GRSJ224/Music&CultureProduction

GRSJ224 Culture Production in Music Videos

The media creates culture every day, by showing images which are meaningful and transmitting powerful messages to the viewers through both visual and auditory means. Music Videos are very powerful creative mediums because they can tell a story and send a message all within a very short period of time. People are exposed to music lyrics and videos every day, and their perception of issues such as gender and race is affected as a result of viewing and internalizing certain messages.

Music videos are just one field in which cultural production happens, in which meaning is created, and, unfortunately, a place where many negative and even dangerous ideas come from. Many of these ideas are actually stereotypes or biases which reproduce heteronormative ideals and promote a culture based on binaries and riddled with violence. Emerson says that it’s important to look at music videos for they contain a wealth of information. “The medium of the music video, the primary promotional vehicle for the recording industry today, is an especially rich space to explore the ways in which race, gender, class, and sexuality intersect in the construction and proliferation of ideologies of Black womanhood in the mass media and popular culture.”

Everyone enjoys watching music videos, and they are especially popular with young viewers. The problem is however that, “young men receive cultural cues from the booty videos that black women’s bodies are ripe for the taking,” and that the women not only want or desire attention, but they are saying so with their bodies and movements, if not with their words. It can be argued that black women are not the only ones targeted, but they do tend to be overly-sexualized in many videos. Watching women who are seductively moving their hips in videos, in a sort of unspoken mating dance, encourages young people to think that a woman doesn’t have to say that she wants attention or desires sexual advances because she is sending certain messages without words. This type of education can create confusion in the minds of young people, which further promotes the rape culture which plagues the modern western world and makes a large majority of women victims of sexual assault. It is important therefore to analyze the messages sent by the media, and especially those perpetrated by music videos, and to deconstruct their meaning in order to assess their potential impact on young people. Hesmondhalgh (2006) cites Bourdieu's "fields of cultural production," and says that Bourdieu was "sceptical about revolutionary transformations in culture, in that revolutionary moments are always for him dependent on the possibilities present in the positions inscribed in the field" Unfortunately, this might mean that present day culture, with its obsession with selling sex might never be able to change, as it is caught in a self-perpetuating cycle of supply and demand, where supply of sexually-charged messages and images creates further demand for the same type of visuals. The question is whether or not young people would become confused by or are really influenced by what they see on TV or the lyrics in songs they hear on the radio. Emerson notes that, “recent ethnographic studies of Black youth in the 1990s have demonstrated the importance and impact that popular culture in general and hip-hop culture in particular have on the ways in which young African Americans make sense of their lives, social surroundings, and the world around them.” It’s important therefore to assume that, if young African American people have as ideals black rappers who send the message that money buys them everything, including women’s bodies, then young people might be growing up with negative images of the world, and perhaps, with the wrong aspirations and definition of “success.”

Gendered Videos

What are gendered videos? When something is "gendered" it is specific or biased toward one of the genders, either male or female. Gendered videos are those which not only enforce the binary male/female as the norm, but also feature the interactions between the two genders in a very specific way. The way videos are gendered these days reveal and perpetuate a skewed, sexist and stereotypical framing of male-female interactions.

How do gendered videos come about? There are some theories which include the old adage that "sex sells," and more specifically, heterosexual sex sells. Sexualized images abound in all types of media. Even selling a burger or a car often contains sexually-charged language or imagery. The music videos today are overwhelmingly sexual. Women are featured in very specific ways in relationship with the males, even in videos where the artist is a female.

All videos start with a casting call and a casting director, who will select the actors and/or models who will appear in the video. The culture around making videos however seems to be extremely cut-throat and difficult. Fitts' (2008) study into the factors behind today's music videos has some fascinating findings. First, Fitts (2008) found that “male and female managerial styles show little variance between men and women on the preference for masculine cultural norms and values in managerial positions,” and that “[women directors] don’t have any respect for them [video girls]” often treat them “kinda horribly.” Fitts (2008) also found that oftentimes female models showing up for auditions for videos would be harassed by the staff, which was mostly made of males, and there would be clear instances of sexual assault, which largely went unreported because women really wanted a spot in the videos.

Fitts (2008) talks about one particular type of music video, the so-called "booty video," which is, first, a staple for Black male rappers, and second, focused on women's posteriors as a statement towards favoring "a curvy body type" of females that happen to be racially vague

Women as Predators

Kanye West ft. Jamie Foxx "Gold Digger" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vwNcNOTVzY

Women are "predatory" only in the sense that they might be trying to climb the social ladder by entering relationships with famous rappers.

Women as Victims

Eminem Ft. Rihanna "Love the way you lie" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uelHwf8o7_U&list=RDuelHwf8o7_U This Eminem and Rihanna song hits home for many viewers who dealt with spousal abuse or violence, and for everyone else who's watching, especially after Rihanna herself was abused by her boyfriend, Chris Brown. The fact that Rihanna appears overly romantic and sexualized in the video paints a rather sickening image of the romantic abuser who remains loved and accepted by his victim. Again, this video, like most videos, promotes hetero-normative behavior in which the alpha males overpowers the beta female.

Eminem Ft. Dido "Stan" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOMhN-hfMtY This is an iconic Eminem song, talking about a crazed fan who abuses his pregnant girlfriend, kills her and then commits suicide. It shows the one-dimensional take on women as victims, who are voiceless and helpless.

