No this is good, well done. Highlighting the weird grey space between two time worlds. Especially the atonal sounds in the background, resulting from the Chopping/Screwing, and how Page's movements are like syrup. Hypnotic.
But, things haven't changed much since the fifties? Nah dawg. But that's what they be tellin' us to think. You gotta consider BEYONCE.
the Single ladies video is literally these same moves, a la 2009. Add some more dancers, more sass and sex and put on a metal glove, and you'vee got it. It's not even in technicolor.
We surely objectify beyonce in a similar way that betty page was, but we say that beyonce is doing it under the guise of personal agency and power. It's the same hips, shaking in the same way, for a similar audience.
No one said anything about the "guise of personal agency and power." But now that you bring it up! Both Page and Beyonce, I'd like to think, are motivated by said "guise." And as far as injecting sass and sex, dude, Page was a straight Playboy centerfold... So in that sense things, as you say, aren't that different.
But, significantly, you ignore the one glaring difference, which is the Race difference, which is surely a huge difference considering that Beyonce flipped racial appropriation on its head with Single Ladies vid, contrary to music/art's traditional motive of appropriating the essentialized Other Culture. This is the key difference, that Page's moves are politically docile, if erotic, while Beyonce's moves are politically incendiary. That's the big reason why all time periods are not created equal.
And, possibly, the reason why that video is awesome.
Also, we've been told to start referring to her as Beyonce Knowles-Carter. WOOPZ
First off, i think Beyonce is doing a lot of new things and I'm a genuine fan. However,
While I'm not sure that Beyonce "flipped" racial appropriation on its head with one video by dancing in tight fitting clothes on a minimalist set, i do know that the she is still dancing in the same vein of cabaret and striptease. Her influence from bob fosse is readily apparent, and i'm talking about the male-female relationship here. Surely you would be equally attracted to a girl no matter what her race, and so that's how I'm looking at these two.
Beyonce propogates an existing stereotype. She is doing it in a different way than Page is doing it, but the message is still the same: "take me". Beyonce is just a harder catch, while Page is almost titilated by the thought. And remember, the whole idea behind the video is that the man who lost her good lovin should have married her if he wanted to keep her. Let's talk about that.
The modes of expression for every time period are different. Page's act here was meant for the tv, while beyonce's vid would not have gained the recognition it did without the internet. And as a culture we can allw beyonce to dance like she does, while if Page did those same moves (if she was in fact coordinated enough - i doubt it) it would have been filed under pornography. BUT the driving forces and underlying meanings are incredibly closely related.
If Beyonce is using her place as a sex symbol to tackle race issues, I can only commend her for that, but the role she is playing for society is similar to Page's. This might seem like an obvious point, but the two are wearing almost identical costumes and performing similar moves. And with Page's popularity, she clearly influenced Fosse, who has influenced Beyonce. The sources for artistic expression can, in this way, remain the same over many years.
I'm tired of striptease and self-degredation as the only succesful form of female expression in popular entertainment. So that's what I'm saying. Kudos on the Knowles-Cater tip.
I'm not sure if you're suggesting that Single Ladies is self-degrading, but if you are, Damn! That's presumptive. Beyonce is a sex symbol, sure, but I would hardly say that's the "role she is playing for society." What about the role of making great pop music, of being a powerful black female icon, etc... Peep her new joint Black Culture, which essentially jacks a Mike Jackson beat (Q. Jones). Single Ladies is anything but strip tease (not that Knowles-Carter isn't "guilty" of that, if it's a crime).
And when I say "flipped" on its head, I mean on a small-scale, which is why the video is amazing, because Beyonce is performing "old-school" moves, yes, but she's making them better and cooler. And on top of that, she's doing it defiantly (I get the feeling of defiance from pretty much everything she does re: I am... Sasha Fierce), which to me connotes politics. You should have put a ring on it, as in, you fucked up dood, and now I'm makin ya pay. All of this being an effort by me to distance Beyonce from her predecessors, and from the belittling assumption that "striptease and self-degredation are the only successful forms of female expression in popular entertainment." Like it or not, we've come a long ass way from the Page dance (and I won't safely say that that was simple strip and degrade either!).
Yes, we are stuck in our ideologically traditional ways, definitely in regards to sex, in this country. But pulling that from Beyonce feels underhanded.
