Riptide

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

• released by Vance Joy (australian singer/song writer) in 2013
• references Sergei Eisenstein and Wes Anderson
• Ideology – tribute to great directors including a stereotypical representaion of femininity (presented as weak, submissive and as objects for the pleasure of a male audience)

Question 2

Context

Answer 2

• pastiche to many intertextual references
• Lius Bunuel and Salvador Dali (‘Un Chien Andalou’) — similar as they have themes such as violence to women and scopophilia (eye cutting and knife cutting hand) and a surrealist dream like approach
• voyeuristic camera perspective
• unrelated scenes/images edited together back to back
• symmetry, framing, reccuring character types and shot preferences taken from Wes Anderson

Question 3

Analysis: Clothing

Answer 3

• clothing of women is short and tight — oversexualised for the male gaze, used to accentuate body parts as the camera lingers on them
• mid shot of woman taking off swimsuit with her back to the camera
• men staring at her — voyeuristic camera perspective
• high level of scopophilia

Question 4

Analysis: Singer

Answer 4

• woman lip syncing to song
• high key, flattering setting and immaculate makeup — conforming to social norms of beauty (fitting to stereotypes)
• makeup becomes smuged throughout the video, her expression becomes vacant, the lighting becomes low key and she can no longer sing the words correctly — destruction of social expectations of women

Question 5

Theory of Identity

Answer 5

• David Gauntlett
• “media provides us with tools to construct our identities and offers us a diverse range of stars and icons form who we pick and mix ideas”
• constructed female representation to promote the idea of a ‘perfect body’ — puts pressure on young girls
• as it progresses, these representations are challenged as her makeup becomes smuged and her appearance deteriorates and she is framed in a less flattering way — deconstruction of societal expectations

Question 6

Analysis: Subverting Stereotypes

Answer 6

• long shot of woman freeing herself from being tied to a tree (metaphor for freeing herself from a suffocating relationship)
• subversion of patriarchal oppression, breaking free from the ‘damsel in distress’ archetype
• graveyard scene – woman gives orders to men telling them where to go and what to do
• challenges patriarchal oppression

Question 7

Feminist Theory

Answer 7

• bell hook
• “feminism is a struggle to end patriarchal oppression, women must free themselves from the sexist and oppressive views”
• challenges the theory through the scenes where the women are victims of patriarchal oppression
• also supports theory in the moments where the women save themselves, subverting stereotypes and patriarchal oppression

Question 8

Conclusion

Answer 8

• representations of femininity constantly clash and contradict eachother
• women are objectified for pleasure of a male audience
• women are encouraged to fight and break free from societal expectations and patriarchal oppression