Procrastination Nation: EXO's MAMA

Okay, so if you guys have not seen EXO's new MV, you guys should watch it and enjoy its powerful, amazing glory. I will even give you guys the links :P


EXO-K version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH6ZwnqZ7Wo&feature=BFa&list=FLZB_zyFahn8GrRIuxI7Gv_w&lf=mh_lolz

With english translation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksRsH9Lw05A&feature=BFa&list=FLZB_zyFahn8GrRIuxI7Gv_w&lf=mh_lolz

EXO-M version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ9sTtXSDwo&feature=BFa&list=FLZB_zyFahn8GrRIuxI7Gv_w&lf=mh_lolz

With english translation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCjHdX4mmZc&feature=BFa&list=FLZB_zyFahn8GrRIuxI7Gv_w&lf=mh_lolz


Alright, with that out of the way, I will explain to you lovely readers why this MV is so awesome. First off, I will preface this by saying that I won't be focusing on the singing or the dancing, even though both of those were amazing (being a dancer myself, I think Kai is amazing). Instead, I will focus on the story that is portrayed in the two music videos.

So, in the music video, the twelve members of EXO are all in charge of one superpower. And according to the narration, they used these powers in order to nurture the tree of life. But when evil forces penetrated the tree of life, the twelve members were forced to split in half and live in separate, but similar worlds. Basically, they now live in PARALLEL UNIVERSES!!!!! <3<3<3<3<3 sorry. I'm not sure why I like that fact so much. But if you think this idea is meh, then you might not want to continue reading, since I will be talking about the connections between the two worlds for the rest of the blog.

In my interpretation of the music video, the two sub-groups of EXO are singing about their dissatisfaction at the evil that has overcome the world and the evil that caused them to create two separate worlds. However, they are not completely separate worlds. Since they are two halves of a whole, they bear similarities. This, in my opinion, is because they have to stay in some sort of balance. The twelve powers previously worked together in order to create harmony in the tree of life. Now that they are split, they maintain the balance by having their two worlds become similar to each other.

The music video gives out hints to tell us which members in EXO-M and EXO-K are 'connected'. In the video for EXO-K more explicitly points out the EXO-M member that is the 'alternate identity' of each EXO-K member. (5:19 in the official MV)

Chanyeol (fire) and Kris (flying) are connected through their summons(?): one a phoenix and one a dragon. The phoenix is revived through fire, and the dragon creates fire. Also, Chanyeol communicates to Kris through the form of a flaming feather, which most likely comes from the phoenix.

      

Baekhyun (light) and Lay (healing) both have powers that are "holy" or good. In the MV for EXO-K, it shows Baekhyun blasting a light spell into a mirror, which assumably connects to Lay. And in the EXO-M MV, Lay is seen sitting in the same place, reviving/healing a flower in front of him. One interpretation is that Baekhyun supplies Lay with his light powers so that Lay can use his healing powers. In other words, Baekhyun's light power is the fuel that Lay uses to harness his healing powers.

Sehun (wind) and Tao (time control) are connected through a butterfly. Unfortunately, I'm not really sure how their powers connect. But MV explicitly shows a connection between them because they communicate through the butterfly. One thing I'd like to point out is the nice opposition that the two have. Sehun is sitting in the middle of a barren land. He is completely still, but surrounding him are fast and powerful tornadoes. In contrast, Tao is seen moving quickly and powerfully (doing his martial art moves :D) while his surroundings are completely still (due to his time control powers). On a side note, I think it's very stupid to stop time JUST to kick a few flower petals. It would have been better if he sliced all of the petals in half or something.

  

Suho (water) and Xiumin (ice/freezing) have a very strong connection through the element of water. It is more explicitly seen in the teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuZGIZD3dVY&feature=BFa&list=FLZB_zyFahn8GrRIuxI7Gv_w&lf=mh_lolz (0:57 - 1:05). Suho supplies water to Xiumin, and Xiumin creates ice with the given water. Also, in the EXO-K MV, you can see that Xiumin is Suho's "parallel universe buddy" when Suho wipes the mirror, and his reflection changes into Xiumin.

