From New Man to New Lad : The Myth of Masculinity in NCT 127 ’ s “ Kick It ” Music Video

116 INTRODUCTION The difference between male and female in society is defined by culture, history and geography (Beynon, 2010, p. 1). What it takes to be men is always interesting to discuss further. Society, through its culture has been creating the standardization of how to be male and female by using the concept of masculinity and femininity (MacKinnon, 2003, p. 3). The gender system is crafted to be the tool for people in social system to act like who they are expected to be. However, the notion of real men and women had gone beyond a fact, instead it is rather a belief. Furthermore, gender is constructed through power relations. Thus it can be negotiated or even re-negotiated (MacKinnon, 2003, p. 4). Masculinity is how society define men. Masculinity is made of many masculinities, because different society has different perspectives towards what it takes to be men (Beynon, 2010, p. 1). Masculinity is diverse, depending on what culture it is in. Therefore, it is more likely to be cultural-driven rather than innate possession. Therefore, the multiple standards of being male in this globalization era need to be taken into a further discussion. Through music videos on YouTube, masculinity can be depicted and promoted in the era of internet. K-pop boybands have always been wellknown to explore the depiction of masculinity RAINBOW Vol. 9 (2) 2020 Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Cultural Studies https://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/rainbow


INTRODUCTION
The difference between male and female in society is defined by culture, history and geography (Beynon, 2010, p. 1). What it takes to be men is always interesting to discuss further. Society, through its culture has been creating the standardization of how to be male and female by using the concept of masculinity and femininity (MacKinnon, 2003, p. 3). The gender system is crafted to be the tool for people in social system to act like who they are expected to be. However, the notion of real men and women had gone beyond a fact, instead it is rather a belief. Furthermore, gender is constructed through power relations. Thus it can be negotiated or even re-negotiated (MacKinnon, 2003, p. 4). Masculinity is how society define men. Masculinity is made of many masculinities, because different society has different perspectives towards what it takes to be men (Beynon, 2010, p. 1). Masculinity is diverse, depending on what culture it is in. Therefore, it is more likely to be cultural-driven rather than innate possession. Therefore, the multiple standards of being male in this globalization era need to be taken into a further discussion. Through music videos on YouTube, masculinity through their music videos. In consequence, to understand the various depictions of masculinity is somehow crucial in order to be more critical towards this social construction. By employing Barthes' semiology and Beynon's description of masculinity in media, the masculinity portrayed in K-pop music videos can be explored in a critical and holistic way.
Noted by Storey (2009, p. 118), Barthes' semiological model of reading popular culture is written in his significant theoretical essay named 'Myth today'. Barthes adapted Saussure's idea of sign in which a sign is formed by a signifier and a signified. Barthes then developed Saussure's idea into the secondary level of signification, because he argues that Saussure's idea on sign can be comprehended further into the second level of signification. Furthermore, in Elements of Semiology, Barthes (1967) replace the term 'primary signification' with 'denotation', and 'secondary signification' with 'connotation'. To read a connotation, the reader must have access to a shared code, whether it is conscious or unconscious, in order to do operations of connotation (Storey, 2009, p. 124). The shared code can be both historical and cultural. Barthes claims that the secondary level of signification or connotation is the place where a myth is produced for consumption (Storey, 2009, p. 119). What Barthes argues here is not myth as a traditional story, but rather a way of meaning, and he names it as the type of speech (Dwita, 2018, p. 48). Therefore, myth is not neutral because it carries a certain messages from a certain combination of signs. He argues that myth is an embodiment of ideology comprehended as a body of ideas and practices. Myth is produced to promote particular values of ruling groups in society, in order to maintain their power over the other groups. His idea is based on the nature of signs that can carry multiple meanings. To read a myth successfully, the reader must look at the purpose of ideological production of certain images, and its manifestation from history to nature (Storey, 2009, p. 122). Barthes argues that this reading position produces 'structural description', and such a description can facilitate the reader to uncover a myth in a comprehensive way.
John Beynon suggests a term 'New Man' to call a phenomenon firstly found in 1980s. Simply, New Man means an idea that man doesn't have to follow strict rules to show maleness based on hard masculinities crafted few years ago. The notion seems to be a movement of taking off the attribute of patriarchal masculinity. According to Moir and Moir (1998), New Man is only a creation that covers Gucci ads (consumerism) and intellectuals. New Man is divided into two categories, namely the nurturer and the narcissist (Beynon, 2010, p. 99).
New Man as the nurturer is basically the reaction of men in facing the first feminism wave in 1970s. This New Man is focusing on how female as mother and male as father can share tasks in taking care of children. Mother would usually be associated with nurturing children, while in fact, nurturing children is a task for both mother and father. This type of New Man then was considered as pro-feminist. Chapman (1988) suggests that this type of New Man is the new ideal due to the awareness of women for having career (Beynon, 2010, p. 100).
The Second New Man is the narcissists. This ideal of New Man was basically influenced by the growth of consumerism in the end of Second World War (Shields, 1992). This type of New Man was reflected through the consumerist culture. New Man is depicted wearing fancy outfits, riding fast cars with beautiful girls. In 1970s, creative ads took a big role in influencing the shifting representation of masculinity. Mort (1996) suggests the term 'a hydra' used to describe the phenomenon of playing with masculinity and re-arranging the standard to perform another type of maleness. In 1980s, male began to be objectified in order to show the representation of narcissistic New Man who is well-groomed, muscular but also sensitive (Beynon, 2010, p. 102-104).
Another type of man used to describe masculinity representation is New Lad. It is basically the form of throwback firstly happened in 1980s of traditional or hard masculinity. The New Lad was firstly flourishing in pop music and football. Edwards (1997) stated that football players has become a new ideal of masculinity with certain features including messy hair, groovy outfits and sharp facial features. New Lad is basically associated with violence, sport, drinking and sex. According to Edwards (1997), the new representation of masculinity 'New Lad' actually correlates to New Man. Those two are only marketing phenomenon driven by consumerism. For example, New Man may be associated with Armani and Calvin Klein, while New Lad Hugo and Prada. Lastly, New Lad is profit-driven masculinity style which exploits working class machoismo (Beynon, 2010, p. 112).
Some previous studies on masculinity have been conducted. Noviasari (2013) conducted a semiotic study of the representation of masculinity in two Super Junior's music videos, 'Mr. Simple' and 'No Other'. She uses Barthes' semiology and some related articles to come up with the finding. However, she didn't go deeply in analyzing the signs in the music videos. The second masculinity study conducted by Sari (2013) which is similar with the previous study yet focused on classifying the masculinities portrayed in Super Junior's music video 'Bonamana'. The third study was conducted by Sari and Wulan (2016). Their study is basically similar with the previous one yet focused on the discussion of how the representation of masculinity in G-Dragon's 'Crayon' music video would relate with Korean culture and Indonesian culture. Sari and Wulan (2016) also used Beynon's classification of masculinity: New Man and New Lad, as the measurement to recognize the masculinities portrayed in the music video. This study is kind of similar with the recent previous study conducted by Sari and Wulan (2016). The author used Barthes' semiology as analytical framework along with Beynon's classification of masculinity: New Man and New Lad, to uncover the myths behind the representation of masculinity in NCT 127's 'Kick It' music video. However, unlike the previous studies, this study is focused on how fashion can shape the depictions of masculinity in media. In fact, masculinity is inextricably related to fashion, especially since the Post Second World War (Geczy & Karaminas, 2018, p. 3). Fashion shapes masculinity through the eruption of mass popular culture during the Post Second World War. Popular culture during the half of twentieth century has been very influential in changing style and body image of men. Hence, the description of fashion along with Beynon's masculinities in media is the best way to come up with a holistic finding of this study.
