In Taylor Swift’s the man and Vance joy’s riptide, both videos depict gender, mainly in a negative light through numerous stereotypes with the use of lighting, sound, costume, lyrics etc... For example, in riptide, women are heavily sexualised and represented as weak & feeble through the use of body language and acting as there’s a recurring theme of white women getting kidnapped and restrained then escaping straight away, indicating that women aren’t capable of looking after themselves and that they’re fitting in with the age-old stereotype. Similarly, in the man- women are seen as ‘bitches’ and ‘useless’ through numerous techniques such as the direct address present in the lyrics mentioning that “If I was out flashin' my dollas I'd be a bitch, not a baller” directly linking back to women being ‘heavily sexualised’ and ‘useless’ by comparing the idea that if women were rich and flaunted their money, they’d be called ‘bitches’ whereas men would be praised for being ‘ballers’ as stereotypically they are seen in a much better view because they’re known for being the breadwinners and to be ‘hardworking’ compared to women who are ‘not fit for work’ as they’re seen as housewives and fragile- the lyrics suggesting that the only way they’d be able to earn money is through prostitution. As well as that, at the beginning of the man, Taylor swift’s alpha male persona is seen to be walking through the office as people congratulate him, with him only acknowledging the men in the room- further adding to the point that women hold no importance in any work setting as they aren’t even acknowledged by their fellow peers. In addition, both videos heavily stress the idea that women are seen as objects of pleasure for men, and are dehumanised in many scenes throughput both videos, with riptide containing scenes of women being filmed from different angles as well as a scene with a book named ‘how to photograph women’ adding to the age-old stereotype that women are used as ‘objects’ and props instead, and don’t hold any importance compared to the men that are filming them and seen as being hard working in the video. Likewise, in the man women are shown just as provocatively but more up close, with scenes containing women lying on the floor with lose clothing/bikinis, praising the man, or in bed- closely tying in with riptide with similar ideas of women being used as objects for pleasure and them being seen as helpless and useless.
however, the key difference in both videos are the different perspectives the women are shown from- for example in riptide, the dehumanising scenes and shots of the women’s bodies at different angles suggest that she is being filmed with no consent as her body language indicates that she is uncomfortable and isn’t aware that she’s being recorded whereas, in the man, the women are shown to be looking directly at the camera with large smiles and a ‘seductive’ gaze - insinuating that women are sexualised despite whether they consent to be or not. To further emphasise the presence of stereotypes against women, one notable stereotype that has been shown through both videos is how women should stay happy and seem more likeable, for example in riptide a woman is shown to be mouthing the lyrics with a calm expression, in the beginning, looking neat and tidy but as the video progresses she becomes more worn out and looks a lot more tired- with bloodstains around her face, continuing to mouth the lyrics- suggesting that something more disastrous and concerning is happening behind the scenes, but is all hidden behind a facade of happiness, as women showing emotion is seen as unprofessional. on the contrary in the last scene in riptide, the man is told to be more ‘likeable’ and seem more charming while the girl is congratulated a complete contrast from the stereotype presented in riptide - both videos sharing similar themes but portraying them in different settings with the use of multiple techniques.
In both riptide and the man, compared to women- men are idolised and are seen as the successful breadwinners, as both videos exaggerate the ‘hardworking’ men stereotype through the use of numerous techniques to create a clear contrast with how women are presented in the videos. For example, in the man - the man shown in the video is used as a representative of how men are viewed in the eyes of other people, with the direct address from the lyrics stating how being a man would be a lot easier compared to being a woman due to the hardships and misogyny that women face for simply achieving things that men are praised for. This is shown when the man (named Tyler swift) walks through the room with his employees working, radiating the alpha male energy that men are known to have while people congratulate him. Comparably in riptide, the men present in the video are seen to be taking photographs fo the women in the video as well as shots of them at the beach working on scenes for a video they’re shooting, further exaggerating the hard-working stereotype despite the work they’re doing. As well as the hardworking stereotype being present many double standards are snuck in the video associating with the idea of stereotypes towards men ‘idolising’ them in contrasting from the stereotypes towards women. This is displayed when Tyler Swift is being shown leaving a ‘one-night’ stand, walking down a hall with a proud grin, high-fiving the hands that are sticking out of the wall. This portrays the total opposite of the concept of ‘the hall of shame’( which is assigned to women) instead, creating the notion of the ‘hall of fame’ as he runs down the hall looking ecstatic and pleased with himself. In addition to the stereotypes that depict men as ‘hard-working’ and ‘respectable ’- one key idea that both videos share which highly differs from said stereotypes is the idea of men being shown as ‘violent sexual predators’. For example, in The Man, Tyler swift is shown to be ‘manspreading’ in the subway train with the fake advertisements behind him of himself, said adverts parodying/mocking the violent and sexual ways of how men are portrayed in the media as well as shown to be man-spreading while he’s with his daughter, as she’s shown to be taking up little space (the two showing the clear contrast between how men and women are brought up). In correlation to this, in riptide- the men in the video are seen to be focusing on taking indecent pictures of women, with some scenes containing shots of women from awkward/revealing angles- linking back to the prominent ‘sexual predator’ stereotype that has been pushed onto men.
Collectively, both videos depict gender through numerous different stereotypes, from women being taught to grow up into a ‘happy’ woman who ‘obeys’ those around her to men being idolised for sleeping with many women- both videos highlighting how common these stereotypes are used against people in today’s society, and how they shouldn’t generalise men and women due to the negative and ‘positive’ stereotypes pinned to them.
Comments
Post a Comment