I just noticed that Taemin's first album poster looks like this:
...and everyone sees nothing wrong with this. It's just him kissing "another him" lol.
l'll begin with the this teaser image because it introduces an important theme: duality and complex personality. Aside from the obvious fan service element, this image is deeply symbolic. On the left side, we have a darker, more dangerous Taemin. He’s wearing a deep, blood red color. His hair is styled up. He’s in the dominant position in kiss. The Taemin on the right is more vulnerable. He wears more docile colors: white and blue. His neck is extended, exposed–he’s in the more subservient position. They are opposite representations of Taemin, a dark and a light, and they should not be compatible. But the kiss implies an acceptance of either half to create a full, complex being. It defies one dimensional conceptions of his personality. He is not someone who can be simplified to one aspect of a multifaceted personality.
As for a more literal interpretation, that there are literally two Taemins, there are a few possible explanations. I’m partial to think that this an instance of doppelgangers. A doppelganger is essentially a look alike or evil twin, an opposite self. They are sometimes a manifestation of repressed inner darkness in a perceived “good” person, and haunt their “good” clones. Another explanation is that they are simply twins. No supernatural, doppelganger element. I’ve seen a few mentions that this might be a reference to Narcissus, a figure in mythology that fell in love with his own reflection, and I have discussed this possibility with my friends. Yes, the kissing in the teaser image may hint at something like this, but there really isn’t any indication of it in the teaser video, so I don’t think that this theory will pan out.
Another possibility is that while there are two Taemins in the teaser, there might only be one Taemin in the video. Though there is obvious representation of two opposing sides, we don’t necessarily know that there are literally two Taemins in the teaser. As far as we have see in the teaser, we see one Taemin at a time. The theme of duality could hint at a complex personality, an internal conflict, or even a split personality.
Something similar to Jonghyun's BASE
One of the songs in "Press It" is titled "Sexuality" and here are some lines of the lyrics (
https://colorcodedlyrics.com/2016/02/taemin-taemin-sexuality). My comments will be marked red:
From the beginning you and I were divided
The red flower that blooms from an opposing energy
We were pricked by it
The Mystery of beginning Sexuality (SEX MAGICK)
We are drunken in this emotion
Where the sky and the earth are tangled
This new world, we rule it (THE NEW WORLD ORDER)
Sexuality Sexuality
Your painful, but sweet
Paradox. Your irony your existence itself (DUALITY, AS ABOVE SO BELOW)
When I melt it and swallow it
Finally it is what will soak us, Sexuality
Yeah when the two of us are together we are finally one
It’s a blessing because we are polar opposites (DUALITY)
This is the rule, it defines us
Old fantasies, faith,
even dreams will kneel before it, Yeah
Sexuality
Yeah be whole as one (DUALITY)
Sexuality Sexuality
Sex Magic in Traditional Witchcraft
We’ve all heard of sex magic, especially when related to Ceremonial Magic, Thelema and Tantra, but what about sex magic in Witchcraft and Traditional Witchcraft? The Great Rite within Wicca is well known, but seldom practiced today except symbolically with athame and chalice. However its origins are quite ancient and can be found in the heiros gamos, the sacred marriage of a god and goddess within the Ancient Greek and Egyptian religions of which an initiated priest and priestess of the old gods would re-enact for elaborate ceremonies during certain festivals. Our animistic ancestors believed that the earth was a fertile woman and the sky god her lover. When it rained, it was the god’s semen fertilizing the earth goddess (Taemin's "Sexuality" explicitly included this story). Worship of the phallus is found the world over, as is worship of the Sacred Whore.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's something wrong with this picture from "Press It" booklet. I suddenly remembered Adam Lanza:
He's wearing a leopard print jacket (Beta sex kitten?)
Taemin's "Press Your Number" Analysis
I will add another analysis I found on the internet below to fill the holes I created here.
The building looks Masonic
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He was seen robbing a girl in a convenience store (Why did I suddenly remember Jonghyun's convenience store CCTV footage? Although it probably bears no significance whatsoever, but still)
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The convenience store girl got kidnapped inside the building
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Later in the MV we can see that he's having a moment of duality when he thought he robbed and kidnap a girl while in fact it was him who robbed and kidnap himself (Something like Shinhwa's Angel MV storyline)
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The real victim is his own self
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This rather confusing (and fast) imagery may be able to explain everything
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Blue roses will be shown all throughout the MV
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What's supposed to be a briefcase full of money (from the robbery) turns out to be a briefcase full of blue roses
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the blue flower is the central symbol of romanticism, the school of thought and intellectual movement in the 18th and early 19th century. what the blue flower symbolised was the metaphysically unreachable. in Novalis' famous work Heinrich von Ofterdingen, who had a dream of a blue flower and devoted his life to obtaining it again.
i most definately connect this with fire walk with me and lynch films as a whole. the lodges, the spirits and all the supernatural is what has a hand in the crimes. all of this supernatural phenomena can be called metaphysical mystery. the blue flower cases are therefore called this because the contents of the case have metaphysical mystery.
