Don't Look at Me: AOA's rebellion against the gaze of the Kpop industry

Listening to AOA’s song Come See Me, you may assume by its lyrics that it is just another pop song about falling in love. However, AOA’s music video (MV) for this song reveals a new layer of meaning. In this essay, I will argue that the imagery and symbolism used by AOA in their music video is intended to signify the message of their song as being one of personal rebellion against the strictly controlled and highly scrutinized lifestyles of idols in the K-pop industry.

The heavily moderated lives and public images of K-pop idols are no big secret. The production companies maintain absolute control of nearly every aspect of the idols’ lives in order to produce a flawless and marketable image (Turnball, 2017), so much so that even the personal and romantic relationships of the idols are restricted (Cheung et al, 2018). Idols are expected to stay single in order to give the perception of availability to fans (Eunyong, 2015), so any romances that do arise must be kept in perfect secret from both the public and their management. Romances that are uncovered, usually by paparazzi spying on secret rendez-vous between idols, are met with incredible public scandal and can be career ruining (Cheung et al, 2018). This leads to the next medium of control over idols’ lives- the media, and more specifically, the public masses that consume and critique it. Idols must adhere to certain expectations of the masses in order to maintain their favor and thus their career. It is these envoys of restraint that AOA are symbolically fighting against in their MV.

First we see several images indicating preparation for a fight or battle. At 0:16 we see a member wrapping her fingers like one does before boxing. Also throughout the MV we are shown shots of weapons like guns, swords, and others being picked up and brandished by the idols, indicating their comfort with and willingness to use them. The weapons are not aimed at individuals in the MV, rather they are aimed at: the cameras shown on screen (2:51 and 3:04) which represent the watchful gaze of the public and the industry; the cameras actually filming the MV, and as a result, the audience viewing the video- the literal gaze of the public; and at the symbols of their flawless image as an idol that hides the reality of them as humans, specifically shown at 0:43 where a curtain of sparkling diamonds obscurs an idol’s face, and again at 2:38 where the idol is scene pushing them out of her field of view with the blade of a sword. This fight against the gaze is also a fight for their own privacy and personal freedom.

This is indicated through the settings used in the music video. We see an empty highway (0:07), a broken down payphone in the middle of the desert, seemingly far away from modern technology and other individuals (0:44), and private homes and apartments where the camera is very clearly invading a personal space (0:16, and 0:03). The roads and far away locations further indicate the desire to escape the constant observation of others, however we are shown that before they begin fighting back there was no escape since they are being observed in these typically private and closed off spaces. There is even a shot of an idol in ‘her’ home that is shot through the bars of a room divider, emulating the look of prison bars, and signifying her being trapped by the very gaze we as the audience are casting on her (1:33). We again see the all encompassing gaze symbolized at 0:43 where an idol sits alone on a platform surrounded by a multitude of different cameras, drones, and recording devices. Finally the girls do fight, destroying cameras at 2:51 and 3:04 that allow them to run off toward freedom together.

The end goal of freedom from the gaze and AOA’s literal fight to get it is the story told in the MV that the song doesn’t indicate. However there is a message being directed at the viewer. By aiming their weapons directly at the audience, AOA tells them that the analysis of them that the audience is actively engaged in is a part of what they are struggling against. This MV’s symbolism tells us exactly how trapped the idols feel being locked in an unwavering gaze, and shows what they feel like they would have to do to escape it and find freedom in privacy, something they know their audience takes for granted.

Bibliography

Cheung, Choi, Saeji, Selinger, Shababo, and Tand. “Regulating the Idol: The Life and Death of a South KoreanPopular Music Star.” The Asia Pacific Journal (2018)

Eunyong, Jung. “The Korean Wave in the Age of Social Media.” Hallyu 2.0, 2015

Turnball, James. (2017) :Just beautiful people holding a bottle: the driving forces behind South Korea’s love of celebrity endorsement.” Celebrity Studies, 8:1, 128-135, DOI: 10.1080/19392397.2016.1272860