Representation analysis

I have completed an analysis of 50 cents music video to Candy shop. I have spoke mostly about representations in the music video and what they are. By doing this I can start to think about how I want to represent the actors in my music video. 




50 Cent Music Video Analysis

Watch the 50 Cent video ‘Candyshop’ and consider how the women/ men are being represented.

The men in 50 cents ‘candyshop’ video are represented in the typical way that most men are shown as in R&B videos in modern day society. The costumes the 50 cent is wearing is very typical, he is wearing oversized baggy clothing throughout the video. He is also wearing lots of big chains and rings which is meant to show that he obviously has money. This is typical for most music videos for rap music, the men are usually wearing lots of jewellery to represent the fact that they have money. The setting for the video which we see as soon as it starts is a big mansion which again is meant to symbolise how much money he has and how important he is. The women that surround 50 cent in the video is very stereotypical. In many music videos the male artist is surrounded by women, usually wearing minimal clothing. This sends out the message to the audience that if you have money then you will attract young and attractive women. Nearer to the end of the video we see a few more male characters in the house with the artist, they too are surrounded by young beautiful women. This is another convention of this genres video and is very stereotypical. Men are being represented as the dominant gender and the girls will do what they want for them because they have money.

Most of the close up shots we see in the video are focused mainly on 50 cents clothing, for example right at the beginning we see close ups of his trainers as he steps out of his car, this continues throughout the video to highlight the material things that the artist has to the audience. There are quite a few low angle shots where we see 50 cent standing above us, this shows him at being in control and in power, which supports the stereotype of men being the powerful gender.

This video does not contradict any of the typical conventions for representation of men in R&B music videos. It follows all of the conventions as aforementioned men wearing expensive clothes, being surrounded by attractive young women in seductive costumes and living in big expensive houses.