While I have time to blog due to the rain that suddenly hit after my Black Media class, I was still unsure about what to blog about until about two seconds ago.
Then it hit me. This week in Black Media we watched a documentary called Dreamworlds 3. I had also seen this in my Sociology class a few weeks early and you'll understand my weariness at watching it twice once I explain what it is about.
Dreamworlds 3 is basically slide show of scantily clad girls, rappers, rock stars, and champagne. A British man narrates and examines the objectification of women in music videos in a monotone voice. While this is a topic of extreme importance the way the video went about dissecting the issue could have been handled better.
In fact, I believe the last ten minutes were the best part. At the end of the video, statistics about sexual abuse, sexual assault, and objectification of women were displayed on the screen along with testimonies of college men talking in a horrifying manner about women. Real life footage was shown of riots in New York City and Seattle where men took advantage of women at rallies and parades.
This real life objectification of women was much more effective than the first 50 minutes of the documentary.
While the video had a purpose to show and explain why the music industry is a good example of women being objectified, it went a little overboard. While I believe that no woman should ever be put in a situation where they are uncomfortable or assaulted, these examples were not necessarily the best way to get across the message.
In reality, women in music videos audition for the part. They know what they are getting into, and they believe in what they are doing, because it's a means for money. While some people may believe that these dancers and sexualized women is degrading to the entire sex, I believe that it is mostly in the sake of entertainment.
I understand why music video directors and producers cast beautiful women in their videos--sex sells. Why wouldn't you exploit the number one way to get viewers?
It may be morally wrong, or go against people's beliefs. But then why are there so many women still auditioning for these videos? Why are there so many women still watching these videos? It's part of our culture. I don't see how we could get rid of the exploitation of sex completely.
Many people disagree with me...and it is true that some men take what they see in videos literally and then try to live their lives like what they see on the screen.
Just in my last post I discussed making sure you were ready to make decisions of importance. While these two posts may seem contradictory, I hope that people can see both sides. It's not as though I'm trying to tell you not to do something. I'm just encouraging using your brain to think things through.
If the majority were opposed to these music videos, they wouldn't be around. Now, I ask everyone to just think about this objectification of women. Is it a horrific display of exploiting sex or is it purely entertainment?
You have heard my side, and now it's up to you to make your own opinions. If you're for or against these ideas, stand up and speak out.
You'll never know who will hear you.
1 comment:
I definitely agree with you Rachel. I feel that as a society we watch these videos for entertainment purposes only and I really don't think it has much of an influence on us. Businesses are just pressured to meet certain demands and they have to use the notion that "sex sells" to sell a product. Lol, you and i probably just think this way becuase we are PR majors. Much like the other video we watched in Sociology and we were just like " hey go get that man a greasy bird". Lol, anyway Chicago is going to be fun I just hope that i don't "blow it" if you know what I mean
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