Representation Essay:
I am going to discuss my advanced portfolio in which I created an R&B music video in relation to the representation of gender. Representation is a tool used in the media to show us things about society - but this is often through careful mediation. For representation to be meaningful to audiences there needs to be a shared recognition of different types of people, situations and ideas. In "Hate This Part", I established a narrative that exemplifies how the female protagonist is reminiscing over her relationship, coming to the realisation that it is about to come to an end due to the constant arguing between the duo. The narrative displays the emotions of sadness and heartbreak that the couple felt as they were aware that their relationship was about to come to an end. However, we juxtaposed the scenes of the breakdown of her relationship with scenes of the artist singing and choreographed dance scenes, (allowing the artist to express herself freely and openly - releasing the build up of stress and sadness from within her relationship.)
When researching videos which fit the same genre characteristic, that is R&B, I discovered that the lyrics shape our responses of women representation as much as the visual medium, "thought that we were stronger, all we do is linger, slipping through my fingers." Common representations of Women in R&B videos can often be depicted as feisty, strong-willed, independent who are not ashamed of flaunting their sexuality. Stuart Hall explains that we "decode texts in different ways according to our circumstances." A lot of young women would agree with the dominant reading of this text. Original artist Nicole Scherzinger's message is that it is ok to be sexy, to be young, to have fun and it is also ok to feel vulnerable, so in this way it is empowering. I felt that I needed to create a choreographed dance scene in order to uphold the conventions of an R&B music video, although I decided to tone down the sexualisation of the artist, which the Pussycat Dolls would have originally showcased in order Other women will partially accept this reading but may question her reliance on a man to have happiness. Gauntlett argues that "identities are not 'give' but are constructed and negotiated."
An oppositional reading may reject the preferred reading because a section of the audiences would reject this objectification of women's bodies in the media which have been a constant theme by dressing semi-naked as they move and dance around the artist seductively, flaunting their body to their audiences. This scene is a cliche convention which has been re-used over and over again to exploit woman's sexuality in music videos and can be seen in Mohombi ft Nelly's video "Miss Me", Rihanna's "S&M" and Ne-Yo's "Closer". Furthermore, we wanted to steer away from the 'typical' portrayal of female artists in music videos where the Laura Mulvey argues that "the dominant point of view is masculine. The female body is displayed for the male gaze in order to provide erotic pleasure for the male voyeurism." Whilst, critic John Berger also states a similar thing suggesting that, "men look at women, women watch themselves being looked at," exemplifying how the female body is merely used to attract a male gaze whilst woman are left to observe how their own bodies are used to provide that erotic pleasure.
We decided that because our video consisted of one strong female protagonist, we didn't want to be another group that exploits women in music videos in order to draw in our audiences. We wanted to be able to take hold of our audience's attention by the talent and aptitude of the artist, as well as encouraging teenage girls and young adults to imitate and respect their idols. Evidently, we were inspired by ex girl group Destiny's Child who predominantly performed songs expressing how women can be strong female role models who are able to rely upon themselves and stand on their own two feet. Bearing this in mind, we wanted our artist to feel as though their fans and audiences know them for who they are as a respectable and highly regarded singer and not for the exploitation of their sexuality and being known as the "hot one." Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratification Theory suggests that audiences actively consume texts for different reasons and in different ways - such as for diversion, to identify with the character or situations, and for the need to be entertained. Also the need to be able to identify personally with the characters and situations. Women may be able to identify with Beyonce, an urban girl who transformed in a successful global sensation.
What is more, is that although our artist is a celebrity with a single and music video which has been released into the charts we portrayed her as a normal girl suffering through a normal, tough situation where she experiences getting her heart broken by her boyfriend. This particular representation that we created clearly engages our target audience (13-29+) for the reason that this age range will most likely be familiar with the narrative. It will be mainly aimed at the female audiences not only because the main protagonist/singer is female but simply because girls are more caring and understanding to the sensitive and emotional story line which the song narrates. Additionally, a feminist reading would appreciate the fact that the artist is in control of her relationship, showcasing her independence as she makes the decision to end the relationship. The representation we created for our protagonist can actually be seen as inspirational to other female audiences out there as they observe our artist displaying great power over men.
Furthermore, our music video "Hate This Part" still conveys a heterosexual world - a male and female relationship which subverts the norms for the reason that our female protagonist ends up being the one in control compared to her male partner, yet she still ends up having heart broken by him. We were influenced by this similar narrative story line when watching Keri Hilson's video "Knock You Down" ft Ne-Yo and Kanye West, as it also portrayed a couples relationship breaking down. In terms of the masculinity showcased in our video we decided to challenge the usual stereotypical tough male posterior by creating a male character who was more sensitive and vulnerable which was focused on when the female protagonist walked away from her boyfriend after ending the relationship, as he was left standing alone. We also highlighted how the artist was the stronger one when she turned back around to look at her boyfriend (who was stood alone at the top of road) but rather than heading back to him she chose to walk away and walk out of her boyfriends life completely.
