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7 Myths Fake Fans Keep Trying To Apply To BTS's Career
[By Thread Poll!]
[By Thread Poll!]
You would think that with receipts littered all over social media and other spaces of the Internet that there would be a single, simple, straightforward acknowledgment of the current reality of BTS's impact and music career.
Unfortunately, between pressed mantis, delusional solo stans, and outright shills, ARMY have had to deal with all sorts of gaslighting through the years.
And so, here are seven myths about BTS's ongoing career that refuse to die (but really should!)
And so, here are seven myths about BTS's ongoing career that refuse to die (but really should!)
MYTH #1 - BTS MEMBERS HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THEIR CAREERS AND LACK THE ABILITY TO ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES.
The idea that BTS members are
- Victims
- Puppets
- Naive idiots
Or otherwise lacking agency continues to be floated around by antis and fake fans.
The idea that BTS members are
- Victims
- Puppets
- Naive idiots
Or otherwise lacking agency continues to be floated around by antis and fake fans.
This enduring perception can be largely blamed on how poorly many idols are treated within the industry. Physical ab*se isn't unheard of and many wannabe idols are placed in massive debt as trainees.
Many *refuse* to believe BTS avoided this fate. https://twitter.com/modooborahae/status/1301162537107574784
Many *refuse* to believe BTS avoided this fate. https://twitter.com/modooborahae/status/1301162537107574784
The decision of every member of BTS to willingly commit to seven more years with BH, to accept partial ownership of the company...this is not the behavior of a powerless group of individuals who are looking for an exit.
BTS is made up of adults, each of whom has a better idea of where they intend to go with their careers than some delulu rando on Twitter who can't even speak Korean, has never been there, and exercises every interaction with their words in bad faith.
MYTH #2 - BTS MEMBERS EACH HAVE THEIR OWN "SOLO FANDOM"
Short answer:
Short answer:
Long Answer:
BTS members have only ever acknowledged ARMY. We are the fandom they named and have loved since day zero and as the fandom grew, that feeling was and remains mutual.
There are no individual fandoms. There is only ARMY.
BTS members have only ever acknowledged ARMY. We are the fandom they named and have loved since day zero and as the fandom grew, that feeling was and remains mutual.
There are no individual fandoms. There is only ARMY.
You will find delulu solo stans all over this app bending and twisting member words and interactions (even stealing and lying on ARMY receipts and charts...) to make others think their faves hate BTS, are miserable and desperate for a solo stan-supported career.
...But what you will NOT find are undoctored receipts of any BTS members acknowledging any fandom that isn't called "ARMY." For each member and for the whole group, there is only one fandom.
MYTH #4 - BTS ARE SELLOUTS UNLESS THEY ONLY EVER SING IN KOREAN
There are not enough hours in the day for me to explain why this bad faith take is so damn stupid.
There are not enough hours in the day for me to explain why this bad faith take is so damn stupid.
After the entire K-pop Gen 2 and 3 wave tried it in English and failed, people really came after the one group that has sold MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of Korean language albums and singles before "Dynamite."
Not to mention BTS putting Korean culture front and center at every turn.
I have no idea why people believe that BTS isn't true to themselves unless they are confined to a box created for them by people who aren't even Korean themselves.
But y'all need help.
I have no idea why people believe that BTS isn't true to themselves unless they are confined to a box created for them by people who aren't even Korean themselves.
But y'all need help.
MYTH #5 - BTS ARE FAKING THEIR AFFECTIONS TOWARDS ARMY
This is so petty it shouldn't even warrant a thought, but some Baby ARMY may believe it because they're too new to know any better.
This is so petty it shouldn't even warrant a thought, but some Baby ARMY may believe it because they're too new to know any better.
BTS members don't always reveal to us what they experience and go through, but what they do share of themselves is sincere, and that includes their genuine affection towards this fandom.
And with us constantly crashing Weverse so we can tell them that we love them or screaming into the Twitter void about Hobi making bracelets, I think it's pretty obvious that affection is loudly and enthusiastically returned.
Most importantly...BTS have never thrown ARMY (as a largely female fandom) under the bus in an effort to get themselves taken seriously as artists in an openly misogynistic industry.
Many other males, even legends, cannot say the same.
Many other males, even legends, cannot say the same.
BTS members have grown as artists and individuals and they've shown that they expect that growth in us as well as fans, trusting us to learn and understand all sorts of concepts from Korean folklore to Jungian psychology.
