A Social-Semiotic Study of Fairy-Tale Aesthetics in the Visual Representation of TXT’s Blue Hour Music Video
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34010/visualita.v14i2.19524Keywords:
K-pop music video, visual semiotics, blue hour, fairy-tale aesthetics, visual strategy, transitional youthAbstract
The K-pop industry utilizes music videos (MVs) not only as promotional media but also as multimodal communication platforms that integrate lyrics, visuals, and music to construct narratives and emotional engagement with global audiences. Blue Hour by TXT (Tomorrow X Together) stands out for its use of the blue hour phenomenon as a conceptual foundation that represents a liminal, magical, and temporary experience of transition. This study aims to analyze how meaning is constructed through multimodal interaction in the Blue Hour MV, and how such meaning is organized through representational, interactive, and compositional meanings. This research employs a qualitative interpretative approach with multimodal analysis as its main framework. The findings show that meaning emerges through the integration of modes. Lyrics provide semantic direction, visuals expand it through color, space, and symbols, while music regulates rhythm and emotional intensity. This study confirms that the Blue Hour MV is a complex multimodal construction and demonstrates the potential of natural phenomena as visual concepts in designing coherent, emotional, and meaningful storytelling within digital visual culture.
Downloads
References
Althobaiti, M. A. O. (2023). The Evolution of European Fairy Tales: A Comparative Analysis of the Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Andersen. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 19(23), 43. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2023.v19n23p43.
Anderson, C. S. (2020). “‘A Song Calling for You’: Korean Pop Groups”, Soul in Seoul: African American Popular Music and K-pop (Jackson, MS, 2020; online edn, Mississippi Scholarship Online, 20 May 2021), https://doi.org/10.14325/mississippi/9781496830098.0.
Arihanto, S. D., & Sutanto, S. M. (2025). ANALISIS SEMIOTIKA ESTETIKA VISUAL DAN RUANG SIMBOLIK DALAM MV" GOD’S MENU" STRAY KIDS: A SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF VISUAL AESTHETICS AND SYMBOLIC SPACE IN STRAY KIDS’" GOD’S MENU" MV. Jurnal Seni dan Reka Rancang: Jurnal Ilmiah Magister Desain, 8(3), 404-425.
Bennett, D., Matos, G., Anaza, N. A., Ruvalcaba, C., & Hamilton, M. (2023). Is this real life? Is it just fantasy? The development and validation of a media-evoked fantasy scale. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 40(3), 261-272. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm-09-2020-4102.
Hoeppe, G. (2007). Why the Sky Is Blue: Discovering the Color of Life. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 249–53. ISBN 978-0-691-12453-7.
Karaoğlu, H. İ. (2025). Hint Sinemasında Klasik Hint Dansları Hint Kültürü, Sineması ve Performans Sanatları.. https://doi.org/10.70717/dta.9786255959386.
Khofifah, S. (2025). Analisis Semiotika Roland Barthes pada Film “Ranah 3 Warna” Karya Guntur Soeharjo. Lingua Franca, 3(2), 26-32. https://doi.org/10.37680/linguafranca.v3i2.6617.
Kravchenko, N. and Shanaieva-Tsymbal, L. O. (2023). Multimodal Ukrainian Brand Narrative: Semiotics, Structure, Archetypes. Alfred Nobel University Journal of Philology, 2(26/2), 27-44. https://doi.org/10.32342/2523-4463-2023-2-26/2-2.
Kress, G., & Leeuwen, T. V. (2020). Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003099857.
Kress, G. (2009). Multimodality: A Social Semiotic Approach to Contemporary Communication (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203970034.
Lavita, L., Anisti, A., & Mutiah, T. (2025). Makna Denotasi, Konotasi, dan Mitos dalam Film Dokumenter “Desa Wae Rebo”. Jurnal Teknik Informatika Dan Teknologi Informasi, 5(2), 306-315. https://doi.org/10.55606/jutiti.v5i2.5524.
