The End

I've learnt a a lot through my induction blog which I can carry onto my next. Check out my thriller blog at leenasthriller.blogspot.co.uk
Thank you :D 

Are feminists really feminists?

Keri Hilson is widely known in the Hip Hop community as an extremely successful songwriter with many artists contracting her for her skills; Ciara, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, and Usher are just to name a few. The subject matter of her songs usually deal along the lines of feminism, sexuality and female empowerment. The songs she writes for others are not only usually commercially successful but critically successful too. So what is it about Keri Hilson that she’s praised for writing songs like Gimme More but then criticized for her own music?


The most notable criticism of Ms Hilson surrounds her song and accompanying video The Way You Love Me. The edited version features heavy editing and noticeably modified lyrics which was praised by critics. The original and unedited version however was slated by critics stating that Keri is only using sex to sell records. One major example is in the edited version “I got the kind of lovin’ that’ll keep you off the streets”, and the original version “I got the kind of pussy that’ll keep you off the streets”. In one interview (Hot 97′s Angie Martinez) over the criticisms Keri said ”I’m just saying what women really think and feel and if I’m gonna be honest about myself, I have to show that side of myself,”.


A lot of the general public have criticized Keri too with a lot of people using words like “hoe”, “skank” and “slut”. What’s interesting to note is that the majority of these criticisms come from men which plays into stereotype that a sexual male in Hip Hop is a “player” whilst a sexual female is a “slut” or a “bitch”. Fighting double standards in Hip Hop seems to be a constant struggle for female artists (other than Keri) with artists like Nicki Minaj, Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim, M.I.A. and to a lesser extent, Kreayshawn.






http://www.rapireland.com/is-keri-hilson-too-sexy-for-feminism/

Improved Basic Camera Shots

Here I have uploaded a correct and improved version of my basic camera work.

Basic camera shots

Me and my partner George did some basic camera shots such as close ups, extreme close ups, long shots, extreme long shots, tracking, panning and tilting. Here is a short video to show all of the shots.



I added some text into the video to show what each shot was called. I did however do some wrong. Although I made some mistakes, I learned what they were actually called though seeing it for myself. I can now correct this mistake and re-upload another.

We tried to use the rule of thirds to give the shot some composition and a point of interest as well other basic techniques such as good head room.

Recording of personal views

Me and my class mates reflected over what we've learned and how we felt about the on going issue of how women are represented.
In the recording, you can see some clips of adverts of women that I have posted previously.
Overall, we feel that the way women are perceived is hurtful and demeaning. 

Marina And The Diamonds criticises record label for refusing to release 'ugly' video

http://www.nme.com/news/marina-and-the-diamonds/66284#1

 "Marina Diamandis says she is ready to leak 'minger' version of the 'How To Be A Heartbreaker' vid..."

Marina And The Diamonds' Marina Diamandis has blasted her record label Atlantic for delaying the release her new music video because she looks 'ugly' in it.

The 'Primadonna' singer, who released her second album 'Electra Heart' in April, took to Twitter to express her anger at her label for not putting out the 'How To Be A Heartbreaker' promo clip, writing:
"So, someone at my record label wont let me release the video bc I look ugly in it apparently + we need more $ / time to paint out ugly parts"

The video was supposed to be released today (September 24), but will now be released later in the week. Diamandis added: "The video will be out end of the week. If not, I am happy to leak the 'minger' version for my fans."
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The situation of an innocent young girl being told she isn't 'pretty' enough to make it is utterly disgusting.  She  said 'It really annoys me when Im compared to Lady Gaga and Lana Del Rey.'
The fact that we ourselves are brainwashed to like someone if they look a specific way. We go our day to day criticizing other women in society. Is it to make ourselves feel better or has it just become our common sense? This just proves that sexualization has taken over our mind are we are invited by media to believe it is normal.

Women throughout advertising

The small messages throughout this video clip allows us to realize what it is we are actually seeing through our day to day life. Most people have watched all these adverts and many more with out noticing the position of women, showing that it has almost become common sense. 

The advertising has gone from innocent women used for selling the product to their own gender to being shown as sexy. I think that the way women are shown selling objects objectifies themselves and makes them seem weak. 

 

This quote taken from the video clip shows that women are portrayed as a weak form. We still accept this objectification and do not see how we ourselves are demeaning other women.

From Very traditional women, we see them as sex objects in skimpy clothes and seductive positions to be almost erotic to men which shows that women's role in society has changed.

Women In The Music Industry

I looked over women in the music industry previously and noticed many things about how the women can change their style around and how they represent women.
Women in the music industry hold a high role and their decisions can impact both male and female viewers.                                
Katy Perry in California girls seems to emphasize the fact that women have breasts. She uses the theme of Sweets and deserts to portray seduction and does so through out. Even by the way she eats it.
You can also see her lying in the clouds of candy floss nude hiding any significant women 'areas'. This may suggest a tease to men, while others consider this a shy hiding of what she does not wish to show but still remains to be seen as sexy. 

