Final Promotional Video for Co-op

Music video Evaluation

                                Evaluation for Music Video Analysis

Process

The first step in my research I took was analysing music videos. I watched three videos, the first of which was ‘Tip Drill’ by ‘Nelly’; the second video I watched was ‘Lap Dance’ by ‘N.E.R.D’ and the third was ‘Windowlicker’ by ‘Aphex  Twin’. After watching all three videos I made lists of all the codes and conventions, which I could see throughout. I also made lists of the reoccurring themes I saw in all three. This part of my research was successful as I gained a clear insight into commonly used conventions and themes and how they use them to attract their target audience. The next step I took was looking at online sources for other people’s opinions on how women are sexually demeaned in RnB music videos. After looking at a few websites the best I found was a website that had fifty quotes from Naomi Wolfs book ‘The Beauty Myth’. From this website I managed to gain a good number of quotes that reinforced my argument I was making. If I was to do this part of research again I would look through more websites along with many forums as well to not only gain the opinions of writers or famous people but the general public themselves.

After I had done my online research I took to reading. I didn’t read that many books and mainly focussed upon two. I regret this decision because I did not read through enough books which means I got less information top back up my argument. If I were to go back I would go to the Coventry University Library like I did for my last essay so that I could get as much information as I can in one day.

My primary source of research was a focus group. We had six people sit down and watch all of the music videos we were focussing on. We played each video then asked questions and recorded the answers that were given. This proved effective because they were reinforcing the research we had already taken. If I were to do the focus group method again, I would have one focus group of females and one of males. This way I could get the opinion of both sexes to gain a deeper insight into what both opinions are on the demeaning of women in the videos. If I were to do primary research again I would also do the recorded reactions but also make surveys for the groups to fill in. This way I could get a lot more opinions as some people in the group didn’t have anything to say about the videos because they may have been uncomfortable talking about it. With the surveys this would give those people a chance to voice their opinion on paper and it would stop me from loosing out on some possibly good opinions.

Outcome

The result of my research techniques proved to be effective. This is shown in my essay as I have discovered some good theory from writers such as ‘Laura Mulvey’ and ‘Naomi Wolf’ into how women are sexually demeaned in RnB music videos. I have applied these theories into my own primary research to conclude that women are treated as sexual objects in the videos and how they are demeaning towards them. As I said if I had read more books by feminist writers on the subject then I would have had more resources to work with and to get more information on, and I will learn from these mistakes for future research projects. Also my procedures of note taking proved very effective. Whilst watching all three videos I took notes of the codes and conventions, which I picked up on throughout. From these I noticed very similar themes that run through all the videos such as a strong use of water such as pools or the ocean, expensive alcohol and half naked women to name a few. I discussed these themes in detail as to how they can encourage a younger audience to accept them as reality.     

Another really effective piece of my research was my primary sources. This was the results from a focus group we held to discuss the music videos. Again the outcome of the focus group proved effective due to there being a strong opinion on the videos, especially ‘Nelly’s’ ‘Tip Drill’. The strong opinions really helped reinforce my research, especially from the one girl in the group as she voiced her opinion the most out of the group. This showed me that women do have more of a voice than men over the sexist attitudes portrayed in the videos. As I said before if I was to do another focus group I would have one group of all females and one group of all males. This way I could get opinions from both sexes on how they think women are treated in the videos. I would also give out surveys to fill in as well as some people in the group did not speak at all so this way people could voice their opinions on paper.

To conclude I think that all of my research methods proved effective in my final essay. This is shown through the good amount of theories I applied to my own and also the way I used my own primary sources taken from the focus group to reinforce them. There are things that I have mentioned that I would change or that I would do more of and I will learn from these and use them in future research projects.

Website Link: Secondry Research

http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/836516-the-beauty-myth-how-images-of-beauty-are-used-against-women

This a link to some good secondary research i found. The quotes are taken from a book called "The Beauty Myth" and is by feminist author "Naomi Wolf". I got really helpful information from this source that i can use to help reinforce my primary research.

aphex twin

http://www.aphextwin.nu/

This is a link to "Aphex Twins" website. I got some really good information from here and some relevant quotes to help reinforce my research.

Music Video Focus Group: Primary Research

Music Video Focus Group

This is the recording of the focus group for primary resources we held to discuss if RnB music videos have a sexist view on women. The first video we looked at was Survivor by Destinys Child. The questions we asked were to see if this particular video empowered woman rather than demean them due it being a three piece female band. The group agreed that this video is more empowering than demeaning. The second video we looked at was Window Licker by Aphex Twin. The reason why we chose this video was because of the way it openly mocks the traditional RnB music video by putting a creepy mans face on the women's bodies. The group agreed that this video mocked RnB videos because by using the effect of a mans face on a woman's body it reinforces the fact that they only concentrate on the female body over anything else. The third video which got the most reaction from the focus group was the song Tip Drill by the artist Nelly. The title of the song is sexist in itself as the word Tip Drill means an ugly woman with a good body. The group was shocked at how sexist and demeaning the video was towards women. as expected the girl in the focus group had the biggest reaction in saying its discusting. The final video we looked at was Lap dance by the band N.E.R.D. This video was not as controversial as Tip Drill but the group discussed how women are treated as objects in the background who are there simply for the males visual pleasure. 

