Theorists

Laura Mulvey's theory

Laura Mulvey's theory 
-The male gaze (audiences view characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male)
-Women sexualised and portrayed as objects
-Women are there as visual pleasure 


The music video for Applause by Lady Gaga supports Mulvey's theory 


In Lily Allen's music video for Hard Out Here, she makes fun of the gender roles in music videos of females. The girls are clothed in variations of black leather leotards and bralets and bikini style pants. Since they are wearing minimal clothing, they are conforming to the gender roles used in music videos of being sexualised and objectified. The cinematography used, exaggerates the gender roles as close up shots of the females pelvic areas and breasts are used to present the females in a sexual light. On top of this, props are used such as money and a champagne bottle in a similar way as one of the women is stuffing money in the other womans bra and another woman is pouring the champaign on herself as well as someone elses bottom which is used to exaggerate how women are sexualised in music videos. This music video is making a statement about how women are there as visual objects for males an example of this is at 1:48 as the director of the video shows Lily what she is supposed to do with the banana and how the banana is used to portray a sexual act therefore sexualising the female artist for the heterosexual male gaze.

Goodwin's Theory 

Andrew Goodwin's theory 

- Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics

- Relationship between the lyrics and the visuals 

- Relationship between the music and the visuals 

- Star image 

- Voyeurism 

- Intertextual references 

In the 1975's music video for Sex, the video portrays the genre characteristics of a rock music video. One of the key characteristics of rock music videos is live performance, as the idea that the music is what is important and is what should be focused on rather than a dramatic narrative or a glamorous setting, they focus on the realism of the band. 

Judith Butlers theory

-"There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; identity is performatively constituted by the very 'expressions' that are said to be its results.' (Gender is a performance not who you are) 

In Lady Gaga's music video for the song Applause, the theory that gender is performed is shown. The costume is used to suggest her femininity as she is often clothed in a bra and a bikini pant, therefore sexualising her whilst presenting her feminine qualities. The performance of the music video also suggests that gender is performed as her movements and facial expressions are stereotypically considered feminine. 

Stuart Hall's theory 

-Dominant reading (Where the audience fully accepts the preferred reading)

-The negotiated reading (where the audience partly agrees and partly modifies their own reading)

-The oppositional reading (The reading that wasn't intended by the creator, when the audiences 'social position' makes them have the opposite response to the dominant reading.