New Book on BTS ARMY and Identity Released

On September 13, Bulletproof, an imprint of Revolutionaries Press, published its first title about BTS’s fandom, ARMY. 

I Am ARMY: It’s Time to Begin features autoethnographic essays from nine ARMY from five different countries. Edited by Wallea Eaglehawk and The Kraze’s own Courtney Lazore, the book covers personal stories of loss, heartbreak, resilience, and joyful celebration, and the overarching themes present in the work range from mental health and identity to fandom and love. Eaglehawk, the Series Editor of I Am ARMY and Principal Director of Revolutionaries, reflects: “It’s important to not only give a voice to the diverse fandom of ARMY, but to use these unique stories to create new knowledge in the realm of popular culture and fandom scholarship.”

I Am ARMY also features Eaglehawk’s new social theory which conceptualizes the essays as accounts of “practicing revolutionaries” as part of BTS’s “Love Yourself, Speak Yourself Revolution.” The book is the first of its kind in the world. 

“It’s estimated the fanbase of BTS is in the realms of 20-30 million,” Eaglehawk says, “yet

most of what we see written about BTS and ARMY comes from outside sources that do not

see the intrinsic value of fandom. I Am ARMY aimed to locate, document, and celebrate the

voice of ARMY while creating new knowledge, and I think we were able to achieve just that.”

I Am ARMY is available from the publisher’s website and on Amazon.