In "Eminem ft Rihanna: Love The Way You Lie," the man is shown to have significant physical power over the woman, and his muscular arms are frequently displayed. He is an alcoholic loser of a partner who is possessive, has a violent temper, and is most likely unfaithful. The prominent woman is sexualized (note the lack of clothing and reoccurring bedroom scenes), is turned on by the man's power over her, and is either remarkably forgiving or gullible.
The men in this film, "Black Eyed Peas: The Time (Dirty Bit)," have the time of their lives by "being the baddest of them all," getting drunk and losing control, and freak dancing with multiple beautiful, provocatively dressed women. The women are all portrayed as sex objects.
At 4:39 do I spy lady bits?!! Let's try to be a bit more mysterious, please.
At 4:39 do I spy lady bits?!! Let's try to be a bit more mysterious, please.
Now onto the real reason, I am sure, that you decided to read this post. According to "Justin Bieber: Baby ft Ludacris," the rules of engagement for boys who want to win the heart of a girl are:
- It is your job to convince her of your worth.
- She often maintains a crowd of other females around her so as to make your job more challenging.
- Be assertive.
- Peacock to get her attention.
- She plays coy and aloof because she enjoys the feeling of power that comes from withholding intimacy and/or attention from you.
- Her alluring dances are a ploy to maintain your focus on her, while still playing hard to get.
- Bribe her with the prospect of gifts.
- She is secretly flattered when you stalk her.
I am grateful that not everyone acts in accordance with this list, but with 470,653,182 views as of this moment, Professor Bieber must be reaching a substantial audience.
Very interesting post. Although I think in the back of my mind I've realized that music/videos can be influential, I've never really picked one apart to find the different elements involved. I'm with you, I hope that not everyone watching these videos decide to play the role that the videos are portraying. It's amazing how many people idolize a young teen pop star. It makes me wonder what the values of the US will be when the generation that idolizes these "stars" grow up.
ReplyDeleteGreat post; it was critical and challenging me to take another look at the way i view popular culture and norms of our society. I particularly enjoyed that it was concisely worded and straight to the point. Also, a good informative read, the resource was interesting. I had not know about the site, viral video chart. It seems like a good source for myself in the future. Perhaps if you have a change to expand on this later, you may want to look into the method or channels of how that site gathers its statistical data.
ReplyDeleteThank you both for your comments! I never know quite how my points will come across in my writing or how others will receive them. Writing these blog posts has actually made me take a more critical look at popular media and the norms of our society than I would have before.
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