Sunday 25 October 2015
Tuesday 13 October 2015
Representation Of Gender
Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of gender using the following:
- Camera shots, angles, movement and composition
- Editing
- Sound
- Mise en scène
Camera Shots, Angles, Movements and Composition
The extract of Alice & Luther is constructed through multiple camera shots. The scene starts off with an establishing shot, which is interpreted as a close up of Alice, out in the streets, facing the side of the camera. This emphasizes that the female is going to be the main attention within the scene, as she is the first character to appear. Stereotypically, you wouldn't usually see this happen, as the male character 'normally' obtains the main attention within a TV drama.
The scene then transitions into another close up/birds eye view, this time emphasizing Alice's bag, which contains her dog's ashes. This is still keeping the attention on the female character, as the scene now focuses on her possession, rather than skipping onto the male character of the scene who she is talking to. Again, stereotypically, you wouldn't usually see this happen within TV dramas, as there has been no attention on the male character at all in the scene yet, when 'normally' he would have the main attention for a majority of the time that the scene is taking place.
Perhaps the idea of a possession being shown before the male suggests that the female is more important than the male in this scene, and they want to exaggerate that idea, by keeping the male character a mystery for the first 5 seconds. This is questioning the true stereotypical sense of male and female characters and their dominance as different genders, as their roles have been reversed from what we would know to be 'expected' within a TV drama clip (this being the male as the more dominant, with the female being more of a side character).
The scene then transitions into a close up, this time of the male character. The movement of the camera seems pretty still during this transition, whereas with the woman and her bag, the movement seems to be pretty slick and smooth. Perhaps this could hint at both the man and the woman's attitudes/personalities, as the woman comes across as sly through her facial reactions (and this is emphasized by smooth camera movements, that could hint that her methods are smooth as well, as she needs to keep her plans hidden from the male), and the man seems to come across as dull and straight to the point through his facial reactions (and this is emphasized by a straight forward camera transition, as he needs to get on with his task, without messing around wasting time). This part of the clip blends in with the stereotypical traits of a male character within a TV drama unlike the part before, as he is now starting to get a lot of attention within the scene, just like a male character would be expected to get.
The next part of the scene then transitions into a mixture of long shot/two shots of the characters and then back to close ups. This is revealing a bit more about their location outside on the streets, by presenting the location from a wide angle, before then transitioning into another close up, this time in a brand new location which would appear to be Alice's house, presented with a high angle shot at first. Their is more emphasis on the dog's ashes in the second location with this high angle shot, again showing that the male is the lesser important character within this scene, as it is still focusing around the female and her possessions. Alice is then emphasized even more as a sly character, with more smooth camera transitions, whilst Luther continues to maintain within shots that just get straight to the focal point. Bare in mind how Alice is the antagonist and Luther is the protagonist, and that these sorts of camera shots/angles would be common for the villain and the hero.
Later on within the scene, an over the shoulder shot is used to show the conversation deepening between Alice and Luther within Alice's home. This show's us the perspective of the room that Luther sees, as it is his shoulder we see everything from. However, even though it is from his perspective, we could still see this as the female being the more important character within the scene, as the focus is all on her through what we are seeing within the shot.
These shots continue to occur throughout the rest of the scene, mixing and matching to show different aspects of the room, and each character's own individual plans for being there. The close ups tend to focus more on the character's facial expressions, whilst the mid shots/long shots tend to focus more on the surroundings of the room, potentially for any clues that could be given away.
Within this extract, there is a lot of editing that occurs. A majority of the shots that occur tend to be edited into short takes, to potentially show that there is a bit of mystery about what is going on between the two characters. These short takes tend to happen through the camera focusing just on one character by being emphasized with a close up, and then go straight onto the next character with another emphasized close up. The use of these short takes could suggest, that both characters are very important and powerful, as they both get a lot of camera time, focusing on only themselves within certain shots.
