Rihannas new post modern video S&M

Rhianna's new controversial music video S&M toys with the idea of sadism and masochism, which implies sexual gratification gained through pain or the degradation of others. The music video has been cencorsed and altered by many music channels and radio station. This exposes the hypocrisy of the industry as many music videos and songs show the exploitation of woman sexually, and lyrics include a variety of degrading terms, yet a issue such as this is attempted to be hidden away.

The video Rhianna has produced is a post modern parody of other music videos consisting of many typical conventions, for example the common use of phallic imagery such as the banana is a spoof of the overall sexual aesthetic that is so common is music videos today.

The videos hyperbolic editing is mocking at the extent of previous video's by making the edits so insanely quick it is almost vertiginous. This creates a serial, distorted effect altering reality echoed by the by de-focusing effects which makes the audience aware that they are watching a music video. This is re-uttered by the predominate close up shot using the effect of a fish bowl, which is a convention of many music videos. Throughout the video many effects are used such pulsing of the camera and the tilting in sync with the beat of the music, giving again the feel of a changing reality in a unconventional way, just like the music industry is.

In conjunction with this overly vibrant colours are used within the mise-en-scene to emphasize the reduced realism of the location, in doing this it also increases the hyper realism ideologies presented in the erratic and controversial issues in the narrative that are so exaggerated that’s its mocking how far music videos are pushing boundaries, such as lady gaga who has show issues such a mass murder, rape and prostitution. Here Rhianna is provoking the question as to how far they can go with these shocking and ‘original’ videos.

Finally the extreme costumes used signify a huge part of the video, here the director has taken costumes again to a hyperbolic level making them hyper real almost as if she is mocking other extremely creative artists such as Lady Gaga, she uses such influences such as the bondage aesthetic that echos that of lady gaga that portrays the postmodern resonance of the entire video.