"Blurred Lines" Song Review

The song Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell Wiliiams & T.I was released on March 20, 2013 and was on the Billboard Hot 100 for 33 weeks. Unfortunately the song is very sexualised in regards to the lyrics and the video clip especially shown through the women wearing close to nothing throughout the whole video. The sexualised themes that are throughout the song include objectification of women, women being dependant on men, sexual consent and men having a higher status as well as having complete control in a relationship. When songs like Blurred Lines are played around the world it means countless amount of citizens will hear and watch the song and video clip which can create ideas and expectations around relationships and behaviour in a young persons life, leading them to act differently around others.

The target audience of the song is for both men and women of younger ages and those who are in relationships. When young women watch a video clip like this the messages that is brought across, implies that women should act in a ‘sexy’ manner when around men by wearing a minimal amount of clothing, dancing, and allowing men to take complete control over them. I think this sort of behaviour is first introduced to teenagers through pop culture, it greatly influences them and allows them to believe that this is how they should act. This song was also aimed at young men it makes them believe that they are more superior since they are fully dressed whilst the women are not. It gives the impression to men that they can act however they like towards any woman. It also is directed to anyone who is in a relationship as it suggests that this is how each person should act towards each other, basically in a sexual way. Overall the audience is for young people as this video is accessible through the media which many teenagers and children have easy access to. This song is directed to young people not only because of the actions of the people in the music video but also because it is a pop song which is a very popular genre of music for younger people.

From having issues around sexual consent to objectification this song and video clip is undeniably sexualised towards women. Throughout the whole video clip it shows young women being treated like objects shown though the way that the men act towards them. In the video the men are pulling the girls hair as if it doesn’t concern them and it will not hurt the young ladies suggesting they are like objects which don’t have feelings. Another example of objectification towards women is when Robin Thicke blows a puff of cigarette smoke into the womens face, the lady reacts by coughing slightly but Robin does not seem to care at all. Once again suggesting that he believes women are a status of an object where he can do anything to them and they won’t object against it. This video mainly shows sexualisation through the women as they are basically not wearing any clothes which is making the content have a sexual characteristic.

Sexualisation is also shown through the lyrics when it is referring to not giving sexual consent to a women when it says “You know you want it” the way it is said it seems as if he is not giving the victim a choice whether it will happen or not. Saying “You know” seems as if he is pressuring the person into something thinking he knows what is best for them, we can already get the hint to what ‘it’ is through listening to the lyrics and watching the video clip- ‘it’ is referring to sex. The audience may think of this lyric as being ‘rapey’ as you can only know someone wants something unless they tell you, so in this part of the song it sounds like he is tell her what is best for her. This is sexualised as it is basically referring to him knowing when she wants to have sex.

The song also seems to have the theme that women are male dependant, this is shown through the video clip as the women are barely ever captured without a man and when they are in a shot together they are often quite close giving the audience the impression that the women cannot stay away especially since she is the one with no clothes on whilst the men are fully dressed. The women are almost parading around the men as if they cannot get enough of them and they cannot stand to be without them.

Sexualisation is shown when we get the impression that within a relationship a man has more power and a higher status over a women shown through the women wearing close to nothing whilst the men being fully clothed. This shows the injustice and the sexualisation that is being communicated throughout the song as the man and women aren’t equal in a relationship implying that the man will be in power.

From sexualised songs like Blurred Lines there is a major impact on young peoples behaviour and expectations in relationships. From seeing this video a young woman might think they have to change their behaviour to look like the people on the video clip. Throughout the video the ladies are parading around the men in a minimal amount of clothing, the impact of sexualisation is especially in a shot where it is a long shot of a womens body characterising how a women should look; thin, pretty, perfect face, ‘thick’ and … By showing this view women might believe that they have to look like this thus changing their behaviour for example someone might self exploit themselves to make them look flawless like in the videos. Although when they do start changing their behaviour to look a certain way it can lead to illnesses like anorexia (eating less to try and look thin), anxiety (from not looking perfect all the time), social anxiety (when around people someone may suffer from stress because of what others says and do that relates to looks) , self harm (caused from someone being angry for not being perfect), substance abuse (to try and change what you look like normally through drugs) and clinical depression (getting influenced and allowing it to change you and make you miserable).

From these videos relationships may be ‘one way’ meaning the male has the only input to what happens and he has a higher status over the women. For example this is shown in the video when the women is lighting the cigarette for Robin which is implying that the women is only a slave to him and he has complete power over what she says and does. So through these videos it can effect relationships as it makes people believe that there is no equality and the relationship is revolved around the male.

From analysing the song Blurred Lines we are able to understand how a relationships shouldn’t be and can acknowledge how a good relationship should look like. A good relationship would show equality for both the man and the women , they would both have an input to what happens, women wouldn’t be shown as objects, women would be seen as independent thus not having to rely on men.

In the media they could show the women and the men in a much different light, showing them as being equal and free to do what they want depending on what they feel like. Videos in the media shouldn’t be showing clips like the ones in Blurred Lines as it implants wrong ideas into young peoples minds which influences their relationships and their behaviours. For example it impacts a young persons expectations in a relationship, it can include the male to think that he is more superior, it can allow women to believe they need to act in a ‘sexy manner’ and always have to be perfect.

Works Cited

1. Billboard. (2013). Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines. https://www.billboard.com/music/robin-thicke/chart-history/hot-100/song/793315
2. Vevo. (2013). Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines ft. T.I., Pharrell (Official Music Video). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU
3. Raymer, M. (2013). "Blurred Lines": Robin Thicke and the Subtleties of Rape Culture. PopMatters. https://www.popmatters.com/174634-blurred-lines-robin-thicke-and-the-subtleties-of-rape-culture-2495728409.html
4. Vincent, A. (2017). The Dangerous Messages in Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines." HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/robin-thicke-blurred-lines_b_3691983
5. Guerra, W. (2014). The Blurred Lines Of Robin Thicke. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/blurred-lines-robin-thicke/story?id=21610640
6. Ward, A. (2013). It's Not Just 'Blurred Lines,' It's Rape Culture. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/26/opinion/ward-robin-thicke-blurred-lines/index.html
7. Salam, M. (2014). Why Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” Is Misogynist and Sexist. Everyday Feminism. https://everydayfeminism.com/2014/01/robin-thicke-blurred-lines/
8. Martin, R. (2013). Robin Thicke and Blurred Lines: The Fragile Male Ego. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/robin-thicke-and-blurred-lines-the-fragile-male-ego-20130906-2t99v.html
9. Gough, L. (2013). Feminist Perspectives on Robin Thicke’s "Blurred Lines." UN Women. https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2013/9/feminist-perspectives-on-robin-thicke-s-blurred-lines
10. NPR. (2013). Robin Thicke: 'I Had Blurred Lines'. https://www.npr.org/2013/08/15/211398049/robin-thicke-i-had-blurred-lines