Hey all:
let me preface this by saying I am the biggest HIP HOP, RAP, GANGSTER RAP fan in the world! It's probably really ironic considering that I am also a major advocate for many different causes, and I have a strong sense of empowering women, well because I am a woman! But I can get down with some hip hop, I take it for its vulgarity, its roughness, its rawness. I see it for its faults as well, mysogony etc. I recognize that while I love it, it can get better be, better and do better. With that, there are few songs/videos that shake me, because in this industry I am expecting my comfort to be pushed, I'm expecting to be rocked. But lately I have been moved in an almost distasteful way by music videos by the female artists. The first was "Ride" by Ciara- I learned to come to grips with it, because instead of being a girl shaking her booty on Jay-z's music video, Ciara took control of her own and let it all out.
The one that is causing this blog to spark from my fingers as I type across the pad of my computer, is Rihanna's "Man Down" video. It has been the topic of much main stream media. I hadn't heard the song, because lately I haven't really cared for Rihanna. But I wanted to know what the buzz was all about, the video premired and Twitter blew up. So I watched the video (click the link above to view it). When I first watched it, I was rubbed the wrong way. Rihanna guns down a guy in the beginning of the video and you don't really get why she did it. But then piecing the video together you realize she was raped by this same guy and that was her revenge. Well, upon first watching the video I was annoyed. I thought the message was too close to waht happened to her when she and then boyfriend, Chris Brown got into an altercation that left her beaten. I was worried that by creating a video like this, she would never really be able to "live that down." Not that I know if I want her to be able to live it down, but she probably wants some sense of normalcy and I wasn't sure if creating that video would get her that normalcy. I don't know it just stirred up some really conflicting messages.
But the other day Rihanna spoke out on 106 and Park saying that the point of the video was to "empower young girls" and that "Rape is something that is still taboo in this country and around the world," and that she " is the voice for her fans, for young girls, for women who had to deal with this for years." When she said that I got it, it made sense.
I had to watch the video again, now taking into account Rihanna's message. She isn't afraid to push the envelope and to make a message about something that we really shouldn't be afraid to talk about. The song when you listen closely, is about a young girl who is faced with this incredible burden, she kills the man who raped her and is crying to her mother about the regret she has for doing it. I think after watching it again, the video was brilliantly directed. The message is clear, I would have liked a PSA of some sort at the end. or maybe even a statistic, but I think it basically got the message across. We all get pushed to a limit where we will do something that we might regret. I think Rihanna leaves it up to us to determine the weight of this video. Which I think is challenging. A young girl murdered someone... that had raped her. But I think with the girl crying to her mother, the point is more to speak out. To own your hurt, your pain and let someone else take the burden for you and as Rihanna says- feel empowered.
I am pleased with Rihanna creating this song and putting herself in a video like this because she does create the dialogue that needs to happen surrounding this issue. If anything, she allowed the rest of the world to take part in something that many have to deal with alone.
But don't take my word for it. See for yourself and join in the conversation.
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