[TW] Blackpink under fire for "abuse-themed" photocards

[myrrhcat.livejournal.com]

Blackpink's photocards for "Kill This Love" are coming under scrutiny for showing the members looking scraped up and bruised. Many fans believe this concept is glamorizing signs of abuse, while others think it fits with the song's "battle" concept.

Fire whomever thought this was a photocard worthy concept. I found it very distasteful.
Blackpink can do better.
Abuse isn't an A E S T H E T I C. pic.twitter.com/8ljiMLakkk

— ⚠️SANA SHY SHY SHY⚠️ (@DaisyDanger24) April 23, 2019

Source: Twitter: DaisyDanger24

personally, i think the photocards look way more like a girl who's being abused than a girl who's just been out fighting. they don't look dirtied up or dressed for battle in any way.

Comments

[radowan.livejournal.com]

pics look more like abuse than fighting kinda scenarios because the photographer is once again going for the "kidnapped girl in the 90s" aesthetic where the models look resigned rather than pissed.

[ostsiberia.livejournal.com]

I agree. If they focused less on making them look pretty and committing to the concept it would have looked less messy and what the hell is with the romantic pink lighting 🤔

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

It would match the "battle/war" concept if they were wider shots, showcasing an fighter outfit and if their faces had a more angry/determined look. For a "concept" to be interpreted "properly" by the audience, it needs to be sold properly.

Here what we have are close up of bruises, it doesn't sell me "fighter"
I personally wouldn't immediately think of abuse victims either but I have no doubt this can be triggering for a lot of people.
So yeah, it's kinda insensitive.

Be clear with the "concept" or just don't do it

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

Mess

[jyusou.livejournal.com]

This definitely doesn’t look like a “fought in battle” aesthetic, and while my mind doesn’t automatically associate this with an “abused girl” aesthetic, I can kind of tell that it can get there with very little additional tweaking. Like, it could be worse.

[a-suitcase.livejournal.com]

I find these really creepy :/.

[camouflagecat.livejournal.com]

I found out about this earlier today and wondered when it would be posted to omona. I tried looking up info on twitter and it's crazy how many people/fans don't see how it can be seen as an abused woman, instead insisting it's a Lara Croft-type of fighter, and how this can trigger people. To me my mind associates this more strongly to that of a victim of abuse (bc this resembles more those type of images, plus the whole softness of the photos in general, which couldn't be further away from a battle scene) instead of a fighter, and I'd be very uncomfortable having a photocard of my bias looking like that.

Also people who try to spin it to explain it was in connection to the whole Kill This Love concept and girls getting away from a bad relationship, I just don't see it. Personally I don't think KTL was ever meant to be (or interpreted by most of the the public tbh) to be anything very deep, but a colorful girl power-typa banger, so to me it's in bad taste even to try and convince me that they've got any deeper message behind their concept/song.

Idk how to explain my thoughts so I keep editing this comment, but a poorly executed concept in short.

But I know it's not the girl's fault, they're not in charge of their image or concept designs.

[myrrhcat.livejournal.com]

fans just don't want to see how it could be problematic. if these were just random fashion models then I'm sure most of them could see how it looks like abuse, but because it's a kpop group, a lot of fans are unwilling to look at their favs objectively. they're even making comparisons to boy groups who have done similar "scarred/bruised" photoshoots, when those groups 1) are actually dressed/made up like fighters and 2) are men in a world that mostly abuses women.

[nekokonneko.livejournal.com]

The soft pink lighting with bare-shouldered closeups that imply the girls are topless, not to mention the fact that they're giving the camera the exact same glazed look they do in their glamour photoshoots...yeah, those aren't warriors with battle scars.

[goldenrosalie.livejournal.com]

that doesn't look like "battle" concept because in that case they could just give them tomb raider-esque look and get some dirt/mud on them. that would fit the so called "battle".
honestly upon the very first glance it looked almost like abuse victims pictures that doctor/police would take. the more i look at it the more unsettling it gets as there is just so much pink, softness, very simple make up and then... wet hair and bruises and bare shoulders that should imply nakedness.
considering everything that's going on and yg's shenanigans on naver i really wonder about intentions behind this kind of photoshoot. shit like that goes far beyond "poor decision making" when you have megalomaniac like yg in charge.

[lizanka23.livejournal.com]

yeah i agree. a tomb raider look would've been awesome with them yielding two guns at once or shooting with a bow and arrow like in the music video. they could even be kickboxing or doing some atheltic activities or something if they don't want to show them actually harming someone physically.i hope they scrap these photos

[thebloomroom.livejournal.com]

Smh

[katheli.livejournal.com]

these don't remotely look like they fought in battle, not with the soft lighting, and that blank/folorn staring into the camera

"harmed women, but make it sensual" is...not a great concept considering everything that's happening in Korea.

