Today, I watched in horror as a friend showed me this new Kanye video, which is basically projecting his "ownership" of Kim Kardashian.
The fact alone that she is sitting naked/almost naked on his motorcycle and is presented as if she is having sex with him objectifies her as someone only meant for sexual desire.
In the lyrics, he sings "I wanna f*** you hard on the sink.....What would Jeromey...think?"
He is once again claiming ownership of Kim here (Jerome was apparently Kardashian's ex and a rival rapper for Kanye)
I just find this entire thing ridiculous and am totally outraged. I don't even need to ask if anyone agrees, because, well, who wouldn't?
I was mostly disturbed - but thats pop culture these days, right? Especially with them two - they're a publicity couple. They'll take any chance they can get.
ReplyDeleteI think many people would agree with you, the video is so ridiculous. If you haven't seen the parody already check it out, I think its also proof of widespread dislike for this video.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to step up to the plate and try to defend Kanye here (No, really! Stop laughing!). While I totally agree with you that Kim Kardashian is being objectified in this video and that the video itself is--technically speaking--awful/ridiculous/what have you, I think it sells Kanye short to take this video at face value. I think if one views this video within the context of what he's been doing with Yeezus and the corresponding videos/tour, layers begin to come into focus.
ReplyDeleteI could write about Yeezus, but that might take hours, so I'm going to stick to the tour/video events that are most pertinent. I think Kanye's tour has been about--to a certain degree--cultural redefinition, mostly through a racial lens. There was that whole saga with the Confederate flag and Kanye's attempts to co-opt it, that polarized the media, for instance (http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/04/us/kanye-west-confederate-flag/ ; http://uptownmagazine.com/2013/11/kanye-wests-confederate-flag-awesome/3/). Regardless of what you're personal take on what Kanye is doing, there's a chance that there's some intelligence behind it.
Let's look at the 'Bound 2' video through this lens. I think with all the cheesy, obviously fake background projection of majestic landscapes, Kanye is driving at something. The beginning shots span a great many areas, but I don't think it's a stretch to say that these landscapes are uniquely American--combine this with the overly cheesy concept of a guy riding on a motorcycle with his (classically blonde) lady, and I think it's not too much of a leap to think he's creating some kind of pastiche of Americana. But--stating the obvious--the video looks all kinds of terrible; Kanye is simultaneously invoking and denigrating America's supposed "gallant" and "free" past. The hero riding off freely into the distance with his lady is reduced to a grotesque sideshow that is at once offensive and comical.
There's a racial point here that he's making, of course. It can be argued that he's the only aspect of the video that is out of place, as a truly American protagonist from this pastiche he's creating would most likely be white. His presence is meant irritate and confound, and the lurid sexual acts he performs throughout the video play into that.
But companion to this racial point is a point about women; he's saying that in this (begrudgingly) classic, cheesy American pastiche narrative which he's messing with in the video, /women are tantamount to objects/. The heavy handedness with which the objectification is carried out supports this, I think. Though his main point is a racial one, I think Kanye is getting across here that this uniquely American idiom greatly dehumanizes women, and that they should (rightfully) be pretty pissed off.
I'm not at all saying your reading is incorrect--and indeed, if I were female, I might very well feel differently--but I think there are alternative readings to this video.
Though my mind might've created this to spare itself the knowledge that something so unapologetically horrible exists...