Grimes in her video Genesis reinforces archetypes shown in the popular television show “Sailor Moon” which has often been labeled as Japanese culture using ideology. In the video, Grimes simply appropriates these images without challenging them and in the process spins a problematic take in the music video
Claire Boucher also known as Grimes is a female singer. She is a white Canadian woman who had her upbringing primarily in Vancouver before moving to Quebec for her undergraduate diploma at McGill University, which she did not finish. Grimes is influenced by many cultural and ethnic sources. One she refers back to always is that of Asian culture. We see this through her personal style and her music video.
While watching the video we can see various comic and manga influences. For this essay, the focus will be on “Sailor Moon”. Grimes when describing the video says, she wants it very “anime-like” because she likes to read comics (Battan Grimes: “Genesis”). It was in 1995 Sailor Moon, a television show primarily geared towards girls made its first crossover debut in America. “Sailor Moon broke the mild with a girl’s show but with one who characters fight and look pretty at the same time” (Allison, 128). Sailor Moon while not being one of the first was one of the most successful in North American because of its crossover appeal and the time it came in which was all about female empowerment. “Institutions like the media are peculiarly central to the matter since they are, by definition part of the dominant means of ideological production” (Hall, 82). Media often reproduces ideology. In the case of manga, we see these animations as a representation of Japanese culture since Manga is something that began and produced by the Japanese...
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...ferent. She is an imposing character who dominates most of the shots she is in. Most of the people in the video are primarily white.
In comparison to Grimes’ demonstration, the other woman seems more aggressive and different compared to what Grimes and the others portray in the video. Consequently, she exoticizes not just through her aesthetics but her physical actions as well. Brooke Candy the person who plays this character in the video is also white which in itself could also be unpacked as something very problematic. In 4:38-4:40 when Grimes and Brooke Candy are in the same shot, the camera shows Grimes’ face in soft focus while Brooke Candy stand behind her but not in the same light. In that shot, we see the contrast between dark and light, which signify Grimes lightness, innocence and goodness opposite the sinister, uncertainty of Brooke Candy’s otherness.
The video promotes a realistic portrayal of women while undermining negative societal expectations put to those women. Furthermore, the message behind it, one calling people to accept themselves and to not feel the need to strive towards unreachable goals set by the media, can be applied to the lives of not only women but men as well. While the song was obviously meant for women, it is still holds the important message for people of any gender, age, or race to understand that being true to and learning to accept one’s self can only lead to positive
On December 13, 2013 Beyoncé - who was named by the Time magazine as the most influential person of the year 2014 - unexpectedly released a self-titled visual album that went viral on the Internet, that is, it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and sold 828,773 electronic copies in three days becoming the fastest-selling album in iTunes Store history. After the release of the album the artist posted coupe of videos where she was walking her fans through her songs and music videos in the album explaining what was intention and the idea behind each song. In one of those videos she speaks about how she was looking for some videos on feminism on YouTube, and when she saw a TEDx video from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talking about feminism, Beyoncé decided to use it for her new single – Flawless - as in her opinion the music and the Adichie’s video suited very well with each other. By the end of the explanatory video she talks about ‘imperfection’ and embracing one’s imperfections, which she links to her another single Pretty Hurts. This song features the issues of sexual objectification of female bodies and the culture of perfection where women are valued only for their beauty. In another explanatory video she talks about owning her sexuality and body, especially after her pregnancy. As she explains it was her joy and her confidence that allowed her to show her body to the public. In the video she mentions that she is very well aware of the fact that she is showing her body, and that she is doing this partly for other women as well to empower them, and give them an example that you can own your body and your sexuality, even after body goes into a lot of transformations during pregnancy.
Yet, as I watched, I noticed that much of the imagery being thrown at me seemed more boring than vital, due to the sexuality it portrayed. One rapper after another indulged in his own personal hormonal fantasy, with slithering women flaunting acres of flesh into the camera. These women were not alive. They had become so objectified as to be sexualized robots.
The news article I studied is from March 12th 2014 and found in the Fashion and Style section of The New York Times. Its title is “In their Own Terms- the growing transgender presence in Pop culture.” This article outlines the culture surrounding transgender and transgender situations in the United States, whilst following the lives and transformations of some known citizens of pop culture.
1. What you are studying (which three works and the topic of your paper) Topic: I’m going to be writing my paper on Cultural Appropriation. I’m going to focus on cultural appropriation in music and hip hop. Then I’m going to use cultural appropriation in hair as a way of questioning whether cultural appropriation is actually cultural appreciation.
This character tends to be the best friend of the white main character, yet the friendship is always one-sided. The character’s whole world seems to revolve around this white character; they never have a life of their own, aspirations, or even family. Their sole purpose is to be a prop to advance the characterization of the white character. The character Bonnie Bennett from CW show The Vampire Dairies exhibits these traits perfectly. In blog’s critique of the lack-luster portrayal of People of Color in the series the writer
The second wave of feminism starting in the late 1960s presented new ways of thinking about female rights and roles and gave greater attention to the issues affecting the various groups of women in the feminist movement. One of the essential topics that rose was the debate over female sexuality. From this point on efforts were made for changes in how women were expected to express their sexuality, which was controlled and adapted to the standards of men . These changes were also seen in the music area of which women sought to control their own representation and agency. Women began to challenge any models forced upon them based on preceding gender norms and traditions, and began to express their own identities according to their own comforts . The shift from traditional industry to the new media age in the 1990’s was a period of rapid transformation regarding female representations, of which females have claimed the freedom of expression through music, mainly seen through the sexual appearance of the female body. Nevertheless this achievement has been debated over most predominantly between liberal and radical feminists. This Essay will discuss the distinct views of radical and liberal feminists regarding the development of women’s freedom of expression and opportunities over time. Liberal feminists believe that women are in control of their own sexuality and have the right to express it in any way they choose. In contrast, radical feminists believe that female artists who expose their body in a sexual way and believe they have full control over themselves, are actually still trying to satisfy their predominantly male audience, therefore giving them control . To exemplify the different views on female development over time this es...
