Music video research - 7.4

Genre: Contemporary R&B / hip hop/ pop

Throughout the video the male gaze is used. Women in the video are presented as objects of sexual desire to entice a heterosexual male audience to watch the video. An example of this is Rihanna's body language as she bends down to greet  Kendrick Lamar. The positioning of her character and the low camera angle used is revealing and is used to present the female artist in a way which a male demographic may find appealing. This theory is used because Kendrick Lamar's primary audience is male viewers aged 15-30. In addition to this, Bell Hooks states that black women are objectified and sexualised, specifically in hip hop reflecting the colonialist view of women being sexually disposable. Another theory used in this video is Todorov's theory of narrative. At the beginning of the video we see the equilibrium; Kendrick surrounded by females. A wide shot is used here to show normalcy and allow the viewer a wide view of what is normal to the artist. However, the equilibrium is disrupted when Rihanna enters the video and the two male protagonists fight over her. The equilibrium is eventually restored when Kendrick wins the fight and is pictured close to Rihanna. This theory links in with Propp's theory of characters. Propp's character types are clearly identifiable in order to progress the narrative. Kendrick is shown as the hero who wins the princess (Rihanna) when he rescues her from the other male protagonist who is trying to steal her away from him (the villain). Andrew Goodwin claimed that music videos were either illustrative disjunctive or amplified. In this case the video was illustrative. This was clearly shown through iconography; the barking dog shown in the first scene. Dogs are typically associated with loyalty and guardianship which is the whole basis of this music video and the songs lyrics. However, disjuncture is used in the video to create a whole new set of meanings for the song. This is evident through the shot of Kendrick surrounded by other woman which some say might be showing disloyalty to Rihanna and contradicts the shot of the dog shown earlier in the video. This adds a deeper meaning to the video implying that loyalty is an abstract word which has different meanings to different people. Richard Dyer came up with the concept of star theory. This theory states that celebrities will feature in videos to entice viewers to watch a video to gain an insight into their lives. By starring in their own video, Rihanna  and Kendrick not only encourage fans of their music to watch the video but also encourage other audiences who may recognize their name or face. Another media theory founded by Stuart Hall hints that the media often blurs race and class due to underlying racist tendencies. The whole narrative reinforced this theory demonstrating the racist stereotype of ethnic minorities being involved in gangs and getting into fights. Alternatively Tricia rose stated that the hip hop genre empowers females by giving black female artists a voice. This is particularly evident towards the end of the video  where the camera solely focuses on Rihanna during her solo in the song. Because in this scene she is not shown in a sexual nature, it does in fact promote female empowerment and present Rihanna as a role model for a female demographic.

Learning comment 

From completing this task I have learnt that theories are extremely influential in the making of a video. Once I started researching theories I learnt of new theorists and discovered that what may have seemed like an average video was in fact embedded with a lot of theories. When creating my music video this will have to be something I will have to focus on, especially Andrew Goodwin's theory which forms the whole basis of a music video. However, one of the theories I found particularly interesting was Tricia Rose's theory on racial female empowerment. When picking actors for my video this is definitely something I would like to integrate into my own video in order to promote such a positive message.