K-Pop and K-Dramas:J-Hope is Fine, Guys

Hey! Hallie here!

Today, while I was scrolling through Twitter, I found two hashtags trending that confused me. The most popular of the hashtags was #wewantmorejhope and #Give_jhope_more. Looking into these hashtags I’m seeing more of an argument than any actual effort to get J-Hope more time in songs. One side of the argument, which makes up the people who started these hashtags in the first place, feels that J-Hope is being wronged by the amount of time he received specifically in “Butter”. Amongst these people you see fingers being pointed at HYBE, other members of BTS, and even fans who don’t give the Hyung line, specifically J-Hope, enough attention. On the other side of the argument you can see a lot of fans ridiculing these arguments, but not because they dislike J-Hope in any way. These fans are quick to point out that the members of BTS have said, multiple times, that part of their song-making process is deciding who gets what part of the song. In other words, HYBE has very little to do with which members sing which parts of the songs and often the members themselves choose exactly what they want to do. Here you also see the argument that the fans who started these hashtags are solo stans. Obviously facts, and BTS themselves, seem to support one side of the argument more than the other. But why do so many feel this way about J-Hope’s appearance in “Butter” and why is it important to shut down this behavior?

Why was J-Hope’s appearance in “Butter” frustrating?:

Honestly, as a J-Hope bias, I definitely found myself thinking “Where’s Hobi?” halfway through my first viewing of the “Butter” music video. It wasn’t that he wasn’t there. It was that, after we saw the teaser with Hoseok standing center, it was disappointing to see that Hoseok wasn’t actually a center for the music video. Of course, when the end of the music video rolled around I was more than satisfied. But I do have to admit that I can partially see where these fans are coming from. The members that are part of the Hyung line definitely get less attention than the members that are part of the Maknae line. Sometimes when fans who bias a member of the Hyung line see them getting less time to shine in scenarios like these, they can get protective. They want to make sure that these members get just as much time to show off their skills as everyone else does. And is that wrong?

Infantilization:

Well…yes. In many cases, like this one, protective behavior over an idol is very wrong. It perpetuates the idea that idols can’t take care of themselves or stand up for themselves in the workplace. But they are grown adults. They aren’t children who need their hands held by the fans every step of the way. They are adult men who have their own voices and opinions. And especially in BTS, their voices and opinions are valued enough that we don’t have to worry about these things at all. As I said above, HYBE has been letting BTS decide who does what in each song for a long time now. While BTS has a bit less to do with the process of making their English songs, Namjoon still wrote all of the raps for “Butter” and ensured that he included everything every member of the rap line wanted in their verse. J-Hope made his voice heard when it came to his parts in “Butter”. Even if you wish he had more in the song, respect Hoseok’s decision to move forward with the verse he has now.

Solo Stans:

While I definitely don’t think everyone who has been trending these things are solo stans, it’s important to make sure you aren’t exhibiting solo stan behavior. If you’re pointing a finger at other members of BTS for “stealing” time away from Hoseok, hate to break it to you, but that is textbook solo stan behavior. You can be frustrated that Hoseok got less time in the music video than you thought, but if you’re hating on Jungkook for getting more time, you need to stop. Jungkook did not make any sort of purposeful move to snub Hoseok of screen time in the “Butter” music video. Neither did any of the other members. Appreciate the amazing things we saw from all of the members in “Butter”, regardless of whether or not you wish Hoseok was featured more prominently.

Honestly, I’m pretty satisfied with what we got. In “Dynamite” we didn’t get any verses from the rap line at all, mostly because the writers weren’t exactly sure how the rapping would work in an English song. I’m glad they figured it out for “Butter” and let Namjoon take the reins on making sure everyone’s verse was the way they wanted it. Also, Hoseok got some excellent solo shots and even filled the role of the ending fairy. He was given plenty to enjoy. So yes, I’m still waiting for a music video where we can see Hobi centering. But “Butter” isn’t bad because Hoseok didn’t center for it. In fact, can we talk about how much time Jin got to center? That was amazing! “Butter” is great the way it is. We all need to appreciate the fact that “Butter” was heavily influenced by the decisions of all of the members, including Hoseok, and they knew what was best for themselves and the song.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie