Andrew Goodwin

In a lesson, Sir was teaching us about theorists of the media, and a prominent figure was Andrew Goodwin. His theories regarding music videos and their production consisted of 6 key rules music videos usually follow.

Andrew Goodwin analysis of music video "Dancing in the Distraction Factory".

One of the theories we focused on was the idea that in music videos, the camera is a man, and the roles of gender in music videos vary significantly. Women are portrayed as sex objects, with the camera focusing in on the most sexualised parts of the body e.g. lips, bottom, legs, eyes and breasts. Men are viewed in an opposite light; with their faces covered, fully dressed in suits e.g. Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head". 

This really interested me as, although I'd never thought about it before, the theory was proved correct. It made me question the ethical standards of the media and the inequality between genders so bluntly displayed. There seems to be a constant need to sexualise young, female singers in their music videos using a range of techniques such as close-ups focused on the sexual areas of the body e.g. legs, breasts, lips etc, and mise en scene regarding barely-there costumes and over-applied make-up. The effect is the portrayal of these artist as "slutty", scantily-clad eye-candy and detracts from their talent as independent artist. 

For example, Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" music video was hugely inappropriate and juxtaposed the nature of the powerful, emotional ballad that the lyrics detail. Her costume is either a barely-there white top and knickers, or a fully-fledged nude shot riding a wrecking ball, and she spends a good portion of her time fellating a sledge-hammer. The video is entirely sexualised, and as a result, the track's meaning is completely lost and the artist and her talent is forgotten.

This is a trend in multiple music videos, e.g. Beyonce's "Crazy In Love", which features Beyonce gyrating around Jay-Z, in short-shorts and a sheer white top which enhances her breasts. Jay-Z, in contrast, is fully-clothes (with layers) standing stoic, mimicking a pole for which Beyonce can dance around. Jay-Z in no way negates his sexual authority, presenting himself as fully dressed, standing stoic.

Laura Mulvey theorises that many women like to be seen as sexually attractive as part of their psych and choose to present themselves in a manner they think will appeal to their male counterparts, suggesting that it is a conscious choice made by the artist to dress, act and look in said particular way.

It was interesting learning about Goodwin's theory, with particular emphasis on the treatment of women and how they are portrayed in the media in comparison with men. It makes me question the ethical nature of the industry and how much control the media has over the way we think and perceive things, and I hope will impact and make me question my first impressions in the future.