It’s a dystopian apocalyptic world with an evil cube chasing them. Their injuries are from that world, they’re imagining life before/without apocalypse. It was a beautiful mv and song, why are some people trying too hard.

what's next, people getting offended on behalf of dead people and saying that Taehyung dies in the mv but he's actually still alive?

when fuckass stylist of his own company feels comfortable babbling shit about him being rich & healthy so he shouldn't play a disabled character & shamelessly talking about his sexuality,that had literally nothing to do with the mv,we can also expect this to happen

it's an outsourced freelancer stylist who did some work with source music. she's not related to tae in any way.

now it's gonna take them 3 working years to find her to tell her to stfu i guess

but why should hybe should tell her to stfu? she gave her un-needed opinion and got the attention she wanted. hybe can only tell source music to not employ her again and rather use in house stylists. hybe don't own these people lol?

She shouldn’t watch Hollywood movies cause there are tons of people without disability playing disabled people lmao.

OT but reading this suddenly reminded of scarlet heart ryeo and hwarang airing around the same time and had two similar looking idols of the two top groups of that time playing similar type of loveable goofball characters who ended up getting stabbed to death lmao

I remember that!! I guess they were really going for the 'kill the cute goofball and make viewers sad' thing
he was so cute back then but can Taehyung please find an acting job where his character stays alive lol

I think it most has to do with the director’s explanation of the MV. He literally said they represented disabled and marginalized people in an interview, so of course those communities will have an opinion about the MV. It was fine as an apocalyptic story but he tried too hard to make it deep (with the unnecessary explanations).

Fans dismissing valid criticism only to show support for the singer and idol is exactly why they don’t like this kind of false representation. Fans can’t say “it wasn’t that deep” when the creator himself spoonfed the meanings to look deep.

Even the director's explanation didn't need this take tbh since this is exactly what it said about the camcorder and the characters themselves:

▲ KEY ITEM Meaning of ‘camcorder':
The existence of ‘camcorder’, which appeared in every pre-promotional content. Although the time background in the video is the present, the settings on the screen captured by the camcorder are of a world that was fine before it became ruins. The lens of a camcorder means the filter of love. It can also be seen as an important device that allows us to look at the beautiful things in the world beyond the current appearance of the characters.

My takeaway: it depicts a pre-apocalyptic world where their innocent love could be celebrated without the chaos of a war torn one.

▲ KEY CHARACTERS Appearance of the main characters
Netizens’ curiosity also exploded in the appearance of the main characters. There are many symbols in this music video, which is also seen as a 'survival story of a dystopian worldview of people who cannot speak and one who can only see the world only through his left eye'. If you look closely at IU's lips, you will see a small chain hanging, which means she is fully communicating with the world. It means there are difficulties. V also wears a white lens on his left eye, and at a glance, it appears that the two will face many difficulties in overcoming the difficulties of the world. Nevertheless, they have no choice but to rely on each other even more in a world that has become ruins from 'Nemo', and each tries to overcome to the end even when they are hurt and exhausted.

My takeaway: at the end the director clarifies that the two were hurt and that's why they're disabled, this also makes it harder for them to survive but their reliance on each other is what helps them overcome their struggles. Again not dissing their disabilities but rather acknowledging the hardship they face.

That’s not what was said. And your “meanings” is based on different assumptions

Um, that is what was said because that's the direct translation of the guide posted by the director, please feel free to go find it yourself instead of paraphrased rubbish being spread by people with an agenda. Also ironic of you to call them "different assumptions" as if the people making a scene aren't doing the exact same thing to drive their own fight.

I DID read his interview myself.

Your “meanings” are making your own assumptions while others can make different assumptions. That’s your personal take (or whoever wrote it) and others can have theirs.

Except their take is bordering on defamation and slander which only affects the artists while they get away with taking zero responsibility for what they start. And frankly just based on watching the MV my "assumption" is closer to the facts than whatever bs that stylist is trying to spin including her partner now trying to make it about "misogyny" which I don't even know where that's coming from tbh.

Even if we take this explanation as the main one, if they really represented disabled and marginalized people.
Then the cube is something like discrimination and stigma following them and hurting them. Discrimination that so many people in this world face.

