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.
Hello Justin, I agree with your post. Upon watching the video the same old techniques that are commonly used to attract male audiences is recurring over and over. Music tends to portray women as some sort of sexual object, where they are always sexy and revealing. I wonder why this hasn't changed given that women are no longer seen as secondary to men. Imagine a constant videos being produced with males acting the way the women are in this video to please a few women. Maybe it is so common that women and men alike watch these videos without questioning the message and therefore the success of views makes producers stick to the same old "sexy women acting" that is common in music videos.
ReplyDeleteHey Justin, great blog. I found the music video and song really interesting and noticed a lot of what you mentioned. You're right when you wrote that the producers include beautiful women to attract views and make more money. Even though these strategies to attract viewers has been used for many years, its interesting to see how these techniques continue to have success. I think this happens because the lifestyle that is shown in this music video isn't lived by everyone and viewers doesn't have the same money, girls or cars and through this music video they can see the life that they dream about. This blog really made me think of a lot that i have never considered before. Good Job.
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