This is an extreme close up of Nicki Minaj wearing bright heavy make up. This kind of make up is conventional in the genre of Pop music videos. The colour yellow connotes happiness and the hair being pink is Nicki Minaj's star persona. The pink hair also connotes her girly side. The pink dots on her face connote sweetness and innocence.
A car is sports car is conventional in hip-hop music videos, and therefore the use of a car is unconventional in Super Bass as it is a pop music video. Interestingly, the car is pink. Pink is a well known girly colour and although the artist, Nicki Minaj is not in the shot. The colour of the car connotes empowerment for women as stereo
typically cars are known to be a "men's thing".
The use of the prop money is also unconventional in pop music videos, but conventional in rap and hip-hop videos. Nicki Minaj is a rapper/singer therefore the masculine props are a part of her star persona. Cinematography uses shallow focus to blur some of the stacks of money.
Apart from props and Nicki Minaj, this is the first shot of a male the audience see. This is the idea of a female gaze. It is a close up of a topless man who is considered sexy. His face cannot be seen and therefore this objectifies him. Mise en scene uses a blue light to shine on him connoting his objectification status.
Again, a male is being objectified. His face is still not shown however his lips are which are also considered sexy for females. This extreme close up is shown during the lyrics "kiss him on the lip lip" and therefore the shot is in sync with the lyric. Also, the lips are in the rule of thirds signifying their importance and highlighting their objectification.
In this mid shot, you can see that Nicki Minaj is dressed wearing revealing clothes. However she is wearing a white vest top with shorts (although you cannot see the shorts) which is a casual outfit. She is playing with the male's tie showing that he is being objectified as a prop in this shot. There is a light shining directly over him giving him importance, however overall Nicki Minaj is empowered in this shot. Also, this shot is shown when she says "you're so shy and I'm loving your tie". It is conventional in pop music videos for the lyrics to go with the visuals.
In this mid shot, there is a topless male in the background of the shot. He is positioned slightly behind Nicki as if he there for decoration. She is dancing in front of him and she is composed directly in the center enhancing her importance and empowerment. He is clearly objectified and is represented as a sexual object.
This mid shot displays Nicki Minaj in the foreground dancing. In the background, in shallow focus there are girls who are dressed exactly like her and in her star persona however wearing a different coloured bra. This enhances the fact that Nicki Minaj is empowering in this music video as she has girls behind her who are dressed exactly like her signifying her power and importance.
This screen shot is a low angle which connotes Nicki Minaj's power. Also, mise en scene displays a strobe light shining directly on her also connoting her power. You can still see the other girls in the background dressed like her however they are again in shallow focus.
This long shot displays Nicki Minaj in the middle of the group of girls dressed like her star persona. This time, they are not in the background or in shallow focus. This displays that women overall are empowered as there are no males in this shot. Also, it connotes equality as each girl is standing equally to Nicki Minaj. The colours of the costume are bright and colourful which is a convention is pop music
videos. The colours are childish and girly. Also, the colour of the boots are displayed in a equal pattern. Two pinks in the middle, followed by white on either side, followed by green on either side. The boots are popular boots called Doc Martens. The boots being in the music video is an example of commodity.
This shot is similar to the one shown before. However, the performance is different. Nicki Minaj has her arms spread out whilst the girls lean over away from her. This connotes her authority and power and again is an example of her being empowered. There are props of "super bass" systems built into ice sculptures in the background.
This is a close up of the costume. These are Doc Martens and encourages the idea of commodity.
This is a mid shot highlighting the women's bum. Because you cannot see their faces in this shot and just parts of the body in which men would find sexy, females are being objectified in this shot and shown for the male gaze. The females are represented in a provocative way and are wearing revealing clothes. The bright colours of the bras stand out underneath the white top making them eye-catching.
This is an extreme close up of very high heels. High heels are costume in which are considered sexy. I think that in this particular shot, because it only shows the heels, Nicki Minaj is being objectified. The colours are bright, colourful and pastel colours in which are girly. In a way, because of the heels, it could also empower Nicki as she is using them as a symbol of control over the males.
In this mid shot, these men are being objectified. Their performance shows them sitting down in a provocative manner and watching Nicki Minaj waiting for her to come over. The white arm band connotes purity, however it counteracts their seductive behaviour. The back ground is a clear blue sky also connoting purity and nature. The nature in which the men are behaving in is not pure and therefore counteracts the background. The prop of a blue ball is being to used for the males to look sexy and therefore are there for the female gaze.