When researching videos which fit the same genre characteristic, that is R&B, I discovered that the lyrics shape our responses of women representation as much as the visual medium, "thought that we were stronger, all we do is linger, slipping through my fingers." Common representations of Women in R&B videos can often be depicted as feisty, strong-willed, independent who are not ashamed of flaunting their sexuality. Stuart Hall explains that we "decode texts in different ways according to our circumstances." A lot of young women would agree with the dominant reading of this text. Original artist Nicole Scherzinger's message is that it is ok to be sexy, to be young, to have fun and it is also ok to feel vulnerable, so in this way it is empowering. I felt that I needed to create a choreographed dance scene in order to uphold the conventions of an R&B music video, although I decided to tone down the sexualisation of the artist, which the Pussycat Dolls would have originally showcased in order Other women will partially accept this reading but may question her reliance on a man to have happiness. Gauntlett argues that "identities are not 'give' but are constructed and negotiated."
An oppositional reading may reject the preferred reading because a section of the audiences would reject this objectification of women's bodies in the media which have been a constant theme by dressing semi-naked as they move and dance around the artist seductively, flaunting their body to their audiences. This scene is a cliche convention which has been re-used over and over again to exploit woman's sexuality in music videos and can be seen in Mohombi ft Nelly's video "Miss Me", Rihanna's "S&M" and Ne-Yo's "Closer". Furthermore, we wanted to steer away from the 'typical' portrayal of female artists in music videos where the Laura Mulvey argues that "the dominant point of view is masculine. The female body is displayed for the male gaze in order to provide erotic pleasure for the male voyeurism." Whilst, critic John Berger also states a similar thing suggesting that, "men look at women, women watch themselves being looked at," exemplifying how the female body is merely used to attract a male gaze whilst woman are left to observe how their own bodies are used to provide that erotic pleasure.
We decided that because our video consisted of one strong female protagonist, we didn't want to be another group that exploits women in music videos in order to draw in our audiences. We wanted to be able to take hold of our audience's attention by the talent and aptitude of the artist, as well as encouraging teenage girls and young adults to imitate and respect their idols. Evidently, we were inspired by ex girl group Destiny's Child who predominantly performed songs expressing how women can be strong female role models who are able to rely upon themselves and stand on their own two feet. Bearing this in mind, we wanted our artist to feel as though their fans and audiences know them for who they are as a respectable and highly regarded singer and not for the exploitation of their sexuality and being known as the "hot one." Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratification Theory suggests that audiences actively consume texts for different reasons and in different ways - such as for diversion, to identify with the character or situations, and for the need to be entertained. Also the need to be able to identify personally with the characters and situations. Women may be able to identify with Beyonce, an urban girl who transformed in a successful global sensation.
What is more, is that although our artist is a celebrity with a single and music video which has been released into the charts we portrayed her as a normal girl suffering through a normal, tough situation where she experiences getting her heart broken by her boyfriend. This particular representation that we created clearly engages our target audience (13-29+) for the reason that this age range will most likely be familiar with the narrative. It will be mainly aimed at the female audiences not only because the main protagonist/singer is female but simply because girls are more caring and understanding to the sensitive and emotional story line which the song narrates. Additionally, a feminist reading would appreciate the fact that the artist is in control of her relationship, showcasing her independence as she makes the decision to end the relationship. The representation we created for our protagonist can actually be seen as inspirational to other female audiences out there as they observe our artist displaying great power over men.
Furthermore, our music video "Hate This Part" still conveys a heterosexual world - a male and female relationship which subverts the norms for the reason that our female protagonist ends up being the one in control compared to her male partner, yet she still ends up having heart broken by him. We were influenced by this similar narrative story line when watching Keri Hilson's video "Knock You Down" ft Ne-Yo and Kanye West, as it also portrayed a couples relationship breaking down. In terms of the masculinity showcased in our video we decided to challenge the usual stereotypical tough male posterior by creating a male character who was more sensitive and vulnerable which was focused on when the female protagonist walked away from her boyfriend after ending the relationship, as he was left standing alone. We also highlighted how the artist was the stronger one when she turned back around to look at her boyfriend (who was stood alone at the top of road) but rather than heading back to him she chose to walk away and walk out of her boyfriends life completely.
No comments:
Post a Comment