Liang, J., Miao, H., & Sai, R. (2025). Tiktok challenges and cross-cultural success: blackpink’s global reach through short-form video in the k-pop industry. Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies, 1(3). https://doi.org/10.61173/rtk50766.
Mazeree, N. S. Q., Ashaari, N., Ramli, N. M., & Zuri, N. A. Z. (2023). A Semiotic Analysis on Confession of a Shopaholic Trailer: Roland Barthes Approach. LET: Linguistics, Literature and English Teaching Journal, 13(2), 212-232.
Naus, H. and Ubachs, W. (2000). Experimental verification of rayleigh scattering cross sections. Optics Letters, 25(5), 347. https://doi.org/10.1364/ol.25.000347.
Pamungkas, B. A., Patria, T. A. D., & Asadulloh, H. (2024). Analisis Film Ngeri-Ngeri Sedap: Pendekatan Metode Roland Barthes. MediaKom : Jurnal Ilmiah Komunikasi, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.22441/mediakom.v14i1.24853.
Purwandari, E., Prihartanti, N., Dumpratiwi, A. N., Priyadi, S., Sari, S. W. K., & Faizah, N. (2024). Psychometric Properties of a Psychological Measure of Indigenous Personality (Suryomentaram’s Perspective): Initial Study. The Open Psychology Journal, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.2174/0118743501304853240510162859.
Rathod, H. and Gohel, S. V. (2025). Decoding Culture Through Panels: A Visual Semiotic Analysis Of Society And Identity In Indian English Graphic Novels. International Journal of Environmental Sciences, 7648-7657. https://doi.org/10.64252/c6sdsw23.
Sagimin, E. M. and Sari, R. (2020). A Semiotic Analysis on LAY’s and EXO’s Selected Music Videos. Proceedings of the Twelfth Conference on Applied Linguistics (CONAPLIN 2019). https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200406.010.
Salsabila, J., & Kholik, K. (2025). Kajian Roland Barthes Terhadap Makna Dalam Video Klip BTS “Yet to Come”. Innovative: Journal Of Social Science Research, 5(4), 10699-10717.
Sevilla, V., Wahyuningratna, R. N., Pembangunan, U., & Veteran Jakarta, N. (2023). Representasi Hopelessness dalam MV BTS Spring Day (Analisis Semiotika Roland Barthes). IKRA-ITH HUMANIORA : Jurnal Sosial Dan Humaniora, 7(1), 51–59. https://doi.org/10.37817/IKRAITH-HUMANIORA.V7I1.2269.
Sihombing, O. P. (2024). Reprenstasi Ketakutan Meninggalkan Kebudayan Batak Dalam Film Ngeri-Ngeri Sedap. SABER : Jurnal Teknik Informatika, Sains Dan Ilmu Komunikasi, 2(3), 288-303. https://doi.org/10.59841/saber.v2i3.1485.
Tremblay, B., Rodrigues, M. L., & Martin‐Chang, S. (2020). From Storybooks to Novels: A Retrospective Approach Linking Print Exposure in Childhood to Adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.571033.
Verfaillie, R. (2011). L’heure Bleue. San Francisco: Purple Onion Press. p. 5. ISBN 9780978708559.
Welch, P. B. (2008). Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, p. 204.
Zenevich, E. V. and Афанасьева, Э. (2023). The image of a falling star in poems by Yu. V. Zhadovskaya. Вестник Рязанского Государственного Университета Имени С.А. Есенина, (3(80)), 93-100. https://doi.org/10.37724/rsu.2023.80.3.009.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Shienny Sutanto, Marina Wardaya
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with Visualita agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive public distribution and display of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors wishing to include items (such as images or other media, or any creative works of others whether previously published or not) must contact the original copyright holder to obtain explicit permission to publish these items in Visualital. Writing permission should include: the title(s) of any copyrighted work, original place of publication if applicable, and an acknowledgement of having read Visualita copyright notice. Authors are responsible for obtaining this permission and keeping it in their own records for later verification.
