Aijing
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJYGddE0vHc
“You Think” is popular rhythmic dance music. The lyrics express the heart of a woman who is brave and confident to denounce her ex-boyfriend who spreads rumors after breaking up. In the MV, you can not only enjoy the excellent singing skills of Girls’ Generation but also can be satisfied with the gorgeous improvisation and energetic performance. I argue that this MV is deep and worthy of research and analysis, and I will analyze it from the following perspectives.
Firstly, this MV uses a large number of repeated English lyrics. Due to the success of cultural hybridity in contemporary K-pop music, K-pop idols nowadays are more encouraged to integrate English and other foreign cultures into their music products, so both domestic audiences and international audiences can enjoy K-pop music together (Jin and Ryoo 2012, 128). Therefore, the communication between contemporary Korean and global audiences is presented in a mixture of English lyrics in K-Pop (Lee 2004, 430). In the MV of “You Think”, the English lyrics “You think ya real cool, boy you ain’t cooler than me, nah” repeatedly appears in the chorus part. Through these repeated repetitions over and over again, Girls’ Generation firmly told the audience that the means of revenging the ex-boyfriend are more ruthless than his affair. Moreover, because these lyrics are in English, Girls’ Generation can convey the spirit of women’s courage and self-confidence to the audiences all around the world, not just the local audiences in Korea. I think this is one of the reasons why Girls’ Generation can obtain so many fans around the world.
Secondly, this MV uses a lot of sexualized element and content. Contemporary K-pop begins to use sexualized content and strongly emphasizes on the sexy appearance of idols. In mainstream K-pop girl idols’ images, music videos, and live performances, revealing costumes and suggestive dances are full of sexual innuendo (Lin and Rudolf 2017, 28). In the MV of “You Think”,“through the ways that emcee frame performances and the ways the camera draws attention to sexualized body parts”(Saeji 2013, 329)，Girls’ Generation fully show their voluptuous figure and graceful dance. In the MV, all members wear tight-fitting vests, ultra-shorts and fishnet stocks. Moreover, they are constantly twisting and using M-leg movements. These hot sexual elements firmly grasp the eyes of the audience. However, they do not just rely on suggestive dances to attract attention. They enjoy dancing. Through diverse movements, their dance composition is full of energy and enthusiasm. That is the reason why I think Girls’ Generation is much better than other girl groups.
Last but not least, the perfect set up of the dance scene and the excellent cinematography fully show the charm of the girls and the theme that the MV wants to express. The MV of “You Think” is full of signs of women’s heartbreak. The LED decoration on the wall of the color room is a sharp knife inserted in the rose, and the metal apple can be understood as the disappearance of the girl’s love for her ex-boyfriend. In the last scene of the color room, the other decorations in the room, including the mirror, are disappeared, and only one car is left, which means that because of hatred, the girl finally came to the opposite of humanity. The iron window, the black tights and the metal zippers on the clothes in the last scene also indicate that the girl was finally put in prison. This MV has paid great attention to the processing and connection of details, and the cinematography is very remarkable.
In general, I love this MV. The confidence and passion that the girls exude in the MV attract me genuinely, and I find myself entirely into the “cool” world of Girls’ Generation. I believe that “You Think” is one of the best MVs of Girls’ Generation so far.
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Bibliography
Jin, Dal Yong, and Woongjae Ryoo. “Critical Interpretation of Hybrid K-Pop: The Global-Local Paradigm of English Mixing in Lyrics. ” Popular Music and Society37, no. 2 (2012): 113-31.
Lee, Jamie Shinhee. “Linguistic Hybridization in K-Pop: Discourse of Self-Assertion and Resistance. ” World Englishes, no.3 (2004): 429–450.
Lin, Xi, and Robert Rudolf. “Does K-pop Reinforce Gender Inequalities? Empirical Evidence from a New Data Set. ” Asian Women, no.4(2017): 27-54.
Saeji, C.T. “Juvenile protection and sexual objectification: Analysis of the performance frame in Korean music television broadcasts. ” Acta Koreana, no.2 (2013): 329–365.