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. 

Voyeurism - Rihanna

An example of a music video showing the idea of voyeurism is Rihanna’s ‘Rude Boy’. Rihanna is well known for her sexual approach to her music videos and music. Although Rihanna is the artist she is still often shown as very sexually objectified in her music videos. In most music videos the main artist is shown as being powerful however she is still sexualised to appeal to a male audience.

Rihanna is wearing very little clothing in this music video, which often shows a lot of skin and reveals a lot. In some shots she is wearing more clothes however these are still very tight and revealing. The wide use of the colour red also has connotations of lust which reflects the sexual nature of the video. The bright red lipstick also reflects this theme and draws attention to them and makes them stand out.

Rihanna is seen throughout the video dancing seductively and shaking her hips and bum. In various shots she is flaunting her bum which draws the audience’s attention to it. She looks straight into the camera through her lashes which is often seen as sultry and flirty behaviour. This also links her directly to the audience. Her exaggerated lip movements as she sings makes them very noticeable to the audience and leads to sexual thoughts due to the connotations. During various shots throughout the video there are men admiring her as she is flaunting herself, this shows that she likes the attentions and is very sexually attractive. Although there are men in the video they are viewed as unimportant and she is shown as being dominant and powerful.

The camera movement and editing also reflects the theme of voyeurism. Various close ups of her lips and long shots showing her whole body as she dances are used to show her as a sexual object. The editing has lots of effects where there are multiple copies of Rihanna as she is dancing. Towards the end of the video there is a close up of her chest which links to the idea that many videos are often shot from a ‘man’s gaze’.  The lyrics are also reflecting the sexual theme shown throughout the music video.