I honestly want to figure out what this means, not trying to get people mad.
Honestly, look at her videos and then look at Jay - Z (I think that's an apt comparison) and becomes clear that the two are expressing themselves in completely different ways to sell their music. It's an old school double standard that I want to address, and I think beyonce does too (look at her video "if I were a boy," which is still complete with lots of body shots).
Single ladies is inherently about defining womanhood against a man, and also implies that marriage is the only way to "catch" beyonce, and that the man referred to was probably trippin, further enforcing the counter-stereotype that men are dogs. I personally think it's weird, and that's why I'm bringing this up. Didn't mean to ruffle so many feathers.
I obviously don't think that being sexy is a crime nor does it preclude feminist belief, I just don't think it needs to be the default setting for such a talented artist such as beyonce.
I'm weary and wary of the time-honored liberalism that "things never change." It's too easy to say, doesn't take much work, much thinking- we elite may sit from afar and criticize pop culture with counter-productive, pre-formed comments about traditional and conservative ideologies, when in fact we fall victim to that very conservative mentality in the act of criticizing. In regards to race, it's a lot like how middle-aged middle class white people just don't get why Michael Jackson's death was such a big deal.
Calling Beyonce's default setting sexy is the easy way out. Would you say that about Madonna? And if you would, you would do so at the risk of ignoring her politics. And by saying that about Beyonce, that's exactly what you do. Consider your own role as the beholder-eye: yes, you're turned on by Beyonce, but does that mean that she's successful because she turns you on? And if she was, does that fall on her, or you?
It starts early back, with Independent Women. Was that song about being sexy? Add this question- is being sexy a way to express independence? Then we have Single Ladies, the redux, which, yes, defines womanhood against men, in, again, an act of defiance. But does doing that reenforce a "counter-stereotype" that men are dogs? The song tells a story that people relate to, it bears truth, in whatever form. And if it did re-enforce a stereotype about men, who really cares? It still beats what Single Ladies could have been, You Liked It and You Put A Ring On It. I'm Yours. That would be a message worth criticizing.
And as far as comparing her to Jay-Z... you should consider how Jay-Z's "bitches and hos, violence" messages read from a liberal perspective, and how he used those to sell his music, if we're really going to play that counterproductive game.
This is something I've said before on this blog: it's far too easy to snap on pop music, because we conflate pop music artists with larger American culture. But that carelessly avoids the crucial link between those artist's and their co-optation and production by larger American hegemony, and that's the process worth criticizing.
"Independent Women" is easier to define as an empowering song rather than a vague combo of spite, seduction, and power largely because the words are directed at a female listener, rather than the dude that didn't propose to her. "Independent Women" talks about being able to buy her own diamonds (and her own rings... oh snap) and not giving a shit about gifts that her dude gives her. It's encouraging other women to do the same. "Single Ladies" is less of a manifesto than a case-in-point of a slightly shifted attitude.
This isn't to say that Beyonce has become shallow by now demanding to be given a ring - duh, it's a symbol of fidelity. But she certainly has moved from the super pro-female stance, to a less idealistic view on relationships. Beyonce's game of cat and mouse is now admittedly in a club, in a situation with a bunch of guys aiming to get up on that. She's cool with that, not complaining about the old connotations of dating norms. Gifts can still show affection and devotion rather than be direct bargaining tools; accepting them doesn't necessarily admit dependence.
Momma can profit dollas and still enjoy being held tighter than her Dereon jeans
Is the distinction you're trying to make that Jay-Z uses women's sexuality to sell his music and Beyonce uses her own?
Big Pimpin'
Beyonce is owning her sexuality. She is powerful, talented and an independent woman and just because body's like WHOA does not make that any less so. It's counterproductive to your cause to claim that any woman, be they Bettie Page or Beyonce, not be in control of their own representation-- cause shit, how would YOU know?
The fact of the matter is-- that as much you or I may want Beyonce, sexualize her, or degrade her-- we cannot have her. And there's power in that, no?
Yes, there's power in owning your body, but I think that's just part of the issue here. Also, I don't want to degrade Beyonce in any way, that's not how I get down. But that's beside the point.