The reality is that whatever is depicted in the music videos often happens in the homes of many people, including famous artists. "Many argue that mainstream rap’s verbal violence against women is just entertainment, but there’s evidence to the contrary. For example: Dr. Dre, in a 1991 Rolling Stone article, admitted to attacking TV host Dee Barnes in a nightclub, and in 2002, radio personality Steph Lova charged DJ Funkmaster Flex with hitting and choking her over a perceived slight. Barnes and Dr. Dre settled their suit in 1993; Lova and Flex settled in 2003. If prominent industry figures feel comfortable attacking women publicly, what are they doing in private? When you get paid big money to call every woman a ho, at what point do you start believing you’re a pimp?"

Women as Objects

Chris Brown "Fine China" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORz6cOa-Lfs

Aqua "Barbie Girl" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyhrYis509A Nothing screams objectifying more than referring to women as plastic objects to be played with.

Nelly "Tip Drill" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlYW6Yd4J94 In this video the presence of money and buttocks is overwhelming. When asked by a group of students to comment on his choice of videos, Nelly refused to speak to the students. The artist claims that there is a difference between art and real life, and he is not sending the wrong message to youth today. "Drop it like it's hot": Culture industry laborers and their perspectives on rap music video production. Meridians, 8(1), 211-235. doi:10.2979/MER.2008.8.1.211</ref> However, Fitts argues that, “the crisis in the sexual politics of black female commodification is that young men are buying the kool-aid that Nelly and his contemporaries are selling, and it is evident in the rates of black female sexual abuse, public disbelief in black women who report incidents of assault, rising rates of AIDS/HIV infection among black women, and perceptions of black women by the masses.” "Drop it like it's hot": Culture industry laborers and their perspectives on rap music video production. Meridians, 8(1), 211-235. doi:10.2979/MER.2008.8.1.211</ref> It can be argued therefore that images in which a black male swipes a credit card through a woman's buttocks does send a negative message to young people after all.

Heteronormativity

RaeLynn "God Made Girls" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl1uv6gB4hE

Meghan Trainor "All About That Bass" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PCkvCPvDXk This is a song and video seemingly empowering women to embrace their curves, but actually it's so focused on what men like, what they find attractive, that it promotes heteronormativity and again, puts the spotlight on the "booty culture."

Robin Thicke Ft. Pharell "Blurred Lines" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU The title is deceiving as there is nothing blurry about what this song and video combination is transmitting. The woman wants "it," and we all know what "it" is. The women don't have to say anything, as being speechless decorative objects is what they do best. Besides emphasizing a very clear hetero-normative doctrine, the blurred lines might be coming in only in a case of "he said/she said" sexual misconduct suit.

Racially Charged Videos

Here are some powerful music videos sending racially-charged information which creates certain stereotypes about certain social groups.

Day Above Ground "Asian Girlz" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KgnlTdmmkE Asian women have been excluded for many years from the focus of music videos but not anymore! This highly controversial video brings into focus all the beloved Asian stereotypes, from Asian fever to Korean BBQ.

First of all, it is important to look at the different facets of media, and how its different fields create and shape public thought. Binder calls the mass media “a primary site for the construction and dissemination of dominant ideologies,” and “the principal channels for ideological discourse in contemporary society.” It is therefore important to know what kind of “ideologies,” that is what kind of ideas does the media disseminate and whether these ideas are affecting society positively or negatively. Binder also does a review of the research concerning how media “frames” information in such a way that some things are chosen and included, and some are left out. In news, omitting certain pieces of information which are seemingly small, can give the audience a very skewed image of an event. The argument can be made therefore that, in a music video, framing image after image on different, yet specific female body parts, for example, constructs a certain image in the viewers’ minds. This type of framing reduces individuals to their parts, objectifying them and conceptualizing them in a very narrow, often stereotypical and biased way. Framing a black woman around her curvy shape, around her buttocks, for example, sends a clear message that black women can and should be reduced to their one gender-specific but also race-specific feature. This type of reductionist view is not healthy for society overall, and it does take a toll on women’s lives, as they are struggling to overcome a sexist, male-oriented, hetero-normative culture in which they are often subjected to abuse and sexualized violence.

Rape Culture

Eminem "Vegas" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAHSPiSf88s

Eminem (a real artist) dares Iggy Azalea (another real artist, who happens to be 25) to "blow the rape whistle" if she wants to, as it would please him greatly.

Jamie Foxx "Blame It" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfjtpp90lu8 Nothing sexier than blaming potential sexual abuse on the alcohol.

Rocko "You Don't Even Know it" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR9whr-ky-s This is a marvel of offensive lyrics but the best part is bragging about getting a woman high, taking her home and raping her while she is unaware of what is happening to her. Definitely the type of message we should be sending young people, especially since these messages come from popular idols.

New Feminism & Renewed Sexism

Fitts (2008) makes the argument that while rapping is a very difficult thing to get into, “women exploit the game for social mobility,” while, at the same time, “the game manipulates this ‘gotta get mine’ practice, which has lasting repercussions on the real treatment of women in the public sphere”

Even though in today’s world many women artists call themselves feminists or are regarde as feminists just because they seem empowered and can do whatever they want on screen, including looking and acting as aggressively as males, this is often just an illusion. In fact, women are always seen, at least by the record labels promoting them, as commodities which have to be marketable in order for them to sell records and bring profits. In this context, Fitts (2008) notes that, all women artists have to exist and perform in “an entertainment imaginary that defines black female talent as ‘ho’s’ to be consumed, both in front of and behind the camera.” Functioning inside this system means that, even though artists like Nicki Minaj might think they are empowered, ultimately they too have to obey the rule of what sells, and what sells is the overly-sexualized female.

Nicki Minaj "Anaconda" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDZX4ooRsWs

Jason Derulo Ft. Snoop Dog "Wiggle" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiP14ED28CA Reducing women to nothing but body parts in one of the hottest videos of the summer.