Does Erykah Badu Go To Way Too Far Out There With The Video For "Window Seat"?
I'm no longer surprised at the things Erykah Badu thinks up, but this is a little much for me. If you have to do that much voiceover to explain what you are doing in your video, I think you're in big trouble with your artistic ideas. And is this video supposed to be sexy, reflective, or just provocative? I can't tell, it just seems like a mess to me. What do you think?
6 comments:
I know the video is a bit much, but I am into the music and the song is great.
Tiffany
http://liferequiresmorechocolate.blogspot.com
Reflective and provocative.
As my friend Danai wrote (I'm quoting her because I can't say it better):
feminisms are multiple and always contested, and "is it feminist, is it not?" not all that helpful. there are more helpful questions in my estimation - like are there other views/modes of power that this insists upon?
she's not been digitally messed with with the aims of so-called perfection. yes, black women's nude bodies come to represent a series of horrors (not just as sexualised objects, but a series of systematic violence and violations and appropriation); but erykah didn't need to be naked in a music video for all said appropriations to be on her body always already.
in the simple minds of the masses and their stereotypes, there was no amount of clothing/covering that would recover her body from these stereotypes. and i don't think it takes a great deal of naval-gazing to come to that conclusion. which is why even amongst us feminists, despite what she was trying to (or thought she was trying to communicate), we just can't get over. not a disservice to me. a passing comment, not all that prolific, (it's not lady gaga masturbating, stripping and then woman-prison-loving to the camera, if we're speaking in simpler terms) - she's naked
I don't really like the video!
@Keesa,
I appreciate your points, but I made no mention of feminism and quite frankly, I'm not sure if any feminist statement is being made by Badu or not in this video.
And Badu chose nudity to make a statement, it's the main focus, so she's clearly expecting a reaction based on her nudity.
My original question was did this video reflect any message or not. I've watched it several times and I still not sure what is being related.
Maybe that's the most interesting point for the discussion. What is this video?
I find it interesting that so much focus is placed on the nudity given that it comprises so little of the actual video. Furthermore, she is shot VERY SHORTLY after she removes every stitch of clothing she has on. No one really wants to talk about this assassination of a black female body, just the nudity in and of itself. Her body is not on display in such a way as to make the viewer ask is it too "bootylicious" for you while you're supposed to be looking at it with simultaneous desire, envy and hatred. I wonder why it is that Alanis Morrisette can appear nude in a video and be heralded as a hero, but a black woman does it so we must immediately condemn her for contributing to the already problematic images of sexualized black female bodies when there is a clear difference here.
Yes, she does convey a message here. Judging from the reactions I've been reading the past couple of days, everyone seems to take something completely different from it. I think the question we should be asking ourselves is why is she shot?
i agree with Inda Lauryn.
i think theres many aspects of the video that should be dissected and analyzed than just the nudity, and if it is the nudity, i think we need to stop looking at it as a "strip tease" or some sexual act.
i think if you look at the video, in its entirety, you will see that the nudity is not the main focus of the video. we should be asking why is she taking off her clothes in such a way? why is she shot at the end? how do her words at the end of the video relate to the rest of the video? does she feel as though this song is her "taking off the layers"? i mean, it is nothing more than simple-mindedness when people can only look at the nudity, and then only assume that it is an act of sexual perversion.
EVOLVE
http://www.elephantchronicles-nell.blogspot.com
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