MEDIA EVALUATION QUESTION 1.In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products

DOES MY MUSIC VIDEO FOLLOW THE CONVENTIONS OF THE RAP GENRE

When listening back to the original song I used, and watching my music video numerous times, I feel like the song itself added with the video challenges most of the traditional and stereotypical codes and conventions seen within the hip hop rnb and rap music genre today. Conventionally, many songs and music videos of this music genre in todays society are related and focussed around the glamorisation of money, cars, houses, women, guns and crime, with women often being referred to as ‘bitches’ and ‘hoes’ etc. In most cases women are objectified and dismembered removing their face, feelings and personality from the viewer within most if not all shots used. MV’s and certain artists treat women more like an object or commodity that are used alongside glamorized items that are both bought and sold. Examples of such artists include 50 cent, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Eminem etc. Fame and objectification in these music videos are extremely glamorized!

FEMALE OBJECTIFICATION AND DEGRADATION, HOW HAVE SOME MUSIC

VIDEOS IN THE PAST CHALLENGED THIS? As mentioned earlier the used of objectification and degradation are widely apparent in this rnb, hip hop and rap music genre in both the songs and the music videos, and are constantly being used by a range of well known hip and rap artists, glamorising it as if its now normal and accepted. As well as women constantly being degraded they are constantly being presented to the audience as a form of property alongside luxury cars, Rolexes, crystals and bling all of which are things that are bought and sold. In a way, many of these music videos allow the viewer to have a voyeuristic relationship with what is being shown on screen whilst women are being presented as vacuous with no signs of intelligence, thought humour, anger and emotion. Throughout the years many music video’s have challenged this. ‘Aphex Twin’ used the same idea of dismemberment, dismembering the body parts and objectifying women whilst at the same time, scaring the viewer through the use of a mans head being edited onto the females bodies. Another was ‘Missy Elliots’ She’s a B music video. This music video flips the conventional themes and concepts of most rap music vidoes empowering women and in a sense making them extremely masculine throughout the video in the use of lyrics, camera shots and angle, mise-en-scene and colour.

HOW DID MY MUSIC VIDEO CHALLENGE THE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS?

I feel like my music video however really tries to challenge the more traditional and degrading forms and conventions of real media products within the rap music genres. It has a much larger focus on a more artistic elements and themes with dance playing a huge role within the music videos meaning and song. The song focusus more on pushing yourself as an individual and as a person to do what you want to do as an individual and to stand out from the crowd. Ezana ‘Selassie’ throughout the song raps about more positive themes referring to hard work, winning and success with reference to podiums and enemies (people who are try their best to bring you down in life) I deliberately aimed to film the music video almost as if he was talking through the camera to the viewer, with shots of him walking towards the camera, constantly keeping his eyes fixed and at times looking down at the viewers with the camera pointing upwards as a form of successful empowerment. Although the music video is of the Hip Hop and Rap music genre, the music video features no forms of female objectification or degradation as mentioned in detail a few slides earlier. I chose to avoid this completely and be more positive and artistic in my approach, aiming to break conventions whilst still maintaining the urban atmosphere and feel of most rap videos is todays music industry.