When the MV of Nuts dropped a few weeks ago, I and ARMYs in
my circle speculated on this one person who hurt our Joonie. This is an ongoing
question since he’s always bared his feelings of deep anger, regret and
frustration. By default, I, like many ARMYs, couldn’t wait to pulverize the
person in question. Back pedaling to Nuts, however, and watching Joon sing and
move-dance about in a studio all by himself made me ask: Is he talking about
and with himself?
Nuts is Kim Namjoon’s soliloquy making the song and the MV
highly appealing. Soliloquy as narrative device allows the character to connect
more emotionally and psychologically to the audience. The self-talk is an
exposition of prevailing themes in the story as well as the underlying
conflicts and the more obvious problems or issues at hand. The technique is a
delicious invitation to the character’s introspection of past actions leading
to decisions or possible consequences brought by the thinking process. This
metacognitive approach to storytelling engages audiences even more and for fans
like me, we become deeply invested in the artists that we stan.
Taking Nuts as a soliloquy and a reference to Hamlet’s, this
2nd track of Right Place Wrong Person, is Kim Namjoon’s madness in full
display, once again. The song lyrics references two genders. A She and a He.
Using Jung’s Map of the Soul as framework for this discussion, the former is
the Anima and the latter is the Kpop Idol Persona
These two stanzas show the conflict that drives Namjoon
insane as Anima and Persona clashes.
Verse 1
“She a pro rider… When it comes to love, she could be an all
nighter | Best gaslighter, no man could ever fight her.
I go mad, how can we do everything together?”
Verse 2
“He a pro rider… | Must be an A1 guider, always on that
fuckin’ Kakao talk | When it comes to money, he could be a damn fighter | Best
gaslighter, no woman could stop him.
I go nuts, I feel like a monster.”
The song closes out with two stanzas by the Anima and the Persona.
“Now lay back | You never
been so high | Know you ‘fraid of heights | I will close your eyes”
“Now lay back | You never
been so high | Know you ‘fraid of heights | Don’t say a goodbye”
Words of caution. A caveat. A desire to rest and to take a
pause but it is not a goodbye. It is not the end because, later on, Namjoon
sings Come Back to Me to reassure himself and ARMY that he has integrated with
the Anima. The male Ego leaves the set of mazes intact and can confidently walk
along side its feminine power.
1/7 of our Global Music Princes have overcome the madness
that comes with fame, ambition, immense success and the power of influence.
Namjoon has taken ARMY and the bigger audience into an adventure of the human
mind and its capacity to be broken and to be healed! I am not surprised since
he once said in one of his lives during the pandemic, “let’s be insane to be
sane.”
And there lies the courage and the intelligence of Kim
Namjoon. Blessed with a 148 IQ, his heightened awareness of his Self and the
world around him drives him “nuts”. Choosing music to channel and balance the
crazies that torment him all day and all night, he is able to create art that
is both luminous and illuminating.
I am really glad he picked up learning the saxophone while
on military service. Serenading Jin and playing the chorus of Dynamite are
manifestations of grace. Our Joonie is going to be fine.
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