Holistically, this research was conducted to uncover the myths behind the representation of masculinity in K-pop music videos since it has a big influence nowadays in promoting certain masculinities to global audience. Masculinity is dynamic and cultural bound. In consequence, the myths of masculinity in media needs to be unpacked critically since it has a big impact to global audience, especially the male audience. The audience may consume the promoted masculinity without any critical consideration, whether it has a certain purpose or not. Moreover, popular culture, including K-pop, is dominated by myths produced by ruling groups, and these myths cannot be taken for granted. Therefore, this study is significant to comprehend the myths behind the constructed masculinity in K-pop, specifically in NCT 127's 'Kick It' music video which was released on March 5, 2020. The author analyzed how masculinity is depicted in 'Kick It' music video using semiology of Roland Barthes as the analytical framework. Furthermore, the author also employed the classification of John Beynon on masculinity in media: New Man and New Lad, to be the measurement to classify the masculinities constructed in the music video. Ultimately, this research came up with the finding of the myths behind the representation of masculinity in the music video manifested through the performance of New Lad, New Man, or even the combination of both (hydra) masculinity. The author employed qualitative research methodology to come up with the data analysis. According to Heigham and Croker (2009, p. 5-6), qualitative research is a term used to describe a complex and dynamic research methodology. This kind of methodology has been widely used in many different fields, including anthropology, philosophy, sociology, humanities, and social science. To be more vivid, noted in Creswell (2013, p. 183), qualitative methods will take text and image as data analysis. It's usually stick with data analysis which is conducted using various research designs. Moreover, qualitative methods requires a vivid and in-depth explanation of how the data is collected, analyzed, and how the researcher takes a role in the study.
The data of this study was taken from NCT 127's Kick It music video on YouTube. The data then was analyzed using qualitative approach. Moreover, the author also employed the semiotic analysis of Roland Barthes to come up with the findings. The author captured some scenes in Kick It music video by NCT 127, which further were analyzed using Barthes' semiology. There are five scenes that were analyzed. Each scene was analyzed in three layers: namely denotation, connotation, and myth. The author chose those five scenes because those are more likely to be the representation of the entire music video, in which each scene has some prominent codes, both linguistic and visual, to be analyzed further.

Masculinity and Violence
Masculinity is always associated with violence. The following paragraph will discuss the result of semiological analysis of the captured scene. In a denotational signification, all the members of NCT 127 dress up in black sort of zipper jackets with white garment details. The pants are also black with some white patterns as a detail. The very front member wears no inner cloth, and colored his hair icy grey. The choreography seems to be inspired by Kung Fu motions. Their dress code also seems to take inspiration from Bruce Lee's costume in the film. The dance also takes place in a room with Chinese decorations, such as the doors at the back of the members. They all cover their fingers with white garment, just like what Bruce Lee does to secure his fingers during a fight.
Moreover, connotationally, the Bruce-Lee-inspired black jackets with white details can symbolize Asian man power. In Bruce Lee's films, he is depicted as a masculine Chinese hero by revisioning a mythical hero for Chinese audience (Chan, 2000, p. 374). The dominant color of black, in psychology, symbolizes power and mystery (Ferreira, 2019). Furthermore, The Bruce-Lee-inspired black jackets can also symbolize the overcoming of the relationship between and physical superiority and physical size. Compared to Western men, Asian men have less bulky bodies, but Lee proved that body size doesn't matter as long as he got the power to combat his enemy (Chan, 2000, p. 384). The colored hair of the very front member symbolizes femininity, sexuality, and beauty (Etcoff, 1999) in (Ricciardelli, 2011, p. 184).
In relation to myth, this scene is basically a representation of masculinity and violence, but further, it can also be the representation of mythical masculinity among Asian men, especially Chinese men. Violence is the symbol of masculinity. Men are required to have power to combat, or even to undergo something like military training (Morgan, 1994, p. 166). The version of masculinity which embraces violence is the New Lad masculinity. New Lad masculinity, however, according to Edwards (1997, p. 83 & 249), is only the marketing strategy to maintain consumerism, just like the New Man (Beynon, 2002, p. 111-112). Moreover, this scene is also a depiction of mythical masculinity in Asia, especially China. NCT 127 members wear the Bruce-Lee-inspired black jackets, to display a masculinity which is perceived as the performance of violence, martial arts, and well-trained body in Bruce Lee's films. By portraying Lee's finely tuned muscles and his martial art skills, physical violence then was being perpetuated to be the ideal of manhood (Chan, 2000, p. 385).

