Negative Reinforcement

NOTE: this is not a stab at urban music. There's a lot of awesome hip-hop and R&B that's being created as I type, by a lot of folks who are true artists. But this Ciara clip? It's just wrong on so many levels.

Let's start with the tune itself, which is built around the melody of Gamble & Huff's "If You Don't Know Me By Now". Note to Ciara's songwriters: write your own melody.

Then there's the laser focus on bling and material possessions. At the beginning of the clip you've got Ciara's girlfriends basically saying: "If the guy's not loaded, he's not worth being with." That's a great message to send to the legions of 14 year old girls watching the video. Then you've got Young Jeezy waving around wads of cash. I mean, it's 2009. Is this not the most clichéd, lame video construct ever at this point? We get it, man: you're loaded. Now get back in your stretch Hummer.

Speaking of getting it, it's made abundantly clear that Ciara is attractive. But how sad is it that her label reps/management/people in charge feel that we need to see her looking like a stripper in order to appreciate (and buy?) her music. Our culture's fixation on physical beauty and the major label recording industry's full-scale embracing of looks-over-talent marketing continues to be a huge bummer.

And finally, what's the deal with the reel-to-reel tape machine rolling throughout the clip? I'd wager a huge amount of money that Ciara has no idea what that contraption is or why it's in her video. Random and annoying.

Yes, I know: this is pop. It's designed to be escapist and disposable to take our minds off of our Real Problems. But the culture that created this video is a Real Problem. It's a culture that reinforces the perceived importance of material wealth and physical beauty above all else. And that affects you and me and our kids because we have to live with the people who buy into that crap.

Ultimately, it's just sad to see so many resources and so much energy going toward reinforcing notions that are truly harmful to our society and our culture at large. And this issue is by no means limited to urban music. In fact, modern country music is one of the worst offenders when it comes to reinforcing clichés that perpetuate a warped, bogus view of the real world.

I just hope that the kids watching this stuff can distinguish between what's real and what's faux. ~ Tim