Jennica Wragg Supplemental Post #7 : "Booty" Comparing JLo's Performance and Iggy Azalea's

Following the discussion of the attention drawn to Jennifer Lopez’s backside that was popularized with her performance in Out of Sight and Selena in the late 1990’s I think it is very interesting to go back to this discussion following the release of her single and music video “Booty” in 2014. In the music video Jennifer’s face is disconnected from her body, we see in virtually every shot either just her butt or we see her face but the two are rarely depicted as connected. 

Her butt in this video is clearly commodified as an entity able to exist on its own and able to have a persona of its own. 

Opening Shot of the music Video, her butt is introduced before her face is

Disconnection apparent between her body and her face.

As we can tell from the reading it appears that her butt contributed more to her fame than her actual talent did in the early days of her career.  However, one interesting way in which the video it set up is it is almost an ode to her “booty” and functions as a way for her to reclaim the power of her butt and thus her Latina physicality as not something to be exploited, but rather something she proudly embraces. The fact that she performs this song at this point in her career is exceptionally interesting because it illustrates a sign of power that she is now able to take a part of her body that has been commodified and exploited particularly in the early days of her career and create a song that is almost a parody about this body part she was defined by for so long and thus she is able to exploit the cultural obsession with her butt for her own success which is quite remarkable.

            On the opposing side, the fact that Jennifer Lopez is able to make such a song about her butt successful almost 20 years after her initial rise to stardom is a rather sad reflection on society. Even after the decades of talented performances we have seen from he she still feels the need to detach her butt from her body marketing her butt as more of a selling point than her voice or her face.  Bringing Iggy Azalea into this is also a particularly interesting choice as Iggy has no connection to Latino culture but her music style is described as reflecting “a south American accent” even though she is a blonde woman from Australia and has no Latin American roots.  Thus the way Iggy’s performance draws attention to her butt I would argue is a form of cultural appropriation. 

For Jennifer she is reclaiming a body and a physique that has been associated with negative stereotypes and racial oppression however, Iggy only reinforces these negative stereotypes by her performance because she links her “south American style” directly with the need to showcase big butts. Thus Iggy’s performance not only illustrates the white fetishization with Latino bodies being only associated with big butts and a physique that is counter to Hollywood ideals, but also reduces Latin culture to an “exotic physicality” that is purely for consumption, exploitation, and appropriation.

Jennica Wragg Supplemental Post #6: Comparing Madonna's Two Documentaries

I found the Madonna documentary particularly interesting as I was familiar with several of her songs considering she was popular around the time we were young kids however, what I thought was particularly interesting was how controversial of a performer she was which I didn’t know much about. I knew her songs but I hadn’t seen her perform to these songs or any of her music videos, which really changed the way I understood her music and her as a performer.  Just by going off the documentary and the little bit I knew about her I somewhat saw her as a positive representative for the feminist movement in the way that she is comfortable with her body and expressing female pleasure and sexuality on stage, she is extremely successful as a female artist and represents female power and the ability for women to become extremely successful in a career that was/is traditionally dominated by men,  and of course she stays true to her beliefs and craft even when others challenge this (i.e. Toronto incident) which is impressive.

            However, after doing the readings for the week and also doing  a bit of research about her I was given a new perspective about her that challenged what I originally thought of her and her ability to be a role model for women. One of the interesting things I found out about her when doing a bit of research is how she admired Marilyn Monroe so much and somewhat crafted her physicality after Monroe. Taking on Monroe’s hairstyle not only the blondeness but also the symbolic qualities of that blondeness including pureness and the natural, the innocence gave Madonna a very angelic persona even when she contrasted this innocence by a seemingly very in touch way of understanding her sexual desires, and being completely open about female sexuality which is very similar to the way Monroe was. In some of the documentary footage she comes across as rather “dumb” or “silly” but what is interesting to find out is she actually managed a lot of her career on her own and is considered to this day one of the most successful women in entertainment thus using the “Monroe” façade to maintain perhaps a certain type of idealistic femininity while delving into the masculine sphere not only by becoming such a successful female performer, but by utilizing male physicality and characteristics (business savvy) to bridge the gap between the gender binary. In many ways this can be seen as positive however, as the readings point out through this process of trying to raise awareness about feminism and bring herself to equality with her white male counterparts she exploits black culture  as a means to her own success. From utilizing an entire crew of African American performers Madonna puts herself in front of these dancers showcasing her as the spotlight while they dance in the background. Madonna may be making a political statement by directing her audience to see her extraordinary female power as she commands the whole stage, but at the same time she essentially illustrates herself as dominating black culture and having the ability to have more power than these black males. Thus in order to achieve her female power she must subvert another oppressed group, which is problematic.