Don't many of us sometimes think how our lives would be if we were richer, taller, shorter, prettier, healthier (so on) and didn't have to face criticism and discrimination based on unwritten and written standards? All those what ifs? Some of disabled and marginalized people think about what ifs too.
And when people don't face discrimination and stigma? The cruel reality of this world? When they FIT. Stigma and discrimination go away if you FIT unhuman standards made by humans.

The camcorder shows them the version of them, maybe in another world, that FITS. It's NOT their ideal world, but the world where they fit and don't face discrimination just because they are disabled/marginalized. In their actual ideal world, they wouldn't have to run and suffer from discrimination, because they did no crime and because it's humanity that is messed up. In their actual ideal world they would not "what if" in the form of camcorder, because in an ideal word the discrimination cube doesn't exist, and all people fit. But that's not how our world is.

They tried to face the stigma and discrimination at the end by fighting, but the cube is bigger and stronger... Unhuman standards and discriminations based on them for everything in this world ARE sadly our reality.

I mean fans have a right to be annoyed. Everytime IU drops something, somebody is finding something to be mad at her about. Also it doesn't help that they are also sending both IU and Taehyung hate.

The haters don’t have the intelligence to criticize rationally but they will add oil to fire to blow things out of proportion. And they know exactly how to trigger fans to make it even bigger.

But I still think the personal opinions on the representation of people with disabilities are valid

Ohh then this make sense for the critics.

People are trying too hard to look smart by over analyzing everything to put a super super deep meaning to the mv storyline while we can actually think in a simple way like what you did..

That's exactly what I was thinking, looking through a camera doesn't have a direct correlation to them not being disable but it's how they want the world to be, without a box chasing them, enjoy a meal in a restaurant with more people around them, take candid pictures and marrying each other, ofc in this imagine world they don't see themselves with disabilities which they most probably adquiered while they were being chased or fighting in this dystopia world.

I had this exact conversation with a friend but she was stuck on how they belittle disable people, but I don't see it that you, you gotta look for the big picture instead of nit picking some scenes

i think there's two sides. it's mostly fine but the people offended deserve to be heard too,. the cube is supposed to represent discrimination and the reason korean queer community took offense to it, because love wins in korean is a phrase that is part of their community and popular and that's it. but IU did change it. but many accuse her of trying to go viral with an issue again.
the other thing is V being a korean male who is cis and straight acting with a "disability" running away from "discrimination", he gets applauded and more famous for his acting and the whole story, when in reality he is a rich male celeb in korea. so it's all romanticized to benefit two celebrities.
i think both opinions can exist. that is wasn't super distasteful and u can love the MV. but ppl have the right to be offended and they're not actually crazy or being unreasonable. especially on the korean side.

youre speaking exact words of that stylist nara kim. first, who are you to assume he is straight? he can be bi, he can be pan, he can be anything. second, there have been more than 1 million portrayals of disabled people done by normal rich actors in movies and television but no one batted an eye. but since tae and iu are the most popular celebs in korea, it's easier to get attention by hating on them. first it was queer controversy now it's disabled. tomorrow y'all gonna drag them for dying at the end saying it's disrespectful to dead bodies.

exactly like look at all the Kdramas featuring disabled or neurodivergent characters. Nobody complained about Oh Jung-se playing an autistic character in It's Okay to Not Be Okay or Park Eunbin playing an autistic lawyer in Extraordinary Attorney Woo or Son Sook playing a deaf grandmother in My Mister, etcetera etcetera. But suddenly they take offense at IU and V having disabilities in this MV?

Let’s not be ableist. Disable actors have been asking for more opportunities but they have been shunned for years and replaced by able bodies pretending to be disabled. It is a problem, it’s not just acting when it takes opportunity from real people
I know you like your idols and want to defend them but your speech is getting ableist as hell so let’s chill

and how is that iu or tae's fault? 😭🖐🏼

Im not blaming them or even talking about the MV. Im talking about you.

past homophobic statements from bts could be self hate.. ohhh

bts?? homophobic? i can't take you seriously lol.

late answer but screencaps still exist of the video

next time, people will be complaining that iu and v shouldn't have starred in the mv since they are not couple in real life

ackchyually is disrespecful of them to play a married couple when they're not married, after all, marriage is a sacred bond and they're just making fun of that 🥸👆🏻

