Burn the Stage: A Review

Burn the Stage review:

Our History

By

Kayleigh Peace

A sea of BTS hoodies. The odd flash of an Army Bomb Lightstick. BT21 merch covering everyone – a Tata headband here, a Mang keychain there. People lining up to get into the screen 20 minutes early. Staff who had never been more confused.

Burn the Stage.

As we poured into that theatre, I couldn’t help but think “I’m surrounded by my people”. Because that’s what we are. ARMY are a worldwide family. What other fans are so diverse – every skin colour, race, gender, sexuality, and age?  And BTS are our inspiration. What other artists inspire fans to sell out cinemas for a Korean Music Documentary that’s not only of VERY limited release, but totally un-promoted and subtitled?

Such was the ruckus, that when the tickets were accidentally released a week early, the staff on the phone were utterly unprepared for the swarm of fans calling up to ask in panic if their tickets were going to be valid, nor were they prepared when, thanks to a misunderstanding, a sea of tweets came barraging their way begging the film to be released subtitled rather than dubbed.

We are uniquely passionate, with an almost scary level of devotion to the boys, whose music, for some people, has saved their lives. In the words of Kim Namjoon “We'll protect you and you'll protect us whatever may happen in the future.”

This is the core of BTS, and in the film it showed. It was clear throughout the film, just how inspired BTS are from their fans; sharing personal struggles, crying on stage, working late hours to finish tracks, even dancing through the pain of injuries. If one word could be used to describe BTS, its genuine.

This was more then a documentary. This was history. Our history; ARMY as much as BTS’s. The struggles, hardships, pain, suffering. But also the joy, laughter, music, dancing and passion that comes along with it. BTS and ARMY.

Plus Yeontan. We stan.