[Note: This series originally started as a project on Reddit. You can find an explanation of what Bible Study is all about here.]
Before we start in on our third diary, we're wrapping up our 3 weeks of special editions with a look at THANXX. Join us as we consider the differences between it and Inception and where it takes place in the lore.
01: what is the overall story of the diary?
GD: I am not awake enough to remember the story of part 1, but I feel a little regretful that we didn't do this right after Inception [Editor's note: we did our special editions a little out of order.]
Bobby: Well, I just edited Inception yesterday (or finished editing rather), so I'm fairly fresh
GD: Oh excellent
Bobby: So, the overall story of the diary is that 8 boys who are all quietly struggling on their own in different ways gather together to pursue music and dance but break up due to outside pressures (or inside) which leaves them all very unhappy. But in the end, they are regathered thanks to a magical time-traveling hourglass and transported to a new world
GD: Right, a finding each other, and then letting it all fall apart
Bobby: Last time we did argue about the level of importance of the warehouse
GD: That sounds right
Bobby: Which I bring up now because I feel it will be a bit relevant today
GD: I should get in the fighting spirit
Bobby: Let Thanxx take you there
GD: I haven't watched the music video yet, so I will do that now.
02: what is the overall story of the MV?
GD: The "story" of the MV is hard. I feel like I struggled over the "story" in Inception too.
Bobby: I have more thoughts than I've ever had about Thanxx
GD: I have many things that stood out to me that I'd never really considered or ever even thought about before
Bobby: But--it's almost more like a performance video as there's a huge focus on choreo and less on story
We know they're meant to be school-age
GD: It seems particularly notable to me that there are many shots of them in groups instead of just solo.
Bobby: Yes
GD: I also found the part where Hwa throws the papers oddly reminiscent to his scene in Inception with all the papers.
Bobby: The most story I can eke out is we have a group of boys who seem to be friends--they hang out in and around a school and a school bus, they also have a hideout of sorts, and then there's a big ostentatious parade
GD: Right. The story.
Bobby: Ostentatious is the wrong word but I don't know the right one
GD: Let me focus up.
I'd also say that the boys seem... aggressive isn't the word. Defiant, maybe? A group of defiant boys.
Bobby: The setting, compared to Inception, is really interesting to me. It's really a night and day situation
Bright colors, open spaces
Daylight
The school is still shabby though
Really, the only Ateez school we've ever seen that isn't is Prestige
GD: I like the way some of the warehouse seems to be present wherever they are? Like thematically, they're taking the strength they gained from it out into the real world
Bobby: Well, let's jump into thematic connections then
03: what are the thematic connections?
GD: Symbolically? metaphorically? thematically is the wrong word
I had a feeling too when we were watching that it felt like the opposite of Inception, and it made me wonder if it was a before and after. An alone and then a together.
Bobby: The boys that we see in Thanxx, those boys wouldn't let themselves get split up. Like you said, they are defiant, not weak
I feel like Thanxx is who Ateez wanted to be and Inception is who they actually were
Or maybe--Thanxx is who Ateez would become in time
GD: Geoff has always believed Thanxx is Mingi's fever dream of who he is
Bobby: Geoff is a heretic
GD: lol but what you said reminded me of that
Bobby: If it were the case, it wouldn't just be Mingi
That's not very 8 makes 1 team
Which is one thing twitter is so upset about
GD: Right, no, I'm ignoring that part of it, and focusing instead on the idea that maybe Thanxx is how they really feel, but can't act on it yet. Like this is who they are in the inside
You know how when you are safe and confident, you can be like "yeah, you know what, fuck that guy" but it doesn't mean you would actually go out and ever say that to their face? Or really act on that internal frustration that you feel
Bobby: Reminds me of the idea that a caterpillar already possesses all the DNA it needs to become a butterfly
GD: I think in some ways, you can draw a cause and effect line between Inception and Thanxx?
In Inception, they're alone and unsure, and after feeling like that for a while, maybe that morphs into, I listened to you and for what? this is where it got me?
Classic millennial sentiment
Bobby: Eden speaking for his people
GD: God I love that man.
