In the Thicke of it: Robin women of dignity?

More news of Robin Thicke's now notorious (but big-selling) Blurred Lines being banned by over 20 UK universities, it being seen to fall foul of anti-rape/sexual abuse policies.

Thicke has made some wildly divergent statements on the track and accompanying controversy, appearing to welcome and revel in it at times, and declaring himself a proud old-school sexist ... but at other points he's struck a very different note:

Thicke has defended the song, telling one interviewer: "If you listen to the lyrics, it says 'That man is not your maker' – it's actually a feminist movement within itself."
In October, he told Radio 1 the song had been misunderstood. "I don't think people got it out here [in the UK] in those positions of power," he told Newsbeat. "I think the kids get it … I just have to deal with that."

Is Robin Thicke a feminist?!

Perhaps a more interesting question: to what extent should we differentiate between the likes of Wrecking Ball (or Miley Cyrus' on-stage twerking) and Blurred Lines? Is Sinead O'Connor's contention that many young female performers lose authorship of their work, becoming mere puppets for male managers and record executives, a valid one? Is a model sexually posed/objectified in a male artist's video in any regard inferior or superior to a female artist doing likewise in her own video?

REPRESENTATIONS posts

(not finished)
Posts linked to the concept of representations
AS Eval Q2;
A2 exam Q1b guide; posts on this;
Female pop mvids: issues + challenges;
Femen: radical protest movement;
Blogging on exemplar vids;
Video Gaga? Various analyses;
Lady Gaga shows ideological power of pop;
M. Lang: Dancing;
Censored vids;
Female singer-songwriter who ran Epic Records;
Creativity/Art;
Lady Gaga via Leeds: Bad Romance MEME;
Cher;
Rammstein: Sonne;
Casting + Creativity;
A2 Eval Q1 Use of Conventions;
Feminist metal or male gaze? Butcher Babies;
FEMINISM/Annie Lennox;
Music vids set in schools;
Various posts on Britney;
Mag Ad: Research + Audience;
Roseanne on class prejudice/sexism of TV;

See also posts on BritishCinema about male gaze etc + posts on women in film (eg Bechdel test)

CENSORSHIP + PIRACY posts

I've blogged on both topics a few times; I'll gather together links to posts here.

Banned Band? CENSORSHIP OF MUSIC VIDS; includes vids for banned egs used in quiz

CENSORSHIP: Rihanna's top 5 controversies; [to which we can now add her new album celebrating her domestic abuse? plus her shambolic - omnishambles?! - album launch PR]

Rhianna says censors helped her sell single;

Piracy/SOPA - on the Stop Online Piracy Act that brought together a range of campaigners to successfully lobby against this (+ some info on Pirate Bay)

Pro-Palestinian vid controversy - neutral, balanced BBC? Not according to 2011's Bad News About Israel from the GUMG, nor the article in this post

Chris Cunningham short filmic vid/censored; detail on this controversy

Rammstein: frequently controversial, see these posts - one, two, three.

Piracy: Google caves to pressure?;

Digitisation from Napster to Spotify;

 

CONTROVERSY: 10 Most Rebellious TV Rock Performances

SEE ALSO http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/10/anti-vid-jesus-mary-chain.html

The appeal of the music vid for TV partly lies in the ease with which it can be controlled by the TV producers: it can be bleeped or cut at will, for example. Live performances can, by contrast, be anarchic, from Elvis' 'shocking' pelvis gyrations in the 50s, through The Doors' Light My Fire reference to 'girl we can't get no higher' to Nirvana's debut UK performance where singer Cobain shouted on The Word that his girlfriend was the best, ahem, sexual partner in the world.
You can see a list of 10 egs of (rock) bands not following the rules on a variety of TV shows, including YouTube clips of the performances, at http://loudwire.com/most-rebellious-tv-rock-performances/

I've embedded just one example below: Johnny Rotten refusing to lipsynch on US TV:

Short filmic vid-ChrisCunningham-censorship

Can't really embed the vid I'll touch on here given its 147 uses of the f-word and more, but with this in mind you can watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlrbNqs61nU
Directed by Chris Cunningham (rem, a comp. DVD of his vids is available for loan) for the Warp dance act Aphex Twin, the video for Windowlicker is an edgy satire of contemporary US urban, hip-hop cultural tropes and cliches; the far end of the spectrum from Michael Jackson's comparatively effete streetscapes in Bad or Billie Jean.

