Bartender- T-pain

this video is once again a prime example of how footage is mediated to portray a degrading female stereotype which seems to be present in the greater side of hip hop.

from the very initial shot of this music video, a materialistic value is portrayed. a slow motion close up of a car with expensive rims is shown. in this shot the audience also becomes aware of a pair of female legs, however the audience cannot see the womens face, therefore by placing the womens legs synonomously with the expensive possessions, women are already objectified and are shown to be objects used to satisfy the male audience sex drive. in contrast to many shots which portray women sexually, there are numerous shots of the protagonist (artist) of this video, all of his shots coincidentally focus on his face and on him performing his song, thus creating the contrast between the talented man and the passive and insignificant women.

another shot which carries much weight is when the artist is shown at the bar and is approached by a woman behind him and the woman is simply dismissed without thought. this shows the male position and stature and his ability to be in control of his sexuality. the positioning of the woman being behind his back is also in some ways a metaphor of how society has been and still is on some level. with the female always being subordinate and second to men in developing as powerful roles.

a personal interpretation of mine in this video in particular came through me analysing the editing. the editing is very typical of a hip hop video as it is fast paced, often suiting the tempo of the song. however, through analysing how women in particular are being represented, i noticed that quick glimpses of facial expression are exposed to the audience, these facial expressions being mainly seductive, and these shots tend to be directly followed by a slow motion shot of their sexual body parts. it is almost as if the text is saying to the audience, that a womans mind is less significant than her body. this text through editing has proven to be quite mysoginistic.

as well as this, the bartender in this music video is a female. although it may seem humorous to some, it has a deeper meaning. i believe that the fact that the bartender "serves" a man is quite impactful. there are numerous shots where the bartender is shown pouring a drink for the man and therefore the man is in control of what the woman does. links being serving a drink and sexually serving someone can be suggested.

lighting is a very important aspect of this video. the main male protagonist is shown in a very high key light and his surroundings and the woman all fall under the low key lighting. the low key lighting firstly creates a more sexual and seductive atmosphere which is synonomus with the song..however, the female in the low key lighting makes her seem as if she is vampish and sexual and therefore the sexual characteristaion present is created even further. as well as this, the fact that the man is shown in good visible light against the female is low key lighting shows that the man is more important and that he should be focused on over the woman. the fact that the light doesnt attempt to separate the female from the background is also a metaphor the women seem to take the non leading role in society.