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Just curious about what ARMY thinks about it. <333
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It’s nostalgic for me. It was one of the first things I watched when I was getting into BTS long ago, and I miss the members circa 2014 and like to watch to see their 2014 selves. My favorite segments are when Hobi dominates an opposing American team in a dance battle and when they practice picking up girls on the streets of LA.
Of course, the kidnapping prank went too far. I’m used to Asian game show humor and how far it can go sometimes, but scaring them to death for an hour is not funny. I’d recommend watching the rest and skipping that part.
I think I’m one of the few who hasn’t watched it after I saw that kidnapping snippet, I just can’t get myself to watch it 🫠
Agreed, haven’t watched it, not planning to.
Thirded. I have like half of one episode and that’s plenty… I feel awkward for absolutely every person involved. I realize some positive learning and influences and so on came out of it, and that’s fab; but the process is too too much to stomach.
(But then again, I can’t even watch Parks & Rec bc of the cringe, so this was no surprise for me 🥲)
Saaame, I was traumatized just watching that!
😥😥
I think some parts of it are obviously not great like the kidnapping and the hazing parts. really with they should've done without that. But a lot of it is actually cool. like the beatboxing, dance battles, song writing , vocal lessons and especially the giving back part that they did. I'd genuinely recommend people to watch it .
I think new armys just watch the cringe compilations and write it off but like any media don't believe the cut and paste part and actually see it for yourself and make your own judgement.
just copying and pasting my last comment about ahl from a previous post
Namjoon studied in america pre debut
i'd love to know where you heard that from. the most i've read is that he studied in new zealand for a little while. nothing about studying in the US
Around the time of debut he said he got to spend time in America to study rap and hip hop
maybe you misunderstood? i'm not asking what was said, i'm asking for a source. was it from a bangtan log? an old interview? i can't find anything about him studying in the US.
It's funny, I was just talking to a friend about possibly rewatching it together, and we determined It's too cringe. Our boys are cute as hell in the show, and some good moments came from it, but what they were put through for the sake of entertainment... mmmNO
I have very mixed feelings about it, same as a lot of us who watched it. I was warned to avoid the first episode but curiosity got the better of me. I watched and immediately regretted it. It’s as bad as you can imagine and even worse, not only because it played into horrible racist stereotypes but because the boys were clearly terrified. I wish it could be erased from existence. The rest of the series was very hit-or-miss. Most of the set-ups were contrived and/or cringe but there are some truly educational, funny and heartwarming moments that help balance things out. In the end though, I know that we only saw a very small part of what they experienced and it was all edited to create a narrative but I also think it was mostly positive for them and a big part of their growth and history. That being said, I fully understand why people don’t want to watch.
I've watched it through Aneesa's The Rise of Bangtan on YouTube (which is now sadly closed). She took out the cringey parts, which revealed the heart of the story. It seemed like BTS learned a lot about hiphop by actually interacting with people who live it.
I liked the parts where they met teacher Iris and when they met homeless people who gave them good advice to appreciate the things in life.
I watched the whole thing recently and honestly it’s mandatory. It’s literally seeing them going from being cringey and somewhat self absorbed teens to being on their way to becoming the thoughtful and stalwart men they are today. They learned a lot in those few short weeks
It's cringey. But also heartwarming. The boys are gutsy and work very hard to learn things and participate in stuff in a country where they don't know the language or the customs very well.
Love all the hip-hop artists featured on it. That was my entire childhood. But i can't bring myself to watch it beyond clips i come across on social media. I'm glad they had the experience of working with everyone though. You cam tell after that, that they learned a lot.
I start at episode 3 and i love it. I have such a soft spot for baby Bangtan. Yoongi is at his Shookiest. Lol. Jimin and Tony just make my heart melt. Jin is so hard working. JK is just a cute ball of kid. Tae is just having fun. It’s my instant mood booster. I hate that it got a bad rap.
Edit: Also, I’m from LA so it’s amazing they were in my city, I could have walked right past them and not even have realized it. And I Warren G was my high school crush and he’s so sweet to the guys.
ok everyone. IT IS NOT THAT BAD. Yes it is cringy in some parts and I cannot watch the kidnapping ( it is too much)but they learn a lot, it is fun to watch them loving being in the US and I am old and this was my music and the rappers I knew. There are funny parts like Yoongi trying to speak English to a korean housekeeper ( i guess they dont know LA area has the highest korean population in the states?) but it was funny when she asks if he speaks Korean, lol. Tae asking everyone where restaurants are and getting some older ladies number and them having their concerts for ARMY in the last episode. I say everyone needs to watch it at least once.
