Media Magazine
Media Magazine 26, the film issue
http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/mm26_feminist_bond.html
Post-feminism does not assume that this means gender issues are no longer valid. On the contrary, it acknowledges that there are still many areas of interest and concern within gender politics; but it recognises that these issues are very different from the ones faced by gender theorists in the mid-20th century.
Gender relationships: the feminist model
Even though it sought to change the way people thought about women’s position in society, feminism was based on the idea of binary opposition between the two genders. As Levi-Strauss tells us in narrative theory, binary oppositions create conflict. Feminism can be seen to be a range of ideas that arose from this perceived conflict, focussed on the idea of a power struggle in society between two opposing groups: masculine and feminine. As with any power struggle, as one side gains power, the other side must lose it.
Gender relationships: the post-feminist model
Post-feminism sees gender as a set of socially constructed behaviours, attitudes and expectations which have no essential relationship to a person’s biological sex – an individual may at any time be more or less masculine or more or less feminine regardless of whether they are male or female. For example, a man crying is no less a man, or an aggressive woman no less a woman. The behaviours are culturally associated with a specific sex; but people are not that simple. Individuals may even choose to ‘perform’ gender depending on the circumstances they find themselves in.
The Culture issue 35
Does popular music conform to this description? Barely, in some ways; it is now divided into so many sub-species that it is hard to construct a case for finding any coherence. On the other hand, it is possible to argue that this diversity is the very attribute that will keep music in the forefront of popular consciousness. As the available choice of leisure pursuits broadens, two things happen: first, the acceleration of change leads to a similar speeding up of the processes by which music reaches us; and second, the certainties of a shared culture that were prevalent, say, a hundred years ago, break down further so that culture becomes an ever more shifting, amorphous concept.
The Change issue 34
Fifty years on, the ‘Bond Girl’ still exists – and she remains ‘eye candy’. However, in the recent ‘reboot’ of the franchise, Casino Royale (US-UK, 2008), it is Bond himself, in the shape of Daniel Craig, who emerges from the sea, fit in his tight swimming gear. In addition the ‘girl’, though still in need of saving by the ‘hero’, has become a narrative ‘helper’ and not the entirely passive ‘princess’. Things have changed – but Bond himself remains male.
Occasionally the media does represent women as powerful and independent characters, and yet they still almost invariably require a man to tell them what to do. The ideologies of male dominance and patriarchal values have not diminished; and the belief that they have offers a classic example of ‘hegemony’: a state where the oppressed consent to, and accept, their situation because they are not conscious of being exploited. We, both female and male, are socialised into a world where the relationships of power between the sexes appear ‘natural’, and so few question the inequality. Youth culture, despite its radicalism in the ‘60s and ‘70s, is now politically conservative; and so radical messages do not circulate in the mainstream, further obscuring the fact that in 2010 women have not yet attained equal opportunities with men.
The Collaboration Issue 36
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, aka ‘Lady Gaga’, has over 10 million Facebook ‘friends’ and over 3 million people follow her on Twitter. This mastery of social media has been a feature of her career since she emerged from the New York underground dance scene. She wrote her own newsletter to her loyal followers and saw the potential of communicating directly with the fans in new ways. She calls her fans her little monsters, and the bond she has generated between fan and artist is unprecedented. In a recent post on Twitter she wrote how she loved the way her fans post pictures of her on the web: There’s something heroic about the way my fans operate their cameras. So precisely, so intricately, and so proudly. Like Kings writing the history of their people. It’s their prolific nature that both creates and procures what will later be perceived as the ‘kingdom.’ So, the real truth about Lady Gaga fans, my little monsters, lies in this sentiment: They are the kings. They are the queens. They write the history of the kingdom, and I am something of a devoted Jester.Love and art,gaga. The media theorist Marshall McLuhan, in a hugely influential 1964 text called Understanding Media, commented on the link between what is said and how it is communicated. His most famous line was, ‘The medium is the message.’ In Understanding Media, he suggests that a medium is ‘an extension of ourselves.’ So the Twitterverse and the Facebook virtual world can be seen as a new way of extending our self and our persona. The medium of communication for Lady Gaga is the online network of social media. With 10 million Facebook fans, she is using the new medium to put forward a message with massive success.
