Summary Of Nicki Minaj's 'Anaaconda'

1351 Words3 Pages

Anthony O’Neil
Professor John Glenn
ENC1101
November 10, 2014
Subversive Messages: The Representation of Gender in “Anaconda” Overt sexual and gender stereotyped messages have become commonplace in the American music video scene. Nicki Minaj 's video for her hit single “Anaconda” is no exception, with its graphic images of scantily clad women with vibrating and shaking bodies dancing around in an exotic jungle setting with plenty of phallic imagery. Not all of the messages conveyed by this video are immediately apparent; upon scratching the surface, viewers will see gender messages that are far more covert. And while there may be a temptation to assume the worst about the video 's representation of power, gender, sexuality, and stereotype, the video is also strangely empowering. On the surface, Minaj portrays the female gender as highly sexualized and disempowered and yet some of the deeper messages in this video also reflect a sense of female empowerment, confidence, and an embracing of sexuality and sexual assertiveness. As sample clips from Sir Mix-a-Lot 's 1986 classic “Baby Got Back” set the auditory scene, the camera pans to Minaj, sitting on her elbows and knees amidst the …show more content…

The message Minaj sends is one of redefining gender roles and gender stereotypes, and not one of submission. This video acknowledges that gender stereotypes do not allow for women to meet their own sexual needs, thus injecting a series of subversive messages that serve to empower women to redefine the balance of power within traditional gender roles between males and females. On the surface, this looks like every other modern music video; dig deeper and the message you will find is much more empowering to

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