D.O. (earth) and Chen (lightning) have opposite and balancing elements :P If you guys have read my story, you guys might know that I think earth and lightning are completely opposite elements. But of course, without the other, they can be very unbalanced (Although I made Dara have healing powers, she is in actuality an earth child. I tried to show that in her personality o.O). But that's beside the point. There are two things in the MV that connect D.O. and Chen together. The first is that both interact with the ground. D.O. stomps on the ground to create an earthquake, while Chen (for some reason) touches the ground in order to produce lightning. The second thing is that in the end shot, (5:52 in the EXO-K MV) the two are shown as opposites, or two sides of the same coin. I really like that the tree on the bottom half is located directly under the column on the top half. :D

   

Kai (teleportation) and Luhan (telekinesis), besides having powers that both have "tele" in their names, are connected through movement. Note: this is completely my interpretation, and it is probably false. But it would be SOOOO cool if the reason why Kai is allowed to navigate to both worlds is because Luhan sacrificed his own ability to travel around. As seen in the MV, he is 'trapped' in a room nothing but those glass ball thing-y's.  It's like, the twelve powers need someone to travel between both worlds in order to serve as a mediator, or a source of communication between the two worlds (besides butterflies and mirrors), so in order to keep everything balanced, Luhan confines himself to one room, sacrificing his ability to travel in order to give Kai more power or range of motion. (Although Tao also seems like he is trapped in a room as well...) BUT Luhan might even be helping Kai out by moving those glass balls, which might be like connection portals or something. You know, like how telephone operators connect you to a certain line in order for you reach a certain person, maybe the balls need to be moved around to create the correct formation, which will then allow a certain teleporation to happen o.O And THAT'S why Luhan is in that room o.O ANYWAY, focusing on the video, I think it's really cute when Kai visits Luhan because #1: They are smiling fondly at each other, and #2: they are wearing opposite colors: Kai with black and Luhan with white.

Of course, it seems like the twelve of them are capable of gathering together once in a while (probably during an eclipse or something, since that seems to be a big theme for EXO). They gather together, all dressed in robes that are reminiscent of the dark ages when people gather together secretly in order to discuss something magical and secretive (or a cult o.O).


Gahhh!!! There are so many awesome elements in the music videos that appeal to my fantasy-genre-loving side :D And with so many connections (even though most of them are probably just made up by me), I can't help but love it even more!!

Hehe, although this a pretty long analysis, I hope you guys will read all of it and grow a deeper appreciation of the music videos :P. I noticed that some people are mainly concerned about the members' looks, the division of parts, and the fashion, but the concept of the music video, although it blatantly shows how SM is "trying too hard" to make EXO seem epic, has deeper meaning than the oh-the-exo-members-have-superpowers-and-they-like-to-show-it-off feeling that you first get when you see the video.

Of course, there are other interpretations that probably make more sense than mine. In fact, I just read one on tumblr that was based on gathering everyone together for a meeting. The point is, there's a lot of meaning behind the music videos, especially if you view them as parallel universes :P

I don't know, I think EXO is epic o.O

Comments

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Samlestia #1
Oh my goodness! This just made me wow!
OjoKittyKatz #2
Wow goddamn this is such an amazing interpretation. YOU HAVE BROKEN MY WRITERS BLOCK GAH
Can I use this interpretation in a fic? I'll credit you, obviously.
This is just amazing, you've literally opened up so many possibilities for me.
THAAANNNK YOOUU *BOWS*
SirJahzz #3
woah....annyeonghaseyo!

I stumbled upon this when I was looking for a pic of EXO with their badges in wordpress, and this is really great!! I love it!!


can I use it as a concept for my fic? I'll credit it to you...I can't find another interpretation better than this!