Similarities both in the physical appearance of Madonna and Monroe. This similarity is not just through physical appearance but also through performing style when we look at the ways these women illustrate female sexuality.

            I found out that like Truth or Dare Madonna recorded an additional documentary during her tour in 2004 titled “I’m going to tell you a secret” and I watched a bit of this and found it so different than her previous documentary that was filmed only 13 years earlier.  For one, there was a blatant emphasis to exploit Madonna’s more feminine side by showcasing her role as a mother to her two young children, as well as through the way she interacts with her dancers she expresses a much softer maternal side than in her previous film. She also is blatantly more emotional in some of the scenes when she talks about her life and the difficulties of balancing work and family. We have spent a lot of time talking about star contradictions and the way in which stars manage and expose these elements through their performance on screen and off screen and I found this concept useful to think about when comparing the two documentaries on Madonna. While in the first documentary she exposes contradictions by dancing and dressing in such a way that was extremely controversial, she displayed quite a boisterous and somewhat aggressive personality when she spoke to those around her often not coming off as very “feminine” or displaying behaviors that are very “ladylike” per se. However, in her second documentary the androgynous traits she exhibits are hidden much more and managed displaying more of her nurturing and maternal side. Whether this is Madonna just maturing or the societal pressures forcing her to stray away from her more controversial and androgynous traits we will never know but it is an interesting change that is visibly documented that I think it interesting to look at and evaluate.

Madonna showing more of her maternal side in the documentary "I'm going to tell you a secret," quite different from the more abrasive Madonna we see in the first film (Truth or Dare).

Jennica Wragg Supplemental Post #5: Gender Portrayals in the Terminator 2

I was at a session on Friday night through the Cinema School in which females who had done well in their representative industries spoke about their experiences and stereotypes pinned against them due to their gender and it somewhat reinforced what I saw going in by some of the representations of the female lead in The Terminator 2. The first moment I remember clearly of Sarah’s character is when she is yelling in her prison cell. All of the men are staring in at her observing her and subsequently dehumanizing her. 

Not only is the way Sarah framed by the camera does it illustrate a powerless relationship with her son but her psychological instability when her son has to be the voice of reason and rescue his mother- this relationship dehumanizes Sarah and she is portrayed as crazy when her son is seen as perfectly rational and powerful

However, I was thinking that these characteristics Sarah displays including aggressive and argumentative behavior appears to be purposely set up and filmed in such a way that the viewer sees her as insane yet on the contrary T-1000 is running around town killing everyone in his path to try to get to John yet for some reason this behavior didn’t come across as aggressive as Sarah’s behavior in her prison cell. Similarly, quite quickly Sarah is set up as some sort of psychotic patient in desperate need of treatment and rescue, however, it is also illustrated that her son John has many of his own challenges illustrated by the way he talks to his foster parents and runs away from home yet I don’t feel like his personal backstory is conveyed in the negative way Sarah’s history is. Through these couple of examples female and male characters exhibit similar behavioral characteristics and behaviors yet the way these are portrayed to the audience and framed by the camera differ substantially by gender. For example, Sarah is often portrayed through the little glass window in her jail cell as a subject, whereas when we look at the way Arnold Schwarzenegger is framed we often see low camera angles emphasizing his strength and power a direct reflection of his power and masculinity whereas Sarah’s strength merely gets her strapped to a table as this strength is portrayed as abnormal for females.  