However, this could also be showing the representation of males to come across potentially weaker than usual within a TV Drama extract, as the male is struggling to maintain the lead role within this scene, and within the conversation as a whole, making the woman appear stronger.
A lot of shot reverse shots are used as well, to show that each character is constantly looking at each other through the scene, potentially in a battle for dominance between each other in the conversation. This again gives both genders a bit of control and power within this extract.
Once the scene changes from outside and into Alice's house, the focus begins to zoom in more on Alice herself, as she is being questioned a lot by Luther. The shots start to become slightly longer, emphasizing every single movement of the characters within the house.
The editing within this extract overall is very back and forth, a lot of the time focusing around just one character, with the odd exception where both characters are featured for a dominant battle, breaking away from the stereotypical traits of men and women within TV Drama's, as the females within scenes would usually be considered as the "weaker" gender, therefore usually not getting as much attention as the men would do.
Sound
The clothing within this scene is seen to be very formal with both characters. Alice is seen wearing a purple coat and black trousers, whilst Luther is seen wearing a grey business suit. The fact that both characters are wearing very formal outfits, could suggest that both characters have a lot of power within the scene and within the TV Drama as a whole, as they are both dressed in expensive looking outfits, showing that they both could be very wealthy.
This is again breaking the stereotypical traits when it comes to gender, as the female would usually be in something slightly less expensive than the male, as he would be seen as the more dominant/successful character within the TV Drama.
Alice is seen to be wearing very natural coloured makeup, on her eyes and lips. Perhaps she has done this to mimic the idea that as she is the villain, she doesn't want everyone searching for her, and so she wears minimal makeup, because it causes less attraction. This could also suggest that the show is more represented for a male audience, as the female character isn't being focused on entirely in a presentation sense, as normally through the male gaze, females would be wearing a lot of makeup for the man's pleasure.
The scene seems to be taking place in a very run down location outside, on a bridge by some skyscrapers, over the top of a very busy road. Alice is seen to be carrying a bag with her, but nothing else is seen within this location. The fact that there is only one prop between two characters emphasizes again the idea of everything being very run down, as things would seem very suspicious if they were carrying around a lot of items of high value in a lower class area.
The scene progresses into Alice's house, where more props are seen within the shot. The location is now very more upper class in terms of possession, as Alice seems very well off with all of the items visible.The emphasis of a lot of books laid out on the table behind Alice, also suggests that she is a very intelligent character, as she is most likely to have read a lot within her past, making her a stronger character mentally. Also, the fact that Luther blends in very well with the scenery inside Alice's house could suggest that he isn't as important a character again as Alice, as he doesn't stand out as much as Alice does, based on the colours of his clothing.
Throughout the entire extract, the lighting appears to be very bright, as we can clearly see it is set in the daytime. The only time the lighting changes to a darker tone, is when the camera emphasizes the fact that there are ashes present. The setting doesn't go completely dark, but perhaps the slight change in light could mimic the idea of Alice being considered a dark character as she is the antagonist, however that's not discovered straight the way, as she is hiding in the light.
The next part of the scene then transitions into a mixture of long shot/two shots of the characters and then back to close ups. This is revealing a bit more about their location outside on the streets, by presenting the location from a wide angle, before then transitioning into another close up, this time in a brand new location which would appear to be Alice's house, presented with a high angle shot at first. Their is more emphasis on the dog's ashes in the second location with this high angle shot, again showing that the male is the lesser important character within this scene, as it is still focusing around the female and her possessions. Alice is then emphasized even more as a sly character, with more smooth camera transitions, whilst Luther continues to maintain within shots that just get straight to the focal point. Bare in mind how Alice is the antagonist and Luther is the protagonist, and that these sorts of camera shots/angles would be common for the villain and the hero.
Later on within the scene, an over the shoulder shot is used to show the conversation deepening between Alice and Luther within Alice's home. This show's us the perspective of the room that Luther sees, as it is his shoulder we see everything from. However, even though it is from his perspective, we could still see this as the female being the more important character within the scene, as the focus is all on her through what we are seeing within the shot.
