Beyonce's Lyrics and Music Video's 'VIDEOPHONE' (By Harveen Bahia)

Videophone is a clear message regarding the power of social networking, technology and the instant dominate gaze of men. Beyoncé transforms mens head's into the symbol of the gaze itself of a video-camera, as if hyperbolically saying, you want to stare at me with your male gaze, well then go head and stare with your video-camera,  ‘If you want me you can watch me on your video phone.’ Cleverly both the song and video are obviously about Beyoncé performing and existing in front of a videophone and also the male gaze, the video matches the lyrics charmingly well, and the video visually heightens the perversity. Throughout the video Beyoncé embodies many different versions of the femme fatale and pin-up girl, that obviously pleases the male gaze, with her power of her seduction she is able to reduce the men into victims, slaves and prisoners to their visions produced by their video camera. This creates the ideal image of a woman, therefore being the image the men desire for, therefore the woman becomes the master, and her image becomes the catalyst of ones identity.

 Zizek writes (on the first page of The Plague of Fantasies): "This plague of fantasies of which Petrarch speaks in My Secret, images which blur one's clear reasoning, is brought to its extreme in today's audiovisual media.", which is a clear example of “Video Phone”.           

The props in the video play a key role of linking the visual to the lyrical.  The guns and motorcycles aren’t new metaphors for phalluses, Gaga and Beyoncé erotically straddle, stroke, and sexually ogle their rubber guns, seductively drawing the male viewer, controlling them and dehumanizing the gaze into their own source of hypnotic power.  Using there powers of seduction and sexy attire, as well as sex noises moaning, o-faces, sinuous choruses of "fiiiiiiilm me" to dominate and control men is such an uncommon way, as they use this old tactic constantly in movies, music and TV shows. The video promotes stereotypical portrayals of women using their ability of using their sexuality to only achieve ultimate victory over men, who are just drooling and willpower-less, which is just a cheap version of sexism.  

Eddie McCaffray and Meghan Vicks. September 12 2010. ‘Beyonce's "Video Phone" (featuring Lady Gaga) - Observations and Discussion’. (Available at : http://gagajournal.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/beyonces-video-phone-featuring-lady.html

 

Slvoj, Zizek (2009) Verso Books; New edition edition (1 january 2009) 

‘The plague of Fantasies’.

Available at : http://www.metrolyrics.com/video-phone-lyrics-beyonce-knowles.html ( Accessed: 13 March)