Lily Allen - Hard Out Here

[Night Fury]

Has anyone heard this song and watched the video?

It's causing a stir, but I think it's fantastic!

Lily Allen - Hard Out Here (Official Video) - YouTube - probably NSFW, has bad language and quite... graphic imagery >.>

I just love it. It calls out Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines video, pokes fun at Miley Cyrus, and is just a slap in the face to the music industry which is objectifying women. A lot of people think it's racist for some reason, but I think they're missing the point. I just love this. It's perfect. Music video of the year.

[Loony BoB]

Haven't heard it yet (or seen it). Can't yet as I'm at work... but I'm fond of Lily Allen's stuff so I'll probably like it. It's Not Fair and The Fear are both great songs.

[Night Fury]

This song features the lyric "forget your balls and grow a pair of tits" that alone had me sold.

[NeoCracker]

YOu know, I think the Chorus is pretty stupid, but on a whole I actually quite enjoy this!

[Freya]

I like it but i like lily Allen so yahhhh. The Robin thicke parody is funny.

[Calliope]

I don't really like Lily Allen, so I'm not shocked that I don't like this song either. However, mostly I don't like that Lily Allen made this whole video about not wanting to conform to standards of female beauty, while she gets to be the only covered up person in her video that features scantily clad female dancers. I actually feel more critical of her video after reading her defense of it, in which she says she chose not to wear revealing clothing because it made her uncomfortable, and "nobody wants to see" her cellulite.

None of the back up dancers in her video would be out of place in a "non parody" video, which for me, means that this isn't a good enough parody. Similar to the Miley Cyrus VMA debacle, this seems like a bit of a minstrel show. Doing something you don't like, "satirically", is still doing that thing and repeating those stereotypes. If she really wanted to subvert stereotypes, she could have included a range of body types, races and genders, but she isn't doing anything new or funny here at all. The lyrics include lines like "I don't need to shake my ass for you because I've got a brain" - so what does that say about her backup dancers?

Points for the helium balloons, though.

[krissy]

heard the song before seeing the video and liked it
but now that i've seen the video i dont like the video
its hard to comment on how it parodies robin thicke because i have made a choice not to watch the thicke video

Doing something you don't like, "satirically", is still doing that thing and repeating those stereotypes. If she really wanted to subvert stereotypes, she could have included a range of body types, races and genders, but she isn't doing anything new or funny here at all. The lyrics include lines like "I don't need to shake my ass for you because I've got a brain" - so what does that say about her backup dancers?

ya!!!

i think the song is well intentioned and hits some key points
the vid not so much
but guess who directed it
some dude that does yves st laurient commercials
there was a lot of potential for a better video here

[Night Fury]

Yeah now I'm wondering if her video is actually a bit racist, but I don't want to hate it because I love the message even if it is flawed. I like that she's tried to do something different though.

[Madame Adequate]

Like Calliope I was rather leery of the video - it's got a white lead with a bunch of non-white backup dancers who have no point except to shake their asses. I'm not at all sure the video works with the message of her song. The song itself is okay though, and I'm certainly in favor of anything that causes a stir about women's issues.

[Loony BoB]

Finally heard/seen this.

I'm pretty sure that all the things people don't like about the video are exactly what she's talking about, and that's not hypocritical of her as that's exactly what I understand she is trying to highlight, and she's clearly doing it extremely well because everyone is pointing it out. The entire video is effectively a sarcastic parody, so it's supposed to fall in line with what they do and make you realise how absurd it is. I'm glad it's worked.

[Shauna]

I thought Lily Allen said she was done with the music industry and never wanted to come back


(I haven't heard this song, but I think she's alright, so I'll look it out later)

[Spuuky]

Finally heard/seen this.

I'm pretty sure that all the things people don't like about the video are exactly what she's talking about, and that's not hypocritical of her as that's exactly what I understand she is trying to highlight, and she's clearly doing it extremely well because everyone is pointing it out. The entire video is effectively a sarcastic parody, so it's supposed to fall in line with what they do and make you realise how absurd it is. I'm glad it's worked.

Has it worked? How many people have seen that video and thought "wow, yeah, that IS ridiculous" who didn't already hold that opinion? I'm sure plenty of people have thought that - but I'd guess that it's almost entirely people who thought that before.

[Calliope]

Finally heard/seen this.

I'm pretty sure that all the things people don't like about the video are exactly what she's talking about, and that's not hypocritical of her as that's exactly what I understand she is trying to highlight, and she's clearly doing it extremely well because everyone is pointing it out. The entire video is effectively a sarcastic parody, so it's supposed to fall in line with what they do and make you realise how absurd it is. I'm glad it's worked.

Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus used all of these ploys too - does that mean they highlighted feminist issues extremely well and should be applauded? I don't think so.

As I said before, I think the video falls short of being an effective sarcastic parody. There are a million creative things that the people behind this video could have done, but noooooooooo, it's all tits and champagne and bananas. It's not just ineffective, it's also pretty boring. Try showing those dancers as human beings whose kids might be watching them on TV! If Lily Allen can't dance, show them trying to teach her! If it's such a big deal that she "cant" wear revealing clothing, put everyone in jumpsuits, or use animation, or do anything at all other than repeat the same old power dynamics and then expect to be able to give the audience a knowing wink as you cash your cheque. The intent is there, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

[Madame Adequate]

If your satire is literally indistinguishable from what it is satirizing, it's not a very good satire. Like, it's supposed to be close to the mark, but you're supposed to be able to tell the difference. Watch the video without her words and, yeah, you'll see her taking the piss out of straight-laced old rich white guys, which is just about the safest 'fight the power' there is. She's rich as smurf, she's white, she lives in the first world - she is the power, not as much as bankers or whatever, but it's not an earth-shattering critique of power relations and oppression in the modern world. Not that it necessarily has to be, it's just going to ring a bit hollow when her feminist call to action has absolutely no notion of intersectionality whatsoever and she has a bunch of foreigners as scantily-clad backup dancers, twerking like there's no tomorrow.