These shots continue to occur throughout the rest of the scene, mixing and matching to show different aspects of the room, and each character's own individual plans for being there. The close ups tend to focus more on the character's facial expressions, whilst the mid shots/long shots tend to focus more on the surroundings of the room, potentially for any clues that could be given away.
Editing
Within this extract, there is a lot of editing that occurs. A majority of the shots that occur tend to be edited into short takes, to potentially show that there is a bit of mystery about what is going on between the two characters. These short takes tend to happen through the camera focusing just on one character by being emphasized with a close up, and then go straight onto the next character with another emphasized close up. The use of these short takes could suggest, that both characters are very important and powerful, as they both get a lot of camera time, focusing on only themselves within certain shots.
However, this could also be showing the representation of males to come across potentially weaker than usual within a TV Drama extract, as the male is struggling to maintain the lead role within this scene, and within the conversation as a whole, making the woman appear stronger.
A lot of shot reverse shots are used as well, to show that each character is constantly looking at each other through the scene, potentially in a battle for dominance between each other in the conversation. This again gives both genders a bit of control and power within this extract.
Once the scene changes from outside and into Alice's house, the focus begins to zoom in more on Alice herself, as she is being questioned a lot by Luther. The shots start to become slightly longer, emphasizing every single movement of the characters within the house.
The editing within this extract overall is very back and forth, a lot of the time focusing around just one character, with the odd exception where both characters are featured for a dominant battle, breaking away from the stereotypical traits of men and women within TV Drama's, as the females within scenes would usually be considered as the "weaker" gender, therefore usually not getting as much attention as the men would do.
Sound
The scene starts off with non-diegetic sound, as the first few seconds of the extract projects some music as Alice's face is revealed to the camera and the audience. The music appears to be very dark and dramatic, and this could perhaps emphasize Alice's character and personality within this extract.
The scene then quickly changes into diegetic sound, as you can hear the two characters making conversation, alongside some background noise from cars and other street noise. When the characters talk about more serious topics, the background noise increases, almost mimicking them.
The scene then quickly changes into Alice's apartment, and at first absolutely nothing can be heard. There is no noise until the two begin to talk again, producing only diegetic noise once again. The scene carries on like this for a good 20 seconds, until Alice's words "black hole" are emphasized with more dramatic dark sounding music. The rest of the scene then projects both non-diegetic and diegetic sound, by focusing in on the two characters talking, with the dark music still playing over the top.
As the scene reaches closer to the end, the music begins to project in sound level, mimicking the idea that their conversation will be left at a cliff hanger for the audience by Alice's words, again making her suspicious ways seem more powerful on camera in comparison to the man, ending the scene by saying "not if I get you first".
Mise En Scene
The clothing within this scene is seen to be very formal with both characters. Alice is seen wearing a purple coat and black trousers, whilst Luther is seen wearing a grey business suit. The fact that both characters are wearing very formal outfits, could suggest that both characters have a lot of power within the scene and within the TV Drama as a whole, as they are both dressed in expensive looking outfits, showing that they both could be very wealthy.
This is again breaking the stereotypical traits when it comes to gender, as the female would usually be in something slightly less expensive than the male, as he would be seen as the more dominant/successful character within the TV Drama.
Alice is seen to be wearing very natural coloured makeup, on her eyes and lips. Perhaps she has done this to mimic the idea that as she is the villain, she doesn't want everyone searching for her, and so she wears minimal makeup, because it causes less attraction. This could also suggest that the show is more represented for a male audience, as the female character isn't being focused on entirely in a presentation sense, as normally through the male gaze, females would be wearing a lot of makeup for the man's pleasure.
