For this post I chose to analyze the “Directors cut: We made It” by Louis Tomlinson music video. This music video is a composite video of the music videos for the songs “We Made It”, “Don’t Let It Break Your Heart”, and “Kill My Mind” all continuing on the same story and all songs by Louis Tomlinson. In this video Louis is seen singing throughout the video, also present is a lead man and lead woman, that are in a relationship, along with a gang/organized crime group.
Masculine Stereotypes: The main man is a part of an organized crime group. This fact requires him to posses assertive and aggressive qualities to a certain extent. In fact the main man rarely shows any emotion other than anger towards the people also involved in the organized crime and the things they have gotten him involved with. He also tries to stand up for himself and tell the leader of the group that he wants to take a break after the next event planned, that he doesn’t want to be involved in this anymore. This demonstrates that he is willing to stand up for what he believes in. In response to the main man standing up for himself the leader asserts his dominance over the other men in the group. He does this by not allowing the men to make any decisions for themselves, stating that he tells them what they can do and when they can do it. He also talks down to the men in the group to assert his dominance over them. The leader also threatens the boys at the end of the video when it becomes clear that the main man in the video has cheated the leader out of money. The leader tells the other men in the group that they need to force the information out of him and then kill him for going against the leader. This shows the leader possesses traditionally masculine traits like aggression, being forceful, dominant, and decisive. The men in this video are often yelling orders at each other while the crimes are taking place, this demonstrates the aggressive or dominant traits that are stereotypically masculine. During the more relaxed parts of the video the boys can be seen playing soccer. This demonstrates athletic and competitive traits that are stereotypically masculine. During these same parts Louis can be seen drinking with his male friends. While drinking is not a gendered activity, stereotypically men are shown drinking more frequently than women are. The main woman in the video also follows some masculine stereotypes. She is a realist and thinks logically about what could happen to the main man if he continues in the group. She is also ready to cut familial ties with her father who is running the crime group. This shows that she does not feel the loyalty to family like what is stereotypically expected of women.
When the video shows Louis singing he goes between looking at the camera and standing in ways that allow him to take up more space and looking away from the camera and attempting to make himself appear smaller.
Feminine Stereotypes: When the main man is showing an emotion other than anger towards his situation it is often the love he has for his girlfriend. This affection he shows his girlfriend is a stereotypically feminine trait. The main man is also unable to cut the familial ties he feels towards his girlfriends father, the gang leader, until the end of the video. Feeling a strong family connection lines up more with what is expected from women than what is expected from men. The men in this video, besides the leader, are not independent at all. They are told exactly what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. They are not given any choice in those matters. After the main man tries to back out and is told off he is referred to as a “good boy” in a condescending manner. The main man is also seen initiating some of the romance in the video in a manner that is clearly a loving way. This act of being gentle and loving towards his partner again is a trait that is traditionally feminine. The main man also demonstrates some internal struggle. While he doesn’t show much emotion it is clear he is conflicted between what he wants to do (leave the group) and what he feels he can’t get around (participating in the crime they are apart of). At the end of the video he decides he isn’t strong enough to defend himself from the gang when they come after him for cheating the leader out of money so he fakes his death. This aligns with feminine stereotypes because the fear of not being able to defend oneself when you are in danger is the reality for many women. Ultimately he makes the decision to fake his death so that he and his partner can be together without the fear of the group coming after them at any point. At the end of the video it is clear that the loyalty of the man is with his partner not the group he was once a part of. Additionally, the women in the video also follow some feminine stereotypes. The main woman plays more of a passive love interest than being a real part of the plot of the video. The main woman is shown being very sympathetic towards what her boyfriend is going through and attempts to make it better for him. She also is watching from the sidelines when the boys are playing soccer and is watching with the rest of the mostly female audience when Louis is singing on stage. Women are also there to serve the men in the video one example is the only bartender shown being a woman.
Gaze theory: While this video does show a romantic relationship with physical affection, it does not objectify or sexualize the woman in the video. For that reason I would say gaze theory is absent in this video.
Shared by: Margaret Shiverick
Image Credit: http://www.mtv.co.uk/louis-tomlinson/videos/we-made-it