My comparison with Jay Z is that he asserts his dominance over everyone, while Beyonce is part of a movement shifting the power away from such male figures to women. Now, neither "Beyonce" or "Jay Z" as they present themselves really truly exist (i.e. they are creating personae to one degree or another) but they do reflect how we see ourselves in our own worlds, real or imagined.
Armhead, I'm not sure you can separate the "hegemony of culture" from its building blocks. Maybe you can, but it should be a delicate business to extricate society from the social artifacts, products, emblems (it's hard to find an adequate word) such as Beyonce and her music. Single Ladies has over 80 million views on youtube alone, which in my mind equals some sort of social truth. Is there an evil hegemony there? Are all those pubescent girls and adult males secretly meeting to co-opt the meaning of Beyonce's music and steal her ideas away from her? Most intellectual propoerty that gest stolen is stuff that most people don't see or hear, and then get produced as the work of somebody else. Case in point: Daft Punk.
But Single Ladies is it's own message. And any message, whatever it may be, and however real or imagined it may be, becomes completely real if it's known by such a multitude of people. Have you seen that video of the baby dancing to single ladies? That kid, and many others will have that melody ingrained in their subconscious for the rest of their lives. So I think we should not assume anything. This is a powerful message and I want to understand it. I certainly don't want to just let this go as a victory for women everywhere because it is clearly more complex, and an emblem of many of societies beliefs concerning women.
If we take Beyonce as a case study of superlative quality in ubiquity, her message is defiance and her means of taunting the fool who let her get away is showing off her skill in controlling her body, both physically and image-wise. The reason I question this approach is that I am interested in other aspects of Beyonce: her character, her voice, and the other roles she can play. Why else should that dude have stayed with her? I mean, she can dance, that's true, and she does have a sweet metal glove... but I think she was really good in Austin Powers as well.
Why is the video not a montage of her favorite female figures, some awesome sketches she did once, video of her helping to run rocafella records, or anything else? I'm not saying that what she is doing is bad, I'm simply asking the question: why this? My first conclusion was that it is the accepted form of female expression in society, and has served as a means for many other entertainers to launch ideas from. Maybe i'm off base, and i'm interested in everything said thus far. It really is a testament to the effect Beyonce has on our culture.
please, listen to what I'm asking, and don't just jump to attack my "point of view", whatever that may be. I'm trying figure this out, not assert a definite view, which it seems you all have a lot of - and that's cool.
FIrst, we're all in this together. That is, knee deep in shit way over our heads (!). There are two sides to every coin, better yet, 18 sides to an 18-sided die, and this conversation's length and external interest is a testament to that truth. If I sound "definite," well, it's just a way of discussing things, teasing out the differences so that more of the thing expands in front of us, which is exactly what it's doing right now. And, I agree with a lot of what you're saying, Chef Boyo, especially in your last post.
But, I still think you need to account for the ways in which you're assuming both who the receivers of this video are and the way it's read. The 80 million youtube views- you chalk them up to pubescent girls and adult males. Well, I can safely say that at least 5 of them are my mother's, 1 of them is that baby's, and a lot more are hitting from all over the world, from all shapes and sizes. And we have to consider the power of that... that many of them are bound to write it off as sexy, but that so many are also going to see a talented, strong, beautiful, black, American woman singing a song that's essentially a clarion call for girls whose relationships didn't work out. And we extrapolate that phrase- Single Ladies- just a little bit, and we now have an anthem for single mothers, victims of abuse, basically, any woman that's been fucked over by the American male ideology that women are objects, to be utilized.
Now, I admit, that addresses the song more than the video. And the video might be contradictory in that it simultaneously offers Beyonce as a sexual icon while preaching a message of sexual defiance, and there's truth to that, and them's the breaks. Yet when I saw it, I distinctly remember feeling overwhelmed by the sheer artistry and complexity of the piece- the dancing, camera movement, singing, costumes, etc... Now, we may or may not be able to credit these directly to Beyonce, but they all amount to being part of her image. You say, damn, that Beyonce video was sick! And so, for me personally, your reduction of the video to "she can dance, and she does have a sweet metal glove," and she's sexy, read as belittling, and also didn't ring personally True. I've always felt there was more to it.
