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.
Wow, I really agree with your perspective on the video. You are so right, the video has no class. That is a great way to put it. But I believe that when Thicke steps over the line he just acknowledged, that is not okay. He also in his song compares women to animals. I do agree that it is a catchy song, but I don't agree that it should be over played on the radios.
ReplyDeleteNice! i agree with your statement. The video may not be class and what not, but it's not discriminating against women. The women may be dressed provocative and Thicke may be fully clothed, but when you watch the video none of it has to do with men being rude to women.
ReplyDeleteI agree with how this song can have a completely different message when paired with the video. When only listening to the song, it seems more innocent; however, when listening to the song while watching the video, there is a completely different vibe being given off. The video definitely didn't help the song seem more innocent and I agree the problem comes from the video and would be best if both song and video were separated from each other.
ReplyDeleteYou had a very interesting perspective here Ave! Made me think a bit! You mentioned that the lyrics and songs brought up "red flags" for a lot of people and that the actual song as a while wasn't as bad or discriminating to women. Here is another prespecrive. Many have heard the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words", in this case a music video. I believe that the video reflects on what the song is actually about. Thus, both the song and lyrics, I think, both have negative words, thoughts and actions towards all women.
ReplyDeleteAlso, when you said that this song was culturaly different from what we are used to, that is correct but unfortunalty this is not the case anymore. Songs like this one are coming around like Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball "and "Good Girls Go Bad", all have that image of what you said, when Thicke put the " ball in the girls court, them having to make the first move." I agree that this is what our society has gone too, but not necessarily the way it has turned and what has become of it.