Rihanna has been an r&b sensation since her big single "umbrella" came out in 2007. It's simple enough to say that her style of music has changed drastically since then. Risky dance moves and raunchy lyrics is putting it lightly on how many feel about her new look. I'm currently studying this music video and comparing it to male music videos to see how much women are exploiting themselves more now days then males do in their music videos. I immediately thought of this video to analyze and pick apart.
Before I even started the video I had to confirm that I was above the age of 18 due to sexuality shown. The red flag went up and I instantly had a radar for anything sexual. "Nah nah nah nah come on!" are the brilliant lyrics that come out of this singers mouth as she is getting dragged away by security guards with a drunken appearance on her face and insults plastered all over her slit white dress. I understand the creativity of putting labels on yourself as a way to say "screw you!" to all the mass media and paparazzi, but she could have been a little more tasteful if the whole idea was to prove a point. The further the video goes, the more intense the lyrics get. "Sex in the air" and "chains and whips excite me" are the lyrics that get sung while she has the known celebrity basher Perez Hilton on a leash. I'm surprised he would even agree to be treated like a dog in such an extreme and international music video.
The men surrounding her as dancing extras are all wearing bright colored ball gags with an expression of utter disgust on their face. They are all jotting down notes about Rihanna as she gets taped onto the wall wearing the label covered dress. Then there is a shot of her in a pink room with her bright red hair, rolling her eyes in the back of her head and singing while moving back and forth with a big "censored" sign across her chest. The men in this part of the video are half naked and humping a blow up doll behind her. If I didn't know any better, I would think that this is a song promoting drugs and sex fetishes... which isn't far from the truth.
Then the icing on the cake comes, and she is in a skin tight cat woman like, light pink outfit with half of her body exposed. As she sits with a large movie container of pink popcorn, all the others are confined in black tape. She walks towards them and dumps the popcorn on one guy and then pulls out the whip. This looks like her manager wanted her to do something racy and so this is the ending result. It is not tasteful or attractive and makes her look like a fake. It's understandable that you change your look to appear new and fresh when the new fish come into your swimming pond of celebrities, but there is no need to turn from an inspiration for young girls to a trashy s&m lover.
This is Matthew Lewis! Matt was born in San Diego, California and moved to Portland, Oregon in 1993. He attended Tigard High School and graduated in 2005. His college studies started at Portland Community College and he worked at FedEx for 2 years. During the time at FedEx he put in a lot of hours and was awarded employee of the year several times. In 2008 he planned a way out of work and school to find himself. He traveled traveled abroad for 4 months to SE Asia to do soul searching and learn about all the different cultures he was exposed to. He visited Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, VietNam, South Korea and Japan. After exposing himself to new challenges and writing consistently in his journal, he finally found himself and who he could be. He came back to the states during the recession and found a job working the Pedicab around downtown. FedEx offered him a job position with a promotion once they found out he was back and due to the economy, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to earn money. He would drive diesel engine trucks and would get disgusted with the pollution surrounding him. This sparked his studies and path towards environmental studies at Portland State University. He changed his job and is currently working for downtown retail security. He hopes that with his environmental study and knowledge he will be able to contribute to a healthier and happier community.
Fashion has been apart of my life ever since I was young and decked out in sequins for my dance rehearsals. The lucky thing about fashion is that it is changing constantly and allows you to express yourself in all stages of your life. Even the stages that are embarrassing and wish to be left in the past. The important part is our fashion can make memories. The Rachel Zoe Project is one of the few reality shows that I watch religiously. It all started when I decided to get an additional cable package and to my surprise, the show was starting on its first season of incredible designers and flawless beauty. Her assistants named Brad and Taylor were witty and smart about every decision made for the celebrities during award season and premiers. Her catch phrases such as "I die!" and "That's bananas!" make me laugh constantly and I catch myself repeating the same words in any boutique during a shopping quest. I paid extra after getting a huge Comcast bill, just so I could catch all the in's and out's of Rachel and the fashion guru's. Along with having a passion for couture, she is one of the most talented celebrity stylist and is called "Stylist to the Stars" by those who are familiar with her work. She started out with freelance styling work and slowly built her company and brand name "Zoe". My love for this show is sweet and simple. The show is all about fashion and Rachel is nothing but fashion inspiration and dressing to my code of couture. Effortless Glamour is what I aspire to do every time I dress to go out for any occasion and what I go by for dressing others. It's a little contradictory, but when you dive deeper into the meaning it becomes clear. Natural beauty equals effortless glamour. This is where my "passion for fashion" gets complicated. I have many beliefs and values being a US western Jewish woman that relate to feminism. I believe in equality for all sexes, races, religions etc. That doesn't mean that I am colorblind in any way, that part is important to understand and accept that we are all different, but we all deserve the same humanity rights. Many feminists would look down at me for falling into a media frenzy of Elie Saab dresses and towering Christian Louboutin shoes. I understand that a lot of fashion and its history is meant to please the man. But fashion has changed and evolved in different ways than an eye catcher for the male gender. Women including myself enjoy wearing fashion for other women. It has become an art and one of the few things between women that isn't always a competition. I enjoy wearing heels and dresses for my boyfriend whenever we go out, but it is on my standards and what I feel comfortable in. My awareness is the first step of becoming a better person and a devoted lover for fashion and The Rachel Zoe Project.
