How females are represented in my video

My video is representing young women, as the only performer is a young female girl that mimes and dances to the song throughout.

One stereotype of females is that they are weaker than males. Whereas men are seen to be the stronger and more dominant characters, women are seen to be weaker and more gentle and caring. Angela McRobbie argues that these traditional gender roles are often shown in music videos.  I have featured no males in my music video, just one woman which reinforces the idea that men are leaders and strong and aren’t seen begging on the streets. Instead it’s a female who is vulnerable and struggling, and has to resort to asking people for money. At the ending of my video, my female singer is seen sitting on the floor begging, and she looks very vulnerable and alone.

Another stereotype of women is that they are either a ‘whore’ or ‘virgin’ character. Laura Mulvey believes that women have either one of these representations, and are seen as objects and looked upon with a ‘male gaze’. My performer would fit the ‘whore’ stereotype. Her styling could be seen as provocative. Although she is wearing a checked shirt and denim jacket, these are left open to reveal a short crop top showing her stomach, and tight leggings. More than once, she is too seen waiting against fences and walls. The audience does not know why, what or who she is waiting for, however the sight of seeing a young female leaning against a wall, with one leg bent showing attitude and her chest pushed out, it creates a provocative and inappropriate image. She could be waiting on street corners for males to earn money. These shots are filmed by a pan camera movement, so the camera circles my performer while she is staring into the distance. This is a male gaze view on her. The camera circles her as if a male is watching her. The movement is like a predator circling his prey before he is ready to pounce. My performer isn’t looking at the camera so we are watching her without her knowing, like a male would spy on a female.

My character is still very young, and other than her appearance, you can tell this by the way she performs. She is very energetic and fun. When she dances, she bounces around, and shakes her hips – another trait that would give her the Laura Mulvey’s ‘whore’ image rather than an innocent ‘virgin’ image. She represents young girls her age to be lively and happy and who just wants to dance. However, apart from this, she is homeless, which may give a bad impression of young people, such as them being troublemakers. Young people who live on the streets or in squats and have to look after themselves are often associated with having bad upbringings, and running away from home, being involved in gangs, drugs and causing trouble. Stanley Cohen believes that particular groups in society are ‘demonised’. This means they are given a bad image, which may audiences to believe this is true for that group of people.  Although my performer isn’t trouble and isn’t seen to be causing trouble, the audience may wonder why she is on the streets. Instead of seeing youngsters living happy lives at home with family, they see a young girl wearing a crop top and begging for money. Although this won’t cause moral panic, it may give the wrong impression of young people.

The lower class is being shown in my video.  My actress doesn’t have any money or a job. However, until we see her begging, you wouldn’t know that she was of a disadvantage. She looks clean, her clothes aren’t dirty, her hair is very neat and has her makeup done. She seems happy and full of energy by the way she is dancing through the streets. I styled my performer like this as the main message of the song is that she is homeless but she is just like a normal person, which is true. My video represents the lower class to be just like a normal person, until the ending. She is then sitting on the floor huddled in a blanket to keep warm. Now she is sitting on the floor and vulnerable, it shows a loss in power and strength. She now physically has to look up to people of a higher class, which is what too what happens in society. It represents the lower class to be helpless and can’t defend for themselves.

The main representation given in my video is of young females. They are given a bad image overall. Using Mulveys theory, my performer is seen as a ‘whore’ character that is preyed on by males, and looks vulnerable and weak compared to people of a higher class and males. Marxists believe that the media manipulate people and audiences are passive and will believe what they see. Therefore, they will notice this representation of young females and associate it with all young females, even though it’s only a mediated version of the world.