Music video analysis

To what extent does the representation of women in contemporary R ’n’ B music videos present stereotypically dominate views of female sexuality?

The first music video I analysed was “Tip Drill” (1) by “Nelly”. In 2003 when the text was released it had a very controversial response because of the way it represented females. One could argue female audiences were most offended and took action. For example The Women’s Studies Group from Spelman College confronted Nelly’s charity “4sho4kids” that were supposed to host a bone marrow drive at the college. Instead they challenged by a march of female students protesting against the misogyny in rap music.

The first shot sees the camera positioned on the floor looking through, and framed, by a woman’s legs reveals Nelly. This sets the tone of a relentless sexist representation of women within the first shot of the whole video.

A key convention that I noticed in RnB/Rap music videos, especially seen in Nelly’s video, is that the majority of women tend to be dressed in a bikini or very little clothing. This again represents the sexist view and representation rappers have cast upon women, as they only seem to see them as sexual objects. “Woman displayed as sexual object is the leit-motif of erotic spectacle”. (4) Audiences, such as teenagers could take what is shown in these videos and think that that is how you are supposed to act in real life. This relates to the technical term of Uses and Gratifications when people lives or actions are influenced through a text, in this case the text is a music video.

The females within “Tip Drill” are also made to look like servants by their narrative role. An example of this is found at the beginning of the video when two women open the door to let “Nelly” and his “crew” in the mansion as if they were butlers. Once in the mansion, numerous women stand on the stairs posing in bikinis greet the men. This shot portrays the women as prostitutes as if they were in a “brothel” and the men are taking their pick. In this example females are represented as passive objects that exist only to please males by their role in the video/society for visual pleasure. “Women who love themselves are threatening; but men who love real women, more so.”(10b) It could be argued that most men think about the looks of a woman over their personality, this is over exaggerated in the ‘Tip Drill’ video. “Naomi Wolf” believes that men who think about the personality first are scarier than women who love their own bodies. This clearly shows that women have become used to being judged on their appearance and being compared to women from music videos, but the men who like them are more deluded.

One of many controversial shots in the video is when “Nelly” swipes a credit card down a women’s backside. This is very controversial and demeaning because it is again portraying the woman as a prostitute and an object that a male can purchase. In addition the most sexist part of the song for me is the lyrics “It must be your ass cuz it aint your face”. This lyric is a clear representation of a male’s perspective of women being only good for one thing, sex. The lyrics also show how the only thing the men care about is the body and nothing else and that the women’s identity is being lost.

The second video I analysed was “Lap dance” by “N.E.R.D”(2). Like “Tip Drill” this video starts with women lap dancing for the band giving a clear representation of women as sexual objects. Again all of the women are wearing hardly any clothes throughout which represents how the men only like them for one thing. Whilst analysing the codes and conventions of RnB videos such as close ups, always a use of water such as a pool or the sea and usually high key lighting. The most dominant themes I noticed are women, money and alcohol. These themes show the mere lack of thought gone into the videos and that all they do is represent women in a sexist fashion.

“Men are visually aroused by women's bodies and less sensitive to their arousal by women's personalities because they are trained early into that response, while women are less visually aroused and more emotionally aroused because that is their training.” (10c) The difference in sexual arousal from both sexes shows that men have more power over the women, as it is easier for them to gain arousal just through sight whereas women don’t. This is indicated in the ‘Lap Dance’ video as the men are receiving lap dances from the women and are getting aroused whereas the women are performing for the men and getting nothing out of it. “What becomes of a man who acquires a beautiful woman, with her "beauty" his sole target? He sabotages himself. He has gained no friend, no ally, no mutual trust” (10d) A male who takes influence from the ideological sexist view that these videos portray will never find true happiness. This is because they seek only for the good looks of a woman and not the personality. You can’t have a good relationship with someone whose qualities are only her looks. The males in the videos may never have a fulfilling relationship if that’s all they care about.

The last video I analysed was “Windowlicker”(3) released in 1999 by “Aphex Twin”. The videos narrative is largely different to a typical RnB song and video. Aphex Twin is an electronic DJ whose music has been considered postmodern in the music industry. The video for his single “Windowlicker” mocks and parodies the classic sexist representation of women, which RnB music videos contain. The video is self-aware and could be considered postmodern along with his genre. "It's futuristic in so much as I try to do something new,"(6). This quote taken from “Aphex Twins” website reinforces the postmodern view of his music and videos. The quote also shows how they are both postmodern; people class it as futuristic because of the samples of machinery used in his songs. These create sounds that the listener is not used to and this along with the videos are made to make it uncomfortable to watch by putting a mans face on a women’s body, or on children creating a visually discomforting video.

