TF: Are Music Videos Commercial, Porn or Art?

Are Music Videos Commercial, Porn, or Art?

Various Music Video Auteurs take a different approach when producing a music video, due to what they think a music video is. People believe that modern music artists are more interested in the showbiz lifestyle that comes with the job, compared to that of back in the era of ‘The Beatles’ and ‘The Rolling Stones.’ Laura Mulvey, and the Auteurs Goffman et al believed the music videos swayed more towards the porn category. Mulvey introduced the concept of the ‘Male Gaze’ that has been hugely influential in Feminist Film Theory, where Goffman et al focused on the ways women are represented in popular culture, including music videos. And, finally there is the art side of music videos which an auteur like Michael Gondye uses in his videos.

As in the introduction, I mentioned about the modern artists being more interested in the showbiz lifestyle more than the music itself. This is because due to the revolution in this country there is a showbiz lifestyle that comes with being a artist which was less prevalent in the 20^th Century. However, to me it depends on the artist themselves and the way they act. I would say Indie Bands seem to have a strong narrative in their songs, however, contemporary R’n’B artists seem to be more motivated by the lifestyle and money.
A way in which auteur try promote their artists in videos, are from close-up’s. With these close-up’s the artists are being promoted. There are also motifs in videos which the audience can easily identify the artist, and also the audience can remember them. There are visual motifs, I.e. Elton John’s Glasses, and Lady Gaga’s Extravagent Attire.

A lot of music videos use the idea of Porn to attract the audience’s attention and this is very prevalent in modern music videos. One example of a modern music video which would fall into the porn category is Rihanna’s - We Found Love. She by the end of the video is wearing minimal clothing whilst drinking and smoking, which the male audience will lust after. However, it’s not just modern music videos that include scenes of porn in. Laura Mulvey identified the concept of the ‘Male Gaze’ in 1973. The defining charateristic of the Male Gaze is that the audience is forced to watch the music video through the perspective of a heterosexual male. The camera lingers on the curves of the female body, and events which occur to women are presented largely in the context of a man’s reaction to the events due to the power asymmetry in society.
Auteurs Goffman et al, focused on the ways women are represented in popular culture. They identified seven charateristics to look out for in a music video or other popular culture to show the females representation. These charateristics are the Artificial Look, Dismemberment, Commodification, The Feminine Touch, Relative Size, Function Ranking and Ritualization of Subordination. Kylie Minogue - Time Bomb is an excellent example of a music video that fits in perfectly to Goffman et al Theory. The Artificial Look is present with Kylie made to look tall, slim, and with air brushing even better than normal. Camera shots which pan up her body for dismemberment. You see the male extra’s in the video having their attention distracted by the artificial look of the artist which shows how commodification fit’s the video.

The final category a music video could fit into is as Art. Although a lot of people believe the art side of music videos aren’t prevalent I don’t tend to agree with this. Daft Punk - Around The World by Michael Gondye (1997) would be a video that wouldn’t fit into either of the other categories. Daft Punk are a electronic music duo, and their video for their song doesn’t include them so it cant be commercial, and there is no sign of porn at all. There is about 20 dancers, in the one set repreating the same action, which fits in to the song title.
Theodor Adorno (1903-69) was a German sociologist, philosopher, and musicologist. He was a forceful critic of capitalist system, and he argued that mass media was part of what he termed ‘culture industries’ which were largely responsible for maintaining capitalism. He also argued hat they provide audiences with generic products that serve to keep us occupied and uninterested in political change.

Overall, I would have to say that for me in the world we live now, music videos tend to fall under the porn category. Even though it wasn
’t as prevalent, I believe there are more and more music videos that are explicit in content. However, I believe that music videos can fall under more than one category. By selling Rihanna through her desirable image, it can be seen as porn, and commercial, however, I am of the belief that the music videos that are declining in number being produced is the art videos, due to the revolution in society.