Using careful research and critical thinking, you will compose a 750-1000 word rhetorical analysis that considers the ways gender operates in a music video of your choice. You should cite at least three sources and use at least two supporting images (screen caps) from your music video to support a central claim.

 

While you should primarily be concerned with the implications of gendered representations and the messages they send to viewers, be sure to take the music video’s genre into account. Does the video offer a narrative you can follow? How, or how not? What are the implications of conforming to a specific genre convention (eg. country, hip hop, pop)? How do they shape expectations for the viewer?

 

Be sure to pay careful attention to symbolism— how does color, location, space, and function in the video? What messages do they send about gender? Remember, if a music video serves as a song’s “advertisement,” what is the narrative being packaged and sold?