Representation in Gender

I've decided to have a look at Olivia Newton John's music video 'Physical' to write about the representation of gender.



Camera
In the video, there are many close ups on the fitter men's bodies. This shows representation of how some men can be very obsessed in their body's appearance. It also suggests how woman can be attracted to men with muscles; Newton John looks at the men as though she is 'checking them out'. This also suggests how it is wanted for the audience to admire the men as the close ups are shoved in the audience's faces.

In contrast to the close ups, long shots are used to view the larger men. This supports the idea of how the fitter physic is more idealized than a more larger and unhealthier one (for both genders). This tells the male audience that they need to be more like the men they saw before the larger ones.

A long shot is also used when the only woman (Newton John) is in her tennis outfit standing by herself. This suggests the male gaze as she is wearing very little and is posing, gesturing that she wants a man to join her. However, the male characters challenge her as they all walk off out of the doors with each other.

There is mid shots used when the men walk out of the doors holding hands or with their arms wrapped around each other, and then again when Newton John pulls a larger man out of the door. This supports the stereotype of how all the good looking men are gay. It also shows how the men challenged Newton John's way of using the female body, as they just walk away without interest, whereas when they were larger, they were trying to impress her.

Sound
There isn't much connection with the sound and the representation with gender, however there is a steady beat throughout the song which relates to the men and lady working out, suggesting that they have determination in becoming more attractive (in the lady's case, making the men more attractive, suggesting that women are fussy in how men look).

Another one would be the lyrics: 'Let's get physical', showing the negative stereotype of how women can be bossy but also use more euphemisms then men.

Editing
Near the end of the video, dissolve is used on the larger men becoming fitter, giving the sense of time passing by and also before-and-after being compared. This shows representation on gender as men stereotypically need to be strong. It also shows how the woman has influenced them to become better, supporting the stereotype of how women are pushy.

Within the dissolves, there is intercutting used showing Newton John in the shower. The shower scene is slow making it seductive, which helps even out the gender representation in the video; there mostly has been men shown seductively. This scene is more for the male audience because of the lack of male gaze in the rest of the video.

Mise en Scene
The costumes used in the video fit the fitness suite theme well, however they are still a bit too 'showy' as they are used to emphasize the attractiveness of the men. The fitter men wear tight speedo-like gym pants, which is barely anything, but suggests how men is wanted to look: muscular and tanned. This again makes the male audience want to be more like them (similar to how the larger men want to do so).

However, it isn't just the men dressed to attract attention; Newton John wears rather tight clothing which shows her shape (even though it isn't as revealing). These again suggests the male gaze and how even if the music video is focused on the male body, the woman still needs to be very attractive.

On the scene when the larger man is on the bike machine, he salutes to Newton John when he sees her. This shows how men can be determined to impress women. However, Newton John turns the machine up, suggesting that the larger man needs to try harder, showing that women are hard to please.



Overall there is many negative stereotypes of vanity between the genders, however this particular music  video is rather different to many other music videos as it is the male gender used for voyeurism.