The Monster Under Your Bed: Video Review of Kanye West's "Monster"

A commotion has started on the internet over Kanye West's new video for "Monster," which features Rick Ross, Jay-z and Nicki Minaj. After watching what is a very disturbing video, I also wanted to make a few comments.

The first image that caught my attention was one of the first shots in the video--hanging bodies of white women. Historically speaking, the image reminded me immediately of the lynchings of black men in the South. Often black men were beaten, castrated and/or lynched for doing anything with a white woman: having sex with her, making a pass at her, flirting with her, maybe even staring at her. All one needs to do is look up the story of Emmett Till to know what I am talking about.

So, when I saw that image, two thoughts came to mind: To have that image in 2010 shows how far we come and how much of a risk-taker Kanye is, but also what it could subconsciously mean racially. Black men have been labeled as hyper-sexual and lusting after white women, even willing to rape and kidnap them, and as a result many were lynched for it. Sometimes in those lynching incidents, the white woman did have consensual contact with the black man but once she was caught, she would cry "rape" (think of the Scottsboro Boys).

That image in "Monster" seemed to be somewhat of a subconscious revenge for the depictions of black men as sexual predators and even black people in general as "Monsters." West makes it clear that these women are chasing him (as in the shot where the women's hands are grabbing at him from behind a door), and the only dead or unconscious women in the video are white women.

Besides the racial elements of this video, there are also gender elements. Looking at the video, parts of it could come across as another version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" or Backstreet Boys' "Everybody" video in which people become or are typical horror movie monsters.

However, "Monster" also alludes to other horror movies, especially psychosexual thrillers/horror films. West's video is misogynistic and objectifying in its portrayal of hanging bodies of women, women held behind a door behind Kanye as if they are caged, women who look unconscious (as if they had been given roofies in their drink) or dead, and a women who has been decapitated and her body cut up. The video makes the rappers appear as serial killers and/or rapists. The women look as if they are controlled by the rappers in the video, waiting for the men to do whatever they want to with them. Just look at the shot where Jay-z is rapping and a woman who looks unconscious lying on the couch behind him.

The imagery in "Monster" is disturbing and promotes violence, especially sexual violence against women. Still, how is it any different from horror movies that do the same in our culture. If we go back to the movie Psycho (1960), the point of horror movies has used violent and disturbing imagery to repress women sexually or scare them into not acting out sexually. Psycho implies that Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) murders Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) because she is morally-loose woman; she has an affair with a married and stole money from her job, so she deserves to die. This theme continues in teen slasher flicks, such as ones where teenagers are sexually loose (ex. having sex in the woods), like Friday the Thirteenth or Nightmare on Elm Street.

Horror is often used to scare audiences from doing certain things or else the punishment is death. Torture porn or torture/psycho-thriller horror movies (ex. Saw) work on a similar idea of punishing someone for being "naughty" or using violence as stimulation. In a world where people are relying more and more on violence to express themselves, "Monster" is no exception.

"Monster" is just reflecting what is going on in our culture as whole. Violence, whether racial, gender or any other social issue, has been part of fabric of American culture. As American as apple pie.


Related articles:

Johnathan Fields' In Defense of Kanye West, That's Mr. "Monster" To You

Donovan X. Ramsey's Kanye's Women Troubles

"Brand New Flava In Your Ear" (Update)

Time again for some new music, and with a few returnees! Woohoo!

Fefe Dobson - I Want You/Watch Me Move

Fefe's Back! I love these songs and I can't stop listening to them! "I Want You" is reminiscent of The Ramones, simple but rocking! "Watch Me Move" is simply hot and she looks like Mick Jagger while dancing!

Jay-Z, Kanye West and Rihanna - Run This Town

To put it simply, I am glad Kanye is rapping again, Rihanna's nasally voice fits the dark vibe of the video and song, but Jay-Z does not really fit in with the song. Also, the video makes me think of a cult version of "California Love" with Tupac and Dr. Dre. However, the song is not as epic as they might have wanted it to be. The song is good, not great, but good.

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Mary J Blige - I Can Do Bad All By Myself

Tyler Perry and Mary J. Blige together are legendary! Powerhouse performances in both hise movies and her songs. Enough said!

Dwele - Travelin' Girl

Underground R&B and Soul is so much better than mainstream R&B and this guy is one reason why. Ever since I heard "I'm Cheating," I have loved his voice, sound and lyrics. This song has a strong horn section and Dwele's smooth voice fits it perfectly.



Creed - My Own Prison

Another artist that has returned! Creed proves that you can be a Christian artist, and still be just as good as any rock band out there and be real! Being a Christian is not always happy times, but at the same you have hope in the cross and this song puts that on my heart.



