This music video is called "Cater 2 U" by Destiny's Child. When watching this video pay close attention to the lyrics, their societal implications, and the promiscuity of the singers.
When the video starts and see three naked women, I just think what are we selling, is it music or is it sex or both. Do we have to include naked women to sell music today? What ever happened to just enjoying the message the artist was trying to convey. They are singing about how they take care of their man. Have women become so involved in what their men want that they forgot about themselves. I think it is great they want to please the men in their lives. But this is ridiculous to me that they have to go on about pleasing them. Who is going to go the extra mile for women?
I think this song and video sort of is a perfect example of pop music from female artists in the early 21st century. With a few notable exceptions (namely, Pink), I've always felt that the songs that become popular have a central theme about the woman catering to or trying to get her man. Whether or not the lyrics are promiscuous, the video almost always is, and Destiny's Child definitely has created a sexually charged video. However, I think it's important to point out that in this video, the men are portrayed as doing almost exactly the same. We don't really see them doing much of anything besides stare at the women and be obviously turned on. I think this sort of equalizes the view of men and women, but not in a very positive way- men and women only care about trying to "get with" a member of the opposite sex, no exceptions.
It seems that the producer is using sex to sell his music. The women in the video are basically saying that their man comes before them whatever they want they will get it for them, they want to “Cater” them. They also say they will maintain there body figure and image to keep the man happy. They said that that want to stay the same girl their man fell in love with. The women don’t even think about if they are happy they just want their man to stay happy. I think it is wonderful that the women will do anything to keep their man happy, but they don’t say anything about their man doing anything in return to keep them happy.
These are all very good observations about the use of sex in this music video and what it implies. Some other features of the music video to think about include the lack of clothing seen throughout the video. What does this say about the objectification of women? Also, what affect could the outdated message that Destiny’s Child is putting out have on women in today’s society? Take these interesting aspects of the commercial into account.
I agree with the other comments that have been said. Like what Billy said,” they want to “Cater”(to) them. The three singers are basically throwing themselves at the men that watching them essentially seducing them. All they are talking about is everything that they will do for them. This really seems like its objectifying to women. I'm unsure if Destiny’s child is making this video to raise awareness. Or are they making it to just show all the things that a woman will do for a man. The lyrics are interesting as well on top of the erotic dance, "Remain the same chick, you fell in love with (yeah) I’ll keep it tight, I'll keep my figure right I'll keep my hair fixed, keep rocking the hottest outfits. When you come home late tap me on my shoulder." She is just saying how she will do anything for him. Where does she want come into this? The people that were chosen were all from the ethnic background.
I agree with you in that this video is essentially objectifying women. They are definitely using nudity and lack of clothing to showcase their bodies and “sell sex” to the viewers. I think it’s interesting your idea about raising awareness to women and that they should cater to their men every now and then. The lyrics don’t make it seem like they cater to their men every night, but just one specific night. If this is their intention, then it would seem fitting for the women to dress up and look “sexy” for one night. It’s also interesting that you pointed out they were all the same ethnicity, which could possibly just be for aesthetics or to target a particular audience.
I definitely agree with what Aaron said, which is that the singers in this video are objectifying themselves based on the lyrics and their behavior in the video. Throughout the video, they are depicted in ways that play off their sexuality, both for the viewer and for the men who are shown in the video sitting and watching them. As far as the men just sitting there watching them, I think this goes right along with the message contained in the title of the song, because the women are “catering to them” in this way also because they are dancing for the men’s viewing pleasure and the men don’t have to do anything but sit and watch. Overall I would say the message of this video and song is objectifying at best, but it isn’t too much of a stretch to say it is degrading. As far as Aaron’s comment about the lack of diversity in the video, I think this is merely a product of the group being comprised of women of the same race, rather than planned ahead of time. The one thing they could have done is have one or more of the men in the video be of a different race to create diversity.
I agree that the video is using sex to sell the music. There is just a lot of images of the girls dancing in mermaid dresses, rubbing against cars and dancing in bikinis. It's videos like these that the "call me maybe" video was trying to make fun of. Overall I thought the video lacked entertainment and diversity. The women are going out of their way to look good in their dresses and having their hair done while the guys just stand there watching the girls. I think the background is significant. Seeming as how men dominate nature, they put the video in the wilderness because the men dominate the environment as well as the women.
I agree with that the video is selling sex. The way that the actress dressing, moving, and interacting with the background (such as the car) was seductive and stereotypical. I also found it very interesting that there are so many music video using a car as a prop to show the seduction of women, while I used to think that the car is the symbol of masculinity.
I thought this video was interesting coming from Destiny’s Child sense they commonly put out music that promotes female empowerment. This video obviously showed how women were taking the traditional/ stereotypical role in a relationship. The lyrics supported this through the specific descriptions of catering to their man through physical and sexual actions. The quick scene flashes to the group of men sitting down brought a new perspective to the message being portrayed in the video. It appeared that the women were performing for them, and the men were judging the performance of the females through their reactions. This promotes the idea that Destiny’s Child is constructing the video for the male audience, or the male gaze. It’s providing the image of what a female should be based on the males (stereotypical) conception of a female in a relationship. Ultimately the video undermines women’s roles in modern relationships by reflecting on stereotypical characteristics of females in this setting.
In this video, I couuld see that they are using sex to sell the music. First of all, the three naked women catch the eyes of men and make them listen to the song. This video shows that the women try to make their men happy no matter how they feel themselves. It shows that it is more important that the women make the men happy rather than the men make the women happy. Here, I could see the gender stereotpye that the male is dominant over the female. Male is the primary and the women is next. I think this is why people call women "whores" very easily.
