Secondly, I would just like to say WOW! I'm am completely amazed at the information that was presented to me while watching "DreamWorlds 3." Most of the information, I admit to being previously aware of, but the stats and other extreme images and situations were definitely surprising, to say the least. Now that I have gotten that out of my system, I can respond to the documentary. And I'll try to keep my language PG-13 at best. I honestly don't know where to begin with this response. There were so many aspects of that film that were just so horrendous to even imagine let alone be bombarded with over a very short period of time. I think instead of starting with the things that the film got correct, I'll start with the things that I didn't necessarily agree with because that is a much shorter list.
The first thing that I didn't agree with was the way the film portrayed a particular Robin Thicke video which featured his wife, Paula Patton. While it does present the female as a sexual being still, the filmmakers overlook the fact that she is indeed his wife, who he can look at that way. For people who know they are married, it would seem that instead of an R&B star covered by all types of women, there is a man, who is completely committed to his wife and upholding a monogamous relationship. He finds his wife sexy and their is nothing wrong with that; in fact, monogamy, which is not often seen in popular culture, should be portrayed more and not negated due to a little female sexuality.
Overall, the part that I disagreed with the most was the section about female performers being trapped by masculine control. I admit, there are some female performers out there who fall prey to this control unknowingly and unwillingly, but there are plenty of women who do it on purpose to prove that they are in control of their sexuality and they have the power. Christina Aguilera is a prime example. When she first became a pop icon, she was portrayed by the music industry as an innocent little girl with no real control and she wanted to break free of that mold. On her second album, there were much more sexual themes, but she was the one who made the decision to portray herself in that manner, to let people know that there was more to her than a naive little girl, which in itself is a masculine fantasy. Other performers include Madonna and Janet Jackson. These women are perfect examples of performers who can reinvent themselves and emphasize different facets of their personalities with each new interpretation of themselves. People think that just because a woman decides to be sexual once, means that she will always be sexual and that is simply not the case, in my opinion. Lastly, a female that I really admire for their bravery in performance art is Lady Gaga. Her style is truly her own and she doesn't give a crap what anyone says or thinks. Her songs have a powerful message and always portray her as the one in control and that is alright with me.
Women are constantly portrayed in the media, especially in the music industry, as fragments of an entire person. The female body is shown in sections, often with the face being the least part seen. The breasts and derriere are the most commonly acknowledged parts of a female and are in some ways revered and in others degraded. Inherently, there is nothing wrong with showing a woman shaking her hips or butt, because who hasn't danced in their rooms or just around, with no cares for what anyone else is thinking. What creates the problem is when artists, particularly male artists, degrade a woman to being nothing more than a glorified prostitute showing off her butt and even her "lady parts." The group of people that are the most guilty of this are the rappers and the rock stars who believe that they have the ability to just dispose of women so easily, that they can be portrayed as naturally sexual creatures, often times with homosexual tendencies, who enjoy being treated like objects. Basically men are the possessors and women are meant to be possessed. I think that is a terrible quality to advertise to today's youth, both males and females. And when people take the images portrayed on television and force them into reality, it becomes a whole other cautionary tale. There is no reason for women to have to walk down the street living in fear of being assaulted by men, but how else can this culture evolve. Seeing the video and photo from those two public incidents in which women were attacked and treated like their "video ho" counterparts was disgusting and made me sick to even think of that happening to anyone I know. I hope that people will take into account all of these things and make sound decisions about how they act in the real world and separate that from the pornographic images seen in music videos.
