Lily Allen Returns to Mock Miley Cyrus, Robin Thicke, Et Al.

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Jarmel said:
Yea people are clearly missing the point, which is pretty sad in of its own right. She's calling them bitches as they twerk, I'm not sure how much more obvious she can make it.
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Or... she's overusing the word Bitches to point out how much it's use is on the rise. Yessuz, what does she have to do, spell it out?
 
Cartman86 said:
Fellow feminists are saying this is what's wrong with white feminism. She is using black women as objects. I don't know what I think of it. I don't know if what I think really matters in this regard. Any one who is affected by such objectification care to give us your thoughts?
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Everything is some kind of offensive if you're of that mind. If she'd had white dancers it would have been racist because there were no black people.

2013 has been the year of reactionary dickheads getting way too much credibility.
 
I saw Lilly Allen as she was supporting Muse for some reason, she was heavily pregnant at the time with the baby she sadly miscarried but still put in a good show actually. And she is cute as a button, I have no problems with Lilly Allen.
 
It's definitely great to have her back. I like the song and I think the video is pretty funny. I especially love the part where she's singing with the balloons in the background.
 
leadbelly said:
Doesn't she sort of touch upon this in the song 'The Fear' though? She is somewhat ambiguous in what she really feels about it, but she is still holding a spotlight to it.

Although in her new song it seems to be focused more specifically at the music industry.
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Yea, she's done this type of commentary before. This time she really stooped to get some controversy with the video. Lily has never been above it. She loves and enjoys the limelight as much as every other pop star out there.
 
Good to see her back, she's just what female pop needs at the moment - shame about all the auto-tune though, could have liked the song without it.
 
Burli said:
Good to see her back, she's just what female pop needs at the moment - shame about all the auto-tune though, could have liked the song without it.
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I'm really enjoying the song but I agree that it could have done without the autotune
I guess she's just taking a jab at artists that use it, but the whole anti-autotune thing happened years ago and it's nowhere near as prominent now
 
Loved everything except for the autotune. If that was supposed to be part of the satire I don't feel like it was clever or making the same point as the rest of the video.

Jedeye Sniv said:
Everything is some kind of offensive if you're of that mind. If she'd had white dancers it would have been racist because there were no black people.

2013 has been the year of reactionary dickheads getting way too much credibility.
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Mmm. Plus some of the dancers in the video are fair skinned. What does race have to do with any of this? Seems like people are trying to find problems with the video that don't exist.
 
shanshan310 said:
Loved everything except for the autotune. If that was supposed to be part of the satire I don't feel like it was clever or making the same point as the rest of the video.



Mmm. Plus some of the dancers in the video are fair skinned. What does race have to do with any of this? Seems like people are trying to find problems with the video that don't exist.
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Yeah, bloggers looking for hits I'd wager.
 
Tence said:
You stated she is famous because of her dad. I sincerely doubt her father is the biggest factor in her being famous. You cannot quantify how much influence her fathers 'famous-ness' or connections have had in her rise to fame. So yeah I guess there is not much of a discussion.

But say you are right, and it is just because of her dad that she became famous. It is still not really an indication of current popularity and quality of her work. So why did you bring it up in the first place? IS she discredited per se because she used connections?
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Where she became famous from is just an starter, to show you where she's coming from. The main course is that you are operating under the impression that she can make valid points about the industry, from within the industry, from being a part of the industry. And I'm saying she can't. It's strange that we got sidetracked on why she's famous.

What discredits her is that she is a cog in a machine, and as long as she stays within that machine all comments about it are invalid. She presents a sanitized, obvious and industry accepted view of the industry she is supposedly taking the piss out of. It does not work like that and achieves nothing outside of adding another forgetable pop song to a wide array of forgetable pop songs. It can only be treated as that, and nothing greater.
 
daviyoung said:
Where she became famous from is just an starter, to show you where she's coming from. The main course is that you are operating under the impression that she can make valid points about the industry, from within the industry, from being a part of the industry. And I'm saying she can't. It's strange that we got sidetracked on why she's famous.

