‘Break the Silence: The Movie (2020)’ is inspiring to viewers

On September 24, “Break the Silence: The Movie” was released, and for K-pop fanatics, this couldn’t have come any sooner. The documentary reflects on the famous band, BTS, and their 2019 ‘Love Yourself: Speak Yourself’ tour. 

Over the years, BTS has continually grown in success and popularity as they became the first K-pop group to have a tour in the United States, perform on ‘Saturday Night Live’, and receive a Grammy Award. 

However, with COVID-19, BTS concerts were canceled and they weren’t able to perform. Therefore, during this unprecedented time at the peak of their performance, BTS surprised fans with a new documentary.

The movie provides viewers with backstage footage and interviews that show the rigorous process of being a young idol. It additionally showcases the hardships BTS faced during their trainee years and their sudden thought of disbanding in 2018. The members’ conversations tend to spotlight the idea of staying positive, loving who you are, believing in yourself, and never giving up despite all they overcame.

Ian Chang

The documentary shows the hard work and long nights of practice the boys faced, with scenes revealing the injuries of the members and its aftermath. Jimin, for example, went on an extreme diet for eleven days because he desperately wanted to be part of the “visuals group”, composed of the most attractive members of the group. 

For the promotion of the song ‘Blood, Sweat, and Tears’, Jimin went on another strict diet where he ate only one chicken breast and starved himself for 10 days. In the documentary, he talked about how hard it was for him to keep up with their daily routine, as he had to continuously practice choreography and work out for several hours, and how badly he felt for himself. 

It is revealed in the move that more of the members went on extreme diets, worked nonstop in the practice room, punished themselves, and some even fell into the usage of drugs and alcohol. Many of them became depressed which physically and mentally caused them to lose themselves, much like Jimin. On October 18, 2019, BTS dropped an apology song for their fans, ‘Make It Right’ regarding their long absence.

The documentary also shows the importance of teamwork. In 2018, BTS was thinking about disbanding, and when this topic was mentioned in the movie, viewers can see how sensitive and emotional this topic is to the members. “When I was writing the melody, at the time, we were deeply contemplating whether we should quit or not. When I played the song for the members, we all cried together.” (Min Yoon-gi). 

BTS shared the life they face behind the scenes to show how hard they work for their fans to produce songs that, at the end of the day, are full of love and hope. Most all of BTS’s songs have messages about loving yourself, confidence, and believing in who you are. 

Ian Chang

For example, their song “I’m Fine,” which played in the movie, is about changing perspectives about giving up in times of hardship. Through this song, fans learn to understand that even in the toughest times, it’s okay to not be okay.

Even if you’re not a fan, lessons can be taken away from these young men. All K-pop idols have to go through years of training before debuting; however, only a handful talk about the real hardships this entails.

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