They don't limit their female fans, they raise them up.
They don't limit their female fans, they raise them up.
They could have had it so much easier by mocking us and abandoning us for a respectable (read: white male) audience as others have done.
That they consciously chose not to should put this myth to bed FOREVER.
That they consciously chose not to should put this myth to bed FOREVER.
MYTH #6 - BTS MEMBERS WON'T BE HAPPY UNLESS THEY ALL HAVE SOLO CAREERS AND SEPERATE FANDOMS.
...It's been said of BTS that the members love each other so much they don't know what to do. There are people who don't love their own blood relatives that hard.
...It's been said of BTS that the members love each other so much they don't know what to do. There are people who don't love their own blood relatives that hard.
There are far too many documented instances of tears shed in concern for and love of one another. This doesn't mean they don't have moments where they don't get along or fight. There are plenty of those stories, too.
When BTS members say they love and respect each other, I see no reason to avoid taking them at their word. I imagine if you genuinely loved a certain member, you'd WANT to take them at their word, too.
Refusal to do so for purely selfish and sabotage-driven reasons isn't love.
Refusal to do so for purely selfish and sabotage-driven reasons isn't love.
MYTH #7 - BEING AN ARMY AND SUPPORTING BTS MEANS BEING CONSTANTLY STRESSED OUT AND MISERABLE
It's 2021 and BTS are Grammy Award Nominated artists, partial owners of Big Hit, and the most successful artists to ever emerge from Korea.
Sis, the heaviest of lifting is in the past. No matter what happens from this point forward, BTS's success & impact is written in stone.
Sis, the heaviest of lifting is in the past. No matter what happens from this point forward, BTS's success & impact is written in stone.
That aside, there are certain ups and downs when part of a busy and interconnected fandom like ARMY. But you don't have to be held hostage by every bit of news and drama.
Nor should you be!
Nor should you be!
I wrote an ebook called "9 Tips For Surviving ARMY Stan Twitter" for people who find themselves overwhelmed, stressed out, and following the wrong kinds of accounts: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19ZLeaMNm1hFLTKk00mpl_60o5ZRWM0Cd/view
To sum up: No ARMY should ever be bogged down by a lot of negativity and that this is what it feels like to be a fandom member.
- Block/mute problem accounts
- Report harmful tweets and troublemakers
- Avoid following fake fans and "cloutmys"
- Mute triggering words and phrases
- Block/mute problem accounts
- Report harmful tweets and troublemakers
- Avoid following fake fans and "cloutmys"
- Mute triggering words and phrases
CONCLUSION: Learn To Love Receipts & Practice Critical Thinking!
Many of the myths that continue to endure only do because far too many people buy into the lies of those who BLATANTLY work against the best interests of ARMY as a fandom and BTS as a group.
Many of the myths that continue to endure only do because far too many people buy into the lies of those who BLATANTLY work against the best interests of ARMY as a fandom and BTS as a group.
Not everything is going to be perfect and BTS and ARMY aren't suddenly "over" if things don't go flawlessly. This is a MASSIVE fandom and we're all together because we genuinely enjoy BTS's music, content, and the group as people. And in many ways, the fandom itself!
There are those who want ARMY to give up on themselves and on BTS. They will ALWAYS tell on themselves because their priorities, in the end, will NEVER be BTS or ARMY priorities.
And so, they need not ever be your primary source of information.
And so, they need not ever be your primary source of information.
MYTH #3 (Sorry Twitter ATE it!)
BTS IS "SUCCESSFUL ENOUGH" OR BH IS THE ENEMY FOR OFFERING PAID CONTENT INSTEAD OF MAKING EVERYTHING FREE.
BTS IS "SUCCESSFUL ENOUGH" OR BH IS THE ENEMY FOR OFFERING PAID CONTENT INSTEAD OF MAKING EVERYTHING FREE.
There is a pre-existing bias related to creatives and entertainment where this industry isn't important or that the "starving artist" is authentic because they allegedly create without any expectation of payment or financial reward.
F**k that logic. BTS has worked hard for and earned every dollar. Big Hit, their COMPANY, is not evil for charging you for content you want for free. Whatever you feel about BH's decisions, seeing to it that BTS collect paper is not evil or demonic.
Just don't buy the content.
Just don't buy the content.
