Why Should the Music Video ‘Like a Boy’ Offer Such Contradictory Gender Representations?
Why should the music video ‘like a boy’ offer such contradictory gender representations?
The role of women in today’s society has dramatically evolved from the views that society shared in previous decades. No longer is a woman valued for her etiquette, grace and virtues, instead we are constantly in competition with one another over being more provocative and sexually charged. A perfect example of this ironically acceptable behaviour is portrayed through the women we view on a daily basis in music videos. It is evident that the concept ‘sex sells’ is now being used in almost every advertisement and video that we watch on daily television and the indoctrination of this concept has spread wide and far throughout the entertainment industry, even food stores, such as Marks and Spencer have begun to used a more sexually charged approach in order to entice their audience. In this essay I will look more deeply into the social psyche of music videos in today’s world and investigate why the themes of sex and provocation are more appealing to the masses than other themes.
In order to carry out this investigation I intend to assess and evaluate Ciara’s like a boy video, of her the evolution album. I plan to understand the contradictory representation Ciara creates through the music video, and analyze the reasons as to why she wants to offer these representations which might be argued are not conventional. I will also refer to other female artists which have or are developing these music videos as well. I will consider critical and theoretical perspectives such as Angela McRobbie, Carol Vernalis and Cormac McCarthy. On videos and examine the way they have impacted popular music.
Urban music has been identified to hold themes that are built to test the social acceptability of sexual topics in everyday life. One of the key genres to refer to when dealing with this is Rap music, which is often identified with violent and misogynist lyrics portrayals. Researcher Theresa
The role of women in today’s society has dramatically evolved from the views that society shared in previous decades. No longer is a woman valued for her etiquette, grace and virtues, instead we are constantly in competition with one another over being more provocative and sexually charged. A perfect example of this ironically acceptable behaviour is portrayed through the women we view on a daily basis in music videos. It is evident that the concept ‘sex sells’ is now being used in almost every advertisement and video that we watch on daily television and the indoctrination of this concept has spread wide and far throughout the entertainment industry, even food stores, such as Marks and Spencer have begun to used a more sexually charged approach in order to entice their audience. In this essay I will look more deeply into the social psyche of music videos in today’s world and investigate why the themes of sex and provocation are more appealing to the masses than other themes.
In order to carry out this investigation I intend to assess and evaluate Ciara’s like a boy video, of her the evolution album. I plan to understand the contradictory representation Ciara creates through the music video, and analyze the reasons as to why she wants to offer these representations which might be argued are not conventional. I will also refer to other female artists which have or are developing these music videos as well. I will consider critical and theoretical perspectives such as Angela McRobbie, Carol Vernalis and Cormac McCarthy. On videos and examine the way they have impacted popular music.
Urban music has been identified to hold themes that are built to test the social acceptability of sexual topics in everyday life. One of the key genres to refer to when dealing with this is Rap music, which is often identified with violent and misogynist lyrics portrayals. Researcher Theresa
Bibliography: Henry Louis Gates Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience page 556, Henry Louis Gates and Anthony Appiah (eds), Basic Civics Books, 1999. Martinez, Theresa A. Explorations in Ethnic Studies, Recognizing the Enemy: Rap Music in the Wake of the Los Angeles Riots, page 115-127,Carleen Sanchez (ed) , NAES Publications,1993. Stephanie Genz and Benjamin A. Brabon, Postfeminism: Cultral texts and theories, Do-Me feminism and raunch culture page 102, Edinburgh Unveristy Press, 2009. Angela Mc Robbie: Post feminism and popular culture. Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience Post Feminism : Cultural Text and Theories