However, Snoop Dog is shown as a high figure in this video wearing a suit and sitting at the head of the table like a boss. The video almost makes it seem as though all the girls were his 'bitches'. 
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In this video by Jessie J, we see her singing about how she can 'Do it like a dude'. She explains through music how girls can do the same things as men and how there is no difference.
'Grab my crotch, wear my hat low like you.' This also suggests that she is showing herself to be like a man.
Contradictory to this, she is wearing high heels, little clothing and is dancing dirty which disregards the main purpose of the song.

I appreciate her attempts to get her point across to the audience that women are no less than men but, we don't seem to see any men delivering songs to show equality between men and women. 

Women in music industry

In this video, we see Beyonce overpowering men and showing the equality of women through song and dance. We see her almost having a competition against the men through dance at the beginning suggesting power.

'Disrespect us no they wont' This line indicates authority and shows that she wont let men disrespect women. 
'You'll do anything for me' This line shows that men will do anything for women. She gives off an impression that she is once again enforcing her power over men. However, I feel that there is a sexual related meaning between the lines  which may suggest that she can use herself in a sexual term to get what she wants.

Although Beyonce is enforcing equality and showing that women play a big part, she is also dancing fairly dirty while wearing little clothing disregarding the purpose.
The video is shot with various low angles but mostly long shots and mid shots.


                                         

On the other hand, completely contradicting her message, we see Beyonce in 'Dance for you' almost giving men the seduction they want.
I feel this demeans women to something they should not be seen as, while objectifying women.
the music video shows Beyonce dancing for a man as though she were a cabaret or strip club dancer. 

We watch her walk through the darkness into the spotlight with a mix of mid shots and long shots. This shows that women in the music world and fashion industry portray themselves in certain ways to get the attention of the audience.
A good example that shows this is Lana Del Rey.She struggled a lot in the music industry but managed to break through after a new look, giving a wide audience what they want for her to be successful.

                                                   

The Sun's Page 3 is the highly visible tip of misogyny's iceberg

'A lot of women feel that people who want an end to Page 3 are uptight harridans...'
This statement taken from the article shows that we as women are not only down graded by men, but are done so by our own gender. Women.
Im sure many women would agree that women being objectified by society is a new level of disrespect that many people have unfortunately become used to.

This image is an example of women portraying THEMSELVES as sex objects. Some craving attention and feeding the men what they want to see. 
I feel it is a betrayal by women as they violate the strict privacy wanted by other women. It has been shown for hundreds of years that women have breasts, and the matter is increasing with a hugely recognized newspaper showing women exploiting themselves and the reputation of women as a whole.

'It exploits and demeans the men who consume it, in turn.' I agree with this quote taken from the article. I feel it is wrong to say that all men that read page 3 demean themselves. There are some decent men out there in the world that feel this is wrong. The men that have healthy relationships with their mother, sisters, wife and daughters. Men are given the impression that their misogyny is normal and it does not need to be questioned. I personally feel this is the fault of women as they perpetuate the situation further.


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Why We’re All to Blame for Kate Middleton’s PR Problem

By James F. Thompson on September 19, 2012 5:38 PM

Poor Kate Middleton. And you thought your parents were paranoid about what the neighbors think.

As you’ve certainly heard by now, a photographer recently captured images of the Duchess of Cambridge topless and sold them to the highest bidder (you may have even seen the evidence if you’re a fan of French tabloid magazines or, you know, the Internet). Now Kate Middleton can only go to one of thousands of remote beaches in Europe if she wants to sunbathe nude.

But of course, this story isn’t about the human race’s painful struggle to come to grips with our own nudity. This is about an invasion of privacy, and the Royal Family is pissed. We get it.

See, this “scandal” concerns principle as much as public relations. Anyone who doesn’t want their government or corporations spying on them, invading their privacy and infringing on their freedoms should stand behind the Royal Family.

It’s easy to poke fun at pampered Cambridge folk and mock the hypocrisies of a mid-sized island country that was once an empire, but this PR dilemma has nothing to do with Kate Middleton behaving badly. This is the result of a culture—yes, that means all of us known collectively as “the public”—behaving badly.

Any behaviour that rewards the exploitation of fellow human beings—on any level—shouldn’t be tolerated, let alone rewarded. For some reason, though, the public is fine with tabloids exploiting celebrities. “They’re famous,” we say. “It’s part of the deal.”

Try telling Princess Diana it’s part of the deal. The truth is that we, as a society, are all complicit in this crime against Kate Middleton. It’s harassment; it’s a personal assault; it’s soul trespassing—and by accepting it, we’re encouraging it.
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 'And that is the saddest thing. Page 3 encourages men to be contemptuous of women. It also encourages women to be contemptuous of men. Miserably, it can make women contemptuous of each other too, sometimes even of themselves.'I think this statement summarises a lot because, not only does it explain the typical stereotype that men look down on women, but it also states that women can look down on men. I feel this may be because it is the free will of men to read page 3 and they are demeaning themselves in a way if they do.