Critical Investigation: Task #5 Essay plan

Working title

"To what extent does the music industry reinforce an unrealistic and negative representation of women, with a specific reference to the track 'Yo Darlin- NSG ft Geko'

Hypothesis
Women in the music industry primarily serve a single objective and this objective is to please the male viewership. (however within the essay, i will strive to show multiple sides of the argument, both agreeing and disagreeing with my statement)

(Example/Point)

the mass of the music industry is controlled by men therefore has a higher accurate representation of males within the music scene. In addition, the record label is dominated by males as well therefore the male viewership and concerns are valued more and prioritised.

(Another example/Point)

“American youth are being sold the concept that women and girls’ value lies in their youth, beauty and sexuality”

Women and men are often visualised as hyper sexual beings in the media however we could argue in music videos there seems to be a high imbalance of sexualisation between the genders.

Key theorists/theory  

Hall (1980) 

Mulvey’s (1975)

Berry and Shelton (1999)

Sherman and Dominick (1986)

Marxist/feminist perspective 

male gaze

Mulvey Male Gaze

Dyer - stereotypes are a projection of the real world.

Dominate ideologies

Narrative pleasures

Genre expectations - reinforce the boundaries between men and women

mis-en-scene - referring to the appearances of the female characters.

Theories

Marxism and hegemony- cultural hegemony is the domination of a culturally diverse society, by the ruling class who manipulate the culture of that society—the beliefs, explanations, perceptions, values, and mores so that their imposed, ruling-class worldview becomes the accepted cultural norm; the universally valid dominant ideology, which justifies the social, political, and economic status quo as natural and inevitable, perpetual and beneficial for everyone, rather than as artificial social constructs that benefit only the ruling class

Audience theories-  Media Audiences If the media is about MASS COMMUNICATION, then it’s very important to look at who a media text is communicating with. Different media companies have different audiences.  Hypodermic Needle Model- is present as audiences are influenced by the content they see in music videos and audiences passively receive the information. For example, for younger generations this will effect them as they will think it is the norm for women to be exploited in this way.

Feminism -They also argue that sexual objectification can lead to negative psychological effects including eating disorders, depression and sexual dysfunction, and can give women negative self-images because of the belief that their intelligence and competence are currently not being, nor will ever be, acknowledged by society. Some have argued that the feminist movement itself has contributed to the problem of the sexual objectification of women by pushing for an end to the so-called oppressive patriarchal 

Quotes Example:

"In the rap world, women represent success, and they are treated almost as accessories: a means for rappers to prove that they have made it to the top...the purpose of this facade is to simply make money, but rappers do not realize the extent to which their music is affecting the younger generations and their view/role of women in society"

"feminists who organise against pornification are not arguing that sexualised images of women cause moral decay; rather that they perpetuate myths of women's unconditional sexual availability and object status, and thus undermine women's rights to sexual autonomy, physical safety and economic and social equality."

"Black feminism became popular in the 1960s, in response to the sexism of the Civil Rights Movement and racism of the feminist movement. From the 1970s to 1980s, black feminists formed various groups which addressed the role of black women in black nationalism, gay liberation, and second-wave feminism. In the 1990s

"the Anita Hill controversy placed black feminism in a mainstream light. Black feminist theories reached a wider audience in the 2010s, as a result of social media advocacy."

Example Arguments: 

female artists who assume that they have full control of their sexuality and are supposedly empowered are still being manipulated by men.

two types of feminism,  liberal and radical. In case you didn’t know, the complete eradication of patriarchies starts at the ending male supremacy.

Whether such are truly empowered and in control of their own sexualities in the patriarchal constructs of Western society is debatable but one thing is certain: As women continue to battle for their own identities in this visual era of music, there is still a grey area to be examined as we decide if they are still just puppets dancing for their male masters.

Second wave feminism introduced new ways of thinking for thinkers who gave greater attention to the issues affecting the various subgroups of women in the feminist movement. One particular topic that rose to forefront of the debate was female sexuality Music is a product, women are used to sell that product and the primary target audience for media companies are men

Afrobeats Section:

New wave/ modern afrobeat

West Africa is experiencing something of a musical golden age, with artists such as WizKid and Davido attaining global stardom, almost entirely outside the mainstream, disseminating their music through social media. By 2012, Ghana had the fastest internet speed in Africa, and Nigeria the eighth fastest, and this vast improvement in internet connection, along with the viral power of Facebook and Twitter.

the success of Fuse ODG and NSG (main media text) artists are creating a homegrown variant of the sound, introducing elements that mixes in with British audiences

VS

The term “afrobeat” was first coined by Fela Kuti. 

This music is fairly new, beginning in the 1960s. Although it is relevantly new, afrobeat has expanded it's horizons significantly during the past 50 years to point where we even have artists like NSG (orginal text) which are heavily influenced by this new wave of sound coming from africa.

Hip-hop is well known for providing new perspectives to old classics. We often acknowledge the presence of funk and soul in hip-hop

Afro beat originated from the southern part of Nigeria in the 1960s. Where kuti had experimented with many different forms of contemporary music, at the time. 

The main creator of afro beat is, Nigerian multi – instrumentalist and band leader, Fela Kula. He is the one who gave it it’s name who used it to revolutionize musical structure as well as the political context in his native Nigeria