Masculinity and Sport
Besides violence, masculinity is also associated with sport. The depiction of masculinity alongside sport is also found in the music video, and will be discuss further in the following paragraphs. Denotationally, in this scene, the member of NCT 127 wears a black leather jacket, leaning on a yellow-black motorsport. His hair is neatly styled. He is at the center of the image, while he is surrounded by a group of people who seem to be vulnerable, lying on the ground. Those people wear yellow-black leather jackets and pants. They also wear yellow-black helmets. The scene takes place at a sort of alley.
In terms of connotation, he wears a black leather jacket which is usually associated with aggression and power (Geczy & Karaminas, 2018, p. 104). The black color signifies power (Incredibleart, 2020). Motorsports presented in this scene are also the symbol of masculinity. Noted by Wellard (2009, p. 10), Hargreaves (1986, p. 1) suggests that sport is the manifestation of escaping from boredom and deprivation which is preferred by men in general, and promoted by the modern society. Furthermore, the people who lay on the ground indicates that the black leather jacketed man had a fight with them and win over them. It denotes violence. Aggressiveness and toughness are perceived as normal and necessary in contemporary sporting practice (Wellard, 2009, p. 14). The yellow color of motorsports, riders' outfits, and helmets denotes happiness and joy (Incredibleart, 2020). The joy here may come from the practice of violence to show masculinity.
By means of myth, this scene represents the relationship between masculinity and sport. As noted above, sport is the act of overcoming boredom (Hargreaves, 1986, p. 1, in Wellard, 2009. Men have a connection with their bodies to express identity. The Injury of sport is approved as the masculine lifestyle. Moreover, physical injury in sport is seen as the performance of maleness. The injury is not affected the physical state in the first place, but rather the mentality of maintaining masculinity performance. Therefore, Young et al (1994) suggests that the performance of masculinity is influenced by the gazes of others at men (Wellard, 2009, p. 15). Furthermore, such a masculinity performance may lead to selfdestruction. According to Jackson (1990), practicing the dominant masculinity means to celebrate emotional denial, affective neutrality, and self-destruction through cultural practices of masculinity (Young & White, 2000, p. 113). Finally, this myth is concealed with the representation of New Lad masculinity (the hard masculinity).

Masculinity and Consumerism
Masculinity can also be related to consumerist culture since the production of masculinity in media is based on profit-driven purpose. Media produces masculinity to be consumed by audience. The masculinity produced by media can somehow promote hedonism through the depiction of masculinity. Some scenes in the music video portray the relationship between masculinity and consumerist culture. In a denotational perspective, this is the picture of one of the members of NCT 127. In this scene, he wears a black jacket, a combination of black leather and garment. He also wears golden chain necklaces and three earrings. He has icy grey hair which is styled neatly. He seems to put light makeup on, such as eyeshadow. He also puts black garment-made rings on. Lastly, the background is yellow.
In a connotational signification, the first visual code is a black leather-garment jacket. The black color, in Western culture, symbolizes rebellion (Girard, 2019). Leather jacket itself carries a connotation of aggression. Historically, leather outfits were worn by warriors after skinning their hunts. Thus, wearing leather jacket is inevitably associated with power of warriors. This popular imagination then is perpetuated in films to symbolize masculinity (Geczy & Karaminas, 2018, p. 104). The second visual code is the colored hair. Noted by Ricciardelli (2011, p. 184), Styling and coloring hair are usually associated with women. For women, hair is the crucial attribute to raise self-confidence and to show identity (Cash, 2001;Weitz, 2001;Wolf, 1991). Furthermore, styling hair is basically how women portray beauty, sexuality, and femininity (Etcoff, 1999). The third visual code is jewelry, such as necklaces and earrings. Noted by Ceczy & Karaminas (2018, p. 139), wearing jewelry, such as necklaces and earrings for men, is the symbol of gangsta members. In 2000, gangsta was known to be a group of men, in which they restricted themselves to join a gang with the same race. They usually committed randomly brutal acts or even criminal acts. Finally, the yellow background signifies joy and happiness (Incredibleart, 2020).
