Music and Media Image analysis

Music and Media Image analysis

The Primary Messages Received From Media About Sexuality

Apart from a certain few, most artists in the music industry promote sexuality in their work and use it to achieve higher record sales and ratings. Artists today sing mostly about love, one-night stands, sex and attraction towards the opposite sex. If we compare the lyrics of songs made nowadays to the songs made by artists such as Elvis Presley and Bryan Adams, we shall notice a huge difference in the message that they carry. Where Elvis Presley and Byran Adams sang about 'Can't help falling in love with you' and 'Everything I do, I do it for you', artists like Akon, Enrique Iglesias and Snoop Dogg openly sing about sex and explicit behavior in songs such as 'I wanna f*ck you', 'Tonight' and 'Wet'.

The primary message that today's media conveys about sexuality is that there is supposedly no harm in expressing sexual feelings towards the opposite gender. The focus has moved from long-term feelings where the artist talks about spending his/her entire life with the subject to short-term feelings of lust and one-night affairs. Another message that is common in today's music is that they mostly talk about self-confidence and ego-boosts. Examples of such are:

'Live my life' by Justin Beiber & Far East Movement,

'Club Can't Handle Me' by Flo Rida & David Guetta

'Rock This Party' by Bob Sinclair & Fatman Scoop.

'Hangover' by Tiao Cruz

Such songs usually depict how self-confidence coupled with excessive drinking, dancing and branded outfits makes a person sexually attractive and 'awesome'. Songs like these mould the thoughts of the listeners and inspire them to do the same: Be outgoing, bold, part wildly and drink to the point of vomiting. For example, Tiao Cruz's song 'Hangover' has lyrics that say 'I wanna drink until I throw up' and 'I got a little shit-faced last night, I got a little bit wasted'. Such songs encourage the listener to do the same and participate in similar activities.

The Range Of Music Stories

Creating a song is not just about putting together a set of tunes and words. A song is a piece of art that narrates an entire story in just a few minutes. The combination of catchy music, sensible lyrics and a compatible music video is what it takes to create a masterpiece. Unfortunately, the story that a music video mostly presents nowadays confines itself to ...