The document provides an analysis of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" music video through examining its conventions and portrayal of gender stereotypes. Some key points analyzed include the upbeat music drawing in viewers, use of hashtags to gain attention on social media, stereotypical depiction of women as sexual objects inferior to men through dressing and lyrics, and constant portrayal of male gaze and domination. In response, some women created a parody video putting men in the objectified role to critique the original's sexism from a feminist perspective, using similar conventions like pink background, lyrics, and hashtags for intertextual reference and humor.

1. Music Video Analysis

2. Firstly, when the song starts there is a upbeat, funky beat been played constantly to get the
audience to be engaged and hooked to the song. The instant quick panning shot of the
women sexually being held by the star constructor ‘Robin Thicke’ grabs the audience
attention immediately as they to figure out the binary opposition which is ‘countertypes vs.
stereotypes’ and ‘male vs. female’. There is also a notion of voyeurism being used at the
beginning of the music video where ‘Pharrel Williams’ is observing the mid-waist shots
whilst singing the lyrics. We get the impression that this is a 21st century song due to the
stylist conventions such as the clothing of the characters as it captures the zeitgeist of the
music video. Moreover, this video contains catharsis which shows the sexual content
throughout this music video. The women antagonist holding the goat is a form of innocence
and thickness which is portrayed throughout this music video.
Throughout this music video Robin Thicke has enticed the target audience.
One of the ways he has achieved this is by using the hashtag “#THICKE” at the
beginning of his music video. The hashtag trend is extremely popular in
modern day society hence why Robin Thicke has used it. This will gain his
media attention through social networking sites such as Twitter and
Facebook. The hashtag will be a common trend and lead people to follow the
trend.
Instantly, at the beginning of the music video we immediately
get the impression of this genre signifier. The genre of this
music video is “Pop”, we get this impression through the
clothing of the men and the modern day society of how
stereotypical women are dressed. The men characters are
dressed casually smart and trendy, whereas the women are
dressed sexually and look inferior to the men. This music video
can be controversial to the target audience as the main
conventions are stereotypical to gender.

3. Throughout the music video, the ‘Mise en scene’ has been based in one set. The background is
consistently light pink throughout the whole music video which could be a stereotype of
women as the colour pink is a connotation for women. This can also be seen as feminism as
this music video has been targeted at women who struggle to obtain equal rights in society.
The diegetic sound in the background is constantly repeating the lyrics “I know you want it”
which is a form the ‘Hypodermic Needle Theory’ as the male characters are trying to send a
message to the passive audience. The ideology in this music video is to consist a common
theme of sexual content as it prevails indexical signs throughout the music video.
Mid way through the music video there is another stylist convention which is used again in this
music video. The form of hashtag is extremely popular in modern day society which will help
the star constructions attract viewers. As the mid-waist shot zooms into the characters the
hashtag instantly appears on the screen which is really effective for the consumer.
Furthermore, the lyrics “You’re far from plastic, talk about getting blasted” is a clear insult to
women as it is degrading as the men are sexualising the women consistently as it depicts
patriarchy and the gaze of men in this music video is used a lot.
Once again here is a form of stereotypes being portrayed in this music video. The still shot of
the toy car rolling down the women’s back shows that they have portrayed women to look
stupid and inferior to men as they are only there to look attractive and pleasing.
Additionally, in a way it also creates an enigma for the audience as they question themselves
saying “Why would women want to be in this video if it is making women look degradable
and thick?”, this sort of interest will engages the audience more and more as it creates
tension and confusion.

4. • Here is another form of feminism and
stereotypes as the make character is
brushing the women’s hair with a dog
comb. The gesture and facial
expression in which the male
character is holding the comb and
brushing her hair shows that she is
acting like a pet which is extremely
degrading to women as they are only
seen as a sexual object.
• The lyrics “But you’re animal, baby
it’s in your nature” and the women
characters touching the animal is
another form of where the men are
taking advantage of the women. The
lyrics are clearly targeted at the
women but their touching the animal
as if they are thick. The low angle
shot is another convention of where
the men look more dominant and
powerful than the women.
• This is a form of indexical signs as the
women character is lighting a
cigarette for the male character
which leads to smoke. The sexual,
bite lipping face the female character
is making is sexual and provocative to
men as the male gaze is a key aspect
in this music video. The close shot of
the women lighting the star
constructor cigarette is another form
of stereotype as women being taken
for advantage.

5. Here are some of the ‘YouTube’ views and
comments on this music video. Although the star
construction characters are extremely popular
and likeable, they have receive a lot of negative
comments and dislikes on how women are
objectified as sexual objects and inferior to me.

6. Due to the feminism portrayed in Robin Thicke’s music video, a group of women have created a parody of his music video and created a perspective of where men
are in a women’s shoe for once. These women have used postmodern media key conventions such as the ‘parody’ aspect to explain their point of view. They have
also used intertextual references. Intertextuality is the practice of creating meaning through referencing of other texts. With intertextuality, the meaning of a new
text a new text may be dependent on the reader’s knowledge of the ‘referenced’ text. The music video parody for ‘Blurred Lines’ can be considered to be (2013)
postmodern because it intertextually references the stylist conventions of Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’. For example, some of the conventions they use which
relate to the original ‘Blurred Lines’ music video are the use of pink background which is repeatedly consistent throughout the video. Also the use of the same lyrics
“hey, hey, hey” and the similar lyrics which relate to feminism “Boy you better quit all your sexist ways” entices the audience which intertextually references the
original music video. This video shows the element of parody which grabs the audience attention as it is humorously mocking the original ‘Blurred lines’ video, the
parody video have captured the zeitgeists of Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines ideas. This appeals to the audience as it is replicating Blurred Lines main conventions.
Furthermore, Robin Thicke is one of the biggest music artist’s in the world and with the women replicating its conventions, it demonstrates the intertextual
references and attention it will bring. This postmodern media shows the intergeneric aspects which entices the audience significantly. Additionally, the use of
hashtag is also a main convention used in this and the original music video. The stereotypical aspects have been turned around as the women are trying to get a
message across that this isn’t “a man’s world”.