An alchemical work by H. Reussner, titled "Pandora, Basle" (1582) contains this passage: "From this one root will sprout roses, the supreme good." The white rose signifies the lunar "Philosophical Tincture," the red rose the solar "Metallic Tincture." Sometimes a blue rose is pictured in alchemical texts, referred to as the "flower of wisdom."
Blue Roses cannot be created by nature, therefore, their meaning is quite fitting, as they represent mystery, the impossible, or the unattainable.
The following analysis is taken from
a Tumblr post, even though they didn't directly connect the symbolism with the occult meaning, everything can be interpreted that way. It only covers the explanation for "Press Your Number" MV Teaser, but it can fill the missing explanation from my analysis.
This is a heavily layered image and it introduces us to the rest of the teaser. I will first and foremost point out the central image of Taemin holding the white and blue rose. Next, there are two superimposed images of Taemin on either side of the screen: one light image on the right and a darker, harder to discern image on the left. Finally, in the center of the image, you can see a car and landscape, which will hold narrative significance.
Blue roses have some unusual symbolism. First of all, blue roses do not occur in nature because they lack the pigments necessary to make the color blue. This has led to associations with the impossible, inexplicable, or enigmatic, or the yearning for the impossible. Blue roses also denote ambiguity and can represent a complex, chimera-like personality that is not easily understood. This ties nicely into the symbolism of the teaser image. However, the rose is not wholly blue. The center is white, which typically denotes innocence and purity. The juxtaposition of the ambiguous and the innocent has multiple possible interpretations. First, it could hint that the ambiguous, complex personality is taking over the innocent. Second, it could hint at a harmony between the two. Third, since the white is in the center, it could mean an innocent interior and a more ambiguous exterior.
The mirror images of Taemin on either side also tie into the teaser image. In both, the darker Taemin is on the left, while the lighter is on the right. The fact that Taemin’s body is positioned in the center between the two could be referencing that the two sides of him share the same body, or possibly a war between the two for control of it. As well, the very inclusion of superimposed images matches the theme of duality, as two separate images exist simultaneously.
Next we have an image of a gun, and a second image from later in the video.I’d like to point out that they point at opposing directions, one right and one left. This mirrors the theme of duality.
The first actual victim of kidnapping we see is this girl. The rose is placed beside her as if a calling card. This foreshadows Taemin’s later kidnapping. I’ve seen a few people interpret this scene as a damsel-in-distress thing, and Taemin is gonna bust in and save the day. Just from the teaser alone, we can’t draw this conclusion. I honestly don’t see Taemin acting as a hero figure in this video. I’ll explain.
First, we see at least two men seated in this fancy setting. They’re wearing casual clothing, which clashes with the lavish setting. They’re also throwing money around in celebration which rich people don’t tend to do. They’re kidnappers. There’s a gun in second image. The money is most likely ransom money.
The blue rose also associates them with the kidnapping.
And then we pan away and we see that Taemin is involved with them. Unlike the others, he’s wearing nice clothing. He matches the setting. This could very well be his house, and he’s welcomed them in. This would mean that he’s somehow involved with the previous kidnapping. There’s the possibility he’s being held hostage here, but the others don’t seem particularly attentive. They’re not watching him closely enough to be holding him captive. Even if he is involved with the kidnapping, there is still an element of separation between him and the kidnappers. He stands apart from them.
I’ve included these images mainly to show how they transitioned from one scene to another, with one Taemin layered on top of the other.
And now we see that Taemin has been kidnapped. The rope on his hands and the duck tape on his mouth are identical to the girl’s, as well as the presence of the blue roses. First of all, there’s a certain funerary aspect to this, as if he’s lying on bed of roses. It foreshadows death, especially because the gun fires immediately after this. This does not necessarily mean that Taemin dies–it could be purely symbolic, the overthrow of one personality over another.
This next image makes it appear as if Taemin is standing over the bound, kidnapped Taemin. It’s as if he alone arbitrated this crime. Also note that one of the teaser images is very similar to this shot. Where he here lights a lighter, the teaser image shows him pouring gasoline. He appears to be wearing the same clothing. He’s possibly burning his own body.
Compare this image to that of Taemin with the lighter. The previous Taemin looked unrepentant, without remorse. He takes no trouble in lighting whatever fire he’s lighting. This Taemin is more distressed at the sight of the gun.
This is the very last shot of Taemin we see. He has blood on his head in the same place where kidnapped Taemin had blood. If this happens chronologically in the same sequence in the actual music video, this hints that the kidnapped Taemin lives. I think at this point he gets into the car and then the car accident from the beginning of the video happens, and it comes full circle.
These two images flash at the end of the video. There’s some script I can’t really make out that’s the same in either image. It looks like it could say “ITS/HIS EARNED” but again, I can’t really tell.