What discredits her is that she is a cog in a machine, and as long as she stays within that machine all comments about it are invalid. She presents a sanitizee, obvious amd industry accepted view of the industry she is supposedly taking the piss out of. It does not work like that and achieves nothing outside of adding another forgetable pop song to a wide array of forgetable pop songs. It can only be treated as that, and nothing greater.
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What? Of course you can criticize an institution from within an institution. That's what satire was invented to do, in a time when actually criticizing something could get you killed.
 
Stet said:
What? Of course you can criticize an institution from within an institution. That's what satire was invented to do, in a time when actually criticizing something could get you killed.
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And look how far we've come...

Of course you can criticize what you want, but I'm talking about the success, point and context of it. It's empty.
 
V_Arnold said:
You are trying way too hard to attack this. Way too hard. I cant see how more obvious this video should be beside the guy in the suit telling them how to act while on the clip or listening to the lyrics. Or the obviously exaggerated movements and ass shaking, seriously.
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Because disagreement means that I am attacking it.

It's honestly fine that you guys all enjoy the way she used sarcasm, or satire, or parody in the video.

I found that it didn't help her point and is more of a detriment than it is something that is trying to prove something.
 
Sounds like she never stopped writing! I fucking love it. Not as good as the best stuff from INM,IY, but still really fucking great. I'm so so so happy that she's back. I was really sad when she said she was gonna stop making music.
 
It's a shame she even had to explain herself:

Privilege,Superiority and Misconceptions

1. If anyone thinks for a second that I requested specific ethnicities for the video, they're wrong.

2. If anyone thinks that after asking the girls to audition, I was going to send any of them away because of the colour of their skin, they're wrong.

3. The message is clear. Whilst I don’t want to offend anyone. I do strive to provoke thought and conversation. The video is meant to be a lighthearted satirical video that deals with objectification of women within modern pop culture. It has nothing to do with race, at all.

4. If I could dance like the ladies can, it would have been my arse on your screens; I actually rehearsed for two weeks trying to perfect my twerk, but failed miserably. If I was a little braver, I would have been wearing a bikini too, but I do not and I have chronic cellulite, which nobody wants to see. What I’m trying to say is that me being covered up has nothing to do with me wanting to disassociate myself from the girls, it has more to do with my own insecurities and I just wanted to feel as comfortable as possible on the shoot day.


5. I'm not going to apologise because I think that would imply that I’m guilty of something, but I promise you this, in no way do I feel superior to anyone, except paedophiles, rapists murderers etc., and I would not only be surprised but deeply saddened if I thought anyone came away from that video feeling taken advantage of,or compromised in any way.

6. Ask the ladies yourselves @shalaeuroasia @monique_Lawz @ceodancers @TempleArtist @SelizaShowtime @melycrisp
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Pitchfork wrote on Lilly Allen's response to the criticism.

Privilege, Superiority and Misconceptions

1. If anyone thinks for a second that I requested specific ethnicities for the video, they're wrong.
2. If anyone thinks that after asking the girls to audition, I was going to send any of them away because of the colour of their skin, they're wrong.
3. The message is clear. Whilst I don’t want to offend anyone. I do strive to provoke thought and conversation. The video is meant to be a lighthearted satirical video that deals with objectification of women within modern pop culture. It has nothing to do with race, at all.
4. If I could dance like the ladies can, it would have been my arse on your screens; I actually rehearsed for two weeks trying to perfect my twerk, but failed miserably. If I was a little braver, I would have been wearing a bikini too, but I do not and I have chronic cellulite, which nobody wants to see. What I’m trying to say is that me being covered up has nothing to do with me wanting to disassociate myself from the girls, it has more to do with my own insecurities and I just wanted to feel as comfortable as possible on the shoot day.
5. I'm not going to apologise because I think that would imply that I’m guilty of something, but I promise you this, in no way do I feel superior to anyone, except paedophiles, rapists murderers etc., and I would not only be surprised but deeply saddened if I thought anyone came away from that video feeling taken advantage of,or compromised in any way.
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Source: http://pitchfork.com/news/52993-lily-allen-responds-to-criticism-of-hard-out-here-dancers/

Edit: Beaten
 
Jedeye Sniv said:
Everything is some kind of offensive if you're of that mind. If she'd had white dancers it would have been racist because there were no black people.

