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Representation of Masculinity in Music Video BTS 'ON'

Mita Rahayu
Mahasiswa Ilmu Komunikasi Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta
Konten dari Pengguna
28 Desember 2020 16:38 WIB
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Tulisan dari Mita Rahayu tidak mewakili pandangan dari redaksi kumparan
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Gender issues are not only about women and their positions which are subordinated by men. But men also have problems that are generated by social construction in society, namely masculinity. Masculinity is one example of the results of gender construction that exists in society. Because gender is the result of construction, the value of masculinity and how a person should be a man are the result of construction. Masculinity is always constructed with macho, strong, aggressive, and not passive. A man who has characteristics far from masculine constructions or contrary to masculine will be called a feminine man.
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The mass media play a lot in strengthening the construction of masculinity. The representation made by the media is often used as a benchmark by the community. In fact, what is represented by the media is not an absolute reality. According to Dimas Putra Wardani in his journal entitled Representasi Sensualitas dalam Music Video Girlband Stellar yang Berjudul “Sting” dan “Crying” states that the event or someone that is displayed by the media is what the media wants to show or what the media thinks is true, is not absolute truth.
Masculinity is often displayed to attract viewers' interest in the mass media, packaged in various media content such as advertisements, films, and videos. Video clips or music videos are a means of mass media that are often used as a platform to represent something and more easily accepted by the audience. Through video clips, the audience can enjoy a piece of music both audio and visually. The audience can listen to the audio of the musical work presented and can see the appearance, movement, and expression of the artist in the video clip.
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The K-Pop or Korean Pop music industry is currently popular in various parts of the world, including in Indonesia. K-pop music features varied performances and choreography of the artists as well as different musical strains so that it has managed to attract the attention of many people. Korean pop musicians who are popular and loved by many people are boyband and girlband, so it's no wonder that we now find many boyband and girlband who have their own uniqueness and characteristics. Through the popularity of their boy band, South Korea managed to eliminate the construction of male masculinity that once existed that masculine men had to be muscular, tough, did not dye their hair like women and did not use make-up. However, through the boyband video clip, they showcase male visuals with striking hair colours, use accessories such as earrings / necklaces and use make-up.
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BTS is a boy band from South Korea that popular nowadays. Loved by many people in various parts of the world, what BTS does is always draw attention of many people. BTS fans always look forward to the releasing new albums, including their music videos. It was proven by the time of the release of their official video clip "ON" Kinetic Manifesto Film: Come Prima which was released in February 2020 to be the most watched video in 24 hours.
In this video, BTS members wear black and white clothes and wear matching blazers, cargo pants, and sneakers. In the video, they wear plain t-shirts and black leather jackets that show the image of a tough guy and have a rebellious character that shows a masculinity side. Combined with using accessories such as necklaces, earrings and rings, these accessories are synonymous with women. In the video, one of the members V is also seen using a tattoo on the neck and cheek. Tattoo is quite popular among young people and is also a symbol of rebellion, which is a masculine character that shows toughness. In the video, they also show challenging expressions. Their appearance looks masculine and tough in the clothes they wear, they also wearing make up in the video clip. Although make-up is identified with women, the use of thick eyeshadow in the video does not diminish the masculinity that BTS displays.
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It can be concluded that the concept carried from the BTS on music video is the concept of Soft Masculinity. They use accessories and facial makeup which is a feminine concept but they still show their masculine side by looking tough. Soft masculinity, which is the image of the K-Pop music trend, has slowly eroded the notion that men don't have to look macho. It can be seen from their appearance that carries the concept of both feminine and masculine, they are formed into men who look handsome but, on the other hand, they also use make-up, dye their hair bright colours, and also use accessories such as necklaces and earrings.
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