the only thing that is gone, any sort of control, sane judgement and more are also out the window 😬😬😬 …
Through the voices at the beginning of the song and the actual MV, this track adds more clues as to who the soon to become antagonist might be. There is a male voice and a female voice in the song. There is Jimin and a young woman mirroring Jimin’s movements in the MV. Jimin knows her; she is him. He always has a great time with her, she knows him very well, afterall she is him. So while he is spending this night incapacitated, he is just going to follow her lead and live on happily, while stopping time temporarily as long as they can.
🎵My reflection in the mirror
I’m going crazy endlessly
I’m feeling so alive, wasting time🎶
But what happens the following morning? What happens that one morning when you realise that “that fix” isn’t worth anything anymore.
Actual current timeline: Alone
The track begins with the sound of an alarm, which isn’t simply indicating morning, but also setting the story back to the present time. Jimin’s actual reality. He has now woken up into that one morning where he is more sober than sober. That one morning when the hangover isn’t as uncomfortable as his realisations. That one morning where the risk of a failing liver isn’t as scary as the reality he is having to face.
So there he is, face to face with the mess he willingly created amidst the inevitably bad situation he was shoved into. Him like everyone else. Yet, unlike most of everyone else, he fell badly. Finally, he has come to terms with the fact that he’s mentally hit rock-bottom mentally. And because misery loves company, any other bad/uncomfortable feeling/situation he had been successfully avoiding joined, merrily (perhaps all his identities, his sense of worth, his sense of loneliness, etc).
This is the heaviest part of the movie. The part where the protagonist is weak and where everything seems, and at times truly is against them. This is the part where the protagonist is at their most vulnerable. This is the point of the plot where, we would all be ending up at, no matter how anyone has interpreted the whole storyline (some may have associated it FACE with other issues, such as lovers, friendships, family, substance abuse, etc …).
In my opinion, this track, on the timeline, is right before Face-off. In an actually movie, we’d have a collage which would mix Face-off with everything that has happened thus far:
[Face-off lyrics connected with other tracks]
🎵All right
I guess the blame is on me
Look at how I look right now 🎶 - Interlude : Dive
🎵Break it down
Break it down
This is the story of ordinary me
Get it out
Get it out
Everyone shout like crazy yeah yeah🎶 - Like Crazy
🎵Gave you all the money
Gave you all my heart
Your Masquerade party
I was fucking drunk
The damned days of the past
Are now over too🎶 - Alone
So … will our protagonist win his battle against all their antagonists?
Conclusion: Set Me Free Pt.2
The ominous sound of a choir, followed by glorious trumpets; Jimin is ready for his final battle and he is sounding, and looking, hella victorious. He hasn’t forgotten all his struggles. He acknowledges the battles he’s won, and the ones he's lost, which allowed him to get to where he is firmly standing right now. He hears the haters, sees the obstacles and acknowledges his shortcomings. At the same time he’s found a new resolution, developed a tougher skin and embraced all his faces. But above all, he’s realised that if he wasn’t gonna set himself free, who the hell was gonna do that for him? And so he did.
🎵Look at me now
You can mock me but I won’t stop
Going crazy so I don’t go crazy
Put your hands up for the past me
Now set me free,
Set me free x 12🎶
Park Jimin, all his selves, is finally free. Free.
Roll the credit.
Hopeful Filler: Letter
At the end of the credits of any good movie MUST have an after credit scene, which usually serves to introduce a possible sequel or to add something to the way the actual movie ended. HOWEVER, as I do want to have a post just for this track, I shall end this here.
… And now, it is with great honour and palpitation that I stand here, amongst a jury of my peers, in order to present the award for best, exquisitely unexpected, but rather awaited masterpiece, of the year.
And the nominees are:
… AND THE WINNER IS: Park Jimin in FACE.
And that's all from me, now I'll go and keep relaxing some. Also, can't wait to hear from Jimin during his live on the 29th!
As always, very respectfully yours,
Marengo.
