Are music videos getting better at representing the LGBTQ+ community?
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The Good
“It’s unbelievably important to keep telling stories that give space and solace to LGBTQ+ members, Black members of our society, of our communities, because there isn’t enough, there’s not enough space,” Erivo says. “I think the more we can see it, the more we get to understand that we deserve space too. And we have to be seen so that we can make great things, that we can create great art, and that our experiences are valid too.” Click here for full text
How does this interview with the artist provide more clues about the importance of ‘context’ when reading the music video?
Come Over
Check out this brief review and consider the importance of Syd starring in and directing this video.
Use that video as a way to take a critical look at the current standing of female representation in film by juxtaposing it with this TED talk.
Heaven
“On the day before Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, the Australian pop star dropped a visual that juxtaposed footage of LGBTQ protests throughout history with tender shots of same-sex couples, including the openly gay Sivan embracing a faceless male figure.”
Keep reading the review and discuss the ways a contextual awareness adds to your appreciation of this video.
Just one of the guys
“It’s a fitting visual … about becoming comfortable with yourself and your womanhood with age.
Keep reading the video review and then have compare the messages about gender roles in that video to King Princess’s ‘Ain’t Together’ video here.Â
Heart To Break
After watching Kim Petras video for Heart to Break, read this critique of her so-called distancing from the LGBTQ+ community.
To what extent should queer pop stars be considered responsible for aligning their work with the queer community? In what ways are cisgender artists held to a different standard?
Wild
“Open relationships have been a very big conversation between me and my friends over the last couple of years,” Contreras, a California native, told HuffPost. As for “Wild” specifically, he said the song is “a story about someone who is understanding of the thrills, but also the insecurities, of making the decision with a partner to open up a relationship. There’s no judgment. It’s more so an acknowledgement, a conversation and a meditation.” Continue learning about this video here and then consider using the infographic below to start a dialogue.
Party of one
“The video dramatizes the narrative of fallout and reconciliation that define the song, which Carlile says she wrote about the pressures of queer domesticity.”
How does the video review add to your understanding of the narrative techniques?