Adam Sandler - Real Love

After seeing "Funny People" and hearing this song, I want Adam to release a full Adam. The only time I have heard him sing was when he was doing SNL skits or a comedy album, but he needs to do a serious album because he has a sweet voice and he would make John Lennon proud if he heard this cover!



Pink - Funhouse

Pink can always take a song with a sad undertone and make it fun to listen to. She is as explosive as her video!



Miley Cyrus - Party In the USA

My problem with this song is that Miley is not right for it. It has the potential to be a good song and the melody is good, but when she opens her mouth, it sounds awkward and I do not like it as much.



Honor Society - Where Are You Now

Hearing this song makes me want to go see Bandslam. At first, I did not want to like this group because I thought they would sound like the Jonas Brothers and I do not like copycats, but they are actually good. Good choice, Jonas Brothers!



Whitney Houston - Million Dollar Bill/I Look to You

Our last returnee, Whitney! Once I got past the weird note at the beginning, I realized that the song has a nice old school "feel good" vibe to it and even though her voice does not sound as good as it did before, Whitney can still out-sing a lot of other singers out there now.



Not one of her powerhouse performances, but it is still a good song for her return and I am feeling it!



Now for my Huh? moment of today...

Jason Mraz ft Lil Wayne and Jah Cure - I'm Yours Remix

"I'm Yours" is one of my favorite songs and Jason Mraz and Jah Cure are two of my favorite artists, but why is Lil Wayne on here? But I will have to admit that he does sound better on here and his lyrics are good for a chance; why can't Lil Wayne sound like this more often? Still he does not fit with this song!

Here are three others I forgot to mention...

Smokey Robinson - Don't Know Why

Smokey and a Norah Jones cover equals magic! Like someone said he has the voice of an angel!



Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll

I kept forgetting to put this song on here, so here it is! I love the dance party and horror movie mix to this song! Creepy yet entertaining! The plus is an MJ werewolf and blood that looks like confetti (but then it would probably be too fun to kill people in real life)!



Official Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK4SUof_yv8

Pleasure P - Under

Okay, I only put this video here because Tia Mowry is in it, other than that it is your typical R&B pop song with autotune in it and not really memorable (and I know he can do better than that!). But at least Pleasure P is on his own because he was the best thing about Pretty Ricky (who were the other guys again?). What I do not get is the extra girl in the video and the corny bed/water scene; are those really necessary?

"Brand New Flava In Your Ear"

Here is a few new songs...Take it, it's a gift!

1) Jay-z - D.O.A. (Death of the Autotune)

Finally, someone said it! As Hov himself says in the song, bring back real music and real rap. I'm tired of all these artists using autotune to pretend as if they can sing. For some people it works, such as T-pain (because he can really sing!), but that does not mean that every single artist needs to use it, especially rappers. Go back to rapping and stop singing (or trying to sing)! I digress, the song, the music, the lyrics are perfect, Jay. Keep doing your thing! Nanananananana, hey hey, hey, goodbye!



2) The Alchemist feat. Twista and Maxwell - Smile

Speaking of great rappers... Alchemist and Twista are showing us what creative and original Hip-Hop should be. Also, having Maxwell on the record is definitely a plus. One problem, though, the people in the video who are smiling are a bit awkward. Just saying.



3) Black Eyed Peas - I Got A Feeling

The Black Eyed Peas second single is much better than "Boom Boom Pow." A different sound for the Black Eyed Peas, but the laidback summer feel sounds good. It is a great song to start or end the season, and for graduation parties.



4) Ciara feat Missy Elliot - Work

Once again, referencing "Boom Boom Pow," this is a good party dance song, but that's all it is. I miss the old Ciara, her style and vibe were better. Now she is trying to look like Beyonce (doesn't she look like the "Diva" video). Ciara's voice is not that strong, so a song like this does not flatter her much.



5) Green Day- 21 Guns

Green Day is not my favorite band, but they do have their moments. So far, 21th Century Breakdown has some great songs! Billy's voice does sounds a little weird, but it still works. I love the message of this song because of its message of making love not war and that it sounds like a punk ballad. It is great how Green Day can go from a revolutinary song, like "Know Your Enemy" to a romantic song like this.



6) Linkin Park - New Divide

Linkin Park proving again why they are great. Thier songs are epic! Just as epic as the Transformer's movie, it is as if they were meant to be.



7) The Fallen - Bury Me Alive

The musicians who used to be in Evanescence are now part of a new group called The Fallen with none other than American Idol star -- Carly Smithson. Carly eerily sounds and looks like Amy Lee. I do not know if that will be a good thing (as in bringing Evanescence fans to her side) or a bad thing (splitting the fans of both group, so that they both make less money or that some people think Carly is a copycat). Anyways, the song is cool, but I think Carly needs to do something to separate herself from Amy, which I know she can do.

