The video begins with a extreme close up of Ciaras' hands which are covered with tattoos and rings on her finger. Instantly it shows subverted stereotypes of women as rings on women are usually placed on the married or third finger however here her rings are placed on her little fingers. Tattoos are usually seen as a masculine feature on arms however here it has been subverted. The camera then zooms out and we are seen Ciara sitting on a chair in a very laid back posture saying "2007, Ladies i think its time to switch roles". This dialogue can straight away tell the audience what the video is possibly going to be based upon.
From the opening the audience can tell it is based on the genre R&B due to the typical conventions such as tattoos, Jewellery and the artist. We then see a close up of Ciara shouting at her boyfriend/partner whereas the male character is sitting on the chair. The shot can indicate their status and the fact that she is standing up shows she has more authority and power in the relationship whereas he is seen as the less important person. This can be seen as subverted in terms of stereotypes as feminists would argue that the man in the relationship has the most power and controls the woman. From the shot we can tell that they have switched gender roles and we can tell from the way Ciara is dressed. She is not dressed in feminine clothes which most R&B videos represent, however she is dressed in a top and joggers which can be quite masculine.
Ciara is shown as more powerful due to her posture and appearance. This contributes to her being seen as a male rapper. The man is sitting on the chair whereas Ciara is shouting at him, talking into his ear, we are shown this through a series of close up shots. However the man sitting on the chair can indicate his power aswell like someone who is respected with high authority. This could be argued as she is telling him what to do therefore he doesn't have as much power as her showing he is weak.
It is seen as different in terms of authority when Ciara is sitting on the chair as it shows she has maintained her power by performing it before to her partner. The posture of her in the chair shows she is laid back and knows she has control. Her costume (mise en scene) is very masculine with the trainers, baggy jeans, vest top and hat. We are shown close ups of her tattoos which can all symbolise a message.
Some of her actions dominate masculinity. For example in the shot above she is grabbing her crotch which is something you would expect a man to do. There are also dance movements which show the masculinity she is trying to show. When she grabs her crotch it shows her possibly mimicking rappers and that she is living up to their standard. This can have many implications to the media. Her dance movements shown below are stereotypical dance moves that audiences would expect male dancers to perform however this has been subverted. The image below can have some connotations to Micheal Jackson and the common move he used in some of his music videos. In the second shot below, it shows all the dancers walking towards Ciara. This again can show her importance due to her power/status.
Here a silhouette is used to add effects to this scene in the video. The music stops at this point of the video and we hear the sound of the dance movement which is similar to a heartbeat. This can be stereotypical of men performing this move as I personally have seen this move in many R&B videos.
This long shot shows the same person as two different personas. There is Ciara as a male who is wearing a suit with converses and a top hat whereas on the right hand side of the shot we can see Ciara as a female who is wearing a dress, heels and a stick which is more conventional of a R&B female artist. The male Ciara is dressed in black which can show the overall message of the video of it being based upon men and their importance whereas Ciara is wearing white which can connote purity. Both these colors compliment each other well as a theme in which the colors contrast effectively. The next part of the video is when Ciara wants the man's hat and she gets the hat in the end. This can portray that now things have twisted and women are becoming more controlling and powerful. The shot of Ciara standing on top of male Ciara's shoulder suggests that the female now has the power as she is standing and the male is on his knees which shows women again have the authority as she is telling him what to do.
From Ciara's hand gestures we can see she is trying to push him out of the shot therefore implying she has the authority and status and he is seen as less important.
There is an example of an editing technique - cut used to show vertical intertextual reference to Marylin Monroe when Ciara poses like the shot above. This is similar because they both wear white dresses when this shot is performed and also the wind is blowing her dress to give a more feminine look.
The ending shot shows Ciara kissing and her hands around her partner. This again highlights the idea of gender roles being subverted. The kiss can show love and protection and the fact she is kissing him can imply she is the one who will be protecting him and not vice versa.
Feminists and Post feminists would argue that the woman in this video is the stronger person. This video overall shows standards in society of how men in relationships can do certain things however when women do the same it is looked down upon and is judged. This video can successfully show different types of women and that women do not always have to be portrayed as feminine because in a relationship it can be the woman controlling the man. Nevertheless, the whole video implies the perspective of how most women are treated in a relationship however this is performed by Ciara to show the man how standards could change.
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