Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines Analysis

Blurred Lines was written and performed by American recording artists Robin Thicke, T.I. and Pharrell Williams. Throughout the media, Blurred Lines had said to be the on the most controversial songs in 2013. This is because the hidden messages and the video itself. 

Dominance

Throughout the video, the men can be seen as very dominant and more surperior than the women. Firstly, we can see throughout the video that the men are all wearing suits, expensive jewellery, having briefcases and having authority over the women in the video. Clearly we can see that the men are shown to be successful, wealthy and even hard working in the video by what there are wearing. This could also be seen as a stereotype of men as men want to show how wealthy and successful they are.

The three men in the video are shown to be focused on women and sex. Thicke says throughout the video "I know you want it". This phrase is repeated multiple times while lusting over the underdressed women. This phrase has been reported by sexual assault survivors. The fact that he repeats this throughout can be highly offensive to people who have been raped or have been sexually assaulted. Furthermore, Thicke says the phrase in the "do you like it hurt". This lyric suggests that women are supposed to enjoy pain during sexual intercourse. It also suggests that women have no part in sexual intercourse but only to be used by the men. One last quote to show dominance is "Ill give you something to tear your ass into". Immediately we can see that the men are showing the women who's in charge making them very dominant throughout the video.

Overall, Blurred Lines can be seen as a "rape" song because of the lyrics, the way the women are presented and the dominance of the men. Ultimately this song is about male dominance and male desire over women.

Sex Objects

 

Unlike the men, the women are presented the exact opposite as the men such as not being in control and not being successful.

Firstly, the purpose of the women are to be sex objects to the men all through the video. They have no dialogue, there are all underdressed, they pose in sexual positions and they all like to tease the men. Instantly we can see that the women have no agency and any respect for themselves. Furthermore, the way the women are used in the video is mainly for men's entertainment.

An interesting fact about Blurred Lines was that before it was released, the first recorded video showed naked women throughout the video. This caused a lot of problems in the media. Also, the song was being accused glorifying rape culture.

Even though the women have no dialogue throughout the video, one women can be saying the word "Meow", this may show different implications. This could show there passion for sex or even linking women to cats.

Overall, we can see that the women in the video being used by the men. Also, from this video, it suggests to men that women are only good for sex.