Dreamworlds 3 Molly Bienstock's reponse

The film Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex, and Power in Music Video woke me up this morning for all the wrong reasons.  Also the fact that there are two Dreamworlds before this one showing similar images and sexist material truly upsets me.  One main reaction I had to this film was to think about the audiences that are watching these music videos.  The audience member must not enjoy or care for the musical content, but merely the imagery of degradation on the screen.  It also seems that the audience member is more likely to be a heterosexual male, ogling over the portrayal of easy and over-sexualized women.  The problem that lies within the viewer is the belief that these images are real life depictions of women's lust over men and even other women.  It surprises me that this belief system even holds true because any man can walk into a club and see nothing that resembles what he has just seen on Mtv.  The clothing can be overtly provocative, but no woman would even be allowed into a club with such little clothing on as shown in countless music videos.  This just proves the alternate reality that exists in the world of music videos, but it is just that: an alternate reality, a dreamworld, if you will.

Then how can this non-reality seep so deeply into our consciousness as human beings living in a completely divergent universe?  Is it because there is such an abundance of these similar music videos and all we can do is just allow them because there are so many?  I think we should take a step back and analyze how and why these music videos are the way they are.  In order to do so, we need to examine the very music that is being played.  I can barely tell rappers apart these days because of their identical content and ever-so-similar beats.  Not all rappers are the single group of musicians ruining the world of music videos, but they are definitely loud and in high numbers.  What is it about the exploitation of another human being's body and intellect that gets the youth of the world off?  We need to explore the reasons for such obvious acts of human injustice and make it harder for people to make money off of such disgusting performances with little to no talent involved.

In addition, the startling statistics at the end of the film gave me serious chills.  As a woman sitting in class watching those images over and over again, and then reading what is going on every couple minutes in the global community made my jaw drop.  These numbers, these incidents, and these ways of thinking are real!  This cannot become the dominant culture for generations to come and we need to work to change it as best as we can.