Goodwin's theory of voyeurism in Music Videos

To what extent can you apply Goodwin’s theory of voyeurism to a music video? Use 3 music videos to illustrate your case.

Building upon Freud’s initiative, Goodwin’s theory of voyeurism refers to the idea of expressing a sense of sexuality in media texts, deliberately to catch the audience’s attention and to gain sexual pleasure for both genders. This idea is mainly aimed at males, where female artists will be sexually provocative to keep the audience’s eyes fixed on the screen. Goodwin argues that females will be objectified in this way by doing such things as revealing sexual facets of their body and by wearing revealing clothes. As well as this, camera angles such as low angle shots and close ups help to emphasise this. I believe that Goodwin’s theory is apparent in music videos, especially when screens-within-screens are used as this encourages the viewers to be drawn into the narrative of the media text.

An example of where Goodwin’s theory is evident is in the music video ‘Put Your Hands Up For Detroit’ by Fedde Le Grand. The establishing shot is an extreme long shot of a group of women all dressed in short white laboratory coats, walking around like robots. Already, a sense of sexuality is shown by their bare legs being flaunted, as well as low angle shots that help to reveal sexual aspects of their body. The fact that they’re dressed in uniform helps to keep the male audience focused on the screen as this is something that sexually pleases men. The idea of voyeurism becomes more complex when we see a topless male in the video. Even though this invites the female audience to respond, the use of the women surrounding him and dancing provocatively around him, in this case are used as a supplement to flatter the male stars’ ego. The sexual drive of the video rapidly increases when the female dancers rip off their laboratory coats and are left in their pink lace underwear. When the women start lap dancing on the male, extreme close up camera shots are used at this point so the male audiences can be even more exposed and close up to the women’s bodies.

Another clear example of where Goodwin’s theory of voyeurism is used in music videos in one called ‘Satisfaction’ by Benny Benassi. The establishing shot is an extreme close up of a hammer and a nail, but soon the audiences attention is focused when a long shot reveals a half naked female bending over in a sexual manner, gazing into the camera, hammering a nail. Jump cuts are used a lot in this video, especially when exposing body parts. This editing is carried out so the audiences’ attention is kept on the sexual aspects of the video and to keep them looking for what is expected next. A close up shot is used to show sweat on the women’s leg, emphasising the fact that she’s having a work out, as well as making links to sex. Close up camera shots of the woman’s lips are also frequently used when they are singing the lyrics. This makes the males audience feel closer to the women and makes them feel more drawn into the narrative of the video. When a close up shot reveals one of the women biting her lips, it suggests that she has a hunger for sex which attracts the male audience to the video and keeps them entertained throughout.

The final video that I believe supports Goodwin’s theory of voyeurism is one called ‘Lollipop’ by Alexandra Stan. The first shot is a close up of the artist biting into a lollipop, sexually closing her eyes. This instantly draws the audiences’ attention to her as she appears to be getting pleasure out of the lollipop. The lyrics also link in with this as she sings about licking a lollipop that slyly associates with sexual activities. A long shot soon reveals that the artist is in just her underwear which increases the sexual drive of the male audience to make them want to carry on watching. Jump cuts are used a lot within this video, going from close-up shots to long shots. The close-up shots are of the 2 women’s mouths where they are biting their lips, again suggesting to the audience that they are hungry for sex, and the long shots are of their half naked bodies. A close up camera shot of a whip is also used in this video which may excite the male audience and will make them want to watch on to see what the women do with the whip. The pouting glances the artists make to the audience also make them feel more like a part of the narrative in this music video.