Does “Anaconda” Objectify or Empower Women?
Nicki Minaj’s music video called ‘Anaconda’ was uploaded to YouTube on her Vevo channel on August 19, 2014. It has since accumulated approximately six hundred million views as now. The song met chart success, peaking at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, consequently becoming Minaj's highest charting single in the United States to date. It went on to spend eight consecutive weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100 chart. The main reason why this music video was so popular is her bold half-naked clothes and due to this, it became a hot potato among people, questioning whether it is right to make that kind of music video or not. Because she is so powerful and influential musician in that she had an …show more content…
Especially Nicki wears a stunning gold top not matched with the jungle background. Generally, the gold implies a ‘wealth’ and because Nicki is the only one who wears the luxury, it well shows that she is the most powerful one in the video, depicting a sort of ‘Wonder Woman’. The following scenes all contain sexual meanings. At 00:19, the screen is full of a woman’s butt shaking, bringing up the image of having a sex. From 00:22 to 00:24, Nicki is also twerking, staring the camera like seducing the viewers. There is a scene where shows a flowing coconut juice at 00:33, which implicitly describes a semen. There are also two bananas on a pan at 00:44 and the banana usually symbolizes a penis. From 00:57 it only shows twerking butts and as always, a speaker with written a brand logo appears at 1:06 and the camera zooms in it. The speaker and the action of zooming could be an evidence that like other music videos, ‘Anaconda’ is also made for a commercial purpose. And the following scenes emphasize her big butt with the lyrics ‘Oh my gosh, look at her butt’. At 01:34, Nicki and other women work out, but she wears a bikini top and a thong which is not totally suitable for working out. After she wears a white top with long pants, looking out her tops, ‘look at her BUTT’ is written on and the word ‘BUNZ’ is also on other women’s pants. It obviously treats women’s bodies as commodities. …show more content…
Even though she advocates feminism through her music video, it is just a commercial and one way for her to earn money as the speaker with a logo appears in the music video, pretending to establish her own feminist principles. But, she has to know that what she’s doing is not in the ‘feminist zone’ and before objectifying herself, please confirm and establish her own proper feminism principle. “One’s sexuality is really about having the strength of character to stay true to who you are … What I’m saying boys and girls is that if you truly want to own your sexuality, just be yourself!”
Nicki Minaj’s music video called ‘Anaconda’ was uploaded to YouTube on her Vevo channel on August 19, 2014. It has since accumulated approximately six hundred million views as now. The song met chart success, peaking at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, consequently becoming Minaj's highest charting single in the United States to date. It went on to spend eight consecutive weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100 chart. The main reason why this music video was so popular is her bold half-naked clothes and due to this, it became a hot potato among people, questioning whether it is right to make that kind of music video or not. Because she is so powerful and influential musician in that she had an …show more content…
Especially Nicki wears a stunning gold top not matched with the jungle background. Generally, the gold implies a ‘wealth’ and because Nicki is the only one who wears the luxury, it well shows that she is the most powerful one in the video, depicting a sort of ‘Wonder Woman’. The following scenes all contain sexual meanings. At 00:19, the screen is full of a woman’s butt shaking, bringing up the image of having a sex. From 00:22 to 00:24, Nicki is also twerking, staring the camera like seducing the viewers. There is a scene where shows a flowing coconut juice at 00:33, which implicitly describes a semen. There are also two bananas on a pan at 00:44 and the banana usually symbolizes a penis. From 00:57 it only shows twerking butts and as always, a speaker with written a brand logo appears at 1:06 and the camera zooms in it. The speaker and the action of zooming could be an evidence that like other music videos, ‘Anaconda’ is also made for a commercial purpose. And the following scenes emphasize her big butt with the lyrics ‘Oh my gosh, look at her butt’. At 01:34, Nicki and other women work out, but she wears a bikini top and a thong which is not totally suitable for working out. After she wears a white top with long pants, looking out her tops, ‘look at her BUTT’ is written on and the word ‘BUNZ’ is also on other women’s pants. It obviously treats women’s bodies as commodities. …show more content…
Even though she advocates feminism through her music video, it is just a commercial and one way for her to earn money as the speaker with a logo appears in the music video, pretending to establish her own feminist principles. But, she has to know that what she’s doing is not in the ‘feminist zone’ and before objectifying herself, please confirm and establish her own proper feminism principle. “One’s sexuality is really about having the strength of character to stay true to who you are … What I’m saying boys and girls is that if you truly want to own your sexuality, just be yourself!”