The scene seems to be taking place in a very run down location outside, on a bridge by some skyscrapers, over the top of a very busy road. Alice is seen to be carrying a bag with her, but nothing else is seen within this location. The fact that there is only one prop between two characters emphasizes again the idea of everything being very run down, as things would seem very suspicious if they were carrying around a lot of items of high value in a lower class area.
The scene progresses into Alice's house, where more props are seen within the shot. The location is now very more upper class in terms of possession, as Alice seems very well off with all of the items visible.The emphasis of a lot of books laid out on the table behind Alice, also suggests that she is a very intelligent character, as she is most likely to have read a lot within her past, making her a stronger character mentally. Also, the fact that Luther blends in very well with the scenery inside Alice's house could suggest that he isn't as important a character again as Alice, as he doesn't stand out as much as Alice does, based on the colours of his clothing.
Throughout the entire extract, the lighting appears to be very bright, as we can clearly see it is set in the daytime. The only time the lighting changes to a darker tone, is when the camera emphasizes the fact that there are ashes present. The setting doesn't go completely dark, but perhaps the slight change in light could mimic the idea of Alice being considered a dark character as she is the antagonist, however that's not discovered straight the way, as she is hiding in the light.
Wednesday 7 October 2015
Mise-en-Scene
How does the mise-en-scene in your still help to construct the identity of the character(s)?
Consider:
- Props
- Costume
- Lighting
- Set Design
- Location
Chosen Screenshot: TV Drama - The Vampire Diaries
The woman in this still appears to be holding a shovel in her left hand, and this could potentially hint towards the audience, that she might be planning to dig up the dead man that is currently on the floor in front of her. Their location appears to be in the middle of the woods, which in a stereotypical TV Drama/Movie could be seen as a 'dangerous' location, as a majority of bad incidents within these dramas, like death for example, occur in this type of location.
The shovel could also potentially exaggerate the fact that the scene is currently during the day (we can tell this by the sunlight shining down on the characters), and that they need to hide the body in front of them immediately, as they could easily be seen from how bright the surroundings are in comparison to how it would be if this scene were to happen at night time.
Also, the fact that the woman has her back towards the camera and is facing the 2 men in the scene, could suggest that she may be a character of lower power to the men, as she doesn't have the high privilege of actually facing the camera like the other characters. Note as well how the 2 men in the scene are stood up tall and straight, with their fists clenched, whereas the woman is stood hunched over with the shovel, looking like the weakest character out of the lot, as she has the tough job that is deciding whether or not to potentially bury the man that is placed in front of her.
The man on the left in this still appears to be wearing a blue buttoned up shirt, that is covered in one corner with blood. This may suggest that he is the one that potentially murdered the man on the floor, and this could explain why he is pulling a face which seems full of struggle, as from what we can see in the still, it looks like he is trying to figure out what to do with the person that he has in fact just killed. The fact that he has no props on him in this still, could potentially give away the idea that he is now powerless with his decisions after killing the man, as he is clueless what to do next, because he can't just go back and bring the man back to life. This could link into his personality and the idea that he is wearing a blue shirt, with blue giving away calm connotations.
The man on the right in this still appears to be stood extremely tall and proud, showing off his physical strengths by the way his body is positioned (focus on the direction he is facing, as his body faces the dead man, but his face is looking away). The way in which he is shown, shows similarities to how heroic figures look within movies and their trailers/posters e.t.c., and this could potentially suggest that he has the most power out of all the characters within this still.
The fact that the man on the right is wearing black, could give off some connotations of death, which is linking into the fact that he is indeed part of a scene where there is a dead man right in front of him, who he could've potentially killed himself, or helped someone else kill.
Sunday 4 October 2015
Music Video - Male Gaze
Analysis of the music video Fifth Harmony Feat. Kid Ink - Worth It.
Throughout this video, there are several scenes associated with "sexualized" dancing, "female empowerment" and "control" over the opposite gender.
