Big Bang’s “Monster” opens into what seems like an abandoned military camp. The first 30 seconds are jarring and feels like we are looking from the monster’s viewpoint until it is chased back inside the building. Bullets are flying, things are exploding: this is war.
The monsters know that they are not completely alone; the CCTVs
inside are capturing their every move. Notice the caption at the bottom that
reads “Project: Monster” with the member’s initials on top. And then we see each member in their
“monstrous” forms: fangs, claws, glow-in-the-dark eyes, shape-shifting faces
and the ability to sing and dance like nobody’s business in the middle of an
exploding field. (Hey they’re called Big
BANG for a reason!)
“Monster” feels like a modern mash-up of classic horror
characters like Frankenstein, Werewolf, or King Kong. They all share similar
themes: a hideous looking beast that may pose a threat and wreak havoc on
society at large but is actually more human than the people who are trying to
kill it. Obviously, monstrosity is one
of the themes that pervades the video and like the predecessors before them,
Big Bang’s grotesque appearance is rejected by society: “Everyone may look at me with judging eyes, but
what really hurts is the fact that you have become a part of that everyone.” Cue Taeyang’s gravity-defying hair: don't they look like chocolate logs?? But I'm not complaining. That is precisely the shock that "Monster" brings to the audience
when the members are revealed. GD, for
example, is initially a blonde who later transforms into a red head with a horn,
who at the end reverts back as a blonde.
In another scene, we see Top standing in a snowy terrain and
judging by the scale of things, he is taller than any of the surrounding
mountains. Follow the line of his gaze
and you will see a faint silhouette of a woman at his feet; however, she is
also dressed in white (more on that later).
GD is another “giant” seen here crouching near the ceiling. It doesn’t
look like he is bound by chains but by tentacle-like cables connected to his
head. Mind control perhaps? Regardless
of size, they are still larger than life, literal depiction or not.
On a side note, Big Bang members are some well-dressed
monsters! I’ve yet to see one in a turtleneck but Top is probably a half
Dracula who needs to cover every inch of his skin from direct sunlight; hence,
the hat, the cape and the gloves. His raspy rapping in the beginning of the
song also sounds like the whispery seductions of a Dracula….aaand I’m sticking
with that theory.
The only thing that would be considered normal in this video
is the van that’s parked in the middle of nowhere. If this is a secret
experiment gone wrong by the government, I would have at least thought they
would use military-grade mobiles at their facility. They have the technology to
bomb Big Bang but not the ride to go with it? *scratches head* But in Taeyang’s
solo scene, the van appears in one shot, disappears in the next, and reappears
again in the following shot. Conclusion:
the van possesses magical stealthiness that can make itself vanish in covert
operations but in order to do so, it must look extremely low-tech and ordinary.
Moving on.
Other motifs in the video are worth mentioning. The barren, desert-like setting that encloses
the camp at the beginning shows no life or vegetation which suggests that it’s
hard to survive. It poses as the difficulties that await our monsters in
pursuit of their goals and at the same time, it’s the nothingness and emptiness
of the desert that remind them of their isolation from society. 
At the end of
the video, we see that the camp is blanketed in snow which I automatically
deduct as an imagery of death. A slow,
cruel death. Contrary to the roaring “I
LOVE YOU Baby I’m not a monster” declarations earlier in the song, the ending
note is subdued and we see GD clasping his arms in the cold and walking towards
what looks like civilization. He is no longer a red-haired, horned creature but
he is not exactly man and not exactly animal and the last narration we hear sums
up his desolation entirely: ”I’m not a monster.
I think I’m sick. I think I’m
sick. I think I’m sick.”
If you’re an
optimist, you may say snow represent a blank slate and GD can leave his past behind
and blend in with society—if he did not already freeze to death on this way
there. Or worse, gunned down by authorities (King Kong anyone?) and the
creators who exploited him in the first place (Yup, looking at you Frankenstein).
I say creators loosely since I’m assuming from the lyrics that Big Bang were
probably humans before they were experimented on.
BUT since the ending is open-ended, I feel like I can ignore
the symbols and stretch my imagination to my inner fangirl
Suppose “Monster” is the epilogue to “Fantastic Baby” (not in
the literal sense of the term) but I can connect a few references between the
two.
Reference 1
GD in both of the videos are prisoners in solitary confinement. Cannot miss the red mane.
GD in both of the videos are prisoners in solitary confinement. Cannot miss the red mane.
Reference 2 & 3
It was snowing in the last scene of “Monster” and then we see Taeyang coming back alive from his frozen state and Top pale like a fair maiden, decked in icy blue hair.
It was snowing in the last scene of “Monster” and then we see Taeyang coming back alive from his frozen state and Top pale like a fair maiden, decked in icy blue hair.
Reference 4
There’s a van in “Fantastic Baby.” Enough said.
There’s a van in “Fantastic Baby.” Enough said.
Share the thematic ideals of breaking free from the chains that bound them
I'm sure I missed other things in the MV but I really love Big Bang's concept for "Monster." Just when I thought I've seen everything from "Fantastic Baby," you come back and put the WHUT in the heck.
Screen caps are from BIGBANG@YouTube, translated
lyrics by toptopia@tumblr
