Justin Alcaide
WMST 205
10/28/18
Blog #2
Prompt #1
For my cultural artifact I chose the music video to the song
“Radicamos en South Central” by Fuerza Regida. The song Radicamos en South
Central is a Spanish folk song or otherwise known as a “corrido”. The title of
the song translates to we take root in South Central. South Central being a city
with a lot of history in Los Angeles, CA. “Radicamos en South Central” is about
being in the drug business, starting from the bottom, driving nice cars, having
lots of women, and drinking expensive alcohol. The song reminds me of any recent
hip-hop/ rap songs but in this case the song is in Spanish. I chose this
cultural artifact because it is great example of gender representation, typical
women roles and it has a catchy rhythm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uzUPVN0ZPk
Prompt #2
The creator of the music video was Rancho Humilde, the company
that manages the music group Fuerza Regida. The intended receiver is young men
and women who like the genre of corridos. The music video exists in the social
world of corrido fans specifically here in Southern California since the song
is based out of Los Angeles.
The creator of the message for the music video was primarily
the author of the song and lead singer Jesus Ortiz but also the music video
producer/director because they created the visual representation. Jesus Ortiz of
course wrote the lyrics that expressed the message of the song verbally. The director
chose which shots to take to represent the verses to the folk songs. The director
specifically chose the angles and visuals to use.
The music video has lots of props to grab the attention of
the Mexican folk genre fan. For example, beautiful women are used in the video
and camera angles are pointed towards their sexual body parts. The clothing
that the women wear in the music video are revealing and very much sexualized
to attract attention of the viewer. The women are seen to just be hanging around
the group members and partying with the members.
Other people might view the music video as promoting the narco
(drug dealer) lifestyle. They might see the song as a bad representation of women
because it promotes the women stereotype that they are just props.
The lifestyle that is promoted in the music video Radicamos
en South Central is that of a successful drug dealer or businessman that has lots
of beautiful women around, luxurious cars, and money to spend. The overall message
that is being sent is that the definition of a successful man is attracting gorgeous
women with money, drugs and alcohol.
I believe music videos like this one are being portrayed the
way they are is because the music production team knows that sex sells. Sexualizing
women in music videos is nothing new and it obviously seen in this music video.
