Nara Kim, a prominent model, stylist who also reportedly works for HYBE, and artist associated with Styled by Cheri Nara, shared her thoughts on the matter.Describing herself as ‘bisexual openly queer’, Nara expressed concern about the video’s portrayal of disabilities and its potentially exploitative narrative.
In a post, Nara used hashtags related to the music video and asserted her desire not to be misrepresented as a “straight and non-disabled person with normalcy” through the camera. The stylist referenced the magical camera in the MV that shows IU and V without their injuries, including V’s blindness and IU’s alleged hearing disability.
Nara elaborated on her viewpoint in her Instagram story, saying, “The reason why I mentioned this is that the song was initially titled ‘Love Wins’. Korean queers, who thought queer’s slogan had been stolen, were furious. There is still controversy after the title of the song was changed and the music video was released. The two main characters IU and V) in the music video appear as blind and deaf people who are chased by ‘discrimination and oppression. Different situation from reality shows through camcorder (it means love filter, the director says) and the two appear to be happier (without disability) in this.”
She contended that the music video used disabilities and minorities as props, telling a story of overcoming adversity with two rich, non-disabled celebrities playing these roles. Nara emphasized, “I mean, a music video featuring two rich, non-disabled world stars (known as cisgender hetero) uses disabilities, minorities as props to say about overcoming, ending up with a very normal ending of wearing a wedding dress and a tuxedo. What needs to be overcome is the world, not disability or minorities. Stop the shallow compassion and using minorities as inspirational material.”
She explained how content portraying disabled individuals overcoming challenges can perpetuate the idea that they are weak and incapable. Nara highlighted the tendency of abled people to exploit such content for personal gain without advocating for the disabled community. The controversy adds a layer of complexity to the many interpretations of ‘Love Wins All’.