Bobby: I feel like the main difference between the two, like you mentioned earlier, is that in Thanxx, they are nearly always shown in groups. Even when members are "alone" they either have BBT around or the suggestion that the other members are in the same space just not pictured
Like, when we get that solo shot of San on the stairs, we know he's with the others because the establishing shot showed them all
As opposed to Inception, where the only group shots are choreo
GD: Ahhhh god you know what this reminds me of?
Turbulence vs The Real, and how fitting that it's the ending and closing MVs
Bobby: Yes, exactly
GD: I'm going to watch it again
[GD watches the mv again]
What do you make of the parade?
Bobby: It's like. . . a show of force? A power play? Not sure how to describe it
Because they're sort of in combat clothes
GD: Yeah, it's hard not to connect it to Wonderland in my mind
Bobby: The whale, sea turtle and skull are a complete mystery to me
I know they come back for Celebrate, but idk why
GD: I have some symbolic thoughts on the meaning of the vehicles and the flying ship
Just in general, all vehicles can represent options. Like, together, they have a way to leave behind their old life and find something new. I'm thinking about the idea of starting a journey
Bobby: Autonomy is the word I think of
GD: Yes. Vehicle or any sort of transportation is its own sort of power, in a way?
You do not have to be beholden to someone else for your ability to go
Bobby: Yes. I hate cars, but I don't think I could live in a world of public transportation
GD: I have vague thoughts about the way the magic parade seems to take place in the same void space that Hongjoong goes to at the end of Inception
Bobby: It feels more similar to Wonderland to me. The void feels decidedly empty (like a void) and detached from reality. But bc Thanxx parade is not on a soundstage, it doesn't have that same disconnection.
Like, it feels like there is actually something beyond the parade
GD: Yes it does remind me of Wonderland, but Wonderland also has an almost void space when they're in the red outfits
Bobby: Okay--so not to take us down a timeline rabbit hole. . .
But if we consider the Treasure series as sort of a preview--a trailer of sorts--for all the eras to come, the overlap between Thanxx and Wonderland do make sense in that Inception/Thanxx is "the moment before they opened the door" or whatever the exact quote is
Wonderland, of course, having that one giant door. But, Wonderland, whether by design or budget constraints isn't shot on any location except for the parade. So it has a more closed in feeling as opposed to Thanxx
GD: I was thinking that maybe Wonderland is the real them that is stuck inside during Thanxx finally coming out near the end of their journey
I feel like the words of that sentence are out of order
Bobby: Oh good because I could not parse it
Thanxx to me feels like a precursor to Wonderland. Thanxx is youthful and defiant while Wonderland is mature and determined
GD: You know how I pondered whether Thanxx was who they really were inside? This "yeah, those guys suck," but it was only expressed in safety or felt in their hearts? Well, in that case Wonderland would be them taking that internal frustration to its external equivalent--they're going to do something about it.
Hopefully that makes more sense
Bobby: Yes.
So, the new 8th graders I have came with a reputation
(belated tangent alert)
I've been told by other teachers and by kids that the rising 8th graders were out of control, their parents were terrible, and all sorts of warnings about how awful my year is going to be
Granted, I've only had them for two days and kids do tend to be on their best behavior at the beginning of the year--but one of the things that the new history teacher and my work bestie and I have discussed about this group, is that they have a lot of feelings and energy--but they don't know how to direct it properly. They don't know how to harness their power for good
We all, for the record, think these kids are going to be great and everyone can shut up
But Thanxx reminds me of these kids who have all this passion but aren't sure what to do with it.
Wonderland is where we start to see them put it to good use
(The World is really where we actually see them put it to use, but you get what I'm saying)
GD: I'm thinking about anger
Which I think is often seen as a bad emotion? or at least, not particularly useful?
Bobby: It certainly can be
GD: But, what changes if we don't get angry? Doesn't a lot of change come from someone getting angry enough to do something?
Like many things, I don't think anger itself is bad as much as what you choose to do with the anger
Bobby: I think, too, the things that we're letting make us angry
GD: Right. If your anger has you send a protest truck to KQ over anything other than the lack of worldwide Teezmon release, then perhaps the anger isn't useful
Bobby: Sean, be on the lookout
But like, my anger right now at Atinys, even if it's justified, is worthless because it's not prompting me to do anything. I'm not about to get on twitter and fight with people
GD: And even if you were going to get on twitter and fight with people, that also wouldn't be useful
Bobby: Right
GD: But you know what is useful? our field of dreams blog which was also born out of a sense of frustration.
