Explore the negative representation of Black women in contemporary music videos with reference to - Beyoncé- Pretty hurts
Kid Ink- Body Language.
Bryson Tiller- Something tells me.
I have chosen to investigate the way in which black women have been represented in contemporary music videos. Throughout many contemporary music videos black women have been represented in a sexual way mainly to please the dominant ideology who are in charge of media texts. Although the media texts Beyoncé- Pretty Hurts Ink Kid Ink- Body Language and Bryson Tiller- Something tells me presents black women throughout their music videos differently, they have been represented in different lights which reflects on the primary artists. Personally, the lack of respect demonstrated in Kid Ink- Body Language reflects the issues with the way not only black women but all women are being treaded within wider society.
Beyoncé Pretty Hurts video portrays all the struggles not only black women but all women go through on a daily basis and the pressures the is not only from the media but those around them. It shows a more negative side and the truth behind what media does not show us. The theme of body image was shown through the use of models and beauty pageants. It gives an insight into the extreme intense atmosphere of the beauty world and what they have to endure on a daily basis to be considered as 'beautiful'. It is highlighting the pressures that women have on outer beauty and the things that women go through to achieve this.
'The concept of the video is really a behind the scenes look into society's take on beauty and how it doesn't bring you happiness and it doesn't move you forward in life,' says Melina.
Throughout the music video it is a representation of how society makes girls feel about themselves and their appearance, within the music video it shows a scene where she is smashing up the trophies that she has won from her pageants. It signifies her destroying the stereotype of what society deems as 'beautiful' and allowing herself to be happy, which she says at the end of the music video that her goal in life is to be happy. On the other hand, Kid Ink Body Language thought-out shows half naked girls is lingerie, using their femme fatale to look sexy for the camera and their audience.
They both use dark lighting; the Beyoncé video uses dark lighting to set a mood for the whole video. It reflects the facial expression that most of the girls in the video have by the use of close ups.
They all had sad ad somewhat facial expressions, the reflects them not being able to be themselves due to the image society has made them feel that they have to have to fit in. Also, it could be seen that the industry and world of beauty can be a dark place for many females. The use of dark lights in Body Language is to emphasise the outline of the women in the videos video to show their figures more and enhances it more.
Within many music videos black women are not used, however in Bryson Tiller something tells me the video is filled with many different shades of black woman and even though they are seen as half naked they are all smiling and happy. This shows that they are happy and confident within themselves and the use of white shows a sense on purity. This links with Beyonce's video as it is a link to the different ways in which black women feel about themselves but just the different aspect of it, one has the positive side where as the other is more dark and negative.
The media has portrayed the world of modelling as 'gilts and glam', they never show the truth behind it and the struggles that the girls have to endure throughout.
In Hunting Girls: Sexual Violence from The Hunger Games to Campus Rape by Kelly Oliver it analysis the meaning behind the model industry and the types of shoots they take and how it can affect young girls.
'your eyes have an intensity but also a blankness as if your soul is gone'' this links to the way in which the models really feel and how the reality of being a model makes them feel,
Hunting Girls: Sexual Violence from The Hunger Games to Campus Rape by Kelly Oliver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qDv-_TUwIw
