This is a music video with pretensions of being a movie. There is a clear intertextual reference, the whole setting, camera shots and even down to the continuous widescreen shots throughout the whole video is giving this music video a very movie like feel. Success in different media platforms is important to extend the career of an artists these days. This is what i feel Taylor Swift has tried to establish with this video. She isn't only promoting the song, she is promoting her self as an actor.
Talking about acting, this video is very different form how the public and her fans know her. The image is very different to what she is know for and whats she 's know for doing. She has a very girl next door country image, and in this video she shows a completely different style to her.
It starts with an extended narrative. This narrative provides listeners and viewers with an extended insight to what the song is about and the feelings and emotions that are being sung about. It's like the blurb for a book, but for a music video.
With this extended narrative there is also a flashback which is another convention. The very start of the music video is actually the end. Its the after math of the story we see in the rest of the music video.
Railton and Watson's Music video theories on the representation of black women.
Railton and Waton believe that black woman are portrayed the same in most music videos. That they are stereotypically represented amongst other ethnicity's. They believe they are represented almost in an animal like way. The way they move, the way they are dressed and they way the camera captures them.
They say that music videos also show a correlation lyrically and visually between the black woman's sexuality and animals. They say they are normally seen dressed in either animal prints, or nude clothing, or the way they move can be represented in very animalistc ways.
they research and also come up with the conclusion that the most shown part of the black woman is her buttocks. There are arguments that say the black woman's buttocks is well known for being popular and known and focused on when discussing black woman.
They say that no matter what the situation of the black woman, her status etc, they are usually always presented with animal like features.
They use the example "Baby Boy- By Sean Paul, a Jamaican dance hall rapper featuring Beyonce".
After watching this video i can see how it is clear evidence of what Railton and Watson believe, and it strongly backs up what they are saying. Beyonce in this video, her skin constantly looks hot and sweaty, her drapes over her body, and her body's movements are very sexual. There are many shots focused on the lower half of her body, or a zoom in on her face focusing on her lips. When she dances in the group with more black woman the dancing is very hip and buttocks focused movements. They are on the beach, and part of their bodies is wet which again is a common feature to appear.
Also what stands out to me that Railton and Walton also mentioned, is that even though Beyonce is only featuring in the video, and It's mainly Sean Paul's song, Beyonce is the one that is shown mostly throughout the music video.I think this is a major marketing fact of this video. The fact its got Beyonce, they way she is appearing mostly throughout the video would bring a lot more attention and focus to the video, in comparison to if it was mainly focused on Sean Paul.
From Music videos from my memory alone i agree with what Watson and Ralton are saying. To back up my agreement i have done my own research. Here are some more music videos that back up Ralton's and Walton's representation of black woman in the music video industry.
"Work- Iggy Azalea".
This music video i feel shows exactly what has been discussed in the above. The artists is actually a Caucasian woman from Australia, however a black woman does appear in the video and when she does appear, the shot is focused extremely on her buttocks and that is how we are introduced to this black woman. She is dancing, which involves twerking (a slang word for that particular dance move) her buttocks. Her dancing is sexual, energetic and once again the dance is focused around the movement of her bum.
Also later on the video another black woman appears, again she hasn't got many clothes on, but what stood out to me after reading what Ralton and Walton's said about being shown in animal like ways, whether it be the way they move or what they wear. This second black woman is shown wearing a leopard print hat.
"Survivor -Destiny's Child"
This video yet again shows the portrayal of black woman in music videos. Destiny's Childs is a girl groups made up of three black woman. In this Video particular, they are shown once again proving what Ralton and Watson have said about black women in music videos.
Beyonce, who we have previously talked about earlier on, was in this group before becoming a solo artist. In this video, even from the very first shots, we witness beyonce crawling in the sand on all fours, in the same way animals move, her skin looking slightly sweaty/wet. She is seen on the beach, crawling through the sand. The messing around and crawling through sand, is a convention all on its own that is very common in female artists videos.
Throughout this video, the three girls are never seen in many clothes.
I feel the reasons for doing what they have done in this music video and been represented the way they have is to gain attention, viewers and gain a profile. They want to be known as sexy woman who can move, and what better way to show this than in your music video which you know is going to get watched. Also i feel the fact that they are black, and it seen many of times black woman dressed like this in these situations and their choreography that it is convention and is a very stereotypical representation of black woman in music videos.
Nicki Minaj is a black artist. She is a rapper and many of her videos if not all of them again go along with the theory and comments Ralton and Watson have put forward. Nicki Minaj is almost always seen in a bikini of some sort in her videos, whether they be animal print or not.
She is very well known as a celebrity for having a nice Buttocks and in videos she makes sue of this. As we know from what we have discussed this fits in with what Walton and Ralton have been suggesting. Star-ships is an example,
"Star-ships- Nicki Minaj"
In this music video Nicki is seen also using facial expressions of those such as an animal, a tiger in particular. She is seen rolling around on the floor in the sand by the sea ( which we have seen before in the destiny's child video). Her body looks oily all the way through the video, her hair drapes long over her body and the edges of her face. Also, once again the camera fits in as many close up shots and zooms in on Nicki's Buttocks as possible.
I think the main reason for Nicki Minaj promoting herself in this way is to sell records, and get publicity. What you often see happen in the music industry is if you are not the greatest singer in order to keep in the game and be noticed and wanted, you need to find a different way of promoting yourself alongside the music. This is why she is using her body to do that. In my opinion anyway.