Clocking in at 10:34, this goes beyond the typical brief diegetic intro we get in many vids - again, a useful comparison would be Jackson (the John Landis-directed Thriller).

Aphex Twin play with gender identity

There's a nice, and not too complicated (the sort of thing you have the facilities as Media students to replicate), effect to create a 38-window streeeetch limo (look for the telltale repeat of light moving across the two women to see the join). The vid also sees gender identity played with (a nod to Judith Butler's 'performativity of gender' theory?), something the band have done in live performances/artshows.
Unsurprisingly, the vid was the subject of censorship - with an equally common response in that 'clean' versions were created, though MTV did receive a fine for airing an uncut version before 9pm.
I've copied in below the informative blurb from the YouTube uploader below, but put this behind a 'read more' rather than remove the swear words contained in this. But first...

Consider this: is there an issue with censoring satire of sweary, misogynistic cultural forms and behaviour, which surely requires the use of swearing and images of misogyny to function with some level of verisimilitude?

There's another useful web feature on this, and Cunninghmam's work: http://www.director-file.com/cunningham/aphex2.html

Now the YouTube text:

Strobe lighting

Joel asked about the use of strobe lighting and any prohibition on this. I had a look into this and found the following:

Most people with photosensitive epilepsy do not have a problem with using modern computer screens, as they usually operate at a very high flicker frequency.  Computers with flatscreen monitors, such as laptops, have a liquid crystal display (also called LCD or TFT) that does not flicker. This makes them even less likely to trigger seizures. What is often more important than the type of screen is what is happening on the screen. For example, a flickering image or changing geometric pattern could trigger a seizure.

The organisation Ofcom regulates material shown on TV to avoid causing photosensitive seizures. Ofcom restricts the flash rate to 3 flashes or less per second, and restricts the area of screen allowed for flashing lights or alternating patterns.

Because of the size of the screen and the low intensity it is rare for seizures to be triggered by watching films in a cinema, or by hand-held miniature screens.

Interactive whiteboards, sometimes used in schools, have not been found to be a particular trigger for photosensitive epilepsy, although triggers can be individual.

A seizure can sometimes happen by chance while someone is watching TV or playing computer games or watching television, and may be a coincidence.  Tiredness brought on by watching the screen for a long time, or excitement when playing computer games, may also be a factor.

Can disco lights trigger photosensitivity?

Coloured lights do not usually cause a problem if they do not flash quickly.  However, deep red flashing lights, such as rear cycle lights, and strobe (flashing) lights can trigger seizures, especially if it is dark. If you know you are photosensitive, it may be best to avoid strobe lights, or cover one eye if you are suddenly exposed to them.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommends that strobe lighting in nightclubs or public performances is kept to a frequency of four hertz (flashes per second) or less.

SOURCE: http://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/AboutEpilepsy/Whatisepilepsy/Triggers/Photosensitiveepilepsy 

There have been examples of bans based on this regulation:

The promo for Kylie’s upcoming single ‘Wow’ was due for a world premiere on Channel 4 on Wednesday night, but it was pulled after TV watchdogs found it broke guidelines.
Ofcom found the video’s use of strobe lighting effects meant the promo was unbroadcastable as it could prompt epileptic fits.
A spokesperson for Channel 4 says a revised video will be shown, but Kylie’s now lost her high profile slot.
“We are waiting for the new version to be ready. It will be show on Music Playlist,” they state.

SOURCE: http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/40329/kylie-minogue-video-banned

On a similar note:

You might think there’d be a great many reasons to criticise a Westlife performance on The X Factor – schmaltz, insincerity and over-reliance on standing from a stool after a key change, for example.

However, Ofcom were more concerned about the physical effect the lasers employed by the show’s lighting department might have on light-senstive sufferers of epilepsy.

And it turns out their fears might’ve been worthwhile, as the light intensity of the lasers in that show turned out to be five times as intense as they’re legally allowed to be.

SOURCE: http://watchwithmothers.net/2010/01/26/newsgush-ofcom-criticises-x-factors-westlife-performance/#more-4941