Pop superstar Rihanna's new video encompasses everything the American public lusts for in entertainment: violence and sex. Unfortunately, however, the two are so entwined that viewers likely won't know how to feel once the 5-minute video ends. Rihanna's video for her newest video "Man Down" premiered this week on BET, and has sparked controversy for its violent content. The video, set in Jamaica, opens with Rihanna shooting a man dead on a crowded street. The video then backtracks to demystify Rihanna's seemingly unprovoked act of violence -- the night before, she was sexually assaulted by the man she killed.
Critics are upset for a few reasons. Some are angry that a premeditated murder could make its way into mainstream, prime time television in a popular artist's music video. Rihanna did not promote the accepted standard of getting justice through the legal system; instead, the video portrays her ruthlessly taking the law into her own hands. Furthermore, some people are upset that Rihanna did not take this opportunity -- especially because she was famously the victim of domestic abuse in her relationship with singer Chris Brown -- to advocate doing "the right thing." What, however, is the "right" thing to do when you are the victim of such a heinous crime?
Morals are discretionary, and so is the societal climate of different countries. Perhaps Rihanna chose Jamaica as the setting for her video for a reason -- things that may be commonplace or even the retaliatory norm in some places may evoke utter shock and outrage in other places (read: the U.S.). Though murder is never "right," neither is rape, or stealing bubble gum, or downloading music illegally. Rihanna employed artistic creativity in her video to display the story of a woman -- not necessarily herself in the most literal form -- exacting revenge on a man who has violated and demeaned her. The video seems to suggest that the man took the happy, flirtatious and freespirited nature of Rihanna's character as an invitation to impose himself upon her sexually. The counterattack by Rihanna's character the next day is sort of a symbolic gesture to say that this is not okay. Women should be free to dress, behave, and live as they wish without the threat of being assaulted. Even through the lyrics of the song, regret and despair are expressed: "I didn't mean to hurt him/ Could have been somebody's son." This does not justify the action portrayed in the video, but it's mostly realistic. What woman alive would not contemplate murdering a man who so mercilessly rapes her? Rihanna is not encouraging personal vendettas against rapists. She is merely bringing to visual fruition a situation that probably, sadly, is not so farfetched.
At the heart of the "Man Down" video, however, lies a complex problem involving female sexuality and empowerment. Per the usual Rihanna video, she is gorgeous. Not only is she gorgeous, she is sexually enticing and writhes around like a horny goddess. In a video where a rape is portrayed, how appropriate is it to alternate images of the attack with images of a vulnerable yet undeniably sexually charged Rihanna? She seems to be eroticizing the entirety of the video's events: from her damsel-like struggle with the rapist, to the kitten-esque way she maneuvers her body post-murder.
Either Rihanna is proliferating the feminist movement, or playing into long-standing notions of female vulnerability -- a vulnerability where control can only be redeemed through extreme measures not excluding murder.
Judge for yourself -- full video below:
No comments:
Post a Comment