This post is in response to the video we watched in class today, Dreamworld 3. I don't know about anyone else, but towards of the end of the video I was disgusted. I don't have a problem so much with the music videos, because they choose to be exploited in such ways. However, when the riots were shown with the women being violated, it really made my stomach turn. I think it's a dangerous world to begin with, but when the music industry makes it "okay" for women to be treated in such ways, what are people supposed to think? The music industry portrays women in their videos who enjoy being touched, groped, and half-naked. Not to mention that they are treated like strippers having money and booze poured on them.
However, what really caught my attention was the facts at the end of the show. I don't remember the exact statistics now, but it was something like 1/6 women are victim of rape or attempted rape. The statistics were bone chilling. I was just wondering what some other reactions were from the video since we didn't get to discuss it much.
8 comments:
I was so glad to get on here tonight and see that someone had posted about the video because it has been in the back of my mind ever since we got out of class today. At the beginning of class when Professor Lucas was talking about how anyone could feel free to leave at anytime I thought she was just doing her part as a professor and that the video wouldn't be that bad. However, I had never felt so uncomfortable by the end of a video as I did with Dreamworld 3. I to was prepared for the music video part, however, like mentioned, the riots were unbelievable. Seeing those women cry made me want to cry for them. I always looked at these music videos and such as just media and how "sex sells." Tonight, I see these videos completely different. I understand that these women choose to be a part of these videos but that's almost worse, seeing those women degrade themselves so much. What really got me was how the girls in Girls Gone Wild just think it's all fun and that's it. Are you serious? And these girls go to college? So while I was upset and hurt for the women involved in the riots, part of me just remains disgusted for the women that actually take part in these videos. I understand it's money and these videos sell, but do these women think they should be respected and allow other women to earn respect after presenting themselves in such a way and allow men to do such degrading things to their bodies? The part where the women were having meat thrown on their bodies made me want to vomit. All I was thinking was, "What in the hell are these women let happen to them?" These are my thoughts on the issue and I hope we will discuss more in class. What I would like to know is how will things be 10 years from now. The whole image of sex is becoming more and more common in the media, as our youth is able to observe such videos, what will the outcomes be in the future? I'm honestly scared to know the truth...
Thanks for your insights kiwi. I totally agree with you. It was scary to think that the youth of the nation are being exposed to such...smut, if that's the right word. I remember when I was little, I was not even allowed to watch MTV, and now I know why. I also don't watch it much now but that's just because I don't have cable, but I don't even think I would want to watch it if this is what's showing.
That movie sparked a lot of thought and conversation over the last 48 hours. I agree with kiwi that I was expecting to be able to handle the sexuality of the music videos but after an hour and a half of seeing booties slapped, alcohol sprayed, and bodies touched both in the videos and in real life footage, I was sick to my stomach. The footage no longer became attractive or alluring but disgusting and exploitative. Media or behavior I had excused as "just on t.v." or "not something that happens in real life" has now been thrown out the window. I think that the theory of symbolic interactionism does a good job of both explaining the content of the videos and indicating its implications. The messages that the videos give us, men and women alike, about what it means to be feminine or masculine are coming to dictate the way we behave. Perfect evidence of this was the Puerto Rico Day parade and the Mardi Gra parade in Seattle, WA where these subtle identity messages became real life and acted upon. Additionally, the audio clips of college-aged men who blended desire with violence towards girls with "big attitude" and "their nose in the air." These characteristics or the opinion that these girls were "bitches" seemed to, in the mind of these men, give them the right to put them in their place, wherever that was. It scared me to think of the subtle (and sometimes overt) ways our culture is getting pumped in messages that validate and encourage this type of behavior.
I completely agree with this post. You never realize how disturbing this type of behavior is until you have to watch it over and over again for fifty minutes. For me, the most disgusting part was the end, with the Puerto Rican day parade in Central Park and the picture they showed of Mardi Gras in Seattle. These real life events reflect what we see in these music videos to an extreme extent. Watching the footage from Central park intermixed with the music videos was the most chilling part because they were so much alike, of course other than the fact that in the music videos the women enjoy being treated that way while in real life they were fighting, and crying, and yelling for these men to stop.
