Solely from the title Turn Me On and the lyrics you would assume the song is about something sexual but the video takes another side as in turning cyborgs/Barbie’s on to be life-like and real. The main binary is the women within the video are or have been constructed as robot forms contrasting to David Guetta who is both male and human. This could suggest him being superior to the Barbie’s as this is his song or that he wants to turn them on for his own use either physically or sexually. Another difference is the focus on Nicki Minaj as a different Barbie compared to all the others trying to find and possibly destroy Minaj as if she is the “real” Barbie.
This video correlates to the two cyborg videos watched in class because in the beginning Nicki Minaj was portrayed as a cyborg just like Lil’ Kim and Missy Elliot. It was interesting that David Guetta was the one responsible for constructing the woman/cyborg using what appeared to be a directions manual or recipe. Perhaps this is reference to the song being his work and she is merely featured. Another possibility is that men are the dominant gender within our society therefore they can control women and construct them as they please. Towards the end of the video the other Barbie’s seem to strip Guetta down to a robot like figure as well, this change could be to get back at him for something or that they want him to “turn them on."
The main story line of the video is about
making Barbie’s real and turning them on, weather it is sexually or
physically, such as making them life-like. When the Barbie’s try to ransack
the building that David Guetta is in, it appears that the Barbie’s are trying
to find the one that is not the same (Nicki Minaj). Nicki Minaj was made into
a Barbie like the rest of them and they tried to find the real one and
terminate her. Possibly the other Barbies that were trying to find her could
be mess-ups or practice Barbie’s until Guetta created the perfect Barbie (Minaj).
Within the context of the video the repeated lyric turn me on, is used as
literally creating the woman (Minaj) or turning her on physically, as opposed
to sexually like the lyrics entail.
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The end of the video is peculiar; the Barbies want Guetta to transform by stripping him to a wire form? Do they wish to make him into a robot as well to have sex with him? What was the effect of the male “Kens” within the video surrounding Minaj?
If you want to read another analysis of the video go here : http://popcrush.com/davidguettanickiminajturnmeonvideo
This is a very interesting video! I definitely agree that the other Barbie's are jealous of Nicki and want to be "turned on" like her. It's kind of strange because, in reality, girls are always trying to be the Barbie and not thee human that they are. They try to be better, if not like everyone else or be perfect. Here, they are basically begging to be human like Nicki.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a strange video showing David Guetta assembling Nicki. I think that the women robots are pissed because David put more attention to detail into into her. When the female robots confront David, he magically changes into this silver surfer look alike, who instantly appeals to the fembots, similar to the "Kens" being attracted to Nicki.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the author that the music video shows that patriarchal system. It describes the male dominated society that men can construct women for their needs, which is not fair to women. The barbies are trying to kill Nicki because they are jealous that she is the perfect women that the host created.
ReplyDeleteAfter talking about patriarchy in class today, I can definitely see a relation between patriarchy and this video. David Guetta essentially "made" Nicki Minaj. This might be trying to show that males have a dominance over women. I also found it interesting that all the other barbies were staring at Nicki as she walked out. It seemed to me that they were jealous of her because she was obviously prettier than any of them. One last thing, how come Nicki was the only one with hair? haha
ReplyDeleteThis video was defiantly strange when compared with other videos within her genre. After watching Minaj's other videos a clear trend emerges. In ever one of her videos she is Obviously the center. Another trend is her egotistical view of her own perfection. In this video I do not see any thing new or hidden. I think that this video is just another in a long line of similar videos. Only this time the "barbies" had gears within them. To answer the question as to why she is surrounded by naked "Kens", she is in a lot of her other videos why should this one be any different. For example Where Them Girls At
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DeleteI think this music video is great because it takes the lyrics you hear and changes the perspective we have about these lyrics with the video. I know when i first saw this music video i was very confused because the video was called turn me on and it had nothing to do with robots or anything but once you watch it you understand that david guetta is creating this perfect barbie and literally turning her on, so she can be like a person, yet they figure out that nikki minaj is the absolute perfect real human barbie and want to be changed just like her. but i do have to agree that there is a little bit of patriarchy in this with daivd guetta being the man who is turning the robot/cyborgs on.
ReplyDeleteThe robot in the beginning had a very CP3O look from star wars. Later when she goes outside all of the men turn to look at her because she has an identity instead of the same blank face that all of the others have. This video reminds me of the toymaker in Pinocchio who gives life to a "real boy". Instead of creating an imitation of life the toymaker improves and as a result all of the other women seem to want him to do the same to them.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the other barbies aren't trying to kill her because she is the only real one but they are jealous. The barbies' guys look at Nicki and the barbies react accordingly by turning their head back. I feel like in society today this is relevant. There is a group of girls that all try to be the same thing and then this one unique girl that catches the attention of all of the guys which makes them jealous. Thus, they treat her poorly and try to get rid of her. This is just one theory of many, all the other ones mentioned make sense as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Guetta seen as superior. I also believe that this song is not talking about turning them on physically, but maybe turning them on as cyborgs or as women who are degraded by society. I am doing my ARP on this and I agree with Ryan about the barbies' being jealous of Nicki. Really good point.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this video is patriarchal. The fact that David Guetta created Nicki Minaj may be showing that women are not equal to men, since the creator cannot be eaual to the creation.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very strange video. This is definitely a good example of our patriarchal society, in the beginning David Guetta is "making" nicki and the lyrics are saying "come on and turn me on" which is referring to him having complete power over her.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the 'fake' barbies want to be more real like Minaj. They find their creator and strip him down to their level. They're angry with Guetta for not making them equal to Minaj. I also agree that David Guetta is seen as superior to the women.
ReplyDeleteYikes, this video just emulates Nicki's personality. Her style, her essence, she is the dark-skinned Barbie. This is truly an interesting video and I think it is awesome that Nicki and Guetta do not make a generic video about "turning on" (sexually) some girls as is the case in most videos. The fact that Guetta is made into wire shows the break down of the patriarch system and this video quite effectively questions that.
ReplyDeleteThis video is a weird one. In this video, it seems characters are all Barbie models. At first, Nicki's mouth appears as she sing the song. Patriarchy is applied in this video, because it is man who creates all the models. As Nicki riding a horse get out of castle, she might be the first people who disobey this process. It is also strange why all people stares at Nicki. Is it because Nicki has a pink hair because she is a betrayer of the patriarchy.
ReplyDeleteThis video shows Guetta creating Nicki who is shown as the perfected doll or android that is suppose to be the most complete and refined. You see the other dolls storming towards his home and seemingly strip him of his own humanity. I think this is an interesting look into how one person's pleasure or wealth often comes from someone else's detriment. It also shows how our greed and jealousy to emulate those who are more fortunate tend to make us disregard the effects that our actions take on others.
ReplyDeleteI had seen this music video prior to this posting and I always thought I was very peculiar in the sense that every one is "fake" and "plastic" in the video. I think that Nicki's Originality is extends beyond the video to her music, saying that she is genuine even though it might seem strange to others. Hence the turning of heads when she walks out of Davis Guetta's house.
ReplyDeleteI think its interesting that David Guetta is the one who is creating Nicki, clearly showing her dominance over her, representing male dominance in general. However, it then becomes complicated when the other barbies are jealous of Nicki.. it seems like she has dominance over them. Its interesting how they used the words "turn me on" to mean something different than the listener may have originally thought.
ReplyDeleteI like that this video is different. I believe the other girls might be jealous of Nicki because she's more "put together" and David never finished the other girls completely. Our actions are very powerful though and they have consequances as shown in the video.
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