...n use your body like a “corporal capital” (Waicquant : 2000, p. 125) and make use of body techniques (Mauss : 1934) to be accepted in this world controled by men. Stepahnie Birnet who followed “video girls”, she noticed that the hip hop culture invented a new norm, the norm of the new “black female”, which it's completely different from the manequin world. Women who want to play in music video have to be not too slim, in another words they must have very obvious feminine attributes (Birnet Stéphanie : 2007). Tricia Rose in her book Black Noise. Black music and black culture in contemporary America ask why black men show so often the feminity of black women ? She give several anwsers, first to oppose to the whiteness feminity : slim body, long legs, little lips. And to fight against the stereotype of the sinewy female slave. Rose tells that : “Black man assured the
The Twilight Zone aired an episode in 1960 called The Four of Us Are Dying. The episode follows a con man capable of changing his appearance by merely looking at the person he wants to become. His whole life he has slipped by, without a conscience, using his ‘talent’ to mold into other established people’s lives. He takes advantage of his ability and finds ways to rob his victims of their identities, fame, and personal acquaintances. In today’s pop culture, especially pop music, this flagrant disrespect for culture and counterfeiting of style are diminishing the credibility of many popular artists. Similar to the man in The Twilight Zone episode, there are artists in the spotlight today that need to be reconsidered for their ‘unique’ styles.
Gender is a social construct that humans use as a method of distinction between the two biological sexes. The separation of the two sexes into separate distinct genders creates expectations for how each gender should look, behave, and preform their assigned gender. Our understanding of gender and gender binaries influences our understanding of music, how it’s preformed, and who is preforming it. This essay will examine three songs: “Be Your Bro” by Those Darlins, “Lola” by the Kinks, and “Boys Wanna Be Her” by Peaches. Frist I will analyze the lyrics and their connection to the theme of breaking or adhering to gender binaries. Next I will analyze the performance and sound of the music and discuss its contribution to how gender is represented and preformed.
Performance artist Patty Chang creates pieces that deal with scopophilia or voyeurism, best described as “the love of looking”, a topic that goes hand in hand with the issues of gender roles in society that Chang also represents in her work. Chang particularly addresses issues of gender roles through her confrontation of female representation in art, film and popular culture as a whole. In Chang’s video clip entitled, “Shaved (At a Loss)”, she sits herself on a chair in front of her audience, hikes up her dress to expose her vagina and then proceeds to, very roughly, shave off her pubic hair. The entire duration of “Shaved (At a Loss), Chang is blindfolded. In this piece Chang presents consumer culture’s fetishization of the ”flawless” female figure, which is outlined by the unattainable body ideals that are portrayed not only in most mainstream pornography, but also in almost all media connected to our society’s popular culture sphere.
Since its emergence in the South Bronx in the 1970’s, hip hop has spread to both urban and suburban communities throughout the world. Once an underground genre of music, it is seen in commercials, movies, television shows, etc. It has transformed from music and expanded into a full culture. It has even made its way into fashion and art. Men have always been on the front line of Hip Hop. However, the lyrics and images have changed tremendously. Lyrics and images that once spoke upon the injustices and empowerment for the African American people is now filled with money, cars, jewelry, and of course women.
As an ever growing topic of debate in modern society, understanding feminism is critical to modern social and political stances. Beyoncé Knowles, a celebrity pop star has been a figure surrounded by debate for those seeking to define modern feminism. By examining her feminism, a great deal can be learned about different stance on modern feminism. As bell hooks defines it in her book, Feminism is for Everybody, “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression” (viii). Through this definition, hooks is clear that feminism can be embraced by anyone, male or female, black or white, rich or poor so long as they oppose sexism and its ramifications since opposing sexism does not mean
In the course of human events, women have been subjected to being seen as far less superior than men. Women through most of history have never been seen as equals to men and seen as pitiful and slave like, but women have tried to change the views of society and become equal. Feminist art was a major contributor in helping women fight these societal views during the feminist movement. Many talented women artist banded together during the 1960-1970s to be able fight the societal view as a woman. Their art was sometimes not accepted by society for exploring subjects that were not accepted for that time. They fought to make their topics they talked about socially accepted. Artists such as Judy Chicago, Barbara Kruger, and guerilla girls helped spark and shaped the feminist art movement by
In every generation there are countercultures, some more prominent and influential than others that go against social norms. Jack Kerouac brought to light the counterculture known as The Beat Generation from under the veil of the conservative surface in the 1950’s, in his book On the Road. This generation was so influential that they were the driving force behind the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 60’s and 70’s. Having strong ideas and values about freedom and personal fulfillment, that they perused relentlessly, they created big changes and even inspired generations after them who feel dissatisfied with the pressures to conform to instead push against the norms of society.