Within the first 4 seconds we are presented with the group Fifth Harmony. They are seen, but only as their silhouettes in a long shot. This highlights their individual figures and curves, not giving away their entire appearance straight the way, but to potentially leave the viewer intrigued as to what they actually look like. This makes them more attractive towards the male eye, because their appearances are a mystery, and they want to know more about what they look like, which keeps them watching the video.
About 10 seconds in we see that Fifth Harmony begins to reveal their appearances, walking in from the side of the camera past a group of well dressed men. This shows a sign of women empowerment, as they walk along with strong independent facial expressions/body language (focus on the way that they move their arms and their large strides), and are wearing very professional business outfits, which could potentially be seen as a positive for both men and women watching. The camera starts off close up on the girls' shoes however, still leaving the audience wondering of their appearances, keeping the mystery alive. Their full appearances are finally revealed a few seconds afterwards, alongside the men in the video. This may make the men stare at the females on the screen, as they are taking control, which some men like about women, plus their outfits are clearly well thought out and match well, whilst showing a lot of skin at the same time. Each individual girl in the group clearly has their own sense of style, and this is extravagantly shown within the video, as they all highlight different colours and outfit shapes/styles e.g. Lauren Jauregui is dressed in an all black women's suit, whereas Dinah Jane Hansen is dressed in a slim black short sleeved leather vest, going alongside a slim white and red striped skirt. This may bring in a bigger male audience, as men with different pleasurable styles may take interest in the different girls due to how they are presented within their own styles. The female audience may look at this as a sign of body appreciation, rather than a sexual view, because they may want to look like the girls in the music video, and so watch with attitudes of inspiration, due to its aesthetically pleasing features.
We are presented with a mid shot of the featuring rapper, Kid Ink, after being around 30 seconds into the video. His scene shows a slight twist in roles of who is in charge within the video, and this keeps in with the theme of the male gaze, because even though the ladies of Fifth Harmony are no longer being highlighted as the main roles, it shows a sign of strength within the male role around women, as he is being assisted by two well dressed attractive ladies that are introduced within his scene only. The male viewers may like to see this type of control, as through their eyes and through patriarchy, this would seem to be expected anyway, and so continue watching as a sign for strong, expected manhood being placed within the video. Plus they also have the bonus of the attractive women to look at on the side.
Again we are given a long shot of Fifth Harmony after Kid Ink's section of the video ends. Here they are presented with dance moves that are inspired by Beyonce, another key lady in the music industry who features within the male gaze. They were inspired by Beyonce, as she is a major feminist in not just the music industry, but in the entire media industry as a whole, and she embraces her sexuality, rather than hiding from it or being ashamed of it, and this is the exact message that Fifth Harmony wanted to interpret for their female viewers. These dance moves are just typical routine moves, however from the view of the male gaze, the male may intepret these moves sexually, and be attracted to them. The girls are also "breaking the fourth wall" to show that it is all about them, averting back within the theme of women empowerment, and also keeping in direct view of the person watching the video. The girls can't see the viewer at the time of the music video being made, so to them it is more of a fantasy, staring at the camera, however in the male gaze, the intense stares at the camera male become sexualized, because it comes off attractive to a male viewer that they are being given a "look".
Throughout the remainder of the video, we encounter the members of Fifth Harmony individually being portrayed as "bossing around" their male companions in the video. They are presented constantly as very flirtatious through a males eyes, yet powerful over these companions overall, getting them to do their work, whilst distracting them at the same time with their body language, which again a man may interpret sexually. This interpretation that males may see through the video is emphasized a lot through long shots and mid shots, focusing mainly on the girls' arms and legs, as these parts of the body to them are being used most sexually throughout the music video's scenes, dancing and bossing around the males by pushing/kicking them about. They also see that the male characters are displayed a lot, showing intense sexual eye contact with the individual girls in their scenes, checking them out as they do these "sexual actions". However, a female may look at all of this again as a sign of inspiration and body appreciation, because these different camera shots show off the many features of each Fifth Harmony member, and viewers may find it aesthetically pleasing, as they strive to look like these girls in the video.
