Film Studies Professor Reacts to Stray Kids MEGAVERSE
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 มิ.ย. 2024
- Reaction video to Stray Kids MEGAVERSE -- suffice it to say this video blew my mind. Hope you enjoy. And as always please share your thoughts and recommendations!
Also, yes. new channel name! I mentioned the topic of over analysis (or how there is no such thing!) and realized this was the perfect name for the new direction of this channel.
#straykids #megaverse #kpopreaction - บันเทิง
Did I get any of my Stray Kids general lore knowledge mixed up? There's so much to keep track of!! But I love a good complex lore. Tell me anything you think I should know/watch/understand in the comments :)
I love your interpretation! The security guard represents haters. He was doodling on the images of Felix and Hyunjin. Chan's hoodie has doodles on it as well.
Looking forward to your reactions to Stray Kids.
If you notice the second security guard filled out his name, Tablo, intersecting with Stray Kids. Top of the puzzle said Next X? indicating a collaboration. Tablo is the leader of Epik High, a very well known hip hop group in Korea.
Okay this is such a cool detail & prediction, and now I'm going to have to look into Epik High as well. I've heard of them, but never checked them out at all.
It is always fun to see someone discover Stray Kids. They have quite the impact.
Stray Kids started with a story that they wanted to tell. I'll leave a list for you if you would like to go through it. I give this list to any baby Stay I come across to help them in their SKZ journey. I'm going to include some songs I think are part of the story, but not quite. I'll put them in brackets. And yes. The trailers & teasers I list are needed for the story. Hellevator isn't needed, but it's good for new people to watch it. Helevator was made in 2017 before they even debut, as part of the Survival Show that they went through to prove they could debut as one group. And parts of it are seen through out the story line.(I don't know if other people have told you SKZ were a 9 member group at the beginning. At just under 2 years into their journey one of them, Woojin, left. You will see Woojin in older videos. He was present till Double Knot at the later part of 2019. He has a lovely voice, and I wish him well on his solo career. A lot of Stay ignore his existence because of how he left.)
(Hellevator)
I Am Not trailer
District 9
(Mirror could go here, but it's not completely in the story line)
Voices
Grow Up
My pace
I Am You
Victory Song Performance Video
Miroh
Cle 2: Yellow Wood trailer
Side Effects Teaser 1
Side Effects
Double Knot
(Astronaut is technically next, but it's also a split in the story line again. The group from this one end up in space & go on to the song TOP where they have a conclusion of a sorts for their story. So their path is up to Double Knot, then Astronaut, and finally TOP. The main story skips this, and goes on to Levanter Trailer.)
Cle: Levanter Trailer
Levanter
Go Live Trailer
Stray Kids Prequel: Highlight Reel
Gods Menu
In Life Trailer
Back Door
I think that's the end of the official story line. Stray Kids consider Gods Menu as their new beginning, and the story shows it. After that, they take many different routs in their story & music.
There Is also a separate story line called the Mixtape Universe, or the Film Club Universe. It's it's own self contained thing, and it recently got a added film in the latest comeback. It follows the members in an alternate reality as they are members of a school film club.
Mixtape: On Track
Unveil track: B Me
Mixtape: OH
The View
And just recently there is now SKZFLIX that kind of follows an alternate path of the Film Club universe, and the Unveil track for Leave also ties in. We are waiting for Leave to get a full film. I want it so bad. (At this point, I don't think it will get it's own MV. And I am sad.)
I hope this helps you on your journey of exploration into Stray Kids' music.
Ohh this is so incredibly helpful, TY so much for writing this up, I will use this order list as a guide! And I had never heard of the Mixtape Universe at all--the fact that they're members of a school film club is priceless and I cannot wait to delve into that as well.
I had watched the very beginning of the survival show, and I think I'd better return to that as well :) I can feel myself getting sucked in!
It looks like you forgot to list the Stray Kids series SKZ TALKER, SKZ ZOO, SKZ ON TRACK, etc.?
@@ellie_jeann I was listing the story line, not the shows. And I did list the film Club story line as well.
@@GolyenHighway okay and yes I saw that listed which is what I was confused you didn't add the variety series.
@@ellie_jeann Because all I was listing was the story line. Everything else you listed are separate. The Talker series is behind the scenes of real life, The SKZOO isn't part of the story either.
If people want the list of shows for that, I would suggest starting with The 9th. As that picks up immediately after the survival show, and before they fully debut. Then the Talker series. Then the Talker Go series for when they are on tour. Stray Kids have given us so many fun series that highlights their personalities in fun ways. We are a very well fed fandom.
I LOVE the theme of this MV.
The security guard was disrespecting them by DOODLING all over them in the newspaper. This angered SKZ and caused them to break the 4 th wall and arrive in their hellevator to right the wrong. CHANS sweater is covered in DOODLES.
The boys morphing into each other stamps we are one. One for all, all for one. Mess with one, you mess with us all.
I also love the fact that it is the music that blasts him through the wall and the floor. SKZ replied to their haters the best way they can, their music.
