How does the Western industry see BTS now?
“how does the western industry feel about bts nowadays? are they threatened or did they finally just get used to bts a phenomenon? are there any attempts to block them and will the comeback be blocked on platforms (streams, views)”
Of course, since the “Western Industry” is such a broad and dense thing, more than a few energies and perspectives came with this, all of which were smooshed together and filtered out into the three sets of cards here. The first set is The Moon with the 10 of Swords, the second set is the 8 of Swords with The Emperor, both reversed, and the third set is the Ace of Cups, The Star, and The Lovers.
The first set was an immediate hit of “death to the unwritten/unspoken rule” which is pretty interesting. As we all know, mainstream media still doesn’t take internet culture and entertainment too seriously in spite of many mainstream celebrities having their start in that industry. Of course, most of those celebrities tend to migrate from one to the other, but the two hardly ever really merge in a way where both sides are boosted up and respected. BTS completely kills that idea or that kind of hierarchy. I know people like to dismiss the aid of the internet that BTS had because they feel that that takes credit away from them, but it really doesn’t. They broke into the mainstream because of the internet, because of youtube and twitter, because of their constant interaction that has not changed any since they debuted. They broke mainstream but continued to use the internet, the internet-based entertainment industry, just as they always have, nothing changed. That is very unique to them.
Yes, mainstream people use the same platforms but the way that BTS and BigHit have a specific design and tactics towards utilizing it for more than just ~connecting with fans~ (which they don’t actually do, as in they aren’t in their comments on youtube, they almost never reply to tweets, which is good because that takes away that feeling of them being unattainable which is why garners so much interaction, the hope that you specifically will be the one to get the reply or the like or whatever, some kind of notice from these people that seem to notice everyone all at once and never individuals, it’s very specific) they use it for constant engagement. It’s like constant advertising disguised as social connection, which is working alongside their mainstream advertisements with billboards and radio, tv, brand deals, all that shit. It’s very unique and if you really pay attention you can see that not a lot of people, mainstream or otherwise, have figured out that balance.
So, that’s that, then you have the second set which is more of negative view of that. Everything in the first set is pretty positive. It’s kind of a neutral ground for people being like, “oh shit, they changed the game.” That can be read either in a very enthusiastic way or it can be read in a tone of fear. It goes both ways, but the second set is more about people feeling like they’ve been cheated, literally like BTS/BigHit has some kind of cheat code (spoiler alert: that cheat code is the internet and a sense of millennial pride) and they literally just don’t understand how BTS managed to break American media (worldwide media) without the usual playbook that everyone uses and has used since literally the fucking 40’s.
They don’t understand it, therefore it angers them. These are the people that are very likely to dismiss them as just another boyband, a fad, a dying trend. The people that judge their talent then claim to have never heard any of their music or seen any of their performances. They feel threatened and like they are about to be completely ripped out of the game because it seems like all the points are going to the players that are using tactics that from their perspective didn’t exist until like two years ago.
Then finally, the last set is pretty fucking dope. This is screaming “REVOLUTIONARY,” like bells and whistles and all that shit. It’s really intense and I love the vibe it has so much because it’s just so much energy going straight towards them and towards their continued success because the people under this umbrella want to see how far they can push things, how much they can change things, and how much they can literally bridge gaps between industries and cultures and all that good stuff. These are the people, old, young, black, white, whatever, that look at BTS and literally see the future of a “global industry,” they see them as pioneers and are very much in support of their work and are eager to bring them into their space with more opportunities.
And no, I don’t think there is anything planned in terms of manipulation, at least not anything new.