Thursday, June 16, 2011

Leave Rihanna ALONE!!!

Kachina Pindell

The recent controversy surrounding Rihanna's new music video, "Man Down" has Rihanna facing criticism for the gun violence depicted in the video. But is she only being attacked because she is female? There are many videos and movies that depict or even promote violence among males (particularly gun violence, which is the kind happening in "Man Down"). However, those male artists/movie stars are not faced with the same scrutiny as Rihanna is currently battling. In the case of male artists, violence is presented as something that is almost second nature and goes unquestioned. But when Rihanna takes the law into her own hands in the same vein as her male counterparts, violence is suddenly something to be stopped.
Interestingly, few people are talking about the violence that was committed against Rihanna in the video. Why are we ignoring the violence that was committed against Rihanna? Our own gender expectations are depicted through the reaction to the video. It was only natural that he should commit a violent act but she is punished for doing so. Rihanna is expected to have taken a more passive role in what happened to her. She is punished for being a woman who fought violence with violence. None of this is to say that any kind of violence is good. But what we are seeing here is Rihanna being punished for using the same aggression that males are almost expected to convey in their own dealings with somone who has wronged them.
For those of you who havent seen the video, the link is posted below:



As I stated above, Rihanna has been faced with a lot of attention from the media about the way she handled being raped. Here is another link to the reaction CNN had to her video:


In conclusion, I feel as though the media is treating her unfairly. I do not believe she should have killed him. However, I also believe he had no right to put his hands on her when she clearly said "no". The media should pay eqaul attention to both crimes: the rape and the shooting.

4 comments:

  1. I agree the media is treating her unfairly. They say she is telling girls to take violent action against attackers but I don't see anything wrong with that. If more women took vengeance there would be less rapists in the world. It is also unfair to say she is trying to influence girls to do violent acts. It is just a song, and can be interpreted in several different ways.

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  2. Wow, great post! As a man i have never really thought about how society looks at violence by gender. It is actually a disgrace that as soon as women do something controversial, it get blown up in the media. Very interesting topic, you nailed it.

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  3. Darnetta O. MatthewsJune 23, 2011 at 9:27 PM

    Very Good Blog! As we all are aware of there is a double standard when it comes to men and women in every aspect of life. It is sad to say however very true, it is "macho" and "manly" to talk about such things as violence and guns and you know that is taboo for women. "Just sit there and look pretty honey" is what society portrays for us. It is sure time for this to change but honestly I don't believe it ever will. Three cheers for Rihanna and Kachina.

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  4. I just read the lyrics to Rihanna's "Man Down."
    http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/rihanna/mandown.html

    I listened to the whole song via your video link & I watched the Pinhead speak on CNN also on your video link. The song is full of remorse but she felt she was defending herself.

    As per Cal State Northridge the number of murders seen on TV by the time an average child finishes elementary school is 8,000 & the number of violent acts seen on TV by age 18 is 200,000.

    http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html

    I started to write a rant on this guys agenda toward women & racism but then I looked him up. He is Dan Isett & here's his bio.

    http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/aboutus/isettbio.asp

    He's right wing radical from Lubbock Texas who is out to regulate morality for our children. I find that most of the people who try to legislate our morality are often times the most morally bankrupt themselves. Remember his name. Dan Isett. I bet he's arrested for patronizing rentboy.com or child pornography in the not so distant future. These fanatics always have big skeletons in their closets... & besides he gave Rihanna a nice advertising boost! Heck I never would have heard of the video if it wasn't for this post! LOL

    You go girl!

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