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The Forum > Article Comments > Be a Real Man > Comments

Be a Real Man : Comments

By Mary Elias, published 31/1/2011

Portrayals of violence against women can never be condoned, not even on artistic grounds.

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The 40-second trailer clip compresses all the dead/drugged-fetished-women aspects of the full-length video and leaves out the plot and symbolism context. As for the full-length video, it's very Dario Argenta from the 60s or Robert Palmer from the 80s (only on steroids). Gender-politically speaking, however, it's strictly 1950s.

Both the men and the women are fetishised – but in ways that maintain the traditional gender power balance.

The women are all scantily clad, disembodied, dead, drugged and/or doing all the mandatory f*kme gyrating required for patriarchal S&M consumption. (10-inch stilletoes and blood ... oh, yawn!) By stark contrast, the men are equally fetishised in the gender-traditional way - e.g. suave (fully clothed) James Bond-style black tie and tux or displaying some sexy pecs under a black silk shirt or leather vest. So cool. So in control – and soooo ultimately victorious over all those lacy-undied, stilletoed harpies.

If it takes a petition to move the gender politics of music videos into the gender realities of the 2000s, then show me where to sign!
Posted by Killarney, Tuesday, 1 February 2011 11:21:22 AM
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Killarney
I have not seen the video and no intention of watching it, however I think your description is similar to what is normally in a women's magazine.

"The women are all scantily clad"

"suave (fully clothed) James Bond-style black tie and tux or displaying some sexy pecs under a black silk shirt or leather"

Take out the dead bodies, and you have a women's magazine.
Posted by vanna, Tuesday, 1 February 2011 11:39:55 AM
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I think you’ll find that Mr. West’s intention in making that video is to accentuate the fact that he himself is a “monster”, or even a “motherf@#king monster”, as he so eloquently proclaims in his gravelly staccato. By juxtaposing himself with his innocent, peacefully suffering victims, viewers are *meant* to hate and revile him, precisely as the “sex obsessed psychopath that gets turned on by violence against women” he portrays himself to be. He is doing quite a brave thing actually (at least within the bounds of the mainstream): he is exploring his dark side, questioning himself about his tendency to fantasise about disturbing subject matter, declaring himself publicly, and laying himself open to scrutiny. I don’t know, perhaps he feels guilty about his little faux pas with Taylor Swift and is doing a bit of self-flagellating. As we keep hearing, men often have difficulty expressing their emotions, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have them – they just communicate in complex ways, such as through music and imagery.

But there’s no need to seriously worry about whether this video will in itself incite violence against, or objectification of women. Trust me, teenage boys are capable of imagining far worse things, but they are also smart enough to know what’s right and wrong - and in any case their lives consist of more than what they watch on TV. The best way to react to a thing like this is not to push it under the carpet, but to acknowledge that these ideas are out there, to ask ourselves why it is that young women and men are in so much pain that they would identify with such images, and to ensure that they have loving, nurturing, empathetic environments that will let them explore their ideas in a safe, empowering and self-aware manner.
Posted by Sam Jandwich, Tuesday, 1 February 2011 3:32:10 PM
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Exploiting the youth is nothing new in the todays world, and better being burnt now than latter.

Guess the games!lol...it does make populist beliefs more easy to swallow. This cave/man thinking's.....girls! Do you not see the knuckle-dragging dementia prolonging your independence? WOW! Dont play to the tune.....but play to the grounds of....Iam me.......and there's a better choice than playing to the sounds of Mr Dick Williams, and don't some men just suck;)

Brains first.......party after.....catch the breeze.

Good luck.

BLUE
Posted by Deep-Blue, Wednesday, 2 February 2011 5:10:25 PM
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This whole post is a wish wash of feminist idealogy.

The next thing is we will ban everything.

THe premise of your argument is flawed. MOreover, it discounts any notion of freedom of speech and expression. The very thing you are doing posting this rubbish about a music video.

Grow up! Learn how to meditate instead of instigate.
Posted by Danny Crane, Wednesday, 9 February 2011 3:45:10 PM
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