Sexism in Pop Videos

Are Pop Videos Sexist?

In 2013, "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke and "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus provoked controversy. Here, women are ultimately objectified as sexual objects, some without even knowing. Women were appalled by these videos as they promoted women as sexual objects who are always empowered by the male.

Michael Jackson: King Of Pop

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was not only the King of Pop but was also the King of Pop Videos. His early videos were when he was in the Jackson 5 back in 1971 in his youth. The music video for Rockin' Robin was pretty basic, but promoted the song and showed the lip synching aspect.

Rock With You (1979)

This was one of Michael's first videos which promoted him as a solo artist. It contrasts a lot with the general time period and we first see his talent for dancing appearing slowly here. This was his leading single from the album Off The Wall where he became his own artist and left behind the Jackson 5.

Billie Jean (1982)
This was his first video that actually told a story and had a plot, it was a video that did a lot more than lip synching. The steps that light up within the video became one of his first trade marks which he interpreted on stage also.

Beat It (1982)
The music video for Beat It was Michael's first chance to show off his dancing ability to a great extent. It was themed differently to his other videos with an edgy-gang theme to it. His signature red jacket became a national trademark which audiences instantly interpreted him with - the red jacket may symbolize danger and or trouble. Like Billie Jean, this video also tells a story which begins with other people first showing in their face in it before Jackson even appears.

Thriller (1983)

Michael Jackson's Thriller is ultimately the greatest music video of all time. The original full length video is almost 14 minutes long and was one of the first music videos to be introduced as a short film. When it was released it was considered to be very scary and was not shown in cinemas until after 9:00pm. The dance moves were often improvised by Jackson and the make up effects were a phenomenon as he danced with the dead. Michael's entire outfit displayed in this video became a very famous look and people have often interpreted the dance moves from the music video in more modern movies and in theatre productions. Costing about $500,000 to make, Jackson's record company had no intention to pay for it, since the album was on the downswing and they had already financed the videos for two of its songs. (Billie Jean, Beat It). According to the director John Landis, Michael really wanted to turn into a monster so he offered to pay for the clip himself. Landis eventually took it on because it fitted into the short film genre which he loved. The video won Best Performance Video, Best Choreography and Viewer's Choice at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. 

Bad (1987)
After Thriller, Michael Jackson easily became the biggest pop star in the world, and his videos made the news. The video premiered on the BBC and was a huge event. People were desperate to see his new image and even more of his signature dance moves. This was the first taste of his new album Bad, in which he wore black and this video had reflections of the Beat It video back in 1983. 

Black Or White (1991)
The pop video for Black Or White was very expensive and inventive. At this time, Michael Jackson had received allegations of being "strange" when he had been accused of sexual assault towards children. He used this video to almost resurrect his career after his fall. He had also been having some problems with his image - viewers said that he had been "bleaching his skin" when he was a sufferer of vitiligo. In order to get back on track, he knew he was going to have to send out a positive yet serious message to his fans about racism. It takes place in different locations and has dancers of different ethnicities and religions involved, to show that racism is a worldwide issue and that equality applies everywhere. Jackson wears white, which contrasts with his skin colour to bring in a metaphorical aspect for the message of the song. 

Earth Song (1995)
 Like Black Or White, the music video for Earth Song also portrayed a serious message. Michael Jackson stars in this video with a look that contrasts with the other looks portrayed in his serious videos. He isn't wearing dazzling clothes, and his general appearance comes across as messy and unkempt. He walks around the earth when it is in the process of being destroyed, showing viewers that climate change and world hunger are serious issues that we will always come across, and that it is important we take care of our world. Towards the end of the video when the song becomes more dramatic, Jackson is seen clinging onto two trees either side of him, portraying him as a Christ-like figure.

Katy Perry & Her Pop Videos

Katy Perry

Katy Perry's target audience is aimed at girls between the ages of 14 and 17. Her vibe is supposed to come off to young girls as an older sister or a friend. Her music is supposed to reflect on some of the anxieties some young girl have and become someone to admire and want to be, appearing sexy in a non-threatening way.

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, looking into the camera etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. Katy Perry's videos appear as "Feminist" but she also appears "sexy" in parts. There is often inter textual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc - Wide Awake refers back to California Gurls and Firework. 

Hot N' Cold (2008) 

In one of her earlier videos, Katy Perry presents herself as a victim when she gets rejected at the aisle. However, she is not presented within the "runaway bride" stereotype or any sort of damsel in distress, instead the video is slightly comic as she chases after the groom - she is presented both funny and sexy; later on in the video she sings on stage wearing red with a band playing behind her. 

Firework (2010)

Katy Perry encourages her younger viewers to celebrate their inner difference and individuality within the Firework music video. When she sings about fireworks it is a metaphor for everyone's own uniqueness - in the video she is walking around in a beautiful long dress passing all different kinds of people who each have a "spark in them". This is another inspiring video for her younger fans who struggle with self-image, being an outcast and or just standing out from the crowd. She tells them not to dismiss that individuality, but to embrace it because it is something that nobody else has. The firework that comes out of Katy's chest also appears with all the other people.



Last Friday Night (2011)

A video with a distinct story line, Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F) involves Katy Perry appearing differently than she has done before - she is stereo typically "unattractive" here with glasses and braces, unpopular with the "in" crowd. The video shows her undergoing a make over to go from nerdy to sexy. The video is colourful and fun, showing young girls that it is okay to stand out from the crowd. For example, even when she undergoes her make over she doesn't look entirely perfect; we see this as soon as the camera pans up her body from the bottom of the stairs and her shoes are different colours - she looks prettier and more fitting but she doesn't look perfect, and her message here is that it is okay and completely acceptable not to be.