Finally, at the end of the music video, we are left with the girls of Fifth Harmony again "breaking the fourth wall", emphasizing once again that the video is all about themselves and women empowerment, leaving the viewer thinking of them in an empowering "women only" state as the video finishes with no men in sight. The last few seconds, switches from close ups to long shots, broadcasting a mixture of sexualized eye contact from a males perspective, with the girls and the viewer (as they are breaking the fourth wall during these moments close up, smirking at the camera), and a finishing male interpreted "sexualized" dance section, leaving us to connote what we see with sex, but also women in control of their own actions.
Overall, I would say that this music video could be interpreted as both "empowering" and "degrading" for women in the male gaze.
The music video can be interpreted as "empowering" as it's all about being a female boss in the workplace, whilst still being able to look good at the same time. It may also be seen as empowering, as the girls of Fifth Harmony are reversing the "typical roles of males and females" within music videos. Usually a male in a music video would be the one to stare at the camera "seductively" for a female viewer and take "complete dominance" within the video and with whoever may be watching the video, but Fifth Harmony have took this role and have completely switched it around, providing this for not just their male viewers, but their female viewers as well. Because of this "seductive technique" and their appearances, you would expect the target audience to be completely male, however, because they're "confident" and are "promoting their sexuality" in a positive light, they attract a large female audience too.
The music video can also be interpreted as "degrading" however, because even though the ladies of Fifth Harmony are presenting themselves as taking control and being in charge over the men, in the male gaze, the male viewers may say that they still have to use "sexual matters" like dancing and "flirtatious actions" around the men to do this successfully and gain full awareness, whereas a woman may simply say that it's just female characters being "confident" within their own bodies, and are doing whatever they like within the video, because they just want to promote the idea of "women empowerment" to their audience.
Throughout this video, there are several scenes associated with "sexualized" dancing, "female empowerment" and "control" over the opposite gender.
Within the first 4 seconds we are presented with the group Fifth Harmony. They are seen, but only as their silhouettes in a long shot. This highlights their individual figures and curves, not giving away their entire appearance straight the way, but to potentially leave the viewer intrigued as to what they actually look like. This makes them more attractive towards the male eye, because their appearances are a mystery, and they want to know more about what they look like, which keeps them watching the video.
About 10 seconds in we see that Fifth Harmony begins to reveal their appearances, walking in from the side of the camera past a group of well dressed men. This shows a sign of women empowerment, as they walk along with strong independent facial expressions/body language (focus on the way that they move their arms and their large strides), and are wearing very professional business outfits, which could potentially be seen as a positive for both men and women watching. The camera starts off close up on the girls' shoes however, still leaving the audience wondering of their appearances, keeping the mystery alive. Their full appearances are finally revealed a few seconds afterwards, alongside the men in the video. This may make the men stare at the females on the screen, as they are taking control, which some men like about women, plus their outfits are clearly well thought out and match well, whilst showing a lot of skin at the same time. Each individual girl in the group clearly has their own sense of style, and this is extravagantly shown within the video, as they all highlight different colours and outfit shapes/styles e.g. Lauren Jauregui is dressed in an all black women's suit, whereas Dinah Jane Hansen is dressed in a slim black short sleeved leather vest, going alongside a slim white and red striped skirt. This may bring in a bigger male audience, as men with different pleasurable styles may take interest in the different girls due to how they are presented within their own styles. The female audience may look at this as a sign of body appreciation, rather than a sexual view, because they may want to look like the girls in the music video, and so watch with attitudes of inspiration, due to its aesthetically pleasing features.