When the video starts and see three naked women, I just think what are we selling, is it music or is it sex or both. Do we have to include naked women to sell music today? What ever happened to just enjoying the message the artist was trying to convey. They are singing about how they take care of their man. Have women become so involved in what their men want that they forgot about themselves. I think it is great they want to please the men in their lives. But this is ridiculous to me that they have to go on about pleasing them. Who is going to go the extra mile for women?
ReplyDeleteI think this song and video sort of is a perfect example of pop music from female artists in the early 21st century. With a few notable exceptions (namely, Pink), I've always felt that the songs that become popular have a central theme about the woman catering to or trying to get her man. Whether or not the lyrics are promiscuous, the video almost always is, and Destiny's Child definitely has created a sexually charged video.
DeleteHowever, I think it's important to point out that in this video, the men are portrayed as doing almost exactly the same. We don't really see them doing much of anything besides stare at the women and be obviously turned on. I think this sort of equalizes the view of men and women, but not in a very positive way- men and women only care about trying to "get with" a member of the opposite sex, no exceptions.
It seems that the producer is using sex to sell his music. The women in the video are basically saying that their man comes before them whatever they want they will get it for them, they want to “Cater” them. They also say they will maintain there body figure and image to keep the man happy. They said that that want to stay the same girl their man fell in love with. The women don’t even think about if they are happy they just want their man to stay happy. I think it is wonderful that the women will do anything to keep their man happy, but they don’t say anything about their man doing anything in return to keep them happy.
ReplyDeleteThese are all very good observations about the use of sex in this music video and what it implies. Some other features of the music video to think about include the lack of clothing seen throughout the video. What does this say about the objectification of women? Also, what affect could the outdated message that Destiny’s Child is putting out have on women in today’s society? Take these interesting aspects of the commercial into account.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the other comments that have been said. Like what Billy said,” they want to “Cater”(to) them. The three singers are basically throwing themselves at the men that watching them essentially seducing them. All they are talking about is everything that they will do for them. This really seems like its objectifying to women. I'm unsure if Destiny’s child is making this video to raise awareness. Or are they making it to just show all the things that a woman will do for a man. The lyrics are interesting as well on top of the erotic dance, "Remain the same chick, you fell in love with (yeah) I’ll keep it tight, I'll keep my figure right I'll keep my hair fixed, keep rocking the hottest outfits. When you come home late tap me on my shoulder." She is just saying how she will do anything for him. Where does she want come into this? The people that were chosen were all from the ethnic background.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in that this video is essentially objectifying women. They are definitely using nudity and lack of clothing to showcase their bodies and “sell sex” to the viewers. I think it’s interesting your idea about raising awareness to women and that they should cater to their men every now and then. The lyrics don’t make it seem like they cater to their men every night, but just one specific night. If this is their intention, then it would seem fitting for the women to dress up and look “sexy” for one night. It’s also interesting that you pointed out they were all the same ethnicity, which could possibly just be for aesthetics or to target a particular audience.
DeleteI definitely agree with what Aaron said, which is that the singers in this video are objectifying themselves based on the lyrics and their behavior in the video. Throughout the video, they are depicted in ways that play off their sexuality, both for the viewer and for the men who are shown in the video sitting and watching them. As far as the men just sitting there watching them, I think this goes right along with the message contained in the title of the song, because the women are “catering to them” in this way also because they are dancing for the men’s viewing pleasure and the men don’t have to do anything but sit and watch. Overall I would say the message of this video and song is objectifying at best, but it isn’t too much of a stretch to say it is degrading. As far as Aaron’s comment about the lack of diversity in the video, I think this is merely a product of the group being comprised of women of the same race, rather than planned ahead of time. The one thing they could have done is have one or more of the men in the video be of a different race to create diversity.
DeleteI agree that the video is using sex to sell the music. There is just a lot of images of the girls dancing in mermaid dresses, rubbing against cars and dancing in bikinis. It's videos like these that the "call me maybe" video was trying to make fun of. Overall I thought the video lacked entertainment and diversity. The women are going out of their way to look good in their dresses and having their hair done while the guys just stand there watching the girls. I think the background is significant. Seeming as how men dominate nature, they put the video in the wilderness because the men dominate the environment as well as the women.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that the video is selling sex. The way that the actress dressing, moving, and interacting with the background (such as the car) was seductive and stereotypical. I also found it very interesting that there are so many music video using a car as a prop to show the seduction of women, while I used to think that the car is the symbol of masculinity.
ReplyDeleteGood observations so far. Just something to think about: What is the significance of the men just sitting down essentially "enjoying the show"?
ReplyDeleteI thought this video was interesting coming from Destiny’s Child sense they commonly put out music that promotes female empowerment. This video obviously showed how women were taking the traditional/ stereotypical role in a relationship. The lyrics supported this through the specific descriptions of catering to their man through physical and sexual actions. The quick scene flashes to the group of men sitting down brought a new perspective to the message being portrayed in the video. It appeared that the women were performing for them, and the men were judging the performance of the females through their reactions. This promotes the idea that Destiny’s Child is constructing the video for the male audience, or the male gaze. It’s providing the image of what a female should be based on the males (stereotypical) conception of a female in a relationship. Ultimately the video undermines women’s roles in modern relationships by reflecting on stereotypical characteristics of females in this setting.
ReplyDeleteIn this video, I couuld see that they are using sex to sell the music. First of all, the three naked women catch the eyes of men and make them listen to the song. This video shows that the women try to make their men happy no matter how they feel themselves. It shows that it is more important that the women make the men happy rather than the men make the women happy. Here, I could see the gender stereotpye that the male is dominant over the female. Male is the primary and the women is next. I think this is why people call women "whores" very easily.
ReplyDelete