All quarantine ain’t created equal. For those trapped in an abusive situation, this self-isolation is hell. What’s more, so few people are actually talking about it that when someone mentions it everyone takes a collective gasp. That almost goes double for women living in South Korea. Keeping quiet because that’s what’s expected. Any attempt to speak up can be met with a societal fist to the face more biting than that of their tormentor. “More than ever,” Man1ac’s collaboration with Ann One and Basick, is both timely and shocking because of just how rare it is.
Warning: The video and article depict scenes of physical abuse.
Broken Trust
“More than ever” does double duty. On one hand, the lyrics speak of trying to raise yourself up while everyone around you tries to keep you down. Faceless trolls on the internet come cheap, loud, and easily ignorable. The true bite is closer. Comes from those supposedly in your corner. Those who told you they had your back only to delight in bringing you down. When you’re fighting to win or, more heartbreakingly, when you’ve finally made it. Crabs in a pot, they see your success as you pushing them closer to the fire. They clip your limbs like crab claws as they try to pull you back down to their level.
On the other hand, the music video speaks of another kind of betrayal. No treachery slices quite as deep as a betrayal of the heart. Someone gives their heart, their love and trust. It’s nurtured, soothed with sweetness and trinkets. Promises that special someone is more than happy to break as surely as they’d break an arm, a rib.
As soon as the video starts there’s something uneasy about the moment. A boyfriend seemingly waiting for his girlfriend. It’s the way she walks down the stairs. Hesitant, exhibiting the kind of stutter-stepping fear a child displays when they’re afraid to tell a parent they’ve broken something. She reaches the bottom of the stairs, he walks out the door, and she follows behind… far behind. She displays her submission to him, cowering in the shadow of his domination. She pauses. His shadow moves further away, and suddenly this distance isn’t about submission. It’s about freedom.
Freedom
Even as she’s made up her mind to run, she still waits for him to look back at her. One last moment of seeking approval, of seeking the love promised when this thing first began. Something in his eyes shakes her enough to give her the courage to run, and she does. As far as her weak legs can carry her. The next we see of her, her tormentor has her by her hair, then slammed against a brick wall. He takes a moment to look at her. To look at the broken thing he created. She doesn’t even look him in his face, and that spurs him to act out his rage and possible self-loathing on her body. No doubt something he’s done many times before. But this time he wants her as lifeless as he is. A narcissist who underestimates the final resolve of his victim.
He finally walks away, leaving our young protagonist bleeding and writhing in pain. The last kick to her back settles, the pain nestled into her limbs in ways she’s familiar with. She finds the resolve to get up. As she’s been forced to do in the past. But this time, there’s no one to shove her back down. No business as usual until the next beating. She stands, stumbles until she finds some form of shelter. A dark theater. A piano. When she finishes her song, she looks out into the void. At this moment her future’s up in the air. Will she go back to what she knows, what’s familiar? Or will she chance walking into an unknown future?
The Question
“More than ever” uses powerful lyrics with even more powerful images to ask a question. In many ways, there’s no resolution. No ending. And that’s the point. At the end of it all, you have a choice. Are you going to accept what people say about you, what they do to you? Will you continue to take the verbal and physical abuse and live your life in the shadow of those who want nothing more than to see you hurt? Or are you going to force yourself to step away from what’s familiar? What seems safe because you know it? Is today the day you finally face your fears and move forward? Both require a sacrifice of self. Either sacrifice who you are to appease someone else. Or sacrifice who you were to step into something more, to be something more.
As 2020 starts winding down, every one of us faces this same choice. Who are we going to be at the end of all this? We are all broken and searching. Some of us more than others. “More than ever” forces us to consider if we’re going to do the work to put ourselves back together. Korea has offered some of the most stunning videos in the last few years. Messages and imagery that are both shocking and contemplative. Add Man1ac, Ann One, and Basick’s contribution to the list of videos that force the audience to both look outside and deeper within themselves.
If you or anyone you know is in an abusive, violent, or dangerous situation, seek help by calling any one of the numbers here. You deserve safety, love, and security. There is someone ready to listen and help.