GEN CONVENTIONS 4: Representations

Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines

Robin thicke's music video for blurred lines became very controversial as soon as it was released, the un-rated version which was eventually banned for featuring topless women was criticised for its objectifying of women. The video was even labelled "eye-poppingly misogynist."

This is the clean version of the video, not the unrated version
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Gender - Females:

Male gaze - Laura Mulvey:

The male gaze is a concept that deals with how audiences view the people presented. Although mainly the male gaze is used to describe how a male audience views the women presented it can also refer to how women view themselves and how women view other women.

In music video's women are often represented differently to a male audience when that is their primary demographic then how they are represented to a primarily female audience. Women are often sexualised, wearing revealing clothing etc, this is usually to appeal to the male viewers.

In this video in particular woman are heavily sexualised and used too appeal too a male audience, the woman are treated as objects and the men in the video seem to view them as toys.

Sexuality:

Non - binary sexuality is a topic that has only recently become acceptable to talk about and appeal to a mainstream audience. However, in this video this is not displayed, this is a normative representation of a male sexuality, the males in this video are all displayed as Heterosexual men.

Lyrics:

Lyrics linked here.

The lyrics to "Blurred lines" caused a lot of controversy and anger, many people spoke out against them and in places the song was banned (University college London) as it "promotes a very worrying attitude towards sex and consent"

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The lyrics of the song contain lines such as "I know you want it," which understandably caused concern, this alongside the video which is viewed as misogynist create a representation of woman and how to treat them which should not be accepted in society.

Gender - Males:

Males In Music videos men are often presented as powerful people, who have a lot of money and attract a lot of females. They’re shown to be dominant and the ideal masculine image. This is in order to seem admirable to other men and "flex".  This representation is very typically seen in hip hop, RnB and rap videos.

However, sometimes, in music videos starring females, they can often be portrayed as tools by women, creating a counter type to Laura Mulvey's Male gaze in the form or Female Gaze.

In "Blurred lines," it is again the normative representation of men being surrounded by woman, confident, rich and sexually active.  This can be seen by the clothing the men are wearing, the clothing they have on is visibly expensive, they have nice suits on, large watches, sunglasses and chains. There movements around the woman is what demonstrates their confidence as they parade around them, seemingly trying to show off their dance moves and their attitude.

Other Examples:

Nicki Minaj - Super Bass

On the other side of things, this video was well received as a empowering message. Although the video features Nicki Minaj in a bikini in shots that are sexualised, the mise-en-scene of the video changes the meaning. Instead of the women almost being controlled by the men and seeming like they are only there to make them happy, Nicki is seen in-front of the men, in powerful poses multiple times through out the video, it is done to show that she has power and is in control of the situation she is in which is something that is often not represented in other music videos. The meaning is that girls can be powerful whilst also showing off their bodies and in control of the situation which again, is not always represented, for example, the video before, blurred lines, the men are portrayed as completely in control of the women and the women are seen as just there to please the men.

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Examples:

Wiz Khalifa - Work Hard Play Hard

This video is a perfect example of the representation of men in music videos. The video opens with shots of construction workers, which are seen as typically manly, moving and lifting heavy objects, shots of weights in a gym and a man with an American Football. The portrayal and representation shown in this video fits the stereotypes of masculinity and represents the convention well.

Warning: Song is explicit and contains a lot of swearing

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Dick Hebdige & Subculture:

Hebdige studied how young people related to music genres and created the concept of subculture, arguing that fans shared some values, fashions, slang as-well as knowledge. 

Goth is almost a binary opposite of pop, its darkness and more niche appeal compared to Pop's mass appeal, the mainstream compared to the alternative. 

Subculture's are transgressing social norms

When a niche subculture becomes mainstream, it pretty much isn't a subculture

High Culture vs Popular Culture
         Jazz vs Rap
Usually linked to social class
Cultural capital is a form of wealth
People seen to like Pop Culture can be seen as less inteligent
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jazz seen as ABC1
Indie seen as C2DE

typically what woman like is seen as lower then what it is for a man (One direction)