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The music video for SEVENTEEN's Fxck My Life, the second title track on their record-breaking mini-album FML is finally out, and has many references to The Truman Show, as alluded to in the trailer.
FML was pre-ordered a total of 3.9 million times in the first week, marking SEVENTEEN's and K-pop's highest ever pre-orders, breaking the record set by BTS' Map of the Soul: 7. Despite taking risks with two title tracks and an expletive in the album name, the HOT group exceeded all expectations and delivered a successful EP.
The music video for SEVENTEEN's Fxck My Life is a cinematic experiences, drawing many parallels from 1998's The Truman Show starring Jim Carrey, a movie about a man who discovers that his whole life is a setup.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers about The Truman Show (1998).
The rain at only one spot, using a boat to escape, and other parallels between SEVENTEEN's Fxck My Life and The Truman Show
1) The light falling on the car, and later it refusing to start when they try to escape
In a significant scene from the movie, Truman starts suspecting that something is wrong with the world that he lives in when a stray beam of light different from sunlight falls on his car. Mingyu comes across a similar light at the beginning of SEVENTEEN's Fxck My Life music video, setting the tone for the rest of the story.
The story of the car is continued when Truman tries to drive the car away from the place where he feels trapped, a scene mirrored by Woozi's attempt at going away in a car as well. However, the cars in both instances do not start, and both Truman and Woozi are accosted by people wanting to know why they wish to go away.
2) Wonwoo struggling to get onto the bus and observing partial rainfall at only one spot
Truman tries various methods to leave but is thwarted in every single one by those in his surroundings. In SEVENTEEN's Fxck My Life, Wonwoo gets on the bus, but is unable to stay on and leave because the others around him hinder him in the process.
Another parallel can be when Truman observes that the rain falls only on him, a scene also seen in the music video when Wonwoo gets off the bus. Other similarities are seen when THE8 rides his cycle away from his little space, similar to Truman, and when multiple members are seen running away from the people looking for them.
3) The constant surveillance in the workplace getting to Seungkwan (and Vernon), making him run away
The Truman Show has Jim Carrey's Truman going to the office every day, but after he begins to realize that there might be something wrong, he thinks that everyone seems to keep looking at him. Similarly, Seungkwan notices that people constantly keep looking at him in SEVENTEEN's Fxck My Life, a fact that frightens him and causes him to run away.
Vernon also experiences surveillance and keeps away from those out looking for him, only getting caught by a camera once he leaves his hiding place. In fact, running away from the "f**cking world" where one is "the only stupid" seems to be one of the main motifs of the video.
4) Hoshi drawing the likeness of an astronaut around his face in the mirror, and Dino being surrounded by fake constellations on a starry night
Hoshi's first scene in SEVENTEEN's Fxck My Life shows his face in the mirror, where he seems to have drawn an astronaut's helmet around his reflection, an image very similar to one from The Truman Show. Later in the music video, he also attempts to tuck a dummy into bed to escape undetected like Truman did.
In SEVENTEEN's Fxck My Life music video, Dino appears to be surrounded by perfect looking stars and constellations that mimic the fake moon from The Truman Show. The telescope near Dino could mean that he has discovered the deception of the night sky, which fuels his escape towards the end of the video.
5) SEVENTEEN escaping from the "fake" world in a boat like Truman
Perhaps one of the most direct references of SEVENTEEN's Fxck My Life to The Truman is the end, where all thirteen members unite at the seashore and get into a boat together, leaving behind their miserable, godforsaken lives behind, sailing off into the horizon.
The boat leads Truman from his fabricated perfect life into the uncertainty of the real world, when he decides to take the steps and open a door that leads outward, in one of the most famous sequences in the film.
The thirteen men also seem to want out of their routine, each of them escaping their own situation. When the last shot of the boat on a visually staticky screen is seen, the rest of the members' lives becomes their own, away from cameras.
More references to the movie include DK knocking over a lamp to reveal a hidden camera and Jeonghan staring at the vastness of the ocean, contemplating life by himself. One stark difference in SEVENTEEN's Fxck My Life music video is that the members have each other to rely on, while Truman was alone in the true sense of the world. It also teaches the lesson that while one may feel completely alone in this wretched existence, but having the support of friends makes it bearable.
SEVENTEEN has been busily promoting FML on various variety and interview shows, and it is expected that a tour will be announced as well. The latter is unconfirmed, but leader S.Coups did let slip that the group has another comeback slated this year.
