Use Of The Male Gaze Theory: Ariana Grande - Side To Side ft. Nicki Minaj

Use of The Male Gaze Theory: Ariana Grande - Side To Side ft. Nicki Minaj

The setting's throughout the music video are varied however each setting has a common interest. Each settings revolve around one location, being a 'Fitness Centre'; whether its being the gym, the sauna or the changing/shower rooms - all of which are previewed. Although these rooms of a 'Fitness Centre' are stereotypical of a males interest, the women in this music video adapt it to their own. This therefore shows the Male Gaze Theory to being associated, considering the 'Fitness Centre' is a place of workout but also a place for people, especially these performers, to wear less clothing. Revealing more of their body features and essentially gaining a sweat whilst admiring themselves in the mirror - Forcing the audience to watch through the heterosexual male perspective as the women are shown to be of a sex appeal.

The music video is primarily a performance based video, implying the majority of the video finds the artist to be lip-syncing and dancing. This therefore puts sound to be important to the music video as it allows the artists and the cast to be choreographed to the beat, for their performance. As they're dancing throughout by looking at their body language, we can begin to see how it applies to the Male Gaze Theory; for example maneuvering hips and flickering their hair, all creates an image of being sexual and flirtatious. Unaccordingly impacting the audience because they give more attention towards the music video itself, rather than the lyrics. Essentially driving the narrative sexual intentions and provoking the Male Gaze Theory.

Initially, the lighting of the music video is low-key however it incorporates around the room lighting. Although gradually through the music video high-key lighting is used in the locker room, pretending to be the sunshine piercing the windows. By the music video deliberately using both of these light settings and bright colours, it allows the audience to easily identify the Pop genre but it also promotes the performers body definition within their dancing, inspiring the Male Gaze Theory.

A variety of camera angles are used, namely long-shots, mid-shots and close-ups, due to the fact of how the institution is wanting to represent the artist and their song. Long-shots in this music video integrate the whole cast to allow the audience to see their performance. Mid-shots embody the cast dancing yet it focuses more on the movement of their bum and breasts - stimulating the Male Gaze Theory, showing women to be viewed as a sex object. Lastly the close-ups surround the artists face and gestures because it can show the audience who the main features are of the music video by their persistent viewing of lip-syncing.

The representation of this music video is stereotypical of both the artists and the genre. All the performers, men and women, are dressed lightly and sexually. It can be seen as a Pop genre characteristic for females to be dressed revealingly and provocatively, evident from this music video; their dress code is shown to be limited. Furthermore a few individual performers, including Ariana Grande, are noticeable very tanned. The idea behind being this tanned allows the performers to exhibit a better looking physique, ultimately associating and driving the Male Gaze Theory as the music video is suggesting its predominately looking for attention, more so from the male audience than the female audience. This persuades the music video to be more aesthetically performance based over the techniques of lip-syncing.

Not only do the performers outfits participate in the music video's sex appeal act but also the performance itself.

By the performance incorporating sexual dance moves and facial expressions, such as winking towards the camera, it encourages the Male Gaze Theory because it represents women to be a sex object and only
to be displayed for the visual pleasure of men.

However on the other hand it conforms the genre's representation of men considering its unusual for the men, involved, to be wearing nothing except for their underwear - because they are normally affiliated with being dominant but also dressed in adequate clothing from head to toe. Therefore implicating men can also be viewed in the same light as women and suggesting the men to be of equal value to women, as they too are encouraged to be an object of appeal. Understandably fitting the music videos intentional style of showing off body features to inevitably attract a bigger audience. Provided that men are to be seen through the heterosexual perspective of woman in this music video too, it consequently also objectifies the Male Gaze Theory due to the fact the Male Gaze Theory only equates for the women to be supplying visual pleasure whilst ignoring all possibilities of the male dispensing any visual pleasure.

Noting that the instrumental of the song is upbeat, jump-cuts are primarily used with a specific beat of the instrumental to show flow and continuity. The music video also involves fades to black, changing from setting to setting, to show the end of verses but also the start of a new verse. Even more so flash lighting is overlapped on the music video, in time with the instrumental as it begins to pick up pace before it slows for the chorus. This purposely emphasises the speed of the beat and the scene at once.

In conclusion, it goes without much hesitation that this music video engulfs the Male Gaze Theory as it appears to be shown in most, if not all, scenes regularly because the narrative is sexually driven there encouraging a heavy provocatively driven performance based video.