There are multiple film references in this music video, most of which take place in dystopian worlds.
The opening to the music video takes place on a battlefield, with flags scattered on the ground to symbolise the warriors' deaths. This could be a reference to Game Of Thrones or the Chronicles of Narnia (the Lion, the witch and the wardrobe), where all the characters had a battle to save Narnia. The final battle represents the fight between good and evil and how good wins out through sacrifice. This links to how BTS talk about all the sacrifices they made to achieve their success in the lyrics.
On the battlefield, the member 'Jin' wasn't wearing clothes appropriate for battle, this is because of the intertextual reference to the Pirates of the Caribbean, the clothing being similar to what was wore in the film.
The music video also makes reference to a Biblical story, this one being Noah's Ark. This is highlighted through the animals in the background and the decaying Ark. This may have been included to show the washing away of evil and acting as a symbol of peace.
This is a reference to the film 'Birdbox', BTS have managed to show the intertextuality by including a young girl wearing a blindfold and one of the members of the group caring for a white
bird/ dove. Like in Birdbox, the music
video portrayed birds as a symbol of peace or freedom. The blindfold that the young girl is wearing could be a symbol of trust and once Taehyung takes it off, he holds the girl’s hand and together they walk through the wall. The girl may wear a blindfold to cover her eyes from the aftermath of war/ a battle, like how in Birdbox the characters cover their eyes in order to survive and face their fears.
This is a reference to the film The Maze Runner, which is clear to see due to the vines hanging from the walls, which open like in the book/film. Furthermore on Taehyung's neck, there is an inky pattern which is similar to the veins popping out of the character 'Newt's' body in the third Maze Runner film, this indicates when a character has a virus (which turns them into a zombie in the film).
This shot is a reference to the Lord Of The Flies which is a dystopian novel including themes of conflict, the boys in the novel use the conch to communicate with each other on the island.
This is a reference to Pride Rock in the Lion King movie. This could represent hope and freedom (like the bird which is released by Jin in another scene), which may resolve any conflict they used to have.
This scene indicated to The Hunger Games franchise, which had a scene where the protagonist 'Katniss' submerged her hands in water to relieve her pain, like the member 'Jungkook' is doing.
In addition to this, 'On' alludes to 'Divergent' due to the similarities between BTS with the survivors and the characters in the film who leave their home to have a better future beyond the wall. Furthermore, the music video creates a similar mystical setting as in the fantasy film 'Maleficent', with scenery as beautiful as the enchanted forests in the film.
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