Contractualism in the ARMY fandom: a legion prepared and mobilised at BTS’s service

Lara Díaz-Ardiaca; Alfonso Freire-Sánchez; Montserrat Vidal-Mestre

doi:10.12795/Ambitos.2024.i64.08

Autores

Lara Díaz-Ardiaca Abat Oliba CEU University https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1668-8640
Alfonso Freire-Sánchez Abat Oliba CEU University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2082-1212
Montserrat Vidal-Mestre Abat Oliba CEU University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6144-5386

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2024.i64.08

Palavras-chave:

ARMY, BTS, K-pop, fandom, contractualismo

Resumo

Although the phenomenon of fandom had its origins in the 19th century, in recent years, it has undergone significant evolution, becoming a fundamental component of the expansion and proliferation of transmedia universes. Currently, one of the largest and most globalised fan communities is ARMY, the fandom of the K-pop group BTS.

The purpose of this manuscript is to reflect on the distinctive elements that characterise the ARMY community, understand its unique relationship with BTS in relation to contractualist theories, and analyse the peculiarities of its content production. Through a questionnaire-type survey directed at BTS followers, with the participation of 275 people in English and 128 in Spanish, quantitative information was collected. The goal was to extrapolate, through structured procedures, certain aspects of the behaviour of BTS fans.

The results obtained allow for establishing the points of connection between the band and its fandom, understanding the importance of narrative as a driver of fan loyalty, evaluating the predominant influence of YouTube compared to other content consumption channels, and finally extrapolating these characteristics as a model that stimulates fan communities through fundamental elements of contractualism.

Downloads

Não há dados estatísticos.

##plugins.generic.paperbuzz.metrics##

Carregando Métricas ...

Referências

Arnaud, J. (2021). A Brief History of K-pop. The Los Angeles Film School. https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/a-brief-history-of-kpop/

BBC News. (2019). Sulli: The woman who rebelled against the K-pop world. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50051575

Beats. (2022). How Does The K-pop IndustryWork? https://www.gemtracks.com/guides/view.php?title=how-does-the-kpop-industry-work&id=460&utm_content=cmp-true

BTS ARMY Census. (2022). A global demographic study of the BTS ARMY fandom. https://www.btsarmycensus.com/

Busquet, J. (2012). El fenómeno de los fans e ídolos mediáticos: evolución conceptual y génesis histórica. Revista de Estudios de la Juventud, (96), 13-29.

Chan, T. (2021). BTS Tops Twitter’s List of Most Popular Artists for Fourth Year in a Row. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bts-twitter-account-mentions-fans-1128480

Channel Korea. (2019). HYYH: The Story and Meaning Behind BTS’ Marveolus Concept. Channel-K. https://channel-korea.com/

Delivered Korea. (2022). KPOP Fan Spending: The Value of Fandom Culture. https://www.delivered.co.kr/kpop-fan-spending-the-value-of-the-fandom-culture/

Eaton, V. (2022). 10 Youngest K-pop Idols to Ever Debut. Oldest.Org. https://www.oldest.org/music/youngest-k-pop-idols-to-ever-debut/

Freire-Sánchez, A., Gracia-Mercadé, C. y Vidal-Mestre, M. (2022). Referentes intertextuales para la expansión y la profundidad en la creación de un universo narrativo transmedia. Estudio de caso: la saga Vengadores. Palabra Clave, 25(4), e2542. https://doi.org/10.5294/pacla.2022.25.4.2

Guinness World Records. (2021). Fastest time to reach 1 million followers on Instagram. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.es/world-records/397211-most-instagram-subscribers-in-24-hours

Herman, T. (2018). BTS Awarded Order of Cultural Merit by the South Korean Government. Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/bts-awarded-order-of-cultural-merit-by-south-korean-government-8481640/

Hidalgo, M., Arenas, X., Prados, P., & Prados, E. (17 de junio de 2021). La realidad de la industria del K-pop. La Vanguardia. https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/junior-report/20210617/7531172/realidad-industria-k-pop.html

Hills, M. (2002). Fan Cultures. Routledge

Jenkins, H. (2010). Piratas de textos. Fans, cultura participativa y televisión. Paidós.

Kam, E., Devoe, N., & Mendez, M. (2022). 40 BTS Words To Know Once You Join The ARMY. Elite Daily. https://www.elitedaily.com/entertainment/bts-words-to-know-army

Kim, P., & Hutt, E. (2021). K-pop as a Social Movement: Case Study of BTS and Their Fandom ARMY. Journal of Student Research, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v10i3.1772

Media Caterer. (2020). Logos de BTS y ARMY formando un escudo a prueba de balas [Illustration]. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-BTS-Army-s-logo

McCormick, C. J. (2018). Active Fandom: Labor and Love in The Whedonverse. In P. Booth (Ed.), A Companion to Media Fandom and Fan Studies (pp. 369-384). Wiley-Blackwell.

Moon, K. (2020, 18 de nov.). Inside the BTS ARMY, the Devoted Fandom With an Unrivaled Level of Organization. Time. https://time.com/5912998/bts-army/

Pham, J. (2020). There’s a Reason These Members Were the First to Join BTS. StyleCaster. https://stylecaster.com/feature/how-bts-members-discovered-1006413/

RAE. (2023). fan | Diccionario de la lengua española. Real Academia Española. https://dle.rae.es/fan?m=form

Torti Frugone, Y. y Schandor, A. M. (2013). El reino más grande del mundo: la existencia del fandom como fenómeno cultural. VII Jornadas de Jóvenes Investigadores. Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani, Universidad de Buenos Aires.

Waqas, M., Salleh, N. A. M., & Hamzah, Z. L. (2021). Branded Content Experience in Social Media: Conceptualization, Scale Development and Validation. Journal of Interactive Marketing, (56), 106-120.

Yoon, H. (2020). Branded Entertainment in Korea (Routledge Critical Advertising Studies). Routledge Focus.

Zubernis, L., & Larsen, K. (2012). Fandom At The Crossroads: Celebration, Shame and Fan/Producer Relationships. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.