#dr. coolstein

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Nicki Minaj - Anaconda Response

In her article Nicki Minaj, Power, and Sexual Objectification, Dr. Melissa Sexton makes the argument that it is hypocritical and unfair for society to deem Minaj’s Anaconda music video and cover as anything less than it actually is: a woman going against the grain and showcasing her body in a positive manner. Sexton also argues that the backlash is really because society is shocked that a woman would so proudly display her body, when today’s world is so accustomed to shaming women who choose to share their bodies and shaming women whose bodies are forced into the public eye without their consent.

The Anaconda music video overflows with sexual innuendos from the very first scene. It opens with a shot of a mystical, fantastical jungle setting. Minaj and four back-up dancers are poised in a variety of sexual positions, all draped over one another. For the entirety of the music video, Minaj and her dancers perform a variety of dance routines that emphasize butt shaking, ground humping, pelvic thrusting, and just about any other sexual gesture imaginable. Minaj suddenly breaks the flow of shots midway through the video, as seductively eating a banana turns into violently cutting it up. And here is where her true intentions for both the song and the video are blatantly displayed. Nicki Minaj has coaxed viewers and listeners into a false sense of security, pushing the message that the song is simply about embracing men’s extreme sexual and physical expectations for women. She wants everyone to see just how ridiculous it is to expect women to cater to every member of society’s views on sexual pleasure and physical requirements. Minaj goes against the grain, choosing instead to take control of her body, how much of it is revealed, and just who she is trying to cater to. In the end, all she is concerned about is her own happiness and that of her fans, not society.

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Blog Post #2: Shot List + Thesis

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-qcifmRFaQSt4ECyAYUtNAePfePO1IQDBmhX8KvNnxU/edit?usp=sharing

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In Class Blogging: Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi"

In Lady Gaga’s Paparrazi, she uses a variety of editing techniques to give a visual representation of what is like to live the fast paced life of a celebrity. The editing in the opening sequence gives a sense of classical, old money wealth and elegance, introducing the long sought after, outwardly appealing life of the rich and famous. She continues with various long shots of all the beautiful things in her home, adding further enticement. Then suddenly, the slow pace is broken up by rapid cuts of a bedroom scene, creating disheveled and lost sensations as the camera cuts between images of her and her lover and the mess that is her bedroom. While everything outwardly appears to be calm, this is not completely clear because there is so much disarray in her home. The fast cuts continue while “photos” are taken of her and her boyfriend and snapshot sounds play before he pushes her off the balcony. Right before her plummet, Gaga can clearly sense something is wrong and attempts to escape her boyfriend. The editing emphasizes their power struggle, cutting quickly between shots of romance and tension. Long medium shots of Gaga falling into a vortex that follows right before the newspaper headlines depict her at “rock bottom” and her career as “over.” Her fall is the first true hint that her boy toy can represent the overwhelming influence and power of paparazzi, following the title of the song and the innuendos that come along with the lyrics. Gaga adds visual reinforcement to what the paparazzi is saying about her, as she struggles to make a comeback after her tragic fall from the balcony, and in reality a comeback from a vicious attack from the paparazzi. The edits from then on change to the beat of her music, similar to Madonna’s Vogue. For the rest of the video she is slowly rebuilding herself, as most celebrities have to rebuild their image when faced with bad publicity. There is reinforcement of her rebirth with the various women in positions that seem dead, slain by the slander coming from the media. The editing in the high paced montage switches rapidly between Gaga and various disconcerting images of animals reinforces the idea of disorientation as the pap cameras flash, coming full circle from the beginning of the video. Some of the images that appear are those of animals, hinting at how Gaga feels as though the Paparazzi treats the famous they chase as animals in a zoo, not as people. In the end, acting on an act of revenge, she kills her boyfriend, finally making her full comeback to success and fame by overcoming the very force that kept her back before.