Finding Joy and Comfort in the Cinema of NCT

This year more than ever, NCT showed how their music and music videos create a world of their own, making for an immersive and personalized fan experience. ​

Photo courtesy of Universal Music Group

Critics may try to be as objective as possible when reviewing and ranking albums for their “Best Of” lists, but I must take a different approach now. This year more than ever, my personal experiences have been inextricably linked to my sensory issues and to the music that has served as my grounding force to cope with them. NCT are the stars of my 2020 soundtrack, and hopefully explaining my personal circumstances shines light on some universal truths about the power of pop culture to improve one’s life and to add something to be grateful for to even the toughest of years.

As I explain in one of my podcast episodes, I do not hear music the same way that neurotypical people do. My sensory issues cause me to intensely feel the music course through me as I listen to it. The slightest trigger that overpowers my senses leaves me in a state of panic, but if I listen to certain music, suddenly the parts of my brain that feel like an unfinished puzzle fit back together to complete the picture. Music helps me pull out of moments where my emotions and instincts feel discombobulated. During this exceptionally turbulent year, I have fully realized how strong a role my favorite music plays as an anchor in my life.

The albums that have served as my anchors this year are NCT 127’s Neo Zone: The Final Round and both parts of NCT 2020’s RESONANCE. The songs and music videos for these releases provoke such positive feelings in me that the traits that tend to make life more frustrating for me suddenly feel manageable. Songs like “Kick It”  and “Punch” allow me to channel my fidgeting habit into dance parties. Songs like “White Night” and “Light Bulb” allow me to calm down after Zoom classes spent struggling to not be distracted by noises or bright lights coming from classmates’ screens. Songs like “Misfit” have music videos that provide an escape when my environment feels too overwhelming and isolating. I could go on and on, but the bottom line is this: when I find music that grounds me and allows for an emotional release, that music becomes an irreplaceable part of the soundtrack of my life for which I am eternally grateful. When I find music that grounds me and allows for an emotional release even during a pandemic, that music’s impact on my life is one so positively powerful that words fail to describe it. 

Music allows me to have an emotional outlet when that is hard for me to have otherwise due to my sensory issues, and this year NCT has allowed me to do just that. Feeling permitted to let loose and have fun during some songs, to calm down during others, and to immerse myself in a mental escape through all of them make Neo Zone: The Final Round and RESONANCE gifts to me that keep on giving. 

My memories of listening to their music are unique, but I am also just like many other NCTzens who turn to their music for comfort and joy. The duality of NCT lies in this ability to resonate (no pun intended) in both highly individualized and in universal ways. Essentially, listeners can take what they want from NCT’s discography and use those songs to meet their personal needs. Some listeners gravitate towards their ballads for comfort, some prefer their high-energy songs for a mood boost, some favor their rap-heavy songs for a more complete distraction, and so on and so forth. There is an NCT song for every taste, meaning there is also an NCT song for every emotional need.

As listeners of my NCT-dedicated episodes know, the band’s music videos compound the immersive nature of their albums and provide further opportunities for both personalizing one’s experience as an NCTzen and finding a place to fit one’s ideas within the larger fandom. I spend countless hours creating detailed theories about the characters, plots, and timeline that make up the NCT Music Video Universe, and as proud as I am to claim ownership over my theories, I also get excited to share them with other NCTzens on my show. Personalizing my experiences with NCT content keeps being in the fandom engaging and unpredictable, and NCT making music and videos that allow for this to happen is a commendable feat. 

When viewing each NCT music video as its own movie, a movie theater makes for the perfect analogy to describe the band’s appeal. If people don’t like one of the features being played at the theater, they can simply go watch a different one. Some of the movies people watch stick with them in profound ways, and others do not strike a chord. Each person leaves the theater with a different perspective on what they watched and a different preference for certain characters or plot points, which provides room for active dialogue with other viewers and builds anticipation around future installments in a series. Lastly, each NCT album is a standalone event (not uncommonly with an intro, outro, and/or interlude), but also a piece of a larger cinematic universe.

This year more than ever, there is something for every viewer’s taste from NCT: light and fun movies from NCT DREAM, a darker, suspenseful movie from WayV, action movies from NCT 127, and a bit of everything from NCT U. This series is capped off by “RESONANCE,” a song from all 23 members and a mashup of songs from different combinations of them. Watching the “RESONANCE” music video feels like the portal scene from Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame, an exhilarating moment marking the end of an unforgettable era. 

The good news is that, although NCT 2020 is a concept that is closing its curtains, NCT has many sequels and spinoffs in the works! Better yet, just like rewatching a favorite movie, revisiting the “classics” will never get old. 
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Throughout 2020, NCT has provided reason after reason to have something to look forward to and, in my case, a source of stability and much-needed distraction to cope. I am confident that NCT will continue to put on “shows” that amaze and astound, and I will gladly take the lead in giving them a standing ovation.