Blog 3

            Women of color have struggled to become a popular icon in various media. They are suppressed by the mainstream because they are not only female, but also not white. In order to fight for a place in today’s society, women of color use different approaches to secure their position as a minority. Some Hip Hop artists “have chosen more masculine outfitting as a counter-hegemonic move” (Perry 157). Even though their clothing makes them look like lesbian, they are wearing male’s clothes to hold the “power” to resist the mainstream. On the other hand, other artist, like Beyoncé, fight against male ideology by making herself appear to be attractive, but also out of control to males. In her single, Run the World (Girl), Beyoncé uses the male’s ideology against the norm to show why “girl can run the world.”

           

            At the beginning of this clip, there are some social ideologies being emphasized. First, there is a montage of a woman getting out of the wooden cage, another woman lying vulnerably on wooden debris like a dead animal body. After that, there is a shot of Beyoncé and some dancers standing next to a lion, wearing seductive clothes. This shows that women of color “appear animalistic… [and] appear less than human” (Kilbourne). They are wild “animals” that men should domesticate in order to maintain the social order. As a result, a gang of men showed up with guns and riot shield, symbolizing that they are the police and justice of the world, and they are here to make sure the women will not be out of control. Another typical ideology is shown when Beyoncé is alluring the leader of the gang and takes a thing (that I can not identify) out of his front pocket implies that women have to be attractive in order to get what they want from men.

           

            However, the lyrics give a totally different meaning than the montages. The Chorus is centralized by the question, “Who run this world,” and an answer, “Girl.” Beyoncé is trying to say that even though it seems that the male is the one with the power, it is the girl who is actually running the world. Even though the clip is showing that the women are out of control when they are fighting against the gang of men, Beyoncé sings that “My persuasion can build a nation/ Endless power, our love we can devour/ You'll do anything for me”(Beyoncé) Beyoncé is utilizing the common ideology that women try to lure the men to get thing that they want. She changes the meaning of it by explaining that the true power is to control the need from other people; in this case, women are powerful because they can control men by using their need of women. As a result, no matter how the men ear up their guns and riot shield to try to maintain their superiority, it is no use.

 

            A common American Dream is that this is a land filled with opportunities. If the person, no matter what nationality, age, or gender, as long as that person works hard enough, there is always a change to succeed. However, this kind of American Dream is limited only to economic capital but not cultural capital. In rich, white male society, the main success will always be given to the rich white males, and only the “leftovers” are for the rest of the society. So, personally, it is hard to fully achieve the American Dream when the main power is only controlled by the rich white males.

 

 

Beyoncé - Run The World (Girls). Youtube: 2011, Web. 18 Jul 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBmMU_iwe6U>.

Imani Perry, “The Venus Hip Hop and the Pink Ghetto: Negotiating Spaces for Women,” from Prophets of the Hood: Politics and Poetics in Hip Hop (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2004): 155-190.

Kilbourne, Jean , Perf. Killing us softly 3 : advertising's image of women. Dir. Killing us softly 3 ." 2002, DVD.