Which brings me to my point about hegemony, which is not an "evil conspiracy" of a bunch of youTube viewers, but in fact the very process of how the dominant ideology remains dominant, through the installation of values on people, which are then recreated by small actions, such as watching Singled Ladies on youtube for its sexual content, OR, criticizing it as simply sexual. The fact that hegemony is a totality means that it is the dialectical unity of itself and its critic, or, in other words, that often times the Left and Right view are doing favorable work in its eyes. One of the major ways this happens is through the process of co-optation to the mainstream, like how skateboarding is starting to be cool now. The cultural change we're talking about, (not petty intellectual property theft, mind you), is on a large scale between resistance movements and mainstream movements. All of which is a lengthy explanation for suggesting that it's your reading of Single Ladies as ye olde traditional sexy vid, along with millions of youtubers, that helps to co-opt it into the mainstream. In doing so, trim off a lot of the really complicated and beautiful politics of Beyonce and her message (so far, we've barely even touched on race!). And in that sense, you can and should distinguish (though, like you say, not separate) American ideology's hegemony from its "building blocks," although I think "devices" is a more apt metaphor.
We're traveling into realms unforeseen right now. Sick.
Regardless of where we're coming from, I think we can all rally around the idea that Single Ladies, whatever it may signify ideologically, is way fucking better than that Taylor Swift video.
imagine coming up with a performance piece using the lyrics of this song as a starting point, and I bet you would have come up with something different than Beyonce's handlers did. Her choreography's tradition falls within the fertility dance category, proven useful for single ladies hoping to attract suitable mates since forever with its ancient vocabulary built from repetitive hopping steps and pelvic thrusts. Gets the pulse going for both dancer and gazer, but there's not much nuance in Single Ladies, especially given its rather stolid lyrics. No sex without an engagement ring? Are we living in one of the most conservative times or what? Oh well, this is pop music. And pop music basically upholds the status quo even if pretending to be edgy while wearing one-shoulder leotards and high heels. What would be really cool is if she showed more imagination. Can't put a ring on that.
No this is good, well done. Highlighting the weird grey space between two time worlds. Especially the atonal sounds in the background, resulting from the Chopping/Screwing, and how Page's movements are like syrup. Hypnotic.
ReplyDeleteBut, things haven't changed much since the fifties? Nah dawg. But that's what they be tellin' us to think. You gotta consider BEYONCE.
the Single ladies video is literally these same moves, a la 2009. Add some more dancers, more sass and sex and put on a metal glove, and you'vee got it. It's not even in technicolor.
ReplyDeleteWe surely objectify beyonce in a similar way that betty page was, but we say that beyonce is doing it under the guise of personal agency and power. It's the same hips, shaking in the same way, for a similar audience.
No one said anything about the "guise of personal agency and power." But now that you bring it up! Both Page and Beyonce, I'd like to think, are motivated by said "guise." And as far as injecting sass and sex, dude, Page was a straight Playboy centerfold... So in that sense things, as you say, aren't that different.
ReplyDeleteBut, significantly, you ignore the one glaring difference, which is the Race difference, which is surely a huge difference considering that Beyonce flipped racial appropriation on its head with Single Ladies vid, contrary to music/art's traditional motive of appropriating the essentialized Other Culture. This is the key difference, that Page's moves are politically docile, if erotic, while Beyonce's moves are politically incendiary. That's the big reason why all time periods are not created equal.
And, possibly, the reason why that video is awesome.
Also, we've been told to start referring to her as Beyonce Knowles-Carter. WOOPZ
First off, i think Beyonce is doing a lot of new things and I'm a genuine fan. However,
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm not sure that Beyonce "flipped" racial appropriation on its head with one video by dancing in tight fitting clothes on a minimalist set, i do know that the she is still dancing in the same vein of cabaret and striptease. Her influence from bob fosse is readily apparent, and i'm talking about the male-female relationship here. Surely you would be equally attracted to a girl no matter what her race, and so that's how I'm looking at these two.
Beyonce propogates an existing stereotype. She is doing it in a different way than Page is doing it, but the message is still the same: "take me". Beyonce is just a harder catch, while Page is almost titilated by the thought. And remember, the whole idea behind the video is that the man who lost her good lovin should have married her if he wanted to keep her. Let's talk about that.