The start of the video uses a black male talking to two black females in a very sexist way. He does this by repeatedly calling them both “ho” and “bitch”. The women reply by saying “im not going nowhere with your broke ass”(7). This Quote along with the way the males were talking shows the way that the video mocks RnB videos as the men are treating the women like they are nothing and the women are saying if they haven’t got money there not going anywhere with them. After this “Apex Twin’s” huge limo pushes the mens car away and the women get in, this again reinforces how the video parodies the traditional RnB music video as the women get in just because he has money. When the music starts the faces of the women turn into men’s faces, which creates a quite discomforting feeling. I believe that this has been used in reference to Nellys lyric in Tip Drill “It must be your ass, cuz it aint your face”(8) and also mocks the phrase “Tip Drill” itself as it is means a woman with an ugly face but nice body. By doing this “Aphex Twin” mocks the stereotypical sexist view of women rappers show in their music videos.

“The first, scopophilic, arises from pleasure in using another person as an object of sexual stimulation through sight.”(5) This quote from Mulvey reinforces my opinion that women are treated as sexual objects in RnB music videos. The women in the videos fulfills this ideology as the more money the men throw at them, the more they dance and perform. This also suggests that women are not as stupid as the men think which leads to some people believing that women in RnB videos are actually empowered rather than demeaned. “These imperial discourses are only one branch of a long tradition of cultural representation which produces white and black womanhood as very different”. (9) Clearly white and black woman have very different opinions on many things. It could be argued that black woman believe that the video empowers women whereas white women think it lowers and demeans them.

“A consequence of female self-love is that the woman grows convinced of social worth. Her love for her body will be unqualified, which is the basis of female identification. If a woman loves her own body, she doesn't grudge what other women do with theirs; if she loves femaleness, she champions its rights.” (10a) This clearly shows that some women believe they need to look like the image of woman that society has grown accustomed to. It is the image that these music videos as well as magazines portray to be the norm. It states that when a woman learns to love her body she doesn’t judge what others do with theirs and she praises femaleness. This relates to the RnB music videos because if a woman is uncomfortable with her image then she will say that the videos demean women, whereas women who love their bodies would be the ones to praise the women in the videos.

To conclude the ideological sexist view that RnB music videos portray of women are wrong in many ways. They are also bad for a younger audience as they may take what they have seen in the videos of the celebrities that they look up to and believe that that is how you are supposed to act towards women. If they do accept it as reality then they will never be in a mature relationship. The videos will most definitely give the younger viewer a sexist attitude towards women and for this reason alone the videos could be seen as negative. Another argument is whether it is the artist to blame or the record label/ director. This could be argued because if the majority of the musicians fans are male then what better way to sell records than making videos to be viewed through the male gaze. By using multiple half naked women it automatically attracts a male audience and it will also keep them watching through the whole video. This being said could reinforce the point of it being the industries fault rather than the artists for creating a sexist view of women.


Bibliography

1- Nelly. Tip Drill. (2003) Music Video. Jessy Terrero

2- N.E.R.D. Lap Dance. (2001) Music Video.

3- Aphex Twin. Window Licker. (1999). Music Video. Chris Cunnigham

4- Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1975) - Laura Mulvey

5- Originally Published - Screen 16.3 Autumn 1975 pp. 6-18 http://www.jahsonic.com/VPNC.html

6- www.aphextwin.nu. 1997. aphextwin. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.aphextwin.nu/learn/98129247991559.shtml. [Accessed 13 May 13].

7- Aphex Twin. Window Licker. (1999). Quote from Music Video. Chris Cunnigham

8- Nelly. Tip Drill. (2003) Music Video. Jessy Terrero

9- Railton, D, 2011. Music Video and the Politics of Representation. 1st ed. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

10-Good Reads. 2013. goodreads.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/836516-the-beauty-myth-how-images-of-beauty-are-used-against-women?page=2. [Accessed 20 May 13].

Music video procedures

               

                                                           These are the three music videos i watched and researched. These videos were the base of my procedures in my research. I watched all three numerous times and took notes of the key codes and conventions. I also researched how the videos offended people morally and ethically.

Books for Research: Secondary Source

This is cover of a book i used for my secondary research. It is called "Music Video and the Politics of Representation" and is by authors "Diane Railton" and "Paul Watson". I found this book very helpful for my research as the books purpose is to show how such a powerful form of media like music and its videos can portray such sexist views of women and get away with it. This book was very helpful and reinforced a lot of my research.