B grade

1. “Compare the representationof womenintwomusicvideosof yourchoice”
In thisessayI will be comparinghowwomenare representedinthe media,byevaluatingtwomusic
videos.The firstvideois“LivingforLove”byMadonna.Madonna isknownfor her sexualisedand
rebelliousstyle.Madonna’smusicvideoisaperformance,because itissetina theatre andit islike
she isperformingforan audience.The secondmusicvideois“Everytime”byBritneySpears.Spears
ismostlyknowntobe weakandoverly sexualised.BritneySpears’videoisanarrative,because ithas
a storyline anda meaningtoit.
Madonna isa Popartistand her mostsuccessful singlesare “IntoThe Groove”,“Like A Virgin”and
“Crazy for You”.Her firstsingle “Everybody”wasreleased in1983. Her musicvideossuggestshe isa
Popartist,as theycontainbrightcoloursand colourful outfits,but“LivingforLove”isa very
differentstyle of videoandshowsadarker,more rebelliousside toMadonna.Madonnais a
controversial artist,because ineachof hermusicvideos,she isrepresentedinadifferentway. She
isn’tstereotypical,becauseshe changesherstyle often.
BritneySpearsisalsoa Pop artist.Her mostsuccessful singlesare “BabyOne More Time”,“Gimme
More” and “Circus”. Her firstsingle wasreleasedin1998 and itwas “Baby One More Time”.Spears
isknownfor beinginnocentandoverlysexualised.She couldbe interpretedasastereotypical
female Popartist,because inmostof hermusicvideosshe isportrayedassexualisedandweakand
thisisa commonideologyof women.
The mise-en-sceneof “LivingforLove”
representswomenasbeingstrongand
independent.Thisisevidentinthe videoas
all the menare portrayedas devilsandtheir
facesare hidden.Thisconnotesthatwomen
are independentanddominant.Thisalso
showsthat menare insignificantina
woman’slife andwomendon’tneedmento
care for them. The menare coveringtheir
faces,whichcommunicatestothe audience
that the mainfocusof the videoisonMadonna and the mendon’tplaya bigrole inthe video.This
linkstofeminismandconnotesthatwomendon’thave tobe dependentonmen.Thiscanalsobe
seenbythe fact that low-keylightingisusedinthe backgroundandhigh-keylightingisusedon
Madonna’s face.This signifiesthatthe focusof the videoisonthe artist.The dark backgroundcan
suggestto the audience thatMadonnaisdangerousor mysterious.Inaddition,itportraysMadonna
as the opposite of weak;strongandunapproachable.
Audiencesmay interpretthatthe backgroundisirrelevant
and the focusin onMadonna. Thissubvertsthe stereotype
that womenare dependentonmen.Therefore,thismusic
videohasrepresentedwomentobe empoweredand
independent.

2. In “Everytime”,mise-en-scene isusedtorepresentwomenasweakandvulnerable. Thisisevidentin
the videowhenthe artistiswearingwhite infrontof a white background.The colourwhite connotes
innocence,because white isoftenlinkedwithpurityand
cleanliness.Thiscommunicatesto the audience thatBritneyis
unable tolookafterherself andmakesherlooklike achildwho
shouldbe supervised.Thisissupportedbythe ideologythatmen
mustalwaysprotectwomenandthat womenare weakand can’t
be strong,unlesstheyare witha man. For example,inthe video
there isa baby shownina hospital.ThissignifiesBritney’s
vulnerabilityandhowweakandhelplessshe is.Italsosuggests
that she isimmature.The settingof the hospital issignificant
because mostpeople feel veryvulnerable whentheyare atthe
hospital.Thisissupportedbythe theoryof patriarchy,this
suggeststhatmenhave all the powerandcontrol and womenare
insignificant,becausetheyare tooimmature andweakandare unable totake responsibility.
Therefore,we cansee thatthismusicvideorepresentswomenasvulnerableandweak.
The soundin the musicvideofor“LivingforLove”
representswomenasindependentandpowerful.Inthis
musicvideowe canhear roaring.Thisis significantinthe
videobecause the audience caninterpretthatthe roar is
like alion’sroar.Lionsare usuallyinterpretedasstrong
and fearless.Thiscanalsoconnote angerandcould
suggestthatthe artistisunapproachable anddangerous.
In additiontothis,lionsare alwaysportrayedas
masculine,sothisvideoshowsthatwomencanalsobe
as strong as menThissubvertsthe stereotypethat
womenare weak.Therefore,thisdemonstratesequality
betweenthe sexesandfeminism.Whenthe artistsings
“I’m gonnacarry on.” The camera goes from a highangle
to a lowangle.Thisconnotestothe audience that the song isempoweringandwomenare
confident. Whenthe cameraisat a highangle,itrepresentsthe artistasvulnerable.Whenthe
camera isat a lowangle,itrepresentsthe artistas strongand dominant.The lyricslinkwiththis
because itissuggestingthatshe won’tgive upand she will keeptrying.Therefore,thismusicvideo
representswomenasstrongandindependent.
BritneySpears’musicvideorepresentswomenasdependentonmenandweak.We can find
evidence inthisvideowhenthe artistsings“IguessIneedyou.”The significance of thisisthatwhen
Britneysingsthisline,herboyfriendsavesherfromdrowninginthe bathtub.The audience can
interpretthatwomenalwaysneedtobe savedbya man andthat womencannotbe independentor
save themselveswithoutaman.Thislinkstothe theoryof patriarchy,whichsuggeststhatmen
shouldalwaysbe dominantoverwomen.Thiscanalsobe seenbythe fact that youcan hear Britney
breathing,whileshe’ssinging.Thissignifiesthatshe isdistressedandweakandthe audience may
interpretthatshe needshelporshe’sindanger.Thisreinforcesthe stereotype thatwomenare
vulnerable andtooweak,sotheymustdependonmen.Therefore,the musicvideofor“Everytime”
couldmake audiencesinterpretthatwomenare weakandnotindependent.
“LivingforLove” representswomenasempoweredandindependentandthisisshownthroughthe
use of editing.We canfindevidence of thisinthe videobythe use of cuttingto the beat.This

