Monday, 3 November 2014

Internet links
http://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/news/162/sexism-racism-endemic-in-music-videos-new-briefing Women consistently portrayed as sex objects.Music videos consistently portray very traditional gender roles with men as the‘characters’ with power and dominance, and women as passive recipients of their ‘gaze’. Frame by frame there is a much greater focus by the camera on women’s body parts, especially those associated with sex, and many of the film conventions of pornography are used. Young women campaigning for change in the music industry highlight that sexism and racism are a  problem across all genres of music video, including dance, metal and pop, not only those associated with black artists.
 Black women are commonly portrayed as hypersexual and with a focus and fascinated gaze on their bottoms, invoking ideas of black women as wild and animalistic. The music industry seems to find it profitable to promote both female and male black artists in a highly sexualised way, whatever their genre of music – racialized tropes are deemed marketable.They are more likely to endorse the ‘sexual double standard’ which sees men who have many sexual partners as admirable and women who do so as ‘sluts’. In one study, viewers who watched sexualised videos and who were then asked to comment on an ‘acquaintance rape’ scenario were more likely to make excuses for the perpetrator - See more at: http://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/news/162/sexism-racism-endemic-in-music-videos-new-briefing#sthash.b6zreBOJ.dpuf
 http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/sexualised-music-videos-only-teach-women-how-to-sell-out/story-fni0cwl5-1227070613498

These female artists are selling the message that women are nothing more than accessories. Women are only of value as sexual objects. My daughters and your daughters are taught to conform to this narrow sexualised, unhealthy norm. The message is incessant. Our boys grow up believing girls are really only here to be a boy’s “new thang”. Girls accept that if they’re to be valuable to someone, they’d better be “sexy”.These messages are harmful. In 2007 the American Psychological Society issued a report on the sexualisation of girls. They found “virtually every media form studied provided ample evidence of the sexualisation of women”.


The idea that pop videos have a massive influence on people’s thoughts and prejudices is underwritten by the most discredited theory of the modern cultural era – the theory of “media effects”. This is the notion that we are what we see, that a violent film can make us violent, a racist newspaper can make us racist, and a sexist pop video can make us hate women. Media effects theory has existed for as long as mass culture has. In the 1950s, concerned commentators railed against comics, through which, in the words of one comic-basher, children “absorb… beatings, shootings, stranglings, and other acts of violence”, potentially making them violent too. In the 1980s it was the “video nasty” – the ready availability of horror films from one’s local video store – which got moralists in a tizz, with some even claiming these movies posed a “threat to the social order”. And now it’s the turn of raunchy pop videos, which stand accused of spreading prejudice and even creating a “conducive context for violence against women” – that is, threatening the social order.
This focuses on the most anti-feminist video of all times. This was given to tip drill by Nelly. This is literally one of the most offensive videos to women around. The video takes place at a party that seems to be crowded with women treated slightly better than sex slaves. If you love the idea of watching scantily clad women being degraded for about seven minutes, this is the one for you.
It was banned from playing on A LOT of channels (probably because of charming scenes like sliding a credit card down a woman like she's an ATM at the bank...) The awkwardness of this video actually gets comical at one point and then it’s just really sad again. The song itself is pretty offensive as the term “tip drill” refers to a woman who’s got a great body but “less desirable” face. Classy choice, Nelly.

http://www.autostraddle.com/nicki-minajs-feminism-isnt-about-your-comfort-zone-on-anaconda-and-respectability-politics-251866/
The hype over Nicki Minaj‘s “Anaconda” has been a long process. It started when the cover, which featured a controversial image of Minaj’s behind, leaked on the Internet to much dismay; it continued to play out after the track’s audio release as the lyrics were heralded as feminist gold, and it all came to a much-needed climax in the form of the music video featuring Minaj, some backup dancers, and Minaj’s ass. Nicki Minaj is not a woman who easily slides into the roles assigned to women in her industry or elsewhere. She’s not polished, she’s not concerned with her reputation, and she’s certainly not fighting for equality among mainstream second-wave feminists. She’s something else, and she’s something equally worth giving credence to: a boundary-breaker, a nasty bitch, a self-proclaimed queen, a self-determined and self-made artist. She’s one of the boys, and she does it with the intent to subvert what it means. She sings about sexy women, about fucking around with different men. She raps about racing ahead in the game, imagines up her own strings of accolades, and rolls with a rap family notorious for dirty rhymes, foul mouths, and disregard for authority and hegemony.