I too, walked out of class feeling very despondent and depressed. All I could think about was, how would I feel if I were one of those women in the riots? How would it feel to have groups of men attacking you, ripping your clothes off, grabbing your body, and pouring water on you? It was beyond disgusting to me that there are people in this world that at one time in their life believed that they could treat another human being like that, like a purely sexual object. As a woman, one of my greatest fears is being attacked or sexually assaulted. It is too often that these types of attacks occur, so what are we doing to stop it? I know with a lot of rape cases that since there is no physical evidence usually that the charges get dropped. This makes me sick because this means there are men walking around this country thinking that they can grab and use women however they like.
The movie often referred to these images created in music videos as fantasies. I think this is such an odd way to think about it because who’s fantasies are these? The CEO’s of record labels have a distinct idea of what they think men and women’s roles are, but how realistic are these roles? Obviously not everyone buys into what’s shown on MTV, but at the same time, too many people buy into what’s being shown. This is a really scary thought because in the future, these videos will only get more explicit, more aggressively sexual, and more demeaning. We love being shocked, we love being voyeurs into the lives of others, especially the sexual lives of others, but at what cost? We are so caught up in shocking each other that we don’t even notice the repercussions of these acts. It makes me so sick to think about how many girls will be attacked or assaulted, especially over Spring Break. Through these videos, society is perpetuating violence, sexual aggressiveness, and these impossible and degrading gender roles.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m a bit of an insomniac and one night on VH1 a few months ago I watched a similar documentary called “Video Vixens” that told the tales of many women trying to “make it” in the music video industry. The documentary focused on why these women wanted to be in these videos mixed with some of their horror stories about how they were treated on these sets. Many of them desire this attention, they desire for the hip hop lifestyle, and they are willing to do anything to be a part of it, including exchanging sexual favors in order to be cast in a video. Hearing these women tell their stories of how they were treated solely as sexual objects was so degrading but at the same time you have to wonder, why are they putting themselves in these positions in the first place?
I was also strongly affected by this video in class. While I was watching it, at first I was like, yeah yeah, we've all seen this. But seeing a montage of images really pulled it into a different light. I felt sick about it for a long time, and was telling everyone I know about the video and the footage of the riot. It totally blew my mind.
The most disturbing part of the video that stands out to me is the section on the fred durst / limp bizkit song "Eat You Alive" It was amazing to me to see that we condone and even celebrate that kind of behavior and those kind of lyrics.
I'm a straight guy and even I was feeling bad for the women in the videos as well as the women in class, as it clearly seemed to make many feel uncomfortable. But I am also offended by how this subject can simply be seen as a "male pornographic fantasy". It's not just the supposed male producers that promote this lifestyle, but female producers do the same.
Like other posts state, women are responsible for the roles they choose to take (as well as are men). Both men and women can now choose to be in a variety of occupations - doctors, bankers, teachers, etc. Yet, even outside of music videos many women still try to present themselves in a more sexually explicit manner. A perfect example can be seen in our class alone in regards to the types of clothing women wear. Why is it so easy for many women to be upset about what they saw in class, yet essentially dressed in similar low-cut tight fitting clothing? Why perpetuate this lifestyle if you are so offended by it? As a woman and potential mother, you are empowered to raise your children to not contribute or fall victim to this toxic life style. If your path is not to become a mother, then become more active in other ways to broaden the awareness that this is inappropriate behavior for both men and women. Until a more proactive approach is taken, then I don't see how the presentation of women in media (or any other field) will change all that much.
A good book dealing with women in music videos that I had to read for my Women in Pop Culture class called, "Confessions of a Video Vixen" by Karrine Steffans, is a very good insight into the world of hip hop and the video girls. Its supposed to be a cautionary tale so you don't make the same mistakes as her, but she basically glamourizes it, spurlging all the details of all the big powerful men she's been with, which is a big clue-in to the girls that are in these videos, they choose to be there, they think they're going somewhere with their lives, and the more sexually exploited they are, some are happier with it. They use sex as a weapon, and the male stars are more than happy to take advantage of it. Check it out, its quite eye opening.
I agree with mostly everyone's comment. This was a very disturbing video. I don't understand how men can treat women like that, harass them at riots, and then sleep at night. It's unbelievable and the worst part is that this happens much more than we know about. At the end of the video, those statistics about rape and sexual assault were shocking. These are terrible issues and it's hard to believe how these things happen. But, on the other hand, I agree with mad_bloggerx, women do act sexually in public, dress scantily clad. Any given night downtown, there are many women in shirt skirts, low cut shirts, just begging to be looked at. I understand they like attention, but some men might misconstrew their clothing as an invitation. As a whole, there are many things are society needs to address and change, none of which I think will be made anytime soon.
Post a Comment