The modes of expression for every time period are different. Page's act here was meant for the tv, while beyonce's vid would not have gained the recognition it did without the internet. And as a culture we can allw beyonce to dance like she does, while if Page did those same moves (if she was in fact coordinated enough - i doubt it) it would have been filed under pornography. BUT the driving forces and underlying meanings are incredibly closely related.
If Beyonce is using her place as a sex symbol to tackle race issues, I can only commend her for that, but the role she is playing for society is similar to Page's. This might seem like an obvious point, but the two are wearing almost identical costumes and performing similar moves. And with Page's popularity, she clearly influenced Fosse, who has influenced Beyonce. The sources for artistic expression can, in this way, remain the same over many years.
I'm tired of striptease and self-degredation as the only succesful form of female expression in popular entertainment. So that's what I'm saying. Kudos on the Knowles-Cater tip.
I'm not sure if you're suggesting that Single Ladies is self-degrading, but if you are, Damn! That's presumptive. Beyonce is a sex symbol, sure, but I would hardly say that's the "role she is playing for society." What about the role of making great pop music, of being a powerful black female icon, etc... Peep her new joint Black Culture, which essentially jacks a Mike Jackson beat (Q. Jones). Single Ladies is anything but strip tease (not that Knowles-Carter isn't "guilty" of that, if it's a crime).
ReplyDeleteAnd when I say "flipped" on its head, I mean on a small-scale, which is why the video is amazing, because Beyonce is performing "old-school" moves, yes, but she's making them better and cooler. And on top of that, she's doing it defiantly (I get the feeling of defiance from pretty much everything she does re: I am... Sasha Fierce), which to me connotes politics. You should have put a ring on it, as in, you fucked up dood, and now I'm makin ya pay. All of this being an effort by me to distance Beyonce from her predecessors, and from the belittling assumption that "striptease and self-degredation are the only successful forms of female expression in popular entertainment." Like it or not, we've come a long ass way from the Page dance (and I won't safely say that that was simple strip and degrade either!).
Yes, we are stuck in our ideologically traditional ways, definitely in regards to sex, in this country. But pulling that from Beyonce feels underhanded.
You can't pressume that these women are attainable or sending a "take me" message because they are showing their thighs and dancing.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't you be a sex symbol and a feminist?
throw your hands up at me.
presume
ReplyDeleteI honestly want to figure out what this means, not trying to get people mad.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, look at her videos and then look at Jay - Z (I think that's an apt comparison) and becomes clear that the two are expressing themselves in completely different ways to sell their music. It's an old school double standard that I want to address, and I think beyonce does too (look at her video "if I were a boy," which is still complete with lots of body shots).
Single ladies is inherently about defining womanhood against a man, and also implies that marriage is the only way to "catch" beyonce, and that the man referred to was probably trippin, further enforcing the counter-stereotype that men are dogs. I personally think it's weird, and that's why I'm bringing this up. Didn't mean to ruffle so many feathers.
I obviously don't think that being sexy is a crime nor does it preclude feminist belief, I just don't think it needs to be the default setting for such a talented artist such as beyonce.
I'm weary and wary of the time-honored liberalism that "things never change." It's too easy to say, doesn't take much work, much thinking- we elite may sit from afar and criticize pop culture with counter-productive, pre-formed comments about traditional and conservative ideologies, when in fact we fall victim to that very conservative mentality in the act of criticizing. In regards to race, it's a lot like how middle-aged middle class white people just don't get why Michael Jackson's death was such a big deal.
ReplyDeleteCalling Beyonce's default setting sexy is the easy way out. Would you say that about Madonna? And if you would, you would do so at the risk of ignoring her politics. And by saying that about Beyonce, that's exactly what you do. Consider your own role as the beholder-eye: yes, you're turned on by Beyonce, but does that mean that she's successful because she turns you on? And if she was, does that fall on her, or you?
It starts early back, with Independent Women. Was that song about being sexy? Add this question- is being sexy a way to express independence? Then we have Single Ladies, the redux, which, yes, defines womanhood against men, in, again, an act of defiance. But does doing that reenforce a "counter-stereotype" that men are dogs? The song tells a story that people relate to, it bears truth, in whatever form. And if it did re-enforce a stereotype about men, who really cares? It still beats what Single Ladies could have been, You Liked It and You Put A Ring On It. I'm Yours. That would be a message worth criticizing.
