BLOG 5

                Timbaland’s music video “Carry Out” featuring Justin Timberlake portrays many aspects of racial and gender stereotyping.  The music video degrades the female gender of today’s popular culture; making women seem as if they are nothing but an object of sexual interaction.   In particular, this song is comparing the female society to fast food, hence the title “carry out”.

                The beginning of this music video starts off with bright flashy lights, flickering on and off with signs that say “hot cakes” and “drive in”.  There are women, dressed in burlesque outfits, corsets, fishnet stockings, garters; wearing stiletto’s with big curled up hair and a full face of makeup done.  Their skin is exposed showing maximum cleavage, a curvy body and big round buttocks.  The girls are displayed throughout the video as catering to Justin and Timbaland’s needs and wants, after all they are the only two men in the music video.  

                Taking note of race, Timbaland is black and Justin Timberlake is a white.  I could not help but notice how race effects their outfits throughout the video.  Timbaland is seen sporting a black fitted hat, a black leather jacket and a white tee shirt underneath with white sneakers.  Justin is seen wearing the same thing but instead, a white fitted cap, a white jacket and a black shirt underneath with black sneakers.  The two men seem to have contrasting colors going on with their outfits in the duration of their music video.  Not only is it the color that brings on stereotypical awareness of what race they are, but what type of clothes they wear.  Timbaland is dressed up in how a typical black male would be dressed in,  sunglasses, a big long dangling chain hanging from their neck, baggy clothing and a fitted cap representing their favorite sport team, in this case the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Omi’s article states that black people are often associated to be major league sports players because of their gift of great musculature.  On the other hand, Justin is wearing a more casual looking jacket that is less baggy and his cap is non sports related.  Black people are stereotyped for dressing like a thug wearing loose clothes that allow them to move freely.  This is seen in movies, television shows and music videos such as Freedom Writers and Grand Theft Auto.  Omi states that black people often appear as criminals and violence and negativity.

                Later on in the video, the female backup dancers appear wearing a black and white maid costume.  They are shown serving and taking the men’s orders and commands.  This not only shows how degrading they treat women but also how much power the male gender has.  It further proves the masculinity.  Especially when Timbaland is sitting in a chair with his legs spread far apart, in which Devor defines as masculine.  The maid outfits however, are relatively provocative and the women are bearing a lot of skin adding onto Devor’s ideas of femininity.