This long shot shows Nicki Minaj walking across an artificial beach. She is composed in the rule of thirds. She is wearing green which has connotations of self respect and well being. It is known to be a 'safe' colour because of traffic lights. The costume in which Nicki Minaj is wearing goes completely against the connotations of green. She is dressed revealingly and walking in front of the gaze of 5 men. The men are wearing nothing but their beach shorts and white arm bands. Like the girls in previous shots, the men are wearing brightly coloured clothing. The beach chairs and rocks they are sitting on are also brightly coloured. Playful and bright colours are connotations of a pop video. In this shot, both Nicki Minaj and the men are being objectified however Nicki Minaj is also being empowered. She is standing above the men who are looking up at her connoting her power and importance. She is objectified because her costume is there for the male gaze whereas the men are objectified because they are topless which is considered sexy and for the female gaze.
In this mid shot, Nicki Minaj is in shallow focus whereas the males are in deep focus in the background. This reinforces Nicki's empowerment in the music video. Nicki's costume resembles a Mexican beaded lizard which one of the worlds most dangerous lizards. She could also be portrayed as a mermaid. Although mermaids are mythical creatures, they are also supposed to be very powerful under sea which reinforces Nicki's power. Her star persona is dangerous and feisty as she raps. The hair colour change is also a part of her star persona and makes her recognizable by the audience.
This extreme long shot displays Nicki's star persona. The pink water, the pink rocks, and objectified males. Nicki is very girly. In terms of empowerment and objectification, because of the high angle and distance (extreme long shot) of shot, I think that every one in the shot is being objectified. Nicki however is in the rule of thirds and is composed higher than the male who is with her. His performance also shows him looking up to her making her empowered over him.
This close up denotes Nicki pouring pink liquid over her breasts. The performance of this is provocative and seductive and therefore is objectifying her. However, there are no males in the shot, and she is doing it to attract male attention could mean that she is empowered within her actions. The pink liquid, bright pink lips and green hair is part of her star persona. Also, editing uses slow motion to slow down the act of this performance ensuring its purpose for the male gaze.
In this mid shot both Nicki and the male are composed in the rule of thirds. Nicki's performance shows her throwing the pink liquid on the male. The performance shows her being in control and dominant making her empowering. The male is topless and has a tattoo on his chest in which, stereotypically women find attractive. His body is shining which is purposely for the female gaze which objectifies him. Editing also slows down this shot reinforcing that Nicki is superior and the male is inferior.
This is a prop of an ice sculptured motorcycle. Again, Nicki has taken a stereotypical male interest and made it girly to suit her star persona. She then uses this prop and sits on it in a provocative manner. There are no males in this shot and she is not wearing revealing clothes therefore she is not being objectified or there for the male gaze.
In this long shot, unconventionally Nicki is in the background however she is higher than everyone else and is directly composed in the center. She is dancing on a male as if he is a toy to dance with. Nicki is surrounded by girls who are imitating her, and other males who are imitating the male she is dancing around. This shows Nicki being empowered as people are copying her. The people in this shot are dressed in glow in the dark costume. Lighting is low key however because of the costume, the shot still appears bright and eye catching which is a convention of a pop music video. The floor is lit up with pink lighting which conforms to Nicki Minaj's star persona.
This mid shot denotes Nicki and other girls playing with pink feathers. It is almost child like as if it is a group of girls having a pillow fight at a sleep over. However, they are playing with the feathers in a flirty, seductive, playful way. The feathers are pink and so is the floor. This conforms to Nicki Minaj's star persona. There are no males in this shot.
In this long shot, both Nicki and the male are dancing. However, this time the male is fully dressed. Nicki is mainly dancing in a sexy way and you cannot see her face. This objectifies her and exposes her to the male gaze. This shot cuts to and forth between another shot of Nicki dancing on a boy however the shots mainly only show close up's of parts of her body which again is objectifying her.
The music video ends with this close up of Nicki Minaj looking fierce. This is a convention in her music videos. This shot then fades to black. There are no males in the shot or in the shot after which empowers Nicki as regardless of it being her song, she has more screen time.
Here is a screen shot from the ending of a different Nicki Minaj song (Right By My Side) in which she is pulling a fierce face.
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