Research: Laura Mulvey.

One can infer that Laura Mulvey’s theory on representation is very honest Mulvey states that “In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female”. This quote emphasises sexual inequality because we are living in a male dominated world were the portrayal of the sexes is very different women are seen as damsels in distress, emotional and fragile. Whereas males are seen as active, powerful and heroic, I think this quote will be more relevant with hip/hop, R&B and rock and the sole reason that their music is about women and relationships more.

One example of women appealing to male fantasy and dressing provocatively to fit that role is Gold Digger by Kanye West the video features dismemberment as there are a lot of cuts showing a woman’s lips, stomach or bum. Also the male leads are dressed appropriately and the female leads are half naked and on the cover of magazines, one can infer that the video sees women as objects.  The song lyrics are quite derogatory to women emphasizing that women are materialistic and superficial ‘She went to the doctor got lypo with your money’ this lyric highlights that women are obsessed with their appearance. I think this video is mainly for male audience due to the way woman are portrayed ad the lyrics of the song.

example of dismemberment in the video.

example of the women on magazine covers, the base track for the video.

Then again there are videos that portray women in a positive and supreme light for example Beyonce’s Run the World (Girls). Even though you could are that the women I the video are dressed for men, the authority of the women in the video counterbalance that. It shows that women are equally as strong as men and to encourage other women to be powerful. The presence of poignant animals such as bulls ad lions that normal symbolise strength and fear emphasize how powerful women actually are in stead of how they are generically portrayed.

‘Boy you know you love it how we're smart enough to make these millions’ this contradicts Kanye wests song, because it portrays women as hard working and determined.

Example of empowering women as men are running away from her.

Both the above gif and this screen shot show, the strong animals that i wrote about above.