Okay, so Jungle4eva is one of my fav bands and their album Volcano is one of my fav albums. I've watched the motion picture so many times that it needs to be pried out of my hands, but anywayyys I decide to script myself into the Volcano motion picture as a dancer for my fame DR and since planning looks is one of my favorite parts of scripting I wanna show you guys what I have planned while also yapping about my interpretation of the motion picture. Enjoy!
A little backstory, in my fame DR I am a model, actress, and singer who gets offered Mette Linturi's role in the Volcano motion picture (Yes, she's still a part of it.)
I am not saying that this is the storyline set in stone; I'm just sharing my interpretation.
Heavy, California
I know that Heavy, California, is not a part of Volcano, but I like to think of it as a precursor for what's to come in Volcano, because we know that in Volcano, there is a love story about Will West and Mette Linturi's characters happening, and that they were made the center of Volcano because everyone went crazy for their chemistry in Heavy, California, after Will's improvised hug and their flirty little dance in Casio. So I like to think of Heavy, California, as the beginning since Volcano was shaped around it, AND Heavy, California, is the first Jungle video Will danced in. I think even though Heavy, California was written because one of the members had broken up with his girlfriend and moved to California, it fits so well as the precursor to Volcano's storyline. The song opens with, "One day she'll take the world from you." I like to think of that as a narrative warning for what's to come in Volcano. In the Volcano motion picture, it seems like the dancers are on a hit dance-centered show. Will and Mette seem to both be the main characters/leading dancers/stars of the show. "We're headed for California" because this is the start of it all, where he's going to California to chase his dreams of being a famous dancer.
The vibes of the MV seem very optimistic, happy, and bright.
"One day, she'll take the world from you" because in Volcano Will let the fame get to his head and inflate his ego, causing him to lose himself in the spotlight and causing issues in his relationship with Mette. "She" being multiple things, from fame, ego, Mette, Didde's character, etc. It's a butterfly effect that caused him to lose what's real.
"One day she'll take the world from you" Is a narrative warning. He gets to fulfill his dream, but if he isn't careful, it could take the world from him.
Casio
Again, Casio isn't a part of the Volcano project, but I like to see it as the first time Will and Mette's characters met or the start of their relationship. The bar seems to be a hangout spot for the dancers because we see it again in the I've been in love MV, and there's a callback to Casio when Samuel Mena Garcia says, "Jungle dancing in a bar? How original." I like to think that Mette and the others were already dancers on this show before Will, because they had been recurring dancers for Jungle before Will joined, and he's like the new guy now, so he's sitting alone before he gets up to dance, and the other guys join in. Then he notices Mette sitting with her friends, his dancing gets flashier, trying to get her attention and impress her. Mette joins him, and they do their flirty little dance together, blah blah blah, but yeah, I like to think this is the start of their relationship.
Good Timez/Problemz
The Good Timez and Problemz MV was originally released together, but only Problemz made it into Volcano. Include it, though, because imo I think it works really well with the story I got from the motion picture. Good Timez is so upbeat and joyful; everyone is doing their own unique thing, but having fun dancing together.
If Will is the new guy in Casio, I like to think there's a timeskip to Good Timez with Will now being the lead dancer/main character since he's the only one who got a solo introduction in the MV, and it seems like time slowed and everyone stopped to pay attention to Will when he showed up. After his intro, everyone rushes back to him, the group forms around him, and they all start dancing again, but with Will as the main focus, it seems.
I think these are the "Good Timez" for Will, he fulfilled his dream of becoming a famous dancer, he's on a hit show with his friends, he has his girlfriend Mette, everything seems to be going good for him.
With the 70s theme of Good Timez and the Volcano motion picture, plus we saw the dancers filming a soul train-like show in Volcano, and the dancers form a soul train line in Good Timez, I feel like it fits really well.
