Voyeurism- Kanye West

The voyeurism seen in Kanye West’s ‘Gold Digger’ is different to that seen in Rihanna’s music video. The main reason for this is the difference it artist gender. In Rihanna’s music video she is seen is being sexually desirable and the central focus of the men in the video. However, in Kanye West’s video the women are seen as sexual objects as he is the main focus throughout. The use of the mise-en-scene helps to create this voyeuristic view of women. The use of minimal clothing that highlights the sexualised features and exaggerated makeup makes the women appeal to a male audience. The camera is also shot as if from a male perspective, which highlights these features. The use of fragmented shots of body parts also adds to this sexualised approach to the music video. Paralinguistic features have also been used to highlight this sexually desirable appeal to men. The use of the seductive looks and the poses also accentuates certain body parts. The female characters also often look directly into the camera through their lashes which is often seen as very sultry, flirty behaviour. Attention is also drawn to their lips which has sexual connotations. The men in this video are often very stationary which draws more attention to the female characters. This also shows they are more dominant as the women dancing around them. It is almost as though they are aiming to please the men.