Laura Mulvey's quote in my opinion tells us that females are styled according to males desires and fantasies, because of the society we live in and the sexual imbalance. Representation is very key in the music industry and, once and artist is signed their original image usually develops an example is Rihanna who was sweet and innocent when she first came out but, is now one of the most controversial artists around. Mainly from her video S&M. However, the way artists are represented within music videos are generally influenced by the narrative of the song or video. As an audience we may understand this representation and interpret it based on our cultural references and societies norms and values. By doing this we become accustomed to seeing familiar representations within a genre or artist/band.
'Christina Aguilera - Dirrty' is a video that illustrates Laura Mulvey's idea of females satisfying the male fantasy. A males voice opens the video, commenting and sighing as if he were looking at a female, in this case it is Christina Aguilera, she responds saying 'dirty' and her body is dismembered leaving leaving an extreme close up of her lips. Furthermore her representation within the video is 'dirty' meaning she is fulfilling the males desires. Ironically in this video both rock and R'n'B, hip hop is included and they are two genres that tend to represent women very sexually, and meeting male desires. She meets the rock genre by meeting stereotypical norms such as piercings, her tight leather outfit and the idea of her on a motorbike as well as being in a cage. The R'n'B aspect is found within the song itself and beat, as well as the feature of Method Man. Furthermore the video is predominantly set in a boxing ring and venue which ideally is a place where males are compared to females, therefore it emphasises the fact that she is targeting a male audience.
'Queen Latifah - UNITY' on the other hand is a video that challenges Mulvey's idea of women meeting men's needs. Throughout this video Queen Latifah challenges the idea of patriarchy and does not represent most male desires. Firstly many could argue that she does not meet societies idea of a 'sexy woman' which the media portray as a slim woman, with nice assets and a curvaceous figure. She is much bigger and like Aguilera she is around motorbikes and is wearing a leather motorbike outfit however, she blends in with the guys in the sense that hers is baggy and her body language is very masculine. This does not question her sexuality, however it creates a sexual balance which is what the song is about, therefore the video illustrates the song which links back to Andrew Goodwin's theory. Furthermore when she does wear short shorts which she exposes within the lyrics we still see a sense of independence. She clearly states that it is not for male desires but simply the weather. Lastly she looks directly into the camera and points directly at the audience, which portrays a sense of status and arguably make some males feel guilty.
In my opinion both videos link to Mulvey's theory. Christina Aguilera's - 'Dirrty' is a clear example of what her main points are. Within the video there are plenty more males than females and she is dancing for them, therefore entertaining and pleasing them. Queen Latifah's video on the other hand challenges Mulvey's theory in the sense that not all female musicians and females are be represented this way (herself as an example), although they are represented and treated is wrong. Clearly from Queen Latifah's music video Mulvey's quote is true to some extent however this is changing and we can see this within the Unity video, which was released a year after Mulvey created that quote and the way women are represented is rapidly changing, examples of artists who do this are Madonna, Lady Gaga and Beyonce's latest Run The World (Girls). Although these artists may appear sexy they are clearly not doing it for the satisfaction for men but, because they can be.
'Queen Latifah - UNITY' on the other hand is a video that challenges Mulvey's idea of women meeting men's needs. Throughout this video Queen Latifah challenges the idea of patriarchy and does not represent most male desires. Firstly many could argue that she does not meet societies idea of a 'sexy woman' which the media portray as a slim woman, with nice assets and a curvaceous figure. She is much bigger and like Aguilera she is around motorbikes and is wearing a leather motorbike outfit however, she blends in with the guys in the sense that hers is baggy and her body language is very masculine. This does not question her sexuality, however it creates a sexual balance which is what the song is about, therefore the video illustrates the song which links back to Andrew Goodwin's theory. Furthermore when she does wear short shorts which she exposes within the lyrics we still see a sense of independence. She clearly states that it is not for male desires but simply the weather. Lastly she looks directly into the camera and points directly at the audience, which portrays a sense of status and arguably make some males feel guilty.
In my opinion both videos link to Mulvey's theory. Christina Aguilera's - 'Dirrty' is a clear example of what her main points are. Within the video there are plenty more males than females and she is dancing for them, therefore entertaining and pleasing them. Queen Latifah's video on the other hand challenges Mulvey's theory in the sense that not all female musicians and females are be represented this way (herself as an example), although they are represented and treated is wrong. Clearly from Queen Latifah's music video Mulvey's quote is true to some extent however this is changing and we can see this within the Unity video, which was released a year after Mulvey created that quote and the way women are represented is rapidly changing, examples of artists who do this are Madonna, Lady Gaga and Beyonce's latest Run The World (Girls). Although these artists may appear sexy they are clearly not doing it for the satisfaction for men but, because they can be.
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