We are presented with a mid shot of the featuring rapper, Kid Ink, after being around 30 seconds into the video. His scene shows a slight twist in roles of who is in charge within the video, and this keeps in with the theme of the male gaze, because even though the ladies of Fifth Harmony are no longer being highlighted as the main roles, it shows a sign of strength within the male role around women, as he is being assisted by two well dressed attractive ladies that are introduced within his scene only. The male viewers may like to see this type of control, as through their eyes and through patriarchy, this would seem to be expected anyway, and so continue watching as a sign for strong, expected manhood being placed within the video. Plus they also have the bonus of the attractive women to look at on the side.
Again we are given a long shot of Fifth Harmony after Kid Ink's section of the video ends. Here they are presented with dance moves that are inspired by Beyonce, another key lady in the music industry who features within the male gaze. They were inspired by Beyonce, as she is a major feminist in not just the music industry, but in the entire media industry as a whole, and she embraces her sexuality, rather than hiding from it or being ashamed of it, and this is the exact message that Fifth Harmony wanted to interpret for their female viewers. These dance moves are just typical routine moves, however from the view of the male gaze, the male may intepret these moves sexually, and be attracted to them. The girls are also "breaking the fourth wall" to show that it is all about them, averting back within the theme of women empowerment, and also keeping in direct view of the person watching the video. The girls can't see the viewer at the time of the music video being made, so to them it is more of a fantasy, staring at the camera, however in the male gaze, the intense stares at the camera male become sexualized, because it comes off attractive to a male viewer that they are being given a "look".
Throughout the remainder of the video, we encounter the members of Fifth Harmony individually being portrayed as "bossing around" their male companions in the video. They are presented constantly as very flirtatious through a males eyes, yet powerful over these companions overall, getting them to do their work, whilst distracting them at the same time with their body language, which again a man may interpret sexually. This interpretation that males may see through the video is emphasized a lot through long shots and mid shots, focusing mainly on the girls' arms and legs, as these parts of the body to them are being used most sexually throughout the music video's scenes, dancing and bossing around the males by pushing/kicking them about. They also see that the male characters are displayed a lot, showing intense sexual eye contact with the individual girls in their scenes, checking them out as they do these "sexual actions". However, a female may look at all of this again as a sign of inspiration and body appreciation, because these different camera shots show off the many features of each Fifth Harmony member, and viewers may find it aesthetically pleasing, as they strive to look like these girls in the video.
Finally, at the end of the music video, we are left with the girls of Fifth Harmony again "breaking the fourth wall", emphasizing once again that the video is all about themselves and women empowerment, leaving the viewer thinking of them in an empowering "women only" state as the video finishes with no men in sight. The last few seconds, switches from close ups to long shots, broadcasting a mixture of sexualized eye contact from a males perspective, with the girls and the viewer (as they are breaking the fourth wall during these moments close up, smirking at the camera), and a finishing male interpreted "sexualized" dance section, leaving us to connote what we see with sex, but also women in control of their own actions.
Overall, I would say that this music video could be interpreted as both "empowering" and "degrading" for women in the male gaze.
The music video can be interpreted as "empowering" as it's all about being a female boss in the workplace, whilst still being able to look good at the same time. It may also be seen as empowering, as the girls of Fifth Harmony are reversing the "typical roles of males and females" within music videos. Usually a male in a music video would be the one to stare at the camera "seductively" for a female viewer and take "complete dominance" within the video and with whoever may be watching the video, but Fifth Harmony have took this role and have completely switched it around, providing this for not just their male viewers, but their female viewers as well. Because of this "seductive technique" and their appearances, you would expect the target audience to be completely male, however, because they're "confident" and are "promoting their sexuality" in a positive light, they attract a large female audience too.
The music video can also be interpreted as "degrading" however, because even though the ladies of Fifth Harmony are presenting themselves as taking control and being in charge over the men, in the male gaze, the male viewers may say that they still have to use "sexual matters" like dancing and "flirtatious actions" around the men to do this successfully and gain full awareness, whereas a woman may simply say that it's just female characters being "confident" within their own bodies, and are doing whatever they like within the video, because they just want to promote the idea of "women empowerment" to their audience.
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