The angle of the camera frames the character in such a way that provides him with a sense or power and authority that Sarah is never given onscreen

Even the lines by the camera illustrate the subordinate relationship between the female human and the male robot as Sarah is framed horizontally while the robot stands completely erect in the photo above.

Similar depiction here with the camera techniques being used to illustrate power and perhaps can be used to understand the power of the patriarchal structure

Sarah is the human and she is being subjected to being treated as a test subject when the actual robot is framed as completely normal and able to enjoy the complete human experience. Because this film is so male dominated I think it’s very interesting to compare the ways in which the robot (Schwarzenegger’s character) is portrayed as completely sane in contrast with Sarah who is entirely human who is portrayed as the “monstrous” individual largely because she denies representing characteristics that align with the traditional gender binary. By looking at the way actors and stars are framed on screen we can see the ways in which their gender plays a role in the way we are taught to understand ourselves and the structure in which we live in which I feel is only reinforced through the gender portrayals played out in this film.

Jennica Supplemental Post #4: Using Female Attributes to Signal Subordinate Masculinity

When we discuss Elvis Presley, Paul Robeson, and Michael Jackson they all share the similar characteristic in that there is a substantial amount of emphasis placed on their physicality and their bodies which are framed in such a way that our gaze is intentionally guided to their body parts. As Laura Mulvey describes, the woman is typically the subject of the gaze. However, in the case of these 3 males they too take on this characteristic that Mulvey describes. These three individuals all call upon a style of music that is linked to black culture a group that like woman are too oppressed. Thus like the way woman are portrayed and in particular the focus is carefully guided to their bodies perpetuating them as the subordinate, the portrayals of those individuals who utilize characteristics of anther oppressed group (African Americans) rely highly on the presentation and onscreen physicality that showcases more “feminine” attributes due to the lower status and oppressive nature implied through female characteristics.

            Elvis Presley’s dancing and clothing draw particular physical attention to his body and the beautiful nature of the performance in itself. Similarly, while Jackson attempts to rid himself of his “blackness” his transformation actually makes him more feminized as he tries to “construct an appearance” per sae that is something women regularly due in order to maintain an element of status that is believed to be achieved according to beauty. Also, if we look at the features it is believed he selected to modify including his eyelashes, eyebrows and cheekbones, his face is distinctly feminized maintaining portraying his ties to the subordinate group even while he may attempt to transform himself into the white patriarchal community.

Elvis drawing attention to his physicality in particular his hips diminishing the focus on his masculinity and instead putting the attention or the "gaze" on his body, typical of female representations.

Michael Jackson's attempt to become more "white" leaves him with highly stylized and feminized features even while he may try to align himself with white masculinity his feminized features illustrates his linkage to the "subordinate."

Like Elvis Presley, Jackson utilizes his body to guide the audiences gaze taking away from his masculinity.

            Justin Bieber too in some ways attempts to emulate this model as not only can we see his more feminized side by his fetishized body yet his performance and clothing too illustrate a style that borders the excessive and a focus on consumption and beautiful youthful features which lower his white male status to someone of a lower class status (linkage to white trash status that appropriates black culture) by utilizing these feminine characteristics.

Again here we see a focus on body and appearance our attention his drawn to the positioning of his body rather than his face. His positioning that is not upright also signals subordination and a lack of power.

Justin Timberlake too illustrates an example of this.

            Paul Robeson may have been one of the first film stars to have been subjected to feminization to emphasize a lower class status framing him as a member of a lower social group. However, as we can see through these few examples, those performers who have chosen to incorporate a style of music born from an oppressed group their status is inherently lowered as performers by calling upon feminine attributes that act as signs to signal the linkage and connection between the two oppressed groups (women and African Americans) differentiating them from traditional white masculinity.

As the reading points out Robeson was one of the first individuals to be studied by using female attributes to make sense of  him being considered part of a subordinate group thus he was placed in "female like" positions to illustrate a similarity between the two oppressed groups that lack similar power to white males.