Dreamworld 3

            In the film, Dreamworld 3, the filmmaker uses a number of strategies to highlight the negative gender issues that are present in music videos.

The strategy that I wish to highlight is the filmmaker’s juxtaposition of the fantasy women in the pornographic fantasy world next to the depictions of women in the real world. One of the most jarring examples of this is when the filmmaker shows the fantasy women draping themselves around the male artists. After showing this fantasy idea that a woman’s only desire in life is to please the male artist, the filmmaker show how often male artists degrade women by throwing lunch meat on their naked bodies. However, this scene does not really show how the real women feel about this experience. There was one woman who made a face and asked when she was going to get her backstage pass for enduring this humiliating experience. 

Later the filmmaker does show how real women feel when they are treated like the fantasy women of the music videos. In those videos, the filmmaker shows that women often have their clothing torn and water and alcohol thrown on them. After showing these video scenes, the filmmaker shows images of women being attacked during parades and outdoor parties like Marti Gras. In these scenes, these women are often seen crying and trying to get away from these men. The filmmaker shows that real women do not enjoy being abused by men. It also shows that because music videos portray women as objects of men, the men that watch these videos get ideas from them that treating women this way is socially acceptable. These videos make men believe that women like to be treated in such demeaning ways which promotes domestic and date violence.

Even female artists must objectify themselves in such a fashion that only makes it seem that their body is the only important part of a woman. Recently, after watching this film, I was watching the movie Chicago, which led me to watch LeAnn Rimes music video “Nothing Better to Do” which is similar to the movie. In the song, it talks about how a woman uses her body to commit crimes by playing on the weakness of men. I was hoping to not see the ways directors portray women negatively. Instead, I still found the artist softly touching her face and the microphone stand as well as looking at women as silhouettes. Rimes at one point, is standing partially dressed in lingerie, looking over her shoulder at the jail photographer. At least, in this video, it shows a female artist being in control of her body and using it as a weapon against men.