Problemz: I think this is the start of the issues with Will and Mette's relationship. We saw Will singled out as the leading dancer in Good Timez, but Mette got her main character moments in Problemz, where multiple times the other dancers freeze except for her when she's the focus of the camera, and it seems to be following her and Will the whole time. I think it's showing that while Will may be the star and leading male dancer, Mette is also the star and leading female dancer. The start of the MV seems like the dancers are hanging out and mingling after Good Timez, and when Mette comes into focus, the dancers freeze for a second. The dancing between Will and Mette is still flirty, but they are split into two different groups, and they can't seem to get a moment close to each other before being split up or pulled into different directions multiple times. There's red lighting over the entire video, except for one moment, which I'll get into in a second. In Volcano, we see that while Will's ego seems to be his downfall, the issues also seem to be instigated by "The Producers" of the show for ratings, treating their dancers as puppets. Red and Whitey are a plot point in Volcano, so I think it's interesting that the entire video had red lighting except for one moment where there is a bright white spotlight shining down on the dancers, and they all freeze under it, staring up at it, and pointing to it. I think the red light "Red" in Volcano is to represent the "Problemz" and that one moment of that white spotlight is "Whitey" and Whitey represents growth and clarity. The lyrics are "I've got a lot to learn" when the lights are red, and "If you want me now, love me every moment" when the white spotlight is on them. Which I think maybe foreshadows the growth Will will have to do in Volcano. He had to grow up and learn if he wanted Mette back, and her POV was "If you want me, then love me every moment." I think maybe the problems started with the demand of being the star of a hit show; Will's ego growing, they never get a moment together as a couple, and Mette wants to feel like a priority to Will and not come second to the show. "If you want me now, Love me every moment." I think that's Mette's emotional boundary. If you want this relationship, then you have to show up for it. We've seen Mette know her worth and put up boundaries with Will in Volcano that she didn't break for him, no matter how drawn to him she felt. Even at the end of the MV when they finally have their moment in each other's arms, their kiss is cut off by the video ending. A second way I interpreted the red lighting and white spotlight was that while everyone seemed to be dancing freely and happily in Good Timez, doing their own unique thing, in Problemz, when the spotlight is on them, they freeze as if they are in a trance, and then they all start doing the same exact dance and movements, while stoping the point at the spotlight. I originally interpreted this as The Producers are watching them, and they don't want individuality as much as Hollywood wants you to focus on copying a formula that is guaranteed to work and bring in money, which erases freedom and individuality. So when that spotlight is on them, so is the pressure to not fail. They are being watched by not only The Producers but the fans/viewers, and that pressure causes them to conform to what The Producers want instead of being true to their individualities. I think that pressure is also a Problem in Will and Mette's relationship. Will is so focused on being the star and The Producers' golden boy that he isn't making Mette a priority, and he's not dancing with his people anymore; he's performing for an audience. "If you want me now, then love me every moment."
Us Against The World
(This is the look for Us Against The World, Dominos, I've Been In Love, Coming Back, and Don't Play.)
Now, for the actual Volcano motion picture, it starts with "Us Against the World" at the start of the MV. We see Will arrive at the location, and Mette is standing outside, but they completely ignore each other, and Will continues on inside the building. Then we see this room with multiple screens watching the dancers. This is strange because in all the other videos, they are very flirty and seem to be drawn to each other, constantly orbiting around each other. Then, when Will is inside, we see they are in fact on set for a dance centered tv show, and it wasn't a head canon when Will is being scolded for being late, and the other dancers are rushing to prepare him for the camera. We also see that Mette is all over the other dancer, Maikolo, instead of Will, and that Diddie is now dancing beside Will instead of Mette. So it's clear the couples have switched for some reason, Mette and Maikolo are a thing now, but so is Diddie and Will. Also, like in problems, Mette and Will are dancing in separate groups. Instead of everyone dancing together, Will is performing for an audience, and the dance family group that we saw in Good Timez obviously has split into two groups instead of one friend group like before. Mette's group and Will's group. I think Will's ego continued to grow with the success of their show and his fame, which not only caused the end of his relationship but also a fracture in the friend group. The friend group is split and fractured, and they have unresolved "problemz" but it's still "us against the world" because we are coworkers on this hit TV show, and the show must go on. OR because the friend group is split, both sides feel like it's "us against the world." I find it interesting that the song is about a community willing to take on the world togther but the dancers are split into two groups and dancing against each other instead of with each other.
Part 2 and 3
