Recent Video: Christina Aguilera – “Not Myself Tonight”
I’m sure I’m not alone in wondering my Christina Aguilera decided to abandon the retr0-chic pin-up girl aesthetic she had re-emerged with last album, but this return to her dirrrrty grl roots is…tired. Other people are already doing it, and doing it better. Also, spare me the awful, awful song. I mean, really, this song is terrible. I would have thought this song was bad back in 2000, now it’s just ten years worse. For an artist with such a truly impressive voice, why in the world would Christina Aguilera subject herself to such heinous over-production?
Ok, rant aside, my purpose today is to present to you the new video, show you the nods it makes to old videos, and explain to you why this is not “homage,” it’s a “rip-off”.
Also, btw, excuse my clumsiness with screengrabs and the like. Still figuring out the kinks in this blog-writing, internet business.
Christina Aguilera – “Not Myself Tonight”
First reference I caught was to Benny Benassi:
This is a screen grab from “Who’s Your Daddy.” Not a woman-friendly video, to be sure. No girl power, I’m-gonna-do-it-my-way ethos to be found. This shot looks familiar:
If it’s a song about doing your thang, don’t rip off a guy who is resolutely not about letting ladies do their thangs. Granted, it’s debatable whether this reference was intended; the close-up of the screaming pop idol is not unique. It’s just what popped into my head when I saw the video, and I thought I’d share the connection.
From the first shots of bondage themes against a white background, I already am beginning to get flashbacks of Madonna’s 1995 hit “Human Nature” off the album Bedtime Stories:
Granted, black cornrows probably weren’t Madonna’s best look, but this video was still a thought-provoking groundbreaker. She toys with the concepts of bondage, sexuality, gender, intimacy, just to start. She manages to be sexy without being revealing, and can make you think while turning you on. Her lyrics challenge the listener to reconsider their own notions, and the choreography plays with dominance, control and shame. Exquisite.
Christina fails here. She references Madge but misses the message. Her bondage is pure titillation. She is sparkly and almost naked, but we can only see that in quick glimpses, jarring jump cuts that serve only to confuse and arouse. Why is she tied up? Who tied her there? Is she in control of the situation? The scene we’re given leaves us to assume that she is tied up simply for our entertainment, that we control her situation, and that she is only there to be a sparkly sexy thing for us to have our fun with. The lyrics say that she’s trying out stuff she doesn’t normally do, and that’s cool, but it’s a declaration, not a conversation. Is she doing it safely? Consensually? Who cares? Not her.
Ok, moving on. Now she’s crawling toward a bowl on the floor, standing backlit in an open doorway, sexy dancing-in-the-rain men…deja vu?
Another example of where Christina seems to have absorbed the aesthetic but not the message. “Express Yourself” was about keeping your standards, realizing you were worth those standards, and making sure you never settled for less than you deserved. When Madonna crawled toward that bowl of milk, it was an image in juxtaposition. She also danced in a pantsuit, using a monocle that was a symbol of the dominating male figure she was rebelling against. It does not do to take those scenes out of the context of the larger video and the song itself and co-opt them for a weak song about selfish, pointless indulgence. It does not do at all.
Oh, also Christina would like you to know that she’s seen the “Like a Prayer” music video also, and completely missed the train on that one:
Questions: Sexy dancing in a church? Pour quois?
So the Madonna spree in the video is over. But wait! There’s one more oddly intentioned reference! To…George Michael?
George Michael’s “Freemdom! ’90″: About being your own person, etc. =/= “Not Myself Tonight”
None of these references could possibly be considered homages. All I see is a faded pop star trying desperately to revive her career by hoping that the nostalgia of one generation and the pride in pop knowledge of another will help to do so. Unable to find intriguing original ideas of her own, she is aping the outrageousness of other current pop stars without understanding any of their deeper motivations (looking at you, Gaga).
It’s not working, Christina. I’m sorry. Quit now before you mire yourself too much deeper in this new image, it will be the absolute, final death of your career.
Love,
Sprinks
