Explore representations of gender in "Riptide" (2013) [HELP]

Explore representations of gender in "Riptide" (2013)

Women in this music video are being portrayed as easily manipulated and sexually objectified due to the fact that there is a scene that shows the female character being dragged into the darkness, after that scene, it jump-cuts to her make-up being smeared, which shows that the physical abuse is taking a toll on her psychological health. Furthermore, as the music video goes on, the woman is shown to be hypnotised shortly after in a different scene, and then it jump-cuts to the makeup on the girls face getting even more messed up, suggesting that every time some sort of advantage is being taken from the woman and it is gradually degrading her inside, and her emotional strength is being damaged. This highlights a valuable and fundamental issue in society, maybe a gesticulation of domestic abuse and the effects this can have on the females, giving a chance to spread awareness on such issues. Women are being portrayed as inferior and controllable by the men, who are being portrayed as powerful and as a gender who doesn't need women to keep them stable or to love just to have meaningless fun and dispose of them.

The mise-en-scene used on the woman's person are very little, wearing things such as incredibly low shorts and things like bikini's, which axiomatically depicts materialistic and emotionless characters which are being displayed as having no personality, probably on purpose. When she was subject to the forms of abuse and the scene made a jump-cut to the makeup being smeared, her facial expressions were tears going down her face and an overall a sad and upset look, like she had no power whatsoever, and so ultimately amplified the effect of spreading awareness and giving a bigger impact on this ubiquitous conundrum. Smoking is used as a release of stress and to allow your problems to float away and forget abut them momentarily. (Nicotine causes a spike in your heart rate and blood pressure, making your heart work harder, the cigarette appears to relax you because the nicotine removes the uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms caused by smoking and cause a brief hit of brain-reward.) And so the woman was filmed smoking by the ocean, which shows that there was some sort of stress accumulating up within her and she had to release some stress. Her facial expression was completely dead inside and like she had no strength to continue. It gives the impact of being heartbreaking because it just shows that she is genuinely unhappy and its like she cant do anything about it because she has no power or status and so makes you want to do something to make her smile and stop being upset. (or me at least).

GOODWIN'S THEORY - LYRICS AND VISUALS ARE KEY TO MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION

Riptides are violent and unruly like the predatory men in the music video.