The following media text is a 1984 hit single video “Cool it down” by RnB/pop group called “new Edition”. Distributed by Geffen Records. New edition were a group of RnB singers and rappers in the in the early 80s. Their video “cool it down” was the group’s first top 10 pop single, receiving number four on the pop chart, this was also their second number one R&B hit.
The video for “Cool it down” has many similarities and differences with the media text’s that I will be studying. I have listed the similarities and differences below and have answered the following questions
How society has changed over the years and how these changes are reflected in different media texts?
How is the media text similar or different to my text?
How does this show how the genre/society has changed?
Similarities
- Both males are shown to be running after the female, this emphasis the power that females have over males. For example, at the end of the song all the male singers are shown to be hypo crypts as they mock “falling in love” however soon as the girls show up they are shown to be sexually drawn to the femme fatale, this is also shown in “yo side of the bed” by Trey Songz. This shows that the society as not changed much as it is always males running after females, this emphasises the control female have over males.
Differences
-In cool it down the males seems to be reckless males running females for a quick fling. This is also shown by the way the lead singers friends mock him for falling in love. However, in “yo side of the bed” Trey Songz is connoted to be a man with responsibilities. Reason being males are shown to hold more responsibilities in the present day is mostly likely due to the society facing recession and due to the struggle that males face of paying bills etc that they think about their actions. However, in the 80s the males seemed to be relaxed as they are shown in the video chilling out with their friends, stress free, wasting time and playing basket.
- The clothing is different, the music video was filmed in the 80s reason being the fashion trend is completely different to the media text I am studying. The singers are shown to be wearing skinny jeans and tight fitted cloths which are shown to be cool as every male in the video is shown to be wearing similar clothing. In the present day skinny jeans and tight fitted clothing is usually a fashion trend in between homosexuals and females
This is reflected in the present day media text by R&B singer Rihanna revealing flesh in inappropriate clothing in her music video ‘Hard feat, Jeezy’. In the 80s using sexual gratification to gain male attention would of been appropriate to the society. However, in the present day female artist using their body to gain attention is a great marketing strategy; by doing this they are able to gain female and male attention.
Prince an R&B artist from the 80s would dress up in tight clothing as it was the fashion trend back then. However, in the present day this would be considered to be gay, however in the 80s this would be ‘cool’ and would be the male fashion trend.
-In addition, the female are shown to be wearing appropriate clothing, however in the present day female are shown revealing skin in order to gain male gaze. this shows how the gender role have swept in society. For example, in the music video the males seem confident dancing around the shy female, however in the present day male are shown to be shy and insecure. On the other hand, female are shown to be confident with how they look, revealing their flesh and wearing tight fitted clothing. This shows how the gender role has changed.
I have identified that there are a lot more differences compared to the similarities, this is because the society keeps on changing as trends develop. For example, the sagging jeans trend from the 90s. where males would sag their jeans below their, represent ‘gang culture’. This trend originated from American prisons, homosexual prisoners would wear their trousers low to reveal their butt in order to gain attention from other in mates, this trend became known around the world as R&B/Hip-Hop artist would sag their jeans to represent the struggle and ‘ghetto-ness’.
However in the present day, R&B/Hip-Hop artist are shown to be wearing appropriate smart/casual clothing. This trend goes against the stereotypical dress trend of black R&B/Hip-Hop black artist.
No comments:
Post a Comment