![]() We have a responsibility to be critical of such videos, to see beyond the scantily clad dancers and bright lights and see the underlying message. We have respect for each other, and we have a responsibility to not create music and videos that glamorize violent and predatory behavior. Scrolling through the YouTube comments makes it obvious that “Animals” is being absorbed as a hot and sexy music video, not as what it actually is: a perpetuation of rape culture. They will be seen by millions of people that children will have access to it. Executives, directors and musicians that choose what makes it into music videos and lyrics need to be aware of the fact that their videos can be very influential. This is why I think we need more social responsibility in the music industry. In an ideal world, listeners would be capable of looking beyond the catchiness of a melody and the sexiness of the music video and be able to see the song for what it is, but unfortunately this isn’t the case. “Blurred Lines,” which experienced a major backlash last summer, was still wildly successful because it was so catchy. Love the song” or even “love the part when he is watching her in the rain I think he is her guardian angel” make me seriously doubt how critically the video is being taken by viewers. Comments such as “God this video is so hot. A lot of people seem blinded by Adam Levine’s abs, or they just miss the point completely. They make it seem like the woman secretly wants it too, even though she rejects him (several times) she gives him coy looks, she seems regretful as her friend pulls her away from him at a bar.Įven more unfortunate than the subject matter of the video is the fact that lots of fans seem not to notice the disturbing message, or maybe they just chose to ignore it. There are intermittent fully nude sex scenes, portrayals of Adam Levine’s fantasies. ![]() They have him swinging around without his shirt off, showing off his muscles. They glamorize Adam Levine’s predatory behavior. The gargantuan problem with all of this is that the video producers made all of it sexy. There are disturbing scenes of him and a woman making out under a waterfall of blood. Beyond that initial level of creepiness, there are also seriously violent undertones Adam Levine is a butcher by day and dramatically rubs blood on his muscles in the meat freezer. Lead singer Adam Levine plays a stalker, following a beautiful woman around town, watching her through her bedroom window, sneaking into her room to take pictures of her while she sleeps, and fantasizing about sleeping with her. The music video, unfortunately, is right in line with the inappropriateness of the lyrics. She has the right to say no to you and you have the responsibility to respect her choice, regardless of how animal-like you might feel at the moment. Adam Levine croons that “No girl don’t lie / You can’t deny / The beast inside.” Actually, yes, she can deny it. Some lyrics are even reminiscent of “Blurred Lines,” the infamous rapey hit of last summer. But instead, the lyrics tell a story of ignored boundaries, of pursuing women when they really don’t want to be pursued. The lyrics to the song are terrible enough on their own: “Baby I’m preying on you tonight / Hunt you down eat you alive / Just like animals” and “Maybe you think that you can hide / I can smell your scent for miles.” It’s true that love can sometimes feel instinctual and that you can love someone with a wild ferocity I think that’s what Maroon 5 was originally shooting for. Unfortunately, Maroon 5’s new video for “Animals” does just that. But is an artist allowed to glorify and glamorize malicious actions? Is it morally acceptable for a video producer to make stalking and preying on women sexy? The answer is a hard no. ![]() Can they tell a story of a character who crosses a boundary and does terrible things in order to validate their obsessions? Yes. What are artists allowed to put in their music videos? Can they tell the story of unrequited love? A desperation to be noticed by their object of affection? Of course they can.
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