I second this. There are also some really cool moments, like the boys connecting with Warren G (who later had Namjoon on a feature), to Taehyung having a real moment with Iris Stevenson, the inspiration for Sister Act 2. And there are not-so-cool moments, like the kidnapping but also Jimin dealing with that bratty airplane kid. I think it’s an interesting document of early Bangtan.
So is it mostly cringe-y but not necessarily problematic?
I'm 2020 Army and I've definitely heard mixed feedback about it. I've definitely seen the more popular clips. 😅
I just watched ep 7 where they hand out food to the homeless...in exchange for words of encouragement. That was a bit squicky to me. It's important that the boys see that homeless guys are just human beings, but their time is worth more than a burger because they are human beings.
Honestly loved how Jimin and Jungkook had to answer to a boss younger than themselves. It was a huge lesson in culture difference--Koreans have younger and older, US Americans are all about who knows the job better.
I avoided watching it for a while because of other ARMYs' opinions, but I'm glad I finally watched it because I think it was important viewing for understanding their growth.
Plus I thought the Jimin and Tony dynamic was adorable.
Never watched it so I'll give the 1st episode a try
e: bruh wtf is this T-T poor JK, he looks scared af
Nah. Start at episode 3.
Secondhand embarrassment is all I feel regarding the show
Got through half and gave up for the same reasons others have mentioned - the fake kidnapping and the cringe-factor. I also really really really disliked Coolio cuz he was an ass and that other mean mentor (don’t remember the guy’s name). I say just watch the clips that people use in compilations (like the classic RM twerking one) and skip the actual episodes.
After episode 3, those guys are gone.
I liked Coolio for that reason though. Hip-hop is full of no-nonsense, serious people and he was treating them like fellow adults (even if they weren't quite that yet). I felt he was the most authentic person they dealt with.
American hustle life is my go to show when i am in need of happines. The joy they have in New York and the fear of the big city and strange encounters is priceless
I liked the street dancing and the singing lessons thought those were cool and some parts were funny but really disliked the first ep for the kidnapping prank thought that was too far and how Tae is treated by Coolio and a mentor treated Jin
It’s cringey and i try to not remember it because of how bad the secondhand embarrassment is
I have only ever seen clips but I think it’s awkward in some places considering some of them barely spoke English at the time
the kidnapping is so heartbreaking. i feel sooooooo bad for them because they genuinely didn't know if it was real. i cannot imagine going to a foreign country and not being able to communicate and feeling helpless while a bunch of big angry dudes are yelling and taking you somewhere. i'm just glad it didn't escalate..... deep breath. the hazing is also cringey but there are a lot of cute moments too. it's an interesting snapshot in time, reality tv was different back then and our boys were from a small company without much bargaining power. i enjoyed the series overall, but like anything from the past it has it's issues.
I never watched it but I saw snippets from The Rise of Bangtan. Like, the part where Tae is joking and he's slammed for making fun of a serious situation? So uncomfortable.
I don't think I can bring myself to watch it. They're essentially kids being mistreated, imo.
havent watched the last 2 eps and i cant bring myself to either .. it's been 8 years and i still cant. it was an important part of their journey till now as bts but some of the things they did to the boys were unacceptable and also the things they made them do made me cringe sm like they were just kids :/
I watched it when it first came out and the opinions back then were really bad. I think it’s changed so much now and people only focus on the kidnapping prank. However, the show had lots of real issues from the way the boys were treated throughout, the living arrangements and even to the things they were made to do. But most importantly when bts First debuted they walked a fine line between hip hop and idols. Too feminine to be hip hop and too ugly to be idols according to their critics. This show heightened that and even had them accused of disrespecting the artists it featured.
Big hit really missed the Mark with the series and in a way it really emphasised how out of touch they were at the time.
Now because of how much they have grown as artists I can say it’s an important part of their past but back then it wasn’t good
I love it. I have watched it all the way through at least twice. Sometimes there were really harsh lessons but that's life unfortunately. I can see where they started and how it shaped them today. I can see them go from shy, scared and vulnerable to happy, loving and making connections and new friends. Now u see how they are able to touch, understand and connect with everyone all around the world. Honestly I wish I could buy this series as part of my bts collection. 💜