#mal analyses

[malzenn]

No Diggity Analysis

This is more my observations and beginnings of analysis, I’ll need to peer review, however, here are my thoughts of imagery and meanings in Oneus’ No Diggity.

Each Oneus member would represent a tarot card (teasers)

Ravn - The Hanged Man

His imagery literally had his leg tied like the hanged man. Also has bear traps in his soul shots, which would be connected to the hanged man, as the hanged man traps himself. The Hanged Man tarot card is about sacrifice. However, this card goes well with the negative cards, such as The Tower and The Devil, it’s not really a card I would like to get when doing a tarot reading.

Seoho - The Tower

This card suggests chaos, and in many designs is on fire. Seoho’s solo shots feature a tall structure on fire, which is part of the basis of assigning him this card. The other part is his general vibes like he is going to bring chaos (he’s also the only one to break something in the mv). It’s another card I would not like to get during a tarot reading.

Leedo - Strength

During his teaser, he roars, like a lion and moves like a lion. Which is the imagery used for strength in tarot typically, which is why I think he would represent strength. This is a nice card to receive during a reading.

Keonhee - The Devil

Before the MV, I would have thought that it was Dongju who was the devil, however, my mind has been changed. Keonhee has skulls in his solo shots and is the only one with dancers (and I think he has some control over them). This card is almost never good to get during a reading.

Hwanwoong - The Emperor

This card is about authority, Hwanwoong has the whole big brother thing going on, a security camera and guards, all three have connotations of authority. This card is good to get in a reading. Lowkey though, I struggled with figuring out what tarot card he represents.

Xion - Temperance

Lowkey, originally thought he was the Devil, however, his mask seems more representative of what an angel is actually supposed to look like according to Ezekiel 1, “Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. The appearance of the four wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four has one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.” and “As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.” I will provide images. Temperance is about balance, and calm. Throughout the MV, Dongju has the least “joker” energy, he’s just vibing, living his best life. A good card.

Pairs and Two Sides

In TBONTB, there were 3 pairs, representing the past, present and future. Ravn and Hwanwoong as the past, Dongju and Keonhee as the present and Leedo and Seoho as the future.

Personally, I think, within these pairs, there’s a “good” or angelic side, and a “bad” or devilish side.

As in my tarot card analysis, I pointed out, some cards are better than others, which Hwanwoong, Dongju and Leedo represent. These three also have the white suits and coloured clouds shots. What the clouds and the colours represent, I’m not sure, but this is my basis for separating Oneus into a devil and angel side. 

Also within each pair, the tarot cards, in a way can be considered opposites of each other. 

Ravn and Hwanwoong

The Hanged Man has given up on authority, and in a reading, if paired with the Emperor suggests that there is a dominant man in your life where conflicts can be resolved with passivity. (if paired with The Empress, then there’s a dominant woman)

Hwanwoong is the one, I believe who ties up Ravn’s leg, due to Hwanwoong pulling on his own wires, and the next shot shows Ravn dragged by his leg. Ravn then ends up by the eye tv, which is Hwanwoong’s imagery. This could suggest a switch in sides, maybe idk.

Dongju and Keonhee

These two I think are the driving force. As Temperance is an angel, and obviously The Devil, is the devil, these two would have the most conflict. However, I’ll need to spend more time analysing their scenes. Keonhee’s end scene has the same or similar shade of blue as Xion’s scene earlier (I will also be providing pictures), however, Xion is surrounded by it and almost blends in, he looks more ethereal, while Keonhee stands out and is walking away from it. What this means, I don’t know. 

Leedo and Seoho

An important thing about The Tower is that it’s damaged, either it’s on fire or crumbling, it symbolises sudden change, while in reverse symbolises a fear of change, while strength symbolises courage, compassion and inner strength. Courage can be seen when Leedo is shot at and he doesn’t flinch. Seoho doesn’t seem to be afraid, so I believe that he is a force that will bring change.

I may make another post going more in-depth with the tarot cards.

Angels

I will also need to make another post about the devils because I need to do more analysis and research. 

Hwanwoong

As stated previously, angels have a lot of eyes. Hwanwoong’s most striking imagery is the eyes on the TV. This is another way I think he’s connected to angels.

Dongju

Due to his ethereal shot in the white suit, this made me realise he wasn’t the devil. His mask has a resemblance to the appearance of angels, so this is what connects him to angels.

Leedo

The fire behind him looks like wings and angels are also connected to fire.

None of that was super detailed, but like, I was focusing on tarot.

I should also research more biblical imagery because that’s definitely a key feature.

[malzenn]

Colours in Intro: Devil is in the Detail

No Diggity takes place in between worlds, between the underworld (Tartarus or Hell) and Earth and takes place after TBONTB. Only thing is, the ending positions of TBONTB and the starting positions of No Diggity are not the same.

