The popularity and cultural significance of music videos has led to undervalue their capacity to work as political expression. Even though people might not believe it, music videos can be political statements. 

As stated in “Music / Video: Histories, Aesthetics, Media” music videos started getting popular thanks to TV, especially MTV in the 80s with the arrival of digital media, Carol Vernallis describes this as “second aesthetic”. This artistic revolution spread globally thanks to YouTube, where music videos became more experimental, abstract and fragmented, in contrast to the perfect heavily produced ones.  

Music videos shaped pop culture as well as they influenced cinema. However, it was not only about entertainment and artistic experimentation, they also served as ideological objects. As with any other form of media, music videos portray people and society in specific ways, as Diane Railton and Paul Watson explain, they can send a message to the audience, such as racialized and gendered ideologies. It is evident that the same phenomenon that led to the cross-pollination of visual styles and trends across cultures also occurred with stereotypes and ideologies, hence the great power of music videos. 

The portrayal of social norms in music videos easily reaches the audience due to the format of it. Nobody thinks they convey political ideas, if they were politically marked, many people would not want to watch them. For instance, Robin Thicke’s music video for Blurred Lines portrays women in objectified ways, perpetuating misogynistic and stereotypical ideas. Its catchy song masks the problematic characteristics and facilitates their expansion. 

This also gives hope, because that means spreading non-stereotypical ideas through music videos is equally easy, as some artists have proven it. An example is Lady Gaga’s music video for Born This Way, which challenges societal norms regarding sexuality, identity and gender, sending the message of self-acceptance. 

Music videos are brief experimental forms of art, but they are also a tool for political critique and commentary.  

By Elisabeth Zubiaguirre 33871955

Bibliography

Caetlin Benson-Alliot (2013) ‘Going Gaga for Glitch: Digital failure and feminist spectacle in 21st century music video,’ in The Oxford Handbook of Sound and Image in Digital Media. Oxford University Press. The Oxford Handbook of Sound and Image in Digital Media – Hardback – Carol Vernallis, Amy Herzog, John Richardson – Oxford University Press

Carol Vernallis (2014) ‘Music Video’s Second Aesthetic,’ in Unruly Media: YouTube, Music Video, and the New Digital Cinema. Oxford University Press. Unruly Media: YouTube, Music Video, and the New Digital Cinema | Oxford Academic

Daniel Cookney (2017) ‘Vimeo Killed the Video Star: Burial and the User Generated Music Video,’ Music/Video: Histories, Aesthetics, Media [Preprint]. Vimeo killed the video star : Burial and the user-generated music video

Diane Railton & Paul Watson (2011) ‘Music Video in Black and White: Race and Femininity,’ Music Video and the Politics of Representation [Preprint]. Music Video and the Politics of Representation, by Diane Railton and Paul Watson

Music/Video: Histories, Aesthetics, Media (2017). Routledge. Music/Video: Histories, Aesthetics, Media: Gina Arnold: Bloomsbury Academic

Steven Shaviro (2017) ‘Glitch Aesthetics,’ Digital Music Video [Preprint].