Finally, in terms of myth signification, this first image is basically the representation of consumerism using the concept of masculinity. Leather jacket is the part of reel man fashion. After the Cold War in 1950s, there was an economical growth in the US, many companies, including fashion, attempted to attract teenage consumers who sought for sense of identity and freedom. Those companies used the popular masculinity (reel man) in their advertisements to gain more profit from teenage audience (Ceczy & Karaminas, 2018, p. 106). Wearing jewelry for men was being popularized by hip-hop performers. In the 1980s, hip-hop subculture was flourishing due to the establishment of cable TV and MTV. Stereotyped masculinity of gangsta/hip-hop subculture then was promoted in form of fashions, such as Gucci and Armani, in order to gain profit through consumerism (Ceczy & Karaminas, 2018, p. 142). Noted by Ricciardelli (2011, p. 184), styling hair can also be the practice of consumerism. Western society perceives the body as a sociocultural construct rather than a biological entity. Therefore, the body, including men bodies, are the media of self-expression which further can be fullfiled with consumption (Feather-stone 1991;Shilling 1993).
In consequence, more men are being interested in investing their money to buy body enhancement products to increase their attractiveness physically (Atkinson, 2008). This myth is covered with the representation of New Lad masculinity. New Lad masculinity is associated with violence, sport, drinking, and sex. However, there is a little touch of the masculinity of New Man as narcissist in forms of the colored hair and jewelry, because New Man as narcissist is projected as a confident wellgroomed man (Beynon, 2002, p. 104).

Figure 4. Masculinity and Consumerism
In this scene denotatively, a member of NCT 127 is standing in front of opened door, in which there is also a perfect circular hole in front of the opened door. It seems that he is in between those two divisions. He wears a black suit and a pant with golden floral details. He lets his chest exposed, without wearing inner cloth. He also styled his hair neatly. The background is dominated by golden yellowish Chinese decorations.
Connotatively, the suit indicates the high social class (Geczy & Karaminas, 2018, p. 45). In the 1930s, the tailored suit became popular as the men apparel style. The golden color is usually associated with success, by wearing golden attributes, certain people want to show prestige and power (Ferreira, 2019). The Chinese references may also represent NCT 127's identities as Asians. Therefore, they attempted to depict Chinese cultural heritage in their music video.
Mythically, this scene depicts the relationship between masculinity and consumerism. The suit style was prevalent due to James Bond popularity. James Bond is a movie, in which the protagonist, James Bond, would usually wear a dark suit with fine tailoring to reveal his body contours to make him more sexual, and to show the distance from lower social class. This kind of styling is in line with Playboy magazine depiction of masculinity. Playboy provided a depiction of masculinity that was adventurous, fun, and uncomplicated. Moreover, Playboy was also introducing the hedonistic and glamorous lifestyle in modern society (Geczy & Karaminas, 2018, p. 45-46). In addition, the chest exposure in this scene denotes the crucial role of the male body in masculinity. According to Michael Massner (1990, p. 214), the body is 'an object of social practice'. Murray Healey cited from Marky Mark, argues that hypermasculinity is just too much, in which men declare their masculinity in forms of gym-created bodies and semi-nakedness (MacKinnon, 2003, p. 5). Finally, this myth is covered with the representation of New Man as narcissist. This type of New Man is influenced by the growth of consumerism in the Post Second World War (Shield, 1992, in Beynon, 2010.

Figure 5. Masculinity and Consumerism
In this scene denotationally, NCT 127 members wear red jackets with black detail and decorated with the black lettering 'New Thangs'. All of them also wear golden chain necklaces. They also wear inner clothes with black pants and decorated with black belts. The very front member is caught wearing Versace white T-shirt. The hair is styled neatly, and the background is sort of Chinese architectural building which is dominated by yellow color.