It’s only Hwanwoong and Leedo who are in the same place (it took me way too long to pick up on this). This suggests something has happened in between these two songs, which is where Devil is in the Detail comes in.

As I don’t have the knowledge to analyse choreography, let me direct you to this wonderful youtube video. And I’ll talk about what I am comfortable with: lighting, colour and cameras

The performance video starts off with red lighting, signifying that they’re in hell. Seoho then turns the lighting into an intense red.

This can signify either than Seoho is closest to hell, or the reason that they’re here in the first place. As my Oneus theory relies heavily on the tarot, it’s important to note that Seoho is The Tower, which symbolises chaos, ambitions and goals made on false premises and a fear of change (as well as sudden change, depends on if it’s upright or reversed). Because they’ve spent a long time in the nightmare world, Seoho could be scared to leave, or he has a sense of power in the Underworld that he may not have on Earth. (I will have a more in depth post on each member and the tarot, just give me time)

Next Hwanwoong pushes the camera towards Ravn and Leedo, who have green lighting. Green typically represents life and nature, so this would Ravn chosing life with the help of Leedo. (Leedo’s card is strength) 

Ravn’s card is the Hanged Man, and one important aspect to note here, is that the card represents indecisiveness. (again will have a full post on the tarot) and therefore he’s the most in between sides and easily influenced to each side, depending on who’s with him. Leedo doesn’t control Ravn (evidenced by the fact that we can’t see him) instead he supports him from behind. Ravn turns the light green. 

Leedo also turns the light green, however this time it has more of a blue tinge, meaning that they are closer to life and Earth, as Oneus use blue to represent Life.

He then passes the camera back to Seoho, Keonhee, Hwanwoong and Xion. The lights are an orange colour, which in this case I think suggests caution or indesiveness. As the other members are trying to make their way through hell. (I will have a short paragraph on Xion).

Here the choreo gets really important so I suggest watching the video. However, to continue on with the post, this is where Keonhee and Seoho are close to hell, and Seoho has p o w e r. (The video explains it really well)

One thing I would like the note to add on to the video, when Seoho pulls Keonhee down, Xion and Hwanwoong also pull each other towards each other, however they remain on the same level, suggesting that they haven’t changed. 

Another thing, I think the reason Xion doesn’t really get any centre moments or screen time is because there was never a debate on what side he was going to chose. He was always on the side of life, he’s here to support the other members and help guide them.

Keonhee turns the lights red for a short period of time, showing his conflict as he has power in the Underworld. This also provides evidence that Keonhee can move between worlds at will. 

With Seoho the orange lights come back.

Seoho and Keonhee have switched places, and therefore Seoho is currently the one with power.

Seoho is even the one to turn the lights blue. As for who turns the intense blue lights on, I can only assume it is a group effort as Seoho was the only one holding them back, however, while the lights are blue, Seoho seemingly has control over the other members. 

The lights stay blue until Seoho’s backflip where he falls back into hell. Keonhee then turns the lights red, effectively dragging them back to hell. (Keonhee is the Devil card btw)

This takes us to the events in No Diggity.

[malzenn]

Pixy Wings Part 1

Regarding Pixy’s Wings’ Worldview, @rukakikuchi has a very good post, regarding the storyline, that I will be piggybacking off. 

One thing I’d like to add is the colour of the butterfly is a purple/black. While purple butterflies are rare and therefore have less myths surrounding them, black butterflies have many different meanings and lore.

Purple is associated with wealth and royalty, as in the past, it was a very rare and expensive pigment, that only royalty could use. A purple butterfly also signifies that an important person may make an appearance in your life. This important person may be the witch, or there may be a new character introduced in the next comeback.

According to Celtic mythology, a black butterfly is the soul of the deceased who’s unable or unwilling to move on. They’d frequent places that they liked when alive. 

Outside of Celtic mythology, black butterflies can be an omen of death, and some cultures claim that a black butterfly is a witch in disguise. 

To combine the two colours, I’d claim that the butterfly is a bad omen warning about the witch, and that she’s not to be trusted.

Another important element is the red moon. As we know, during a lunar eclipse, the moon turns red, however, this is not the only time the moon turns red.

What you may not know, is that every full moon has it’s own name, the one I will be discussing, is the Hunter’s Moon, also known as the Blood Moon. This moon is lower in the sky and appears red, as pictured below. (Pardon the quality, I try to use my own photos)

As you can see, the moon is red, and so I think that this is the moon they’re referring to when mentioning the red moon.

The Hunter’s Moon (or Blood Moon) is a time for action, to go out and achieve your dreams. You’ve had your time to plan, to reflect, now go out and get it. Which is another reason why I think the moon in question is the Hunter’s Moon over a lunar eclipse.