If you notice no matter where the guard tried to escape to..... through exit doors, he couldn't get away. That is because there is NO EXIT, once you are in, you are here to STAY.
At the end the new security guard is TABLO from EPIK HIGH. The crossword said Next 'X'? Next Collab is SKZ X TABLO.
Recently Epik High did a collab with Seventeens HOSHI. Interestingly Tablo"s wife's favourite IDOL group is StrayKids. His daughters favourite groups are StrayKids, Seventeen and BTS. I can see a trend 😂
Or alternatively
This is the story of a non K-pop/hater who never gave Stray Kids a second thought. They can hear a song and looking at it their visuals hit first, stunning him. Next their music/ beats knocks him off his feet, blows him away. He looks up and Han and Hyunjin are circling him like tweety birds around someone who was knocked silly. Even Felix says his deep voice, you had better run, (while you can).
He tries, but as all STAY know, once you are in the rabbit hole, there is no escape, you will always return to them.
Him looking at his doodling, his whole world changed into one of respect for these boys. You can see the shift on the paper
Non-lore related, but I noticed that the elevator features eight floors. The only numbers shown lighted are 1 and 8, emphasizing Stray Kids’ unity. (It even said “Camera 8” in the elevator scene where you paused… never noticed that in many rewatches!) Also, the members continually morphing into one another similarly unifies them.
The second security guard writes “TABLO” on the crossword puzzle is a Canadian rapper by the same name. We’re expecting a future collaboration with SKZ (it says “next” above the crossword.)
Love your reaction and looking forward to more!
OHH I love that about the significance of the 8 floors, & Camera 8 -- that they put in those kind of details is so delightful. And build in little Easter Eggs like the tablo mention--I was really wondering what that referred to! I also really like your point about emphasizing the unity of Stray Kids; I feel like that extends here to the different iterations of them, maybe? So where they used to be opposed, they're now coming together as a force to be reckoned with?
Thanks so much for watching and commenting :)
Hi!!! The base of the lore starts with hellevator/district 9 and is very strong in their earlier MV’s with the most basic concept being they have clones (in the district 9 facility) that are the perfect versions of themselves that ppl expect from them. Them breaking out is breaking away from expectations. I’m side effects MV we see the “clones” who took the easy road and are in luxury while the real SKZ are taking the path less traveled. There are def 2 confirmed universes with some Stays believing there are up to 4 and they base it on the color schemes of the MV’s. In the astronaut MV they see their clones! It is strongly believed that IN is a glitch and can see the differences in the universes and knows what’s going on since he’s normally seen observing everything, and that Felix has powers of some sort and is controlling things. Also that Hyunjin is some sort of evil mastermind I believe? All the different monsters like the sound monster and the heart monsters play parts too! And yes, elevators are a common theme in traveling worlds. If you’re doing a deep dive into the lore I HIGHLY recommend watching the preview and teaser videos for each album as those add heavily to the lore and move the story along. Also, the actor who plays the security guard in this MV has been in many of the other ones and always plays significant roles so he’s a clone of some sort too! Also the teaser videos for each MV normally have extra scenes too. My understanding of this video is SKZ are called through the multiverse because the guard is disrespecting them by doodling on their picture. They’re never in the same room as each other but morph into each other because if you mess with one of them you mess with all of them, they are a united team! Can’t wait for this journey and another perspective on the multiverse! I love diving in to it and hearing other theories. But I definitely think you need to look at the album teaser videos and MV teaser videos to get a solid understanding of the story line
Ohhh I had missed the whole clone element!! That makes the AU versions of them more concrete -- so interesting! I have not seen the astronaut MV, can't wait to get there! That must've been a trippy moment when it debuted and they directly saw their clones. I can totally see how Felix has control, given the way he holds himself in Megaverse and makes eye contact with us so fully--I love that. I know *nothing* abut the monsters, this is the first time I am hearing of them, and I am very intrigued. I will definitely start with/include all the teasers on your recommendation--if I have time I will start with the first teasers and Hellevator today! TY so much for helping to orient me :)
@@oolola ya no problem!! It’s only Hyunjin who sees all the clones in the astronaut MV which is why many believe he’s “evil” or he switched places with his clone or something. There’s tons of theories that SKZ have the fake Hyunjin with them or a few of the other members have been swapped. This plays a big part in the ODDINARY album teaser as some members seem very evil. Also, even through ODDINARY came before MAXIDENT, after watching the album teasers a lot of people think maxident is supposed to be a flashback or prequel. Like the lore and storyline in maxident is what ended up leading us into ODDINARY. On the official SKZ TH-cam, they also released a video with Chan narrarating that’s like 8 mins long that explains the whole lore storyline from the beginning through to Gods Menu! That era of hellevator-gods menu is the most concrete lore heavy and has gotten an actual explanation by Chan. Everything after that is a little more “up to your own interpretation” and has all the fan theories involving all the monsters and clones being switched and even more universes and everything!