And as far as comparing her to Jay-Z... you should consider how Jay-Z's "bitches and hos, violence" messages read from a liberal perspective, and how he used those to sell his music, if we're really going to play that counterproductive game.
This is something I've said before on this blog: it's far too easy to snap on pop music, because we conflate pop music artists with larger American culture. But that carelessly avoids the crucial link between those artist's and their co-optation and production by larger American hegemony, and that's the process worth criticizing.
"Independent Women" is easier to define as an empowering song rather than a vague combo of spite, seduction, and power largely because the words are directed at a female listener, rather than the dude that didn't propose to her. "Independent Women" talks about being able to buy her own diamonds (and her own rings... oh snap) and not giving a shit about gifts that her dude gives her. It's encouraging other women to do the same. "Single Ladies" is less of a manifesto than a case-in-point of a slightly shifted attitude.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't to say that Beyonce has become shallow by now demanding to be given a ring - duh, it's a symbol of fidelity. But she certainly has moved from the super pro-female stance, to a less idealistic view on relationships. Beyonce's game of cat and mouse is now admittedly in a club, in a situation with a bunch of guys aiming to get up on that. She's cool with that, not complaining about the old connotations of dating norms. Gifts can still show affection and devotion rather than be direct bargaining tools; accepting them doesn't necessarily admit dependence.
Momma can profit dollas and still enjoy being held tighter than her Dereon jeans
Is the distinction you're trying to make that Jay-Z uses women's sexuality to sell his music and Beyonce uses her own?
ReplyDeleteBig Pimpin'
Beyonce is owning her sexuality. She is powerful, talented and an independent woman and just because body's like WHOA does not make that any less so. It's counterproductive to your cause to claim that any woman, be they Bettie Page or Beyonce, not be in control of their own representation-- cause shit, how would YOU know?
The fact of the matter is-- that as much you or I may want Beyonce, sexualize her, or degrade her-- we cannot have her. And there's power in that, no?
Yes, there's power in owning your body, but I think that's just part of the issue here. Also, I don't want to degrade Beyonce in any way, that's not how I get down. But that's beside the point.
ReplyDeleteMy comparison with Jay Z is that he asserts his dominance over everyone, while Beyonce is part of a movement shifting the power away from such male figures to women. Now, neither "Beyonce" or "Jay Z" as they present themselves really truly exist (i.e. they are creating personae to one degree or another) but they do reflect how we see ourselves in our own worlds, real or imagined.
Armhead, I'm not sure you can separate the "hegemony of culture" from its building blocks. Maybe you can, but it should be a delicate business to extricate society from the social artifacts, products, emblems (it's hard to find an adequate word) such as Beyonce and her music. Single Ladies has over 80 million views on youtube alone, which in my mind equals some sort of social truth. Is there an evil hegemony there? Are all those pubescent girls and adult males secretly meeting to co-opt the meaning of Beyonce's music and steal her ideas away from her? Most intellectual propoerty that gest stolen is stuff that most people don't see or hear, and then get produced as the work of somebody else. Case in point: Daft Punk.
But Single Ladies is it's own message. And any message, whatever it may be, and however real or imagined it may be, becomes completely real if it's known by such a multitude of people. Have you seen that video of the baby dancing to single ladies? That kid, and many others will have that melody ingrained in their subconscious for the rest of their lives. So I think we should not assume anything. This is a powerful message and I want to understand it. I certainly don't want to just let this go as a victory for women everywhere because it is clearly more complex, and an emblem of many of societies beliefs concerning women.
If we take Beyonce as a case study of superlative quality in ubiquity, her message is defiance and her means of taunting the fool who let her get away is showing off her skill in controlling her body, both physically and image-wise. The reason I question this approach is that I am interested in other aspects of Beyonce: her character, her voice, and the other roles she can play. Why else should that dude have stayed with her? I mean, she can dance, that's true, and she does have a sweet metal glove... but I think she was really good in Austin Powers as well.
