Friday, 7 October 2011

Britney Spear - Womanizer analysis

This music video was released on September 26, 2008 by Jive Records as the lead single of the album. Produced and co-written by Nikesha Briscoe and Rafael Akinyemi of The Outsyders, the song had to be re-recorded after a snippet was leaked onto the web. "Womanizer" is an uptempo electropop song with characteristic sirens and a repetitive hook. Described by Spears as a girl anthem, the song's lyrics recall a womanizing man, while the protagonist of the song makes clear she knows who he really is. This music video would appear on music channels such as MTV, Starz and Viva and would be heard on radio stations such as KISS, Capital and Radio1, which play predominantly mainstream tracks. This is an interesting video in that the artist adopts several stereotypical roles of a woman, for example, a housewife/sex kitten and a sexy secretary, however, is able to remain a dominatrix throughout. Interestingly she also adopts the alter ego of a limousine driver which generally is seen to be a stereotypical male occupation. However, she subverts the common idea that the woman is subordinate to the man, instead she asserts control and dominance over all the male figures in the video.





This is effective in that she attempts to directly challenge the stereotype that if she dresses quite feminine and seductive, this does not mean she is vulnerable and helpless. This video is a balanced combination of narrative and performance based and so as well as engaging viewers through a storyline; they are also captured by the sharp dance routines. She adopts the role of 4 alter egos. When dressed as a secretary, her attire is quite tight-fitting, ultimately displaying her vivacious body. Similarly, when she is in the kitchen and in the bedroom she is wearing very little clothing despite her domestic status. This in effect, objectifies her for the male gaze. I believe that the target audience for this video is mainly women and men of 20 years+ as the artists adopts quite mature roles, perhaps more relatable to older people.


The video directly links with the visuals and lyrics. The uses of the direct and accusatory words ‘you’re a womanizer’ are repeated, whilst she faces the audience at one point. Perhaps generalising this impression and directing it towards the entire male race. This is done cleverly in that she lays completely naked on a table during the choruses with steam surrounding her, which sets quite an intense and appealing display for men, sort of locating their underlying psycho-sexual mind-sets and diverting their attention away from what is being said. This may be slightly confusing in that she is saying that men are womanizers yet she is somewhat provoking these sexual thoughts through her seductive mannerisms.

Point of view shot is used when the male is recording Britney on his phone, perhaps this is some to gratify male audiences and make them feel as though they are recording her, ultimately making them feel more involved. The men in this video clearly have very little power and in the office scene, the artist stands over the love struck male who is seated, making him appear inferior to her. In addition to this, the male figures lift her up, elevating her to authority. In pop music videos females are more likely to be the dancers, however, within this video there are several men seen dancing around the woman, suggesting that she is quite promiscuous. It is not very typical of pop videos to have excessive bling, and this video adheres to this, also, pop videos tend to be quite bold, colourful and theatrical, and the use of her costumes conforms to this convention




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