Instances when women are presented as 'objects'
There is evidence of voyeuristic treatment of the female body as in one shot a woman with her body to the camera undressing out of her swimming costume and there are a number of instances where we see disembodied, isolated sections of woman's bodies such as bare feet running away or feminine hands being dragged out of shot. This voyeuristic treatment supports Andrew Goodwin's theory that there is frequent reference to voyeuristic treatment of the female body. The video relates to the idea of the male gaze, which is a theory by Laura Mulvey. The male gaze is a concept of second wave feminists in which the camera are put into perspective of a heterosexual man, thus allowing for the objectification and the sexualisation of women. This is evident in the video as one of the female actresses fit the stereotypical view of beauty. Additionally, the lyric supports the visuals (Andrew Goodwin's theory) "I was scared of pretty girls". The music video doesn't challenge the sexuality of women in this industry. bell hooks' can be used as a stimulus to explore the seemingly contradictory messages about gender in the video.
Lip-sync section of Riptide
Throughout the music video, there is a repetitive scene which shows a woman performing. After every shot, the face and the scene created changes. We see her make up smudging across her face. Also, the lighting which is low key becomes dimmer after each scene. We can argue that after every shot the pressure builds up in her life or the stress in her life increases which is reinforced by the smudging of the make up on her face. Also, whatever she is going through probably has negative connotations because of the low key lighting. In the first shot, the woman is supporting social norms of beauty and glamour but after she challenges the gender norm after the first still shot because she's not viewed as an object in a western patriarchal society (Van Zoonen - feminist theory). In terms of the progression of the facial expression in the still shots, she becomes more and more distressed. The lip-synching woman also clothes at her own neck and we see what seems to be blood over her hand.
What other representations of women are featured in the music video?
In the opening line of the music video "I was scared of dentists and the dark" there is a close up of a female looking scared with a metallic contraception in her mouth that suggests she is in a dentist's chair.
In one shot a woman with her back to the camera undresses out of her swimming costume. The video supports the view of a patriarchal world and reinforces the stereotypical objectification of woman.
Along with the representations of women the music video also present a number of scenes that offer images of violence, such as a female hand being stabbed by a knife and a gun being pointed off screen.
Representation of Men
"I wanna be your left hand man" is a corruption of the well-known phrase "right hand man". While the right hand is considered more steady and dependable, the left hand is more a wild card that always keeps things exciting. This is also an allusion to marriage, as you wear your wedding ring on your left finger and hold your wife's left hand when walking down the aisle. The man clearly wants a closer connection with her. The visuals following the lyric "I wanna be your left hand man" as a whole come across as aggressive. In the first shot, the use of the whip pan emphasises his aggression towards the microphone. The shots showing the action of cutting, grabbing and holding a gun all relate to this idea of man dominating something. The shot with the female hand and the knife shows that the woman is self-harming herself. The male hand is different from the female hand because the male hand is dominating where as the female hand is being hurt and is not in the position to fight back so the hand is basically giving up.
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