Why is the video not a montage of her favorite female figures, some awesome sketches she did once, video of her helping to run rocafella records, or anything else? I'm not saying that what she is doing is bad, I'm simply asking the question: why this? My first conclusion was that it is the accepted form of female expression in society, and has served as a means for many other entertainers to launch ideas from. Maybe i'm off base, and i'm interested in everything said thus far. It really is a testament to the effect Beyonce has on our culture.
please, listen to what I'm asking, and don't just jump to attack my "point of view", whatever that may be. I'm trying figure this out, not assert a definite view, which it seems you all have a lot of - and that's cool.
FIrst, we're all in this together. That is, knee deep in shit way over our heads (!). There are two sides to every coin, better yet, 18 sides to an 18-sided die, and this conversation's length and external interest is a testament to that truth. If I sound "definite," well, it's just a way of discussing things, teasing out the differences so that more of the thing expands in front of us, which is exactly what it's doing right now. And, I agree with a lot of what you're saying, Chef Boyo, especially in your last post.
ReplyDeleteBut, I still think you need to account for the ways in which you're assuming both who the receivers of this video are and the way it's read. The 80 million youtube views- you chalk them up to pubescent girls and adult males. Well, I can safely say that at least 5 of them are my mother's, 1 of them is that baby's, and a lot more are hitting from all over the world, from all shapes and sizes. And we have to consider the power of that... that many of them are bound to write it off as sexy, but that so many are also going to see a talented, strong, beautiful, black, American woman singing a song that's essentially a clarion call for girls whose relationships didn't work out. And we extrapolate that phrase- Single Ladies- just a little bit, and we now have an anthem for single mothers, victims of abuse, basically, any woman that's been fucked over by the American male ideology that women are objects, to be utilized.
Now, I admit, that addresses the song more than the video. And the video might be contradictory in that it simultaneously offers Beyonce as a sexual icon while preaching a message of sexual defiance, and there's truth to that, and them's the breaks. Yet when I saw it, I distinctly remember feeling overwhelmed by the sheer artistry and complexity of the piece- the dancing, camera movement, singing, costumes, etc... Now, we may or may not be able to credit these directly to Beyonce, but they all amount to being part of her image. You say, damn, that Beyonce video was sick! And so, for me personally, your reduction of the video to "she can dance, and she does have a sweet metal glove," and she's sexy, read as belittling, and also didn't ring personally True. I've always felt there was more to it.
Which brings me to my point about hegemony, which is not an "evil conspiracy" of a bunch of youTube viewers, but in fact the very process of how the dominant ideology remains dominant, through the installation of values on people, which are then recreated by small actions, such as watching Singled Ladies on youtube for its sexual content, OR, criticizing it as simply sexual. The fact that hegemony is a totality means that it is the dialectical unity of itself and its critic, or, in other words, that often times the Left and Right view are doing favorable work in its eyes. One of the major ways this happens is through the process of co-optation to the mainstream, like how skateboarding is starting to be cool now. The cultural change we're talking about, (not petty intellectual property theft, mind you), is on a large scale between resistance movements and mainstream movements. All of which is a lengthy explanation for suggesting that it's your reading of Single Ladies as ye olde traditional sexy vid, along with millions of youtubers, that helps to co-opt it into the mainstream. In doing so, trim off a lot of the really complicated and beautiful politics of Beyonce and her message (so far, we've barely even touched on race!). And in that sense, you can and should distinguish (though, like you say, not separate) American ideology's hegemony from its "building blocks," although I think "devices" is a more apt metaphor.
We're traveling into realms unforeseen right now. Sick.
Regardless of where we're coming from, I think we can all rally around the idea that Single Ladies, whatever it may signify ideologically, is way fucking better than that Taylor Swift video.
ReplyDeletea little late to this party, but...
ReplyDeleteimagine coming up with a performance piece using the lyrics of this song as a starting point, and I bet you would have come up with something different than Beyonce's handlers did. Her choreography's tradition falls within the fertility dance category, proven useful for single ladies hoping to attract suitable mates since forever with its ancient vocabulary built from repetitive hopping steps and pelvic thrusts. Gets the pulse going for both dancer and gazer, but there's not much nuance in Single Ladies, especially given its rather stolid lyrics. No sex without an engagement ring? Are we living in one of the most conservative times or what?
Oh well, this is pop music. And pop music basically upholds the status quo even if pretending to be edgy while wearing one-shoulder leotards and high heels. What would be really cool is if she showed more imagination. Can't put a ring on that.