It’s a Jungian World
If you’re a fan of BTS then you’ll be familiar with these words – persona, shadow, ego, and perhaps to a lesser extent, the names Carl Jung and Dr. Murray Stein. Jung, who was a renowned philosopher and psychoanalyst in his time, died in 1961. That same year Dr. Murray Stein was a college student, about to embark on his own journey into the academic recesses of Jung’s work.
Jung spent most of his life exploring the inner workings of the human psyche; the mysteries of the human soul. As a pioneer explorer he needed a guide to navigate his way, however entering into the uncharted recesses of the human psyche meant that no such map existed. As such, Jung created his own map to communicate and make sense of his journey into the human soul (Stein, 1998).
Whether we subscribe to Jung’s notions of persona, shadow, and ego, or not, it would be difficult to navigate Jung’s work on the map of the soul without the right key. In that sense, Dr. Stein’s writings have become an important key to understanding the intricacies of Jung’s work, and how it has influenced BTS’ music.
Map of the Soul Album Series
After the successful release of BTS’ 6th mini-album Map of the Soul: Persona, Dr. Stein was surprised to learn just how much his book, Jung’s Map of the Soul: An Introduction had influenced BTS’ thinking. This led him to publish, Map of the Soul–Persona: Our Many Faces in 2019. Although available to the public for several months now, both in digital and hardcopy format, being housebound through recent global developments provided an opportunity for Borasaek Vision to revisit Dr. Stein’s book on the persona, through our review titled; Map of the Soul: Amor Fati.
Companion Book Series
In keeping with Dr. Stein’s genuine interest in BTS’ music he then published Map of the Soul–Shadow: Our Hidden Self, described by Chiron Publications as a companion book series to BTS’ Map of the Soul:7 album. Unfortunately, this publication is not available in digital format and while it is still possible to order online, deliveries to some countries have been compromised, again due to recent global developments. So rather than a review, we invite readers to consider this book as an insightful addition to your recommended reading list.
What Can We Look Forward To?
In order for humans to live “a more full, authentic life,” we need to know and understand what shadows each of us is concealing and why. Doing so will enable us to move past those things that are holding us back and preventing us from achieving our fullest potential.
This book contains seven chapters, perhaps in keeping with BTS’ whole ‘7’ concept for this most recent comeback. Chapter 7 is titled “Heal Yourself: Heal the World,” reminiscent of RM’s words that love first begins with loving ourselves, and that we need to change ourselves before we try to change the world. It also provides an important sign-post of where we should aspire to be by the time we get to the end of the book. For that reason, it looks as if the preceding chapters act as stepping stones towards achieving a particular state of healing and well-being. These stepping stones are designed to help each of us navigate our own journeys with our shadows, in our own ways.
In Chapters 1-2, we start with a critical reflection of BTS’ lyrics looking first at the comeback trailer, Interlude: Shadow, before continuing with the remaining tracks on the album. Chapter 3 seems to take the reader back to Jung’s ‘Map of the Soul’ narrative, before shifting our focus to Dr. Stein’s understanding of ‘shadow’ in Chapter 4. Chapters 5-6 highlight the darker side of human nature and what the shadow might look like if it’s allowed to dominate the human psyche. Finally, we finish this literary journey by focusing on healing as a way of responding to the shadow, in order to transform from darkness to light.
Fortunately, we are not alone in our endeavours; BTS and ARMY are walking together on this purple road. Through their music, their messages, and their unwavering love for ARMY, BTS have shown us that it is possible to bring our shadows into the light. In doing so, we may finally be able to accept and love ourselves for who we were, who we are and who we may yet become.
On a final note, if you have already read Dr. Stein’s book, we would love to know what you think about it.
Would you recommend it to others? Let us know!
DISCLAIMER: We do not own any audio & visual content in this video except for the editing. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THE RIGHTFUL OWNERS. No copyright infringement intended.
Written By: Shelley
Edit By: Aury
Checked by: Mheer
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