Reading the Media Issue 45
Music is one of those things in life that we all interpret differently. It has the power to bring people together whilst simultaneously segregating us. This is more apparent in the social networking world of harsh tweets and hashtag battles fought by rival fan bases – the ‘Chris Brown vs Tyler The Creator’ Twitter feud exemplified this. One thing’s for sure, there is a definite generation gap between the kids and the adults because of it. Popular songs of today have more power than ever before. They dictate social circles, fashion trends, the clubs you go to (preference of DJ playlists), new memes, slang... the list goes on. And let’s not forget – according to popular conspiracies – mainstream music is also responsible for ‘brainwashing’ the delicate minds of the prepubescent population.
Iggy Azealia, a female rapper, recently sat in an interview to discuss the state of hip-hop today. She complained of an encounter she had whilst at Interscope Records. From what she said, the staff members there seem a bit too candid for my liking. She was told somethingalong the lines of:Most of the people who listen to the music nowadays can’t even construct a proper sentence, nobody cares about the intricate stories you put into your songs.Whoa now!I’ll give you a moment to pick your jaw up off the floor, because this isn’t a unique situation. This woman is one of countless artists who’ve been told to ‘dumb down’ their material in order to make it more marketable to the wider world. Is this a marketing strategy – or are we simply becoming less intelligent when it comes to interpreting music?
Internet Newspaper articles
Miley Cyrus's new Wrecking Ball video says young women should be sexually available
- ''I have a 13-year-old daughter, so Cyrus has been part of our family life since Hannah Montana launched on the Disney Channel in 2006.''
- 'Now Cyrus evidently wants to cast aside her crown as queen of the tweens, and she's gone about it in the way that many young women who became famous very young have done: she's embraced sexualisation.'
- 'I'm probably not alone among parents in dreading the likely question: "Why has she done this?"
Miley Cyrus isn't a child: she's 21 and she can twerk if she wants to
- 'She is also the starkest example yet of the way in which child stars, especially alumnae of the Disney Channel, are subjected to a fairy-tale narrative when they dare to come of age publicly.'
- 'She may have scandalised America but the former Disney child star should be applauded for finding a path to adult celebrity that is defiantly her own.'
- 'She is now a pop star, a real one, sex and drugs and hip-hop and all.'
Female singers need dignity: Mel C
- 'Mel C has called on female pop stars to have "more dignity" and stop being so overtly sexual.'
- 'Chart-toppers such as Miley Cyrus and Rihanna have caused controversy in recent months with their explicit videos and stage performances and skimpy wardrobes.'
- "I'm all for freedom of expression, but this is clearly one step beyond, and it's clearly into the realm of porn."
Miley Cyrus video analysis
Miley Cyrus's music videos have connotations and denotations that have to do with the lyrics and video of the song. For example in 'wrecking ball', she states 'you wrecked me'. The connotation of this would be that she is giving this message out to someone, perhaps a past lover. Which in fact seemed like was to her ex fiance Liam Hensworth, although she denied it during interviews. However, the denotation of the video is her breaking walls and knocking down buildings using a bulldozer. In this particular video there are close ups shown of Miley face crying at the start of the video to emphasise her emotion and feeling empowering the song. She is wearing little clothing (white underwear) which could connote her innocence in the song. She uses props such as a hammer to knock over building and a wrecking ball, which is also the title of the song. The setting is significant as it represents the lyrics to the song. Also, the mise-en-scene in the music video is all relevant to the song, emphasising the lyrics and creating more feeling for the audience. The soundtrack is the main focus of the song and helps Miley get her message across. The iconography in the video help bring across emotion. For example, Miley crying shows the audience that she is sad and the song will be about a topic that has affected her. The fact that the video uses slow motion allows Miley's feelings to be emphasised and the lyrics match the pace. For example when she is singing slowly the pace is very mellow, however speeds up when she starts to express anger/hurt. Also, there are a range of camera angles used including close ups, long shots, medium shots, tracking, panning and low and high angles. These are all used to show a different perspective to the music video.