California Gurls (2011)

This music video displays Katy Perry in a new light. She appears within a sexy new image, there is a lot of nudity hints within the video and she sings alongside Snoop Dogg. At this stage in her life she was going off the rails within the sense that she was not appealing as much to her target audience. She failed to send out a positive message to young girls in her new music video - this was the time where she was dating Russell Brand and he was considered a bad influence. This video alone contrasts with her previous works.




Wide Awake (2012)

Katy Perry reconnects with her teenage fans in this music video to act as almost an apology. This video is very metaphorical as she shows her past experiences and mistakes with Russell Brand after he publicly shamed her when they broke up. "Wide Awake" starts up as the continuation from her "California Gurls" video; the video features a little girl who acts as her past self, and when she meets the "prince charming" character, she punches him at the very end. Katy Perry starts creating music like she had done before, with female empowerment and a role model to young girls. 



Roar (2013)

The message in "Roar" is similar to the "Firework" music video, The high production values and special effects to make it look like Katy Perry was stranded in a jungle. The self empowering positive message promotes that women can be strong and independent without men. There are humorous elements in this video once again, and elements of being sexy but not to attract a man, rather for her self confidence instead. 

Audience Reception Theory

Audience Reception Theory

Audiences receive and respond to texts very differently, the different effects generate varied responses.

It is a way to categorise and group together different audience (consumer) interpretations.

Audience reception=way we react

 Stuart Hall 1973

Producers encode meaning/ideology into texts, which audiences decode

Audiences are active in their interpretations and can accept/reject the producers message.

Encode:meaning, ideology

Decode;understand, interpret

Texts can be decoded by body language to understand emotions/ relationships

They have multiple meanings and can be decoded in various ways. the messengers can mean something different to different people

Preferred reading- audiences agree and accept what the producers are encoding.

Negotiated reading- audiences partially agree with the decoded messages.

Oppositional reading- audiences reject/disagree or decode the text differently.

Developed by David Morley

Managers encode artists with specific ideology this is ultimately to increase financial gain.

Target audience will always have a preferred reading. They accept all messages and decode the text in the way it was intended.

usually the secondary audience will decode a negotiated reading.

Parents/audience who hate the music genre will have an oppositional reading.

Editing To The Beat

Editing To The Beat
Today we practiced editing to the beat. We were given a soundtrack and some clips of people dressed up in animal suits, then we were told to edit this clips and put them together in the video, so it was edited on the beat of the music. I used a few crossfading techniques whilst doing this and I also put a series of frames into the video at the same time towards the end. This was a good practice to use before we actually start filming our own music video. 

    

Star Theory and Pop Videos

Star Theory & Pop Videos

Richard Dyer's theory explained how the three ways music videos promote songs.

Illustrate: When music videos have images that match the lyrics.

Amplify: There is no clear distinction, it portrays the narrative. Layers of meaning are added.

Disjunctive: The meaning of the lyrics in the song are completely ignored.

Richard Dyer believes artists are constructed through artificial images e.g. advertising, films, magazines and music videos.  Dyer believes stars are manufactured to make money for their record label.

Gramsci is known for his theory; the belief that the ruling overview from the higher power is imposed.


Britney Spears

Her early music videos were surrounded by "girly iconography" - one of her first songs Baby One More Time has images of her with pigtails and displayed in a sweet and innocent light. The white blouse she is seen wearing as a sort of crop top in this video became a fashion trend for all of her fans who set out to copy this trend.

In opposition to her portrayed innocence is an underlining sexuality.

 This video is colourful, which is typical for a pop music video. She is also singing about an innocent high school relationship, as well as wearing white which can symbolise her purity.












Later on in her career, her music and lyrics became more meaningful. An example of this is I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman where she sings about her life experiences starting from when she was younger. The video completely ignores the meaning of the song (it is disjunctive), but it is cleverly shots with all sorts of different angles and you can see the passion in her facial expression. However, she is dressed to appeal to the male gaze (Laura Mulvey's theory) much like in Baby One More Time she is once again wearing a crop top.
Britney Spears' music videos are a polysemic text (a text that has multiple meanings.)

Oops! I Did It Again (2000) displays Britney in a red latex suit with a fiery background. This opposes her innocence showed in previous videos and exposes her feistier, more sexual side.

Womanizer (2008) suggests a side of her which is both attracting to the male gaze and is also showing a dominating female side.

Branding The Spice Girls

Branding The Spice Girl

The Spice Girls were a British girl group formed in 1994 by Bob and Chris Herbert to be able to compete with dominant boy bands who were always on the chart. They are an excellent example of an image that helped create a brand.

After they were put together, they quickly begged for a showcase. They wrote "Wannabe" in 15 minutes which became one of their first and greatest singles ever.

Image


Each Spice Girl was different and individual. They appealed to their target audience which was young teenaged girls. By setting a good example to them about valuing friendship and starting a trend of "girl power" their branding became very successful.

Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) always wore slinky black dresses and was portrayed as being very smart and serious all the time.

Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) was portrayed as a sweet and innocent character with her hair in pigtails and a cute nature.

Melanie C (Sporty Spice) was the active and athletic member of the group - she always wore tracksuits or running shoes to portray her sporty character.

Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) was the only red-headed member of the group, so she was known as Ginger Spice. She often wore dresses with the Great Britain flag displayed on them. 

Melanie B (Scary Spice) had a feisty and outgoing characteristic - she could always be found to be wearing leopard print and being "fierce". 

"Wannabe" 1994