In the MV we see a waning crescent moon

While, I normally would mention the meanings of this moon phase (surrender, contemplation, solidifying transformation), I think this is more to do with the time that they have to find the witch. 

As a moon cycle is approximately 29 days, and there’s 4 phases between waning crescent and full moon, I’d estimate that they have about 16 days (if my maths is wrong, forgive me) to find the witch before getting cursed.

However, like rukakukuchi said, even if they find and hand over the wings they’ll still get cursed.

Black Feathers typically symbolise protection, and as Dia also find a white feather, it makes me feel like she’s going to try to protect the others, as white feathers also carry a connotation of protection. It’s message from the other side that someone’s watching over you.

However, black feathers also provide a warning of danger. Therefore suggesting that the witch is not to be trusted, and that the wings that she may give them may be impressive but a grave danger and may lead them to losing themselves.

Next part I will try to discuss the butterflies again in more depth, the burning tree and the water.

[malzenn]

Colours in No Diggity

As work on Valkyrie is taking it’s time, this is just a quick colour analysis.

Firstly, I would like to direct you to this video, which goes more in depth about Colour Theory and how certain colours are used in media. Also my colour analysis post for Devil is the Detail, that will be slightly helpful.

As usual, the analysis is under the read more, and my previous analysis posts may also be useful for a better understanding. My masterlist to find them is in my pinned.

Main colours used are: Blue, Green, Red.

I will also be discussing pink, because it’s used in quite an interesting way in media in general.

Blue

Blue typically is quite a calming colour, it’s associated with the sky and sea as well as the celestial and heavens.  The blue used is typically a light blue, which is more about tranquillity and understanding rather than power and knowledge. However, blue also represents trust.

The three members most associated with the colour blue in this MV are: Hwanwoong, Keonhee and Xion. 

In No Diggity it seemingly, along with green represents life. Which means that Keonhee being associated with blue is slightly odd, as in the struggle between the underworld and Earth, Keonhee (as the Devil) seemingly chooses the underworld, while Leedo, who isn’t associated with blue in No Diggity is on the side of life.

The last scene Keonhee stands out against a blue background, while blue represents trust (why many banks will use the colour blue), Keonhee, dressed in all red and by himself, doesn’t seem all that trustworthy. This can be due to the stark contrast between the two and the red lighting that the rest of the Oneus members have.

Green as a cool colour, is also calming. It typically represents life, health, nature. Green is a safe colour, for example medical adverts will use the colour green to try to indicate that the products are safe to the audience. Another example is that traffic lights use to colour green to indicate that it’s safe to go. However, it can also have negative connotations of sick. 

Green

The members most associated with green is Leedo.

As Leedo’s tarot card is strength, the fact that he is green makes sense as he would provide the support to make sure that everyone is safe. Leedo is also the one to help bring Ravn out of the underworld in Devil is in the Detail.

Red

Red is dangerous, it’s associated with hell, with blood and danger. It’s power and determination, as well as passion, love and desire. It’s a colour that will be found in many countries flags (eg 65% of all European flags contain the colour red), as it symbolises courage.

The members most associated with red are: Ravn, Seoho, Keonhee, Xion. (so most of them)

Keonhee and Xion also get green lighting, but to a lesser extent.

Seoho is regularly bathed in red, he gets intense red lighting, Keonhee gets red lighting which isn’t as intense, Xion and Ravn’s tends to come out more as their setting colours. This colour suggest that Seoho is either more dangerous, or closer to hell.

Pink

Keonhee’s red probably is a way to show that he’s powerful, as he also wields fire, which is a powermove. (What about Hwanwoong who has a flamethrower? IDK, he’s not really assoicated with red and this is colour, not mise-en-scene)

Pink typically is an innocent colour, associated with feminity, while historically being a masculine colour. This colour is an interesting one. In media, think about the Mean Girls, Professor Umbridge, or Elle Woods. They’re all associated with the colour pink, and that pink is typically used to hide something.

The Mean Girls - on Wednesdays we wear pink - they try to seem somewhat nice to stay popular, giving out (empty) compliments, befriending the new girl, it’s been a while since I’ve watched the movie so I don’t have any more examples. However, they’re really manipulative and use people.

Professor Umbridge - I don’t think I need to comment on the messed up that hides beneath that pink exterior 

Elle Woods - the pink makes her seem shallow but she’s really intelligent. I would give examples but I haven’t seen the movie. Sorry.

This should be enough evidence though.

Leedo has pink clouds and Hwanwoong has pink in his cloud. What does this mean other than they might be hiding something? IDK. Maybe, I’m reading too into it.

Seoho also gets pink lighting, but we've been knew that he's hiding something.

Anyway, happy April Fools.