The development of music videos sprung a lot of debate in the music industry, whether that be with the audiences or creators/labels themselves. Many considered music videos as an unnecessary technology which were “relegating the aural component to secondary place”, and pushing this idea of music videos solely as a “promotional” tool (Cookney, 2017: 255). Although music videos can be used to promote artists and establish their brand identity, they are also an important way for them to showcase their artistic capabilities and create a visual piece that compliments their music.

However, music videos might not always be seen as a good thing. Today, there is much less censorship than before, and artists are no longer concerned with “vetting” or being approved by the “Standards and Practices division” to be aired on tv (Vernallis, 2013: 208). Because of this, artists get a lot more backlash and scrutiny for releasing often insensitive or inappropriate content now a days since there aren’t really any rules to stop them. This is evident in Robin Thicke’s “Blurred lines”, which received criticism for its degrading and misogynistic visuals and lyrics. Women are seen parading in little to no clothings while the men sing “I know you want it”, reinforcing ideas of rape, while treating them as objects of desire (Arnold et al, 2017).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU

‘Blurred lines’ (Thicke, 2013)

After receiving large amounts of criticism, Thicke tried to defend the music video by saying that all of the men were married and had children, implying that it was okay for them to degrade women and make fun of rape because they had women which trusted them and therefore they couldn’t be a misogynist or a rapist, right? Well, unfortunately for Thicke, his career took quite a big hit and became a great example of what artists should not do unless they want to end their careers early.

By Emilia Woznicka

BA Media and Communications

Bibliography:

Arnold, G., Cookney, D., Fairclough, K. and Goddard, M. (2017). Music/video : histories, aesthetics, Media. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic.

Cookney, D. (2017). Vimeo Killed the Video Star: Burial and the User Generated Music Video. In: Music/video : histories, aesthetics, Media. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic.

Robin Thicke (2013). Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines ft. T.I., Pharrell (Official Music Video). YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU.

Vernallis, C. (2013). Unruly Media. Oxford University Press.