[mallmouse.livejournal.com]

and the world in general.

[dongsaengkiller.livejournal.com]

The mental gymnastics you would have to do to connect these pics with a strong fighter of any sort..... there were clearly no women involved in the creative direction and quite frankly no one with any concept or understanding of what strength in women looks like. Sure you can be both soft and strong but these don’t sell that. Instead what we are getting is a wish for oppa to come save them as opposed to any agency in the killing of love. It’s infuriating

[scionofawhisper.livejournal.com]

We've seen how openly misogynistic YG has become but people still support it like crazy so, why's anyone surprised, lmao. YG is shit and people are tossing money at it anyway. What YG does has been validated with money from fans. Supporting BP with money is the same as supporting YG. No diff.

[dior-chic.livejournal.com]

I completely agree. I want nothing to do with YG

[mallmouse.livejournal.com]

Yikes
Just found out they're with YG. Even more yikes.

[myrrhcat.livejournal.com]

(this is not a snarky reply) have you been into kpop very long? it's so funny to me because they're like the textbook definition of a yg group's formula

[pepsi-twist9.livejournal.com]

YG really don't give a shit releasing this concept with everything happening in the news. I feel bad for BP, I know they've openly stated how they love being with YG but they deserve better

[lizanka23.livejournal.com]

seriously. especially since they're yg's most popular artists in the US right now and are basically being used to rehab yg's image they should be treated like queens at YG but instead they get this. i'm sure they get to work with cool people like producers and stylists but the company itself is trash and after seeing what the girls are capable of at coachella their potential is severely being held back. even the other big companies are allowing their groups to write lyrics at least

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

Bullshit. This photoshoot doesn't convey women in battle at all. The soft pink color scheme + close-ups on their body and bruises (looking almost like they're not wearing clothes/make up btw) tell a totally different story... If they really wanted the battle concept, the photoshoot could have happened on their video set with their lara croft-esque outfits, those were clearly a fashion take on a fighting concept.
Again another concept created by men for men, and their team probably never thought that fans would react negatively. Hope it gains big enough to be addressed

[kimbafierce.livejournal.com]

Most fans haven't reacted negatively, I've seen a lot of them defending this saying it's attempt to shed light on domestic abuse in SK. Like YG would care about women being abused.

[binderwritings.livejournal.com]

How gross, I know they're supposed to appeal to males as well despite their girl crush image but this soft battered image coming from a company that is so blatantly misogynistic isn't a good look. The company could have and should have gone for a tomb raider look for them but I'm not surprised. I hate YG

[lizanka23.livejournal.com]

uggh and i was warming up to them too during their US promotions. rose is so charming and charismatic but yg just has to be yg. i guess i'll stick with g-idle and clc if i want sassy bops

[empyrealmaiden.livejournal.com]

These pictures certainly don't make me thing of ~fighters~ or battle. I do agree they're in bad taste but am also confused in general the purpose of the bruises in the first place? They don't add anything to the pictures and literally no one would miss them if they weren't there.

[spread.livejournal.com]

Yikes.
Yeah, they missed the mark on this one.

[vintage-boom.livejournal.com]

matches how gaslight-y the lyrics are

[dior-chic.livejournal.com]

I don’t know the lyrics to this song, any lines in particular?

[kimbafierce.livejournal.com]

I'm not blaming the girls, pretty sure they didn't have a say, but I'm blaming the stans who'd defend ANYHTING this company presents to them, like YG wouldn't do something like this..

[dior-chic.livejournal.com]

Mte girl

[sciencebottle.livejournal.com]

When I was seeing this circulate on ig I was thinking it was a huge reach (the lyrics and vibe of the song seem pretty clear to me), but after seeing the photocards I get it. I don't know why whoever was in charge of the photocards thought this was a good idea. If they had done the wounds in their tomb-raider outfits with the destroyed set it would've made more sense, but the weird soft lighting and pensive looks don't look 'fighter' at all.

[books-on-tv.livejournal.com]

it's very telling how anything negative about these girls is quickly made into a post here but if i want an update on the opposite that shit is lost in transit.

[kimbafierce.livejournal.com]

Why do you take it as an attack on the girls? Literally no one talks about them badly in this post. We all know they have no say. But to pretend this "concept" is not fucking messy..?

you do u tho

[rainstormraider.livejournal.com]

Someone on their team is trying to sabotage them tbh.
This was an incredibly stupid idea in the current climate. It's a mark of how untalented the art direction and photography is if the concept you are trying to sell falls flat this way.
If it's an attempt to court controversy, good try.

[daynr.livejournal.com]

OP nailed it, fighting pics makes me imagine something grittier.