Wait can you explain me what does v’s sexuality has to do with him portraying a disabled person?
Also I def get the importance of representation but then that means no actor should act as something they don’t have/aren’t in real life right? Like a disabled character should be played exclusively by a real-life disabled person?
A gay character should be played exclusively by a gay person? If so then what’s the point of ‘acting’?

this is kpop

armys would disagree

I'm offended that they depicted humans as being destroyed by a floating, flying cube. A cube is like the worst shape to pick! Not aerodynamic, doesn't fit into spaces as easily as a sphere. What stupid alien / AI managed to kill us off if it thought cubes were the way to go? lmao

sorry to be the bad apple but metaphors exists in music especially in the MV and/lyrics....

seems convenient to suddenly as people to just treat the scenes literally when previous MVs were treated to show some deeper meaning...

I'm sorry this take is such a stretch and this is coming from a queer, visually impaired person themselves. I have severe monocular visual impairment that only allows me to see about 10% in one eye while the other is fine, so I can relate to this entire thing and speak on it probably better than most and especially the stylist.

Let's break this down:
In the video, two characters navigate a post-apocalyptic world, facing challenges from cubed drones. The male character is visually impaired in one eye, and the female character communicates in sign language to evade detection by the cubes. These disabilities are a creative portrayal of the impact of the cube attacks.

They discover a camcorder in an abandoned shop, that allows them to reflect on a pre-apocalyptic past where they envision a world where they were unhurt, eating, getting into trouble and marrying each other. This part of the story serves to contrast the harsh realities of the post-apocalyptic world with the hopeful vision of a future where love can thrive.

Contrary to the stylists claims, the video does not discriminate against disabled people. Instead, it aims to shed light on the challenges faced by individuals who just happen to have disabilities due to attacks by the cube in a dystopian setting. The disabilities depicted are not intended to mock anyone but rather to acknowledge that these two have been through hell with scars that will impact their lives no matter what the outcome of their experience is. Compare it to a war and it's like a person getting injured because of a drone attack and thinking back on a time pre-war where they didn't suffer like they were now.

Claims that the actors are rich, cis heterosexuals mocking disabled people are just so wayward. These assumptions 1) don't contribute to a constructive dialogue 2) are asserting someone's sexuality without their consent.

Edit to add: Side note, this issue brought to light something else entirely. I am genuinely sick of the people in this community that shame so many of us for grieving the loss of our abilities as if we're villains for it.

you see this with literally any popular thing in music or tv or film there'll be articles about 'this is problematic' from clickbait writers who rely on people wanting their outrage dopamine fix for the day.

Whether it's Stranger Things or BTS or IU there's always something, if there isn't they'll make up something, you only get clickbait to be clickbait in the first place if it's attached to a popular name.

The article comes from a hybe staff💀

It doesn’t

the one who's supporting this controversy is hybe/ source music staff 'nara kim'.

They are a freelancer, works with other companies, not just source music. I’m more curious about why Hybe is the one you guys stress on. Do you think people who work with a big company are not supposed to have free speech or something???

exactly what I said above.

it’s really not that deep

While I do agree it does not extend to witch-hunting them, I understand the netizen's perspective. If you watch the mv whenever they use the camcorder, V can see while IU can sing, so I don't understand why they're going on that route? They can just use a zombie eclipse or dystopian theme though without those disabilities. It's a valid criticism.

Edit: Another commenter pointed out, He’s blind because of the injury after the cube came and IU probably used sign language to not attract the cube. Thus, meaning it's not because of disabilities. So now that’s make sense to me.

A kid in Gaza gets their leg blown off and think about a time where they could dance, is that mocking disabled people? /Gen

I’m sorry, Where’s the correlation? That’s definitely not what my comment pointed out. I thought V can’t see and IU can’t hear but they romanticized in the camcorder as they both can. But now it’s make sense to me. You can just kindly explain to me like other commenters, he’s blind because of the injury after the cube came and IU probably used sign language to not attract the cube. Thus, meaning it's not because of disabilities so it’s make sense to me now. I don’t know what’s so hard to be kind. I'm not coming from a bad place, I even like the song and MV.

The setting in the MV is post-apocalyptic/war torn and two people who've been injured as part of this 'war' this 'oppressive regime' dream about a world where they were free of their injuries, where they could have fun and get married. You asked what the reason for taking the "route" was and it's this.

OP was using the Gaza war to give you a real life example of what someone in this situation would experience. The same level of regret and yearning.