Constellations

Based on the short story ‘The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas’, the song ‘Spring Day’ (2017) performed by a band called BTS depicts the solitude experienced by multiple members of the group. In the chosen extract, the focus pans on members such as Jimin and Jungkook who represent the child from Omelas. Throughout the excerpt, they demonstrate coping mechanisms of trying to psychologically survive, by attempting to escape from their loneliness and sorrow.

At the beginning of the extract, Jungkook is seen running towards what is assumed to be a petrol or train station called ‘Omelas,’ with the sign ‘No Vacancy’ in flashing lights to indicate that there is no way for him to access the station. However, the yearning expression on his face suggests that he is desperately trying to search for someone, perhaps a loved one when he is running through each doorway until he finally finds his group members. This links to the lyric ‘I’ll come to get you’ where all the members commence running when they stop before a passing train carrying a lone person inside. That said, the one person sitting inside the train is Jungkook leaning against a window looking morose and defeated as he is taken further away from the present moment.

The seasonal changes from winter to spring are significant in the extract, as the blowing out of the match is a pivotal moment when winter changes to spring, marking the end of the darkness that won’t ‘last forever.’ The motif of darkness can also be a reference to the isolation the members feel until the beginning of dawn when they are all in the train, which suggests that the onset of spring is associated with the group being together; therefore they do not have to reside within their own misery. However, as sunshine hits in the middle of the extract, there is still the ongoing sorrow of another member called Jimin who is sitting in a cradled position with his head lowered on his knees. The position he assumes suggests that he too, represents the isolated child of Omelas, and by physically making himself smaller Jimin is showcasing his need of wanting to be comforted, and even be saved. Also, when the camera pans to the group sitting among a massive pile of clothes, Jimin is the most inconspicuous member among them when the lyric is sung: ‘I’ll come to see you’ which shows that the colourful pile of clothes is a metaphor for the basement in Omelas. It evokes the sense of being hidden in plain sight where the child is suffering in silence for the world above to prosper; however, all members universalise the motif of the child living in isolation, as they are alone at one point in the extract.

What is symbolic in the extract is a pair of canvas shoes tied to a tree branch and swaying in the wind which signifies death and the train leaving Omelas. Then, a shot cuts to Jimin with his head bowed down holding the same pair of shoes, as if he recognises the painful reminder behind the object. This reiterates the idea of the desperate need for human interaction and comfort that is lacking under the guise of the cold winter.

However, they all walk together at the end of the extract in a barren field that suddenly springs up lush grass, hinting that their isolation has come to a conclusion. An ordeal they all seemed to be struggling with is the lack of human interaction and the need for companionship, and the only way they know how to psychologically survive their predicament is to walk away from the ‘Omelas’ station. As the extract demonstrates a coping mechanism they all use towards the end, the act of walking signifies a desire or a goal to escape from someone or a place, possibly the individual they couldn’t get to in time in the train. Also, walking hints at suppressing a past by the members choosing not to dwell on it as they sing ‘please stay there a little longer,’ as an encouragement for the individual to endure their situation. The members mentally outlast their solitude as they reunite at the end of the extract when they look ahead to the future in a hopeful and optimistic way, with reference to spring being renewed; thus life can begin again. Furthermore, the dreamlike melody of the song paired with the hazy, aesthetic of the video subverts the ending of the short story, as it provides a positive message of one never walking alone.