Bobby: I suppose frustration is akin to anger
GD: I need to take you on a tangent about wrestling
I alluded to this in a text the other day
Bobby: A text to me? an allusion I missed entirely then
GD: But I watched this wrestling documentary called Cody Rhodes: Becoming the American Nightmare (I think). In it, you see how Cody sort of grew up in the WWE, and then they made him do some really silly stuff and sort of made his wrestling character into a joke. And even though it sort of killed him inside, he played the character to the best of his ability, tring his best to really Do Something with it. And he asked the writers to give him a better storyline, to make him turn into something else. So he decided to leave the WWE. And he was like, 'well, I'm going to do it my way then.' So he got really into the independent wrestling circuit, and he was going to all of these small meets, and taking any press interviews he could get. He was doing his own social media thing. And finally, he was like, let's hold the biggest independent wrestling match. They sold tickets for this big stadium, and everyone was like that's impossible, it's never been done. Then they sold out in like 30 minutes.
But anyways, what his wife said when she was talking about it was "if you build it, they will come."
Bobby: Oh I remember now
GD: This reminded me of that because it was his anger and frustration at what the writers were doing with his character that made him realize he had to do something different
And just the idea that you should be true to your own dream, whatever that means.
But I think at this point in the Ateez story, the idea of what the dream is is still sort of malleable. For some it's music, for some it's stardom, for some it's togetherness. They're not clear on what they want, so they can't really build their field of dreams. They just have that first step, defiant frustration and anger.
Bobby: Is the frustration because of the dream or because they lost each other?
Halajoong seems to imply it's the dream
GD: During Thanxx? I think it's just the general frustration of always doing what you're told and still being unhappy
Bobby: So basically, Thanxx is showing us what we don't see in the diary
A what could have been maybe
GD: I feel like it would be interesting to compare Thanxx to Bouncy, because Thanxx has all of the bright color trappings of Illusion and Eternal Sunshine, so in some ways it feels very internal to me. Like, these feelings, these things that we want, this imagined reality, is all how I want to be and how I see myself.
But Bouncy has some similar sentiments with a much more grounded color scheme and settings
Bobby: Notably, not a lot of solo work in Bouncy.
Mingi's bar shoot up and Hongjoong's sniper work are the only solo endeavors we see, but we also know they're sort of working as a pair. Somehow. But all their stories intertwine so we know even though they aren't all together, they're still Together
GD: Right, almost like Bouncy is the realization of the some of the goals we're starting to see form here
Bobby: I would argue The World as a whole. Is the realization I mean
GD: I suppose that's all getting very far ahead of ourselves, but I agree
I'm reminded of fireworks because I guess I'll never stay on topic today. The idea that a spark starts a fire
Bobby: Which takes me to Hunger Games. I'm not going to say anything about it, but that's where I go
GD: I feel like I should have more to say about the way the school and hangout sets are staged like the warehouse, but I don't. I feel like I said my thing--that they're symbolically carrying the warehouse with them.
Bobby: To me, the warehouse is the symbol. It's a home base. Your solid foundation you can build on. The place you can safely return to
And I think their friendship is that home for them. So the warehouse or the hideout--they symbolize the friendship. In Thanxx, because they are together, their hangout is bright and cheerful. But when we see it in the diary film after they're broken up, it's dark and desolate
The school is just a school I think. The most predominant institution they deal with as teens. The shabbiness showing their discontent with society. The ways society has let them down
GD: I don't think we're arguing over what the warehouse means, I just think we're using different words to mean the same thing. And that my thoughts about it make perfect sense in my head, but that I am unable to express it properly.
Bobby: I don't think we're arguing at all right now. I believe our original argument from Inception was about whether The Warehouse could be replaced with any other type of hideout and still retain the same meaning.
GD: I don't know that the question is particularly relevant in Thanxx, but I guess it could be
So it doesn't seem I will need to gather my spirits for a fight, which is good, because my spirits are calm
Bobby: I don't think either interpretation changes how we view the rest of the story
GD: Inception just started playing. Do we have other thematic connections?
Bobby: I don't think so. I'm ready for final thoughts
04: what are your final thoughts and takeaways?