The narrative is linear and goes in chronological order as the song is used to tell a story. The audience are positioned to perhaps feel sympathy for Miley as she sings about a person experience. Villains are created in the song as Miley states 'you wrecked me', which is a message she is directing to someone who hurt her. Miley is alienated in her music video as she is alone and no one else is shown in the video. The role of the sound, iconography and music is to create feeling for the audience to help Miley get her message across. The edit shows a chronological order, reinforcing the linear narrative. The narrative embodies values to believe in yourself and never give up on hope as Miley states 'don't you ever say i just walked away'.
The music video is a power pop and romance genre as Miley is singing about love and heartbreak. The major generic conventions are a hero and villain. The iconic features are the tools Miley uses such as her hammer and bulldozer as she is essentially showing how she has been knocked down emotionally and mentally. The audiences generic expectations are fulfilled in my opinion. Th expectation is to produce a song and music video that portrays the lyrics and feelings of the character, which is what Miley does. The characteristics of the video conform to the genre as Miley displays her feelings through the use of props. The music video features only Miley Cyrus who the song is about and she is associated to it as it is her personal story that she is telling.
The producers of 'Wrecking ball' are RCA Records. The video has been influenced by RCA to create power pop type music. The company has also worked with singers such as Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson who embrace a similar genre in their music. RCA is the name of three different co-owned record labels. The music video has been distributed massively. It was on all the music channels which feature latest hit songs such as Kiss and MTV. It was also on popular radio stations and of course the internet on sites such as YouTube and mileycyrus.com.
The major values underpinning the text is a deeper meaning of what the lyrics of the song actually are. Miley is singing about how a lover has heart her and compares him to a 'wrecking ball' hence the title of the song. We the audience assume this, however it is actually true and was her intention behind the song. I believe when making the video, Miley selected content that would be presented to represent the song and the meaning.
The text is directly addressed to Miley's past lover, however sends a generic message about love to the audience. The target audience is anyone who has been heartbroken before, therefore does not matter what demographic or psychographic group they fit into. The video assumes that the audience know what Miley is singing about, however if they did not have a clue who she was then they would not be able to guess she is singing about a personal experience. The text assumes that the audience will be able to figure out the narrative as it has been scheduled in a chronological order. The audience receive the text on the release date and still view/hear it after this. This however does not impact the characteristics of the text. The size of Miley's audience is massive. This is evident because she has been in the music industry for years therefore has gained many loyal fans. Also, her videos did create controversy, expanding the audience size. I believe the audience readings of the music video were debatable as some were fans and some simply found it shocking due to her nudity. Wrecking ball provides personal identity as audiences may be able to see themselves in the song lyrics. It also provides diversion for audiences as they can use the music as an escape from their own problems (Uses and Gratifications). As an audience member, I did find Miley Cyrus's Wrecking ball video to be quite surprising due to the nudity content. I do not believe it is influenced by my age, gender or background as it was quite unexpected for any audience member to see. Nevertheless, I believe Miley produced a heartfelt song that smashed the charts and has made her into the successful singer/actress she is today.
Other controversial female singers
Rihanna, alongside Miley Cyrus is one of the prominent female's in the music industry to cause controversy. She began her career at the age of 17 in 2005 and has grown as an artist ever since. Her explicit videos and nudity content also shocked audiences when she released her 'Good girl gone bad' album in 2007. Her 'Man down' video in particular was released in 2010, which had a storyline of Rihanna being raped and therefore killing her rapist. Due to the violent nature of the video, The Parents Television Council criticised the singer and attempted to ban the video with no success. Rihanna's 'Pour it up' music video also caused a lot of controversy. Mel C also spoke about Rihanna being 'too raunchy for her daughter' (http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/13/mel-c-rihanna-daughter).