But in most of the teasers you can see I.N just observing the chaos and looking kind of sad like he knows they’re in a different universe or have clones out there. And Chan has confirmed I.N is a “glitch” in the system. And Felix is often seen controlling things and in the Levanter MV he’s basically controlling the multiverse
Ahhh I missed that detail about the doodles being on Chan's sweater, I love that!! And I like both interpretations -- haters or non fans, both make sense -- maybe the guard is a hater unknowingly in the process of becoming a stay, overpowered by their music?
Another thing to notice is that the guard kept falling and running back into the original room even though he was trying to run away...like he was caught in a loop, of sorts.
Ahh this is such a cool detail -- I sort of love thinking of the guard as a hapless enforcer who is really powerless in the face of Stray Kids and Stay :D @@PaulaLPope
It really is complex. Thank you for you input. :)
Yes, there’s so much, I feel like I only have the vague outline of their lore now - I bet I’d see so much more in this video if I had a more full understanding of SKZ lore. It will be fun to go back and rewatch with more knowledge!
@@oolola Well, I'll be here for the ride. 😅
Yes, stray kids are new universe.😊
I have been thinking about the concept of the 'Stray Kids Hot Megaverse" a lot since this came out and I think it is a very clever way to do KPop lore (I'm not sure if it is intentional, but it works for me at least).
My train of thought started in two places:
firstly, I had a lot of fun reading through and watching different theories on the storyline of the SKZflix universe, and I noticed that there were several theories that I found really cool and plausible. But it had me wonder which one was "the correct one", and I didn't like that.
Who would even be able to say what the correct interpretation is? Author's intention? But what about the storylines that also work with the same material, would we just throw these ideas away, wouldn't that be a waste?
Well, if it is a Megaverse, which I read as a multiverse of multiverses... all of these different readings can coexist in the same lore, and for all the different branches, not just SKZflix verse and the one starting in Hellevator etc.
Slightly different versions could play out in different pockets of this Hot Megaverse, so, it actually answers the question on who got it right: all the lore interpretations are true somewhere inside the megaverse, and there is not one correct one.
Then, secondly, there were some people who joked that when the track list was revealed, they misread the stylised title of Megaverse as "Omegaverse", which is a popular fanfiction trope that originated in fandom spaces, so could actually be taken as a short hand for "fanfiction" in this context. This was obviously just an accidental misunderstanding, but it was enough to prompt this thought process... if the Hot Megaverse is as big as I imagine and just encompasses everything related to SKZ, then all the alternate universes and different scenarios fanfiction authors can come up with, as well ad the ones the group create themselves like SKZ family, also have their own place inside the megaverse somewhere. It kind of solves a discomfort many people might have around KPop fanfiction,, because it makes it clear that if you situate all of these stories inside this huge megaverse, it is easy to understand that while these stories use the names and likenesses of the idols, they don't play out in our universe and don't involve the actual real people.
So, the idea of a Stray Kids Hot Megaverse pools the creativity of all the different people engaging with it, from the people who come up with the concepts of the storyline at JYP, to the members thenselves and their co-producers making the music, the choreographers, the various creatives involved in making their MVs and fan artists, fan writers or just people who want to pick up the lore and get creative with their interpretation of it.
I'm glad that there is no "definitive" lore explanation from an official source that could be mistaken as absolutely surely the correct one, but rather, this is a Hot Megaverse where everyone is welcome to explore. (And Stray Kids have already won, as they say in the lyrics, no matter how disrespectfully people like that security guard in the video might doodle over it).
Of course, in a way this is me completely stretching this concept, but I also think it is in line with their own stated intentions. Bang Chan in particular has said on multiple occasions that he dislikes explaining the meaning of their songs, because he wants them to mean whatever the listeners want them to be. And intentionally or not, the idea of the megaverse makes this easier to visualise and understand.
It also makes SKZ lore and all the different theories about what happens in the storyline much more enjoyable, for me at least. I like the idea that inside the Hot Megaverse, every time a new person starts to piece together their own idea of the lore, a new multiverse gets added to the megaverse, and the bigger the fandom gets, the more the Stray Kids Hot Megaverse grows. It makes being a fan less of just a passive consumer of content, and invites you to be a more active participant.
I absolutely LOVE this interpretation of hot megaverse, as a space where all interpretations coincide and can happily coexist even when there are contradictions or different perspectives, intents, and authors. You're right, it totally makes room for all of the different lore takes (or fanfic takes!) & kind of decenters the power of the author (SKZ/JYP). And then maybe that ties that to (what I understand as) SKZ's fight against the system/being controlled? I'll have to go back on my rewatch to see, but we could read it as aligning SKZ with Stay/fans as fighting against being contained in a single narrative... ?? Also, I love that detail about Bang Chan! I'm going to have to track down some instances of him saying that... from what I've seen so far, he's pretty amazing.
@@oolola the most recent instance of Bang Chan talking about how he wants people to have their own interpretations is at the end of the Lalalala M/V Docuseries. But I remember him also mentioning it when people were asking him about Connected on Chan's Room last year (I think the Christmas episode, buz I don't remember exactly).
Would love to see your reaction to "guilty" by taemin!
I would love to do this! It um couldn't be a first reaction since I watched it right when it came out (because, well, Taemin) but I could do a reaction/analysis! There's sooo much going on there...