News

Today I'm starting with some sad news. It's always sad to see a musician or artist go, but we all have to go sometime. Well, legendary Jazz artist, Hank Crawford died last week at the age of 74 in Memphis. This is after another Ray Charles musician, Sax man David “Fathead” Newman, died last month at 75. Born Bennie Ross Crawford Jr. in Memphis on December 21, 1934 into a large Jazz and Gospel-loving family, he was destined for the music world. He even went to Manassas High School, which gave us other noted musicians, such as Isaac Hayes, Jimmie Lunceford, and tenor saxophonists Charles Lloyd and George Coleman and pianist Harold Mabern. For five decades, he was known for his funky and soulful saxophone playing in the Ray Charles Band and with B.B. King before making it big in the Jazz world. Recording such songs as "The Peeper," "New York's One Soulful City," and "I Hear a Symphony" (cover of Supremes' hit). R.I.P. Hank.

In other news... Look who has another baby!!

Erykah Badu has given birth to her third child. It's a girl!!!! The baby was born on Sunday at her home and the labor lasted about five hours without painkillers. Ouch!!! I could never do that!!! Rapper Jay Electronica (who will be on my next Who's That...Artists of the Day) is the baby’s father. Badu has a son named Seven from Andre 3000 and a girl named Puma from West coast rapper The D.O.C. Obviously, Erykah has an affinity for rappers and giving weird names to her kids. Guess what her new daughter's name is...Mars? Ok?

Also... Danity Kane No Mo', No Mo'

Making the band group Danity Kane has called it quits after three years!!! For some reason, I knew it would not last. They just did not seem to have the glue to stay together. After Aubrey and D. Woods were kicked out of the group by P. Diddy. Then Shannon left and now there is only two, Dawn and Aundrea. The next Making the Band will focus on the two remaining members making it now as possible solo artists (which is great because Dawn and Aundrea were my favorites in the group). On the other hand, D. Woods will be working on her own album. If you want to remember the old days, you can still listen to their two top-selling albums, Danity Kane and Welcome To The Dollhouse.

Continuing Notorious news...

Voletta Wallace is finally tired of Lil' Kim. She is mad that Lil' Kim did not like the movie and did not want Naturi Naughton to play her (supposedly because she was too dark, but I did not like her as Lil' Kim for other reasons; read my review). Ms. Wallace said "Tell Lil' Kim to go find herself, go drink a cup of green tea and get a life! This movie is not about Lil' Kim. She felt we used her character to promote [but] this movie is about my son. ... Lil' Kim needs to go sit down." Moreover, she mentions how Lil' Kim wants to be a white girl (which I agree with; she did die her hair blonde and wear blue contacts!!!). And the saga continues...

Is Jigga right for B?

According to Tom Joyner, the answer is NO!! On one of his recent shows, the comedian Earthquake mentioned that the reason why Beyonce was crying (and it was a little weird how she ran off stage quickly in tears, just saying) was that she regretted marrying a "thug" as he so nicely put it. He continued, “She knows that she doesn’t have someone like Barack and she was……just looking around thinking about the choices that she’s made,” he continued “She should take a cue from [Jennifer Lopez] and leave the thugs alone. J Lo knew what to do.” Joyner joined in (ha ha) and agreed with the comic, saying that it is cool now to be with someone with an education and that she would never have what Michelle has. Hey, don't rag on Jay; he may have started out as a "thug," but he has made something of himself. Doesn't that count for something? Like my dad says, "It's not where you've been, but where you're going in life."

Tribute to Aaliyah

It's been eight years since the tragic death of Aaliyah. I remember that day clearly because I was crying my eyes out. Many people loved Aaliyah because she was so sweet and such a poised artist. Now, others are acknowledging that, too. A bio-pic will soon be made about her life, starring Canadian singer Keshia Chante as the singer. Other musicians who will help with the project are Timbaland, Missy Elliot, Ginuwine and Hype Williams. I hope this will be a wonderful tribute to this wonderful singer and person. I miss you, Aaliyah, R.I.P.

Thriller, Thriller Night... On Broadway?

Seems like Michael still has money problems! Producer James L. Nederlander is creating a stage version of Michael Jackson's Thriller, including songs from Jackson's two albums, Thriller and Off the Wall. Nederlander owns nine Broadway theaters, so it will be easy for him to find a place to show it. I am not worried about the story ( as he says,"Girl meets boy, they fall in love, boy has big secret, now what?”), but I am worried about how corny it will be!!