Nick Minaj is known for her explicit and over sexualised videos. Her very recent Anaconda video shocked audiences of all ages and The Guardian also released an article in relation to this arguing 'we need to see more black women on our screens, and a broader view of female sexuality as a whole.' (http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2014/aug/22/nicki-minaj-anaconda-video-black-women-sexuality).
Parents have also called the video 'vile' (http://www.today.com/allday/10-18-10-19-make-difference-day-pinkpower-more-1D80224843).
Britney Spears also started her singing career at an early age with her famous hit 'Hit me baby one more time.' Britney Spears appeared on stage wearing a revealing outfit for a performance at the VMA'a in 2000 with a real live snake. The year before she caused controversy when at the age of 18 she skipped around on stage in a nude coloured outfit for a medley of hits. In 2013 she released her 'Work Bitch' music video which featured over sexualised females dancing around in little clothing. She also released 'Toxic' in 2003 which shocked audiences due to the nudity content.
'Pornification of pop'
The pornification of pop looks at how celebrities and in particular women are portraying themselves in order to sexually appeal to audiences. The articles below look at different issues related to pornofication of pop.
Sexually explicit music videos 'should have ratings system'
Miley Cyrus: does the music business exploit women?
Sexually explicit music videos 'should have ratings system'
- 'Campaign demands cinema-style restrictions on graphic material aimed at teenage girls'.
- 'Videos Rihanna, above, Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke have all come in for intense criticism in the past month'.
- A survey this month by parenting website Netmums showed strong parental disapproval over sexualised content in many music videos.
Miley Cyrus: does the music business exploit women?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/07/miley-cyrus-music-business-women-sinead-oconnor
- 'After Miley Cyrus's spat with Sinéad O'Connor, a selection of experts dissect the pop industry and its sexualisation of women.'
- 'Female pop performers find it difficult to market their songs without licking mallets in the buff (as Cyrus does in the video for Wrecking Ball).'
- 'Cyrus's nakedness happens in the context of a cultural industry still run largely by men, filmed largely by men, produced largely by men, in which men stand to gain from women's gyrations, financially and lubriciously. We need an end to misogyny across everything, everywhere.'
Moral panic? No. We are resisting the pornification of women
- 'Sexualisation has become a much-debated issue in recent years, and a noticeable feature is the assumption that feminists who oppose sexual objectification are generating a moral panic.'
- 'This weekend feminist campaigners are hosting a conference on the pornification of culture. In the buildup, mass protests were held outside the London Playboy Club and Miss World beauty contest to highlight the relationship between corporate interests and the objectification of women.'
- 'We construct our identities through complex processes of interaction with the culture around us, but today images of hypersexualisation dominate. Where is a girl to go if she decides Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Rihanna or Britney Spears aren't for her?'
Miley's views on Feminism
Miley Cyrus: I'm one of the world's biggest feminists
- 'The Wrecking Ball singer who brought 'twerking' to the masses speaks out against double standards for men and women'.
- No-one minds if a man goes topless on the beach, she said, adding: “So why can’t we?”
- Catherine Hakim, a sociologist and author of the book Honey Money: The Power of Erotic Capital, said she “absolutely” agreed with her.“There’s absolutely no contradiction at all between being a feminist and taking your clothes off and being comfortable about displaying your sexuality,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
- "I feel like I'm one of the biggest feminists in the world because I tell women to not be scared of anything," she said.
- The 20-year-old said she doesn't worry if people think badly of her controversial performances because she knows she is a "good person".
- "Every time you talk about me, you're bringing more awareness to me and... my record.
- "I think people if they actually knew me would be surprised at how normal I am.''
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