The Man And Riptide Comparison Essay - 30 Marks

Analyse the representation of gender in the music videos for "The Man" by Taylor Swift and "Riptide" by Vance Joy

In Riptide, women are usually always being represented as victims, with there being a lack of positive representation throughout. We know this as an audience as it doesn't take long for us to see these images, as within the first few seconds we are introduced to a woman in a dentist’s chair. Even though this image may not sound that bad, it is very obvious that the woman is in a state of distress, looking scared at the camera. These types of images appear constantly throughout the video as well, including pictures and videos of the women that seem to be taken in secret. One of these images is taken whilst the woman is facing away from the camera. This shot not only dehumanises the woman as we are unable to see who she is, but also makes us as an audience feel uncomfortable, as she is being spied on completely unaware of the situation. This creates the representation that women are only perceived as objects and nothing else, as the person taking the video has control over the situation and not the woman herself.

This representation of women being treated of constant victims is also represented through the bar singer that is shown throughout various scenes. This female singer is shown at various stages of abuse that she is receiving, however they aren't shown in order. For example, in one of the scenes the woman is clutching her throat, where it appears that blood is coming out of, suggesting her throat has been slit, where in the next scene this injury appears to have disappeared, and the mascara has reappeared under her eyes. This representation of abuse isn't only shown through these scenes, it's also shown in more subtle ways. The repeated imagery in the chorus portions of the girls being dragged away also represent this theme of abuse, as even though we don't actually see anything happen, we assume that whatever does happen isn't positive. Overall, Riptide doesn't focus on any representations of men, but the representation of women brings a darker meaning to the song then originally perceived.

In 'The Man' by Taylor Swift, there is also negative representations of women shown as in some scenes they are being sexualised. In one of the scenes, the main focus of the music video (the man), is surrounded by multiple women in very revealing bikini's in various positions. These images of women in revealing clothing are also shown in the club scene, connoting that women are only used to show off their bodies, using Mulvey's male gaze. The yacht scene may also create the representation that women are gold diggers, and they are only attracted to the man because they want the money that he can give them. This representation also appears throughout the video, as it is also shown though the wedding scene. In the scene there is a couple getting married, who are obviously different in age. This would automatically lead us to believe she was marrying him for money, which is only further proven when she shows off her wedding ring. These scenes all lead towards the representation that women are only in it for money. 

Compared to 'Riptide', 'The 'Man' does actually include a fair bit of representation of men throughout, even though these representations are usually negative. For example, in the yacht scene where the male is surrounded by multiple women, could represent men as players and being unfaithful, as it appears that he has multiple partners to choose from. The male in this video is also represented as quite emotionless at points, which is a common stereotype that is used to represent men. This is shown when he throws paper he was given to read back at the person that gave it to him, along with the way he's represented in the train carriage, representing the male as someone who has a lack of emotion and care for the people around him. The only positive representation of the man we are shown is when he is out with his daughter, and even that is ruined because of the attention it gets from people. This is because this is something that should be perceived as normal to people, not something that people have to celebrate because it's a male instead of a female.

However, for the majority of the video women are represented as quite positively. Despite the scenes previously mentioned, women for the majority are represented quite normally, not being over sexualised for the audience or playing off traditional stereotypes of women. For example, women are for the most part shown in normal everyday roles, wearing modest clothing and running office jobs, something which most music videos don't usually introduce as they like to play off stereotypes. However, there is one scene which reverts the stereotypes that women ae usually subjected to and that is where Taylor herself is represented as the director of the music video. Usually we are used to seeing men placed in the produce roles, however this shot of Taylor directing is makes her seem really powerful and independent as she has complete control over the narrative, shown through her telling the man what to do. These representations go against the traditional stereotypes of women

The male in this video is also represented as constantly needing to be the centre of attention. This is represented throughout most of the music video, as he is constantly surrounded by people praising him and giving him attention, and this attention seems to come mainly from females. This need for constant attention and power that the man craves represents men as people who are power hungry and crave attention from people to feel validated. One of these examples is the scene where the male is in the park area with his daughter, something that should be perceived as being normal to people, however he seems to get attention for this. In real life context, this representation can be quite realistic, as people are more shocked about single fathers being at the park with their daughters rather than if it was a single mother, something that people perceive as normal. Even though both perceptions should be seen as normal, in this video it only adds to the constant attention that the man already receives, further pushing the idea that men have to always be the centre of attention.

Overall, the two music videos have very different approaches to how they represent women, however in some scenes they do share some similarities, none of them being positive though. Both music videos in some aspects oversexualise how the women appear to the audience, as they both show women in bikinis and swimsuits. They also both have a representation of the mistreatment of women even though it may not seem like it. With 'Riptide' the mistreatment of women is very clearly shown though the scenes, but in Taylor Swifts 'The Man' it is more represented through the general premise and moral of the story. What this means is that Taylor's video shows the mistreatment of women through the success of the man, demonstrating to the audience that women are being discriminated against because of the existence of sexism. Aside from this, women are represented differently in the videos, and we only see any representation of men, positive or negative, in 'The Man' as 'Riptide' only seems to focus on the women.