Robin Thicke's song, "Blurred Lines", has become the focus of much controversy. Many see red flags within the lyrics and the music video, but is the song itself all that bad? No. The lyrics may not be something we're used to listening to on the radio; "[Thicke is] putting the ball in [the girl's] court by telling her to make the move and not the other way around," but that doesn't make them inappropriate or demeaning towards women. The music video on the other hand, reeks of trash and there is no sign of class.
Bad attention is another way of saying lots of attention. Johnston states that "even in this era of the porn aesthetic being so prominent, that [stuff] still works. The old ways of generating controversy and attention still work." Thicke said himself he wanted to break all the rules, and he did. "When [the women] are clothed it feels like he's walking up to a line and agreeing to obey it. And when they're not clothed, he's like acknowledging the line and he's stepping right over it." The music video immediately gives the lyrics a negative connotation. As Johnston said in her article, it's about context. The most innocent song can have an underlying message if paired with such a video.
Yes, the song makes Thicke seem a bit too self-assured, but there's no real harm in that. The video is where the problem lies, it "undoubtedly objectifies women" according to Jennifer Lai. But something is being done about the issue. If we can separate the two there is no reason why a catchy song such as "Blurred Lines" can't be stuck in our heads.