In relation to connotation, the red color of the jackets symbolizes excitement and energy (Incredibleart, 2020). Wearing jackets and golden chain necklaces is the style of gangsta fashion, which symbolizes rebellion (Geczy & Karaminas, 2018, p. 140). The words 'New Thangs' simply means new things. According to Urban Dictionary, 'Thang' is a slang word for thing, and it is used to replace the naming of any object. 'New Thangs', in line with the song, can mean releasing new music hits for their fans. In addition, slang language is also a form of identity for gangsta (Geczy & Karaminas, 2018, p. 139). Moreover, the printed word 'Versace' on the t-shirt symbolizes the prestige of wearing luxury brand. According to Wikipedia, Versace is an Italian branded fashion which is established by Gianni Versace in 1978.
Ultimately, by means of myth, this scene is the representation of New Lad masculinity and consumerism. According to Alvarez in Geczy & Karaminas (2018, p. 147), hip-hop/gangsta culture was glorifying the hypermasculinity in forms of rap lyrics and fashion statement. The embodiment of hip-hop/gangsta fashion is realized through some fashion statements, such as gold chains, oversized jackets, and baggy pants. This fashion style is basically a representation of New Lad which is also influenced by consumerist culture. In addition, white t-shirt is also a fashion statement for gangsta/hip-hop culture. That fashion statement is related with the notion 'street cred'. In order to fit in with the market, Versace here also produces white t-shirt with printed brand name. T-shirt, moreover, was also a fashion statement for punk. Wearing t-shirt is the visual symbolism to challenge dominant ideology, including capitalism (Geczy & Karaminas, 2018, p. 117). However, tshirt has evolved from low class fashion into high class fashion as high branded fashion companies, including Versace launch their designed t-shirt with printed branding logos. In consequence, the prestigious value of a t-shirt is assessed based on its brand.
All in all, the uncovered myths of the music video are basically about the relationship between masculinity, aggression, sport, and consumerism. The varied depiction of masculinity in the music video is related to the fact that music video is produced as entertainment. Therefore, K-pop industries produce various depictions of masculinity to satisfy their audience. The constructions of masculinity in the music video are also somehow imaginative because as already stated, the music video functions as entertainment. Moreover, the male subjectivity is interfered by masculinities portrayed in media (Geczy & Karaminas, 2018, p. 2). These masculinities perpetuate the gender binary yet still have objectifying effect. At the same time, these masculinities are also unpredictable and ambiguous in defining ideal men. In fact, the masculinities constructed in media, from New Man to New Lad, are only objectified manifestations of social roles (Geczy & Karaminas, 2018, p. 5). Simultaneously, they are also commodified identities created through promoting campaigns. Therefore, these roles solely function as changeable signifiers. In consequence, the myths of the music video indeed need to be unpacked critically since it can influence the audience to mimic the masculinity constructed in the music video offhand.

CONCLUSION
Masculinity is a social construction, in which men have to fit in with it in order to be accepted by society. Masculinity is a social belief, which can be negotiated or even re-negotiated through the relation of power (MacKinnon, 2003, p. 4). Masculinity consists of many masculinities, meaning that every culture has different standard of being men (Beynon, 2010, p. 1). Korean waves have a big influence in portraying masculinity, especially through boybands' performances. 'Kick It' music video by NCT 127 seems to bring back traditional masculinity which is contrast with other boybands who perform soft masculinity. According to Beynon (2010), there are two contrasting types of masculinities: namely New Man and New Lad. New Man is divided into two types: New Man as nurturer and as narcissist. Both New Man and New Lad turn out to be just marketing strategy to gain profit in consumerist culture. After analyzing the music video using Barthes' semiology. The author came up with a conclusion that mostly the music video uses the New Lad masculinity as reference, even though there are some members who represents both the New Man and New Lad: a hydra masculinity (Mort, 1996). All in all, the music video represents mostly the New Lad masculinity to combat the mainstream soft masculinity represented in K-pop industry. One NCT 127's member also represent the masculinity of New Man as narcissist. Furthermore, some members even combine the New Lad with the New Man styling (a hydra masculinity). These representations may infer that K-pop industry still needs to maintain hard masculinity, along with the sexualization of men (the New Man as narcissist), in order to attract global audience, because K-pop industries basically work as entertainment producers. Therefore, the New Lad and the New Man representations in 'Kick It' are how a K-pop industry (SM Entertainment) offers the various depictions of masculinities in order to entertain their audience.