 This music video is by Big Sean and Nicki Minaj. This music video focuses on females shaking their asses next to Big Sean. This video goes to show the least of respect men have for women in music videos. This video on emphasises on how women are viewed as sexual objects just there to please the 'male gaze.' This video reinforces the popular stereotype of women not being there just to please the 'male gaze' although there is an alternative ideology that goes on. Nicki Minaj is able to take control of the scene and become dominant although she is there performing her dance moves on Big Sean

In the documentary ‘My time now’ which is based on Nicki Minaj, she claims that the main thing that she likes about twitter is that she is able to feel closer to her fans and this is an advantage to her.  Sean Finnesey who is a music writer says that the thing about Nicki Minaj is that she is unique and that she is a star. He also claims that she is the most popular female rapper in the last 10-15 years.   Jeff Panzer says ‘She knows what she wants and she gets what she wants.’ Sean Finnesey says that she gained fame by being in other peoples songs which made her recognised.  Nicki Minaj also talks about how she is disappointed that there isn’t any female rapper that has built an empire beyond their rapper careers and she claims that due to this she wants to be the first female to achieve that.  In this documentary Nicki also mentions how people claim that she lips sings and that disappoints her and upsets her as she puts all herself in her music.  Nicki also talks about the loss that she suffered from, her grandmothers’ death.

Nicki Minaj has revealed two tracks on her album are inspired by Irish musician Enya, and she hopes she can be as much of an inspiration for women as the 'Orinoco Flow' singer was for her. The 31-year-old rapper was a huge fan of the Irish musician as a youngster, and hopes she can influence as many women with her music as the 'Orinoco Flow' singer did. She said "One of my biggest is Enya.”There are two records early in the album where the airiness and the whimsicalness remind me of Enya, and I sort of crafted it thinking about her and the way her music makes me feel." Her upcoming studio album 'The Pinkprint' will be released in December, and the 'Anaconda' hitmaker is hoping the LP and her outlook on life will a good example to her fans on how to live their life. She explained: "I always feel it's important for me to show females that they can be in charge of their own situation, "I came into the game creating my own brand. I was doing things very early on that set me apart from people who just took orders and allowed their brand to be created for them."

Perceiving Music Videos
There seems to be different layers of perception when a human being is audio-viewing a music video. Interacting layers of perception may be instinctive, inter-subjective and individual, which in turn activate social aspects such as family, peer group, region, country, language etc. When these different layers interact with unique personal memories and instinctive behavior the analysis of music video becomes complicated. Situation variables occur frequently and they are often the content, suggests that many young people are unable to view a music video if they dislike the artist or the music. To give a simplified explanation, music video pictures can be a interpreted as a merging of three traditions of moving images: singing performance, visual story-telling, and the non-narration of modern art.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/nicki-minaj-talks-anaconda-video-cheeky-article-1.1980608


Nicki Minaj got "cheeky" with GQ magazine about her "Anaconda" video. "I don't know what there is to really talk about," she said, referring to the controversy that the bootylicious music video caused. "I'm being serious. I just see the video as being a normal video," the Queens, N.Y.-born rapper insisted, adding how there's no hidden meaning involved in the video's booty-poppin', banana-eating, lap dance-giving antics. "I think the video is about what girls do," Minaj continued. "Girls love being with other girls, and when you go back to us being younger, we would have slumber parties and we'd be dancing with our friends." As far as the banana cameo in the video, the 31-year-old emcee said it was a sign of female empowerment. "It's just cheeky, like a funny story. I'm chopping up the banana," she said in the November issue of the mag that hits newsstands Oct. 28. "Did you realize that? At first I'm being sexual with the banana, and then it's like, 'Ha-ha, no.'


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