3. connotesthatthe artistisenergeticandthe songis empowering.Thiscommunicatestothe
audience thatwomenare notweakand don’tneedtobe controlledbymen;theyare free.Cutting
to the beatmakesthe videoappearfast-paced,whichsignifiespowerandshowswomenare strong.
Thisideacontradictswiththe theoryof the male gaze.Thistheorysuggeststhatwomenare useless
and onlygoodfor theirlooks.Forexample,inthe videothere are flashesof light.The reasonthisis
significantisbecause itcansuggestdistress,angerorheartbreak.Thiscommunicatestothe
audience thatMadonnahas experiencedsomethingbad,butshe still hasn’tgivenup;she isstill
independentandpowerful.Thislinkstofeminism,because itshowsthatmenandwomenare both
equal andtheyare bothstrong. Therefore,inthismusicvideowomenare portrayedtobe
empoweredandindependent.
In BritneySpears’musicvideo“Everytime”womenare representedasvulnerable anddistressedby
the use of editing.Forexample,inthismusicvideothere isadissolve,whenBritneyisinthe bathtub
and she’snearlydrowning.Thissignifiesthatshe hasgivenupon herself andshe ispreparedtodie.
Whenit dissolvestowhite,itcouldconnote thatshe diedorwentto heaven.Thismakesthe
audience interpretthatthe artistisveryvulnerable andshouldbe sympathised.Thisshowssexism
and suggeststhatmenand womenare nottreatedthe same,because womenare mostly
representedasweak.We canalsofindevidence of thisinthe video,throughthe use of slow motion,
while Britneyisrunningthroughthe corridor.Thisconstructsthe representationbecause slow
motionputsemphasisonthe action,whichinthiscase is Britneyrunningaway. Inthisscene,she is
presentedasdistressed.Audiencescouldinterpretthatshowingheremotionscanmake herlook
weaker. Duringthe slowmotionscene,Britney’shairismovinginslow motion.Herlongblonde hair
givesthe audience anideathatshe isveryfeminine anddelicate.Thisalsogivesthe audience an
ideathat the artistis veryvulnerable.Therefore,thisvideoisanegative representationof women,
because theyare shownas distressedandvulnerable.
The cameraworkin Madonna’smusicvideorepresentswomenasstrongand dominant.Thisis
evidentinthe video throughthe use of low angles,where the cameraislookinguptoMadonna.
Whenusinga low angle,the artistlooks
biggerandmore dominant.The reasonthis
isso significantisbecause itthatitgivesthe
impressionthatwomenare confidentand
independent,because theycanlookstrong,
evenwithoutaman.Audiencescan
interpretthisasa positive viewonwomen,
because itshowsthat menandwomencan
bothbe equallystrong.Thislinkswithfeminism.This
can alsobe seenbythe fact that there isa wide shot,
where Madonnaisstandinginthe middle,witha
confidentposture.Thiscommunicatestothe
audience thatwomenare strong,because Madonna
isthe onlyone standingandall the menare lyingon
the floor.Thiswide shotcan suggestthatshe is the strongestoutof everyone showninthisscene,as

4. she isthe onlyone standingandshe isstandinginthe middle.She isalsothe onlywomeninthis
scene andthiscan signifythatwomenare stronganddominant.Inaddition,thissubvertsthe
stereotype thatwomenare weak. Therefore, Madonnaisrepresentingwomenasstronginher
musicvideo,“LivingforLove”.
The representationof womeninthe video“Everytime”showsthemasweakanddependent.Thisis
evidentwiththe use of camerawork.Forexample,inthe videothereisalow angle,while Britney
and herboyfriendare inthe car, together.Thiscommunicatesthe message thatwomencanonlybe
powerful,whentheyare withaman. The audience may
interpretthatwithoutaman, womenare seenasweak
and itcan alsosuggestthatwomenmustalwaysdepend
on men,tobe shownina positive way.Thisissupported
by the ideologythatwomenare weak,whichderivesfrom
the theoryof patriarchy,whichinfersthatwomencannot
be powerful withoutaman. Whenthe artist isinthe
bathtub,there isa use of a highangle.Thiscan
communicate tothe audience thatBritneyisvulnerable,
as the audience are lookingdownonher.She appearstothe audience assmall andweak.This
reinforcesthe stereotype thatwomen are weakandmustbe dependentonmen.Thisideology
comesfroma sexistperspective,whichderivesfrompatriarchy.Thissuggeststhatonlymencanbe
powerful andwomenshouldalways be representedasweakandtheycannotbe strong,unlessthey
are witha man.For thisreason,the audience interpretthismusicvideoas
beinga negative representationof women.Theyare representedasweak
and vulnerable.
In conclusion,the mediacan representwomenindifferentways;negative
and positive.InBritneySpear’svideo,womenare representednegatively,
because theyare shownas weakandnot independent.Thiscanput a
negative impactonthe audience, becausethe audience couldinterpretthat
womenmustbe dependentonmenandthat theycan’t be strong or be
independent.Madonna’smusicvideocanbe interpretedasa positive view
on women,because itrepresentswomenasindependentandpowerful.Thismusicvideocanmake
audiencesfeel empoweredanditshowsthatwomenare equal tomenand theycan independent.
Thismakesme feel thatthe mediahas a lotof powerandcan control how people are represented.
The audience caninterprethowtheyare representedandformopinionsaboutthatpersonorthat
type of people.