GD: I think my main sort of takeaway is that Thanxx and Inception make a lot of sense together if you look at the themes being conveyed. I have often struggled with placing thanxx in the timeline because I felt like it didn't make sense. I could get from Inception to Fireworks, or I could get from Thanxx to Fireworks, but I couldn't get the two of them to mesh together.
And what I'm thinking about now is that all of the Pt.1 is very internal? So if these are also internal, you can almost see it as a 'what we have' vs 'what we want'. Or, you can see it as Thanxx being the sort of metaphorical representation of their friendship and who they want to be while they were happy and together, with Inception showing what happens when it falls apart. And I suppose I'm less concerned now with whether Thanxx or Inception comes first because in many ways they're just different sides of the same coin.
Bobby: Yes, where I'm landing on this particular mv pairing is that Inception shows us how weak they are when separated and Thanxx shows us how powerful they can be (or can feel) when they are together.
It seems odd to say that in Thanxx they are entirely at ease? Especially given the wild choreo and kind of martial parade at the end. But then compare to how tense they are, even when "sleeping," in Inception.
GD: There are some very relaxed shots of them on that bus. I think Yunho is lying in San's lap in one of them?
They do seem at ease or at least.. confident?
Bobby: They straight up chill on a sofa
GD: Unbothered
Bobby: Right. You can't really be at ease if you're not confident.
I'm relaxed right now because I'm confident nothing bad is about to happen to me. I mean in the immediate sense
GD: Right.
I am unconfident because I fear I'll starve
Bobby: Fear not. Let's move on to closing
GD: I fear that won't help because there's no food in the house, but that's for me to be worried about
05: closing
GD: A praise. A weird day in atiny land to come up with a praise, but I suppose that's the point: to find something nice in all of the garbage
Bobby: Yes, I continue to feel a bit disconnected. I'm happy about their Dream Heart (or whatever) awards, but I didn't get to watch it
GD: I also didn't get to watch it
Well, I have something.
Last night, I was able to get Hongjoong's perfume PC for a great price at an in person trading event, and that made me very happy because now I have all of Hopaz.
Bobby: Very satisfying to complete a small collection
Hmmmm. . .
I've been in a rather foul mood all day, so this is extra hard because I don't feel happy about anything
GD: 😦
Bobby: But I think I can muster up some gratitude
GD: That one person made broHo lock screens and that was nice even though I didn't use them.
Bobby: Maybe I can't muster up some gratitude. I'm breaking bible study
You know what, no
I'm happy today that no matter what horseshit goes down on twitter, Ateez will continue to be awesome human beings who will make the best choices for themselves in spite of whatever twitter wants. And I can rely on their music and concepts to always be what I want and need
GD: Turbulence came on a bit ago, and it felt very soothing to me
Have you been on r/8teez at all? they actually have a bunch of very lovely posts up right now for their love bomb event, and that's very sweet. It is nice to see people talk about falling in love with Ateez. So I'm going to add that as an additional praise.
Bobby: I have not been in a reddit headspace but I think that's a very nice event
GD: That seems very reasonable
I am at a loss for my patron saint, but I realize that I will be seeing ATEEZ in less than a week
so this feels like an important choice. Like, I will be seeing my patron saint this week
Bobby: Isn't it Mingi?
GD: Because I'm traveling?
Bobby: No, because your hair is pink now
GD: lol I forgot my hair was pink. It's not something I see regularly
I think it's going to be Jongho. I would like his calmness for my travels, and his professionalism as I deal with people who maybe I would rather not.
I know I call upon Jongho a lot but I also feel like I should call upon Jongho on the week I'm going to see them in person.
Bobby: I feel like what I need this week is an odd blend of tranquility and POWER
I think Mingi is my patron saint actually
GD: That was who I thought it would be with those descriptors. A good choice
Bobby: Rosary then?
[Editor’s Note: Don’t worry about anything that I’m cutting out of this section, you didn’t miss any nonsense or confusion at all.]
Bobby: What if we just. . .
8 makes
GD: 1 team
Bobby: Be the light
GD: Halazia
May you rest well. Good works today
Bobby: May I overcome my grouchiness and be a decent human being, amen
Halazia, I mean
GD: Fighting
Thank you for joining us as I finally figured out how to Deal With THANXX. It's only been three years, so a Big Bible Study for me.
Next week, we will finally get started on Diary Pt.3, and we hope to see you there!
Comments