K-POP como narrativa transnacional de exportação: uma análise sobre a era Love yourself do BTS e seu diálogo com as armys

Abstract

This research started from the need to understand how K-pop is successful in the West even though it is a musical genre whose language, sound and visual production are unfamiliar. Seeking to discuss how the process of transnationalization of K-pop to the West occurs and how this genre becomes increasingly popular among the public and also among major brands. The guiding question is: How does the process of transnationalization and rise of K-pop occur in the West? In the search for this answer, Critical Narrative Analysis (MOTTA, 2013) is chosen as a methodological model in which the narrative is analyzed considering the communicational context, going beyond the classical approach. The Theory of Mediations (MARTÍN-BARBERO, 1997) is brought as an ally in cultural analysis, considering social practices, production and relationships established in the different spaces that K-pop occupies. Moving on to the analysis, it is therefore necessary to consider the context of K-pop, its structure, history and form of production and seek to understand in the text – musical and audiovisual production – what elements are present that promote this transnationalization. As an object of analysis, a production by the group BTS called Love Yourself was chosen, in which three video clips are used to understand how communication strategies that facilitate transnationality are applied in the text. The results show that transnationality is present through a narrative that relies on different communicative strategies present in the analyzed text, but also in the social and contemporary context of digital media, also considering the action of the armys in strengthening the transnationality of the works. As a conclusion, in K-pop there is always the use of transnational elements, whether visual, aesthetic or sound, that seek to both facilitate the understanding of the message transmitted and also make it easier for the public to consume. But these elements are understood in different ways according to the cultural context of each fan.