2013 has been the year of reactionary dickheads getting way too much credibility.
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So yes, black people should rejoice over their inclusion in a "feminist" music video which portrays them as nothing more than props which then hilariously reinforces harmful and negative stereotypes about them. Yep, better than not being represented in the video at all!
 
daviyoung said:
And look how far we've come...

Of course you can criticize what you want, but I'm talking about the success, point and context of it. It's empty.
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I guess I'm going to have to disagree with you here then, because I think criticism from people who are forced to toe the line daily is pretty valuable. Then again, I've always had a thing for Burke, St. John Bolingbroke and Shakespeare.
 
Stet said:
I guess I'm going to have to disagree with you here then, because I think criticism from people who are forced to toe the line daily is pretty valuable. Then again, I've always had a thing for Burke, St. John Bolingbroke and Shakespeare.
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That's fine. I just think we have to remember that The Fear was released in 2008 and not only had a very similar message, but was also far more radio friendly than this current song. It was basically an indictment of the industry packaged in a perfect pop song, it's much closer to her attacking the industry while still playing by its rules. But no-one listened, and if the nuance had to be stripped for this new song, then the indication is the industry has only got worse. Quite why no-one listened, or cared, is a discussion worth having but I don't have the energy and I think I've covered enough ground.
 
I would not only be surprised but deeply saddened if I thought anyone came away from that video feeling taken advantage of,or compromised in any way.

6. Ask the ladies yourselves @shalaeuroasia @monique_Lawz @ceodancers @TempleArtist @SelizaShowtime @melycrisp
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If everyone is ok with it, why are we even discussing it. She wants to provoke a conversation, but it seems there is nothing to talk about. No one was taken advantage of, neither here or most likely in any of the other videos. Negative feedback is never anyone's intention.
 
Infinite said:
Meh. Ironic sexism/misogyny is still sexism/misogyny btw
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Real bigotry is inherently humorless. Mimicking discrimination or exploitation in an ironic manner is a classic form of criticism that is effective precisely because it makes the target look foolish for seriously maintaining their position.
 
Monocle said:
The irony is in the juxtaposition of the imagery with the lyrical content.
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But it's not juxtaposed in any kind of meaningful way which is what we're talking about. It's just there against a song that really isn't even about what happens in the video.

It's like saying PBR, American Spirits and plaid clothing is for hipsters and that you're above that kind of thing.... and then you go out and buy all three. That's what Allen in this video. She's saying these standards for women are ridiculous and all this material stuff is ridiculous... and then she goes and makes a video with all of that in it.

Her joke is a very simple one and hurts her more than it helps her, at least in my eyes. A lot of people in this thread thinks it's genius that she is pointing out how everything is wrong in the pop industry while doing everything that is wrong in the pop industry.
 
Stet said:
He's right, though. It's kind of the same argument as "why don't you find Tropic Thunder racist" in blackface threads. They're both a little silly.
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That's two different things. Many people give tropic thunder a pass because it's literally making fun of how far Hollywood would go to not have a diverse cast featuring people of color while the movie has people of color in it. This video essentially does the exact same thug the robin Thicke video does but in "irony". The people that the video is claiming to help or is commentary for is the butt of the joke, quite literally. Good satire would be the gender swapped videos of blurred lines that were on YouTube . This is bad satire.

If I stabbed you and said I did it in irony you're still gonna bleed to death
 
Infinite said:
Meh. Ironic sexism/misogyny is still sexism/misogyny btw
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So she's equally as racist as Mel Gibson?

sarah-silverman-gif-recap.jpg


I don't think art is your thing.
 
mac said:
So she's equally as racist as Mel Gibson?

sarah-silverman-gif-recap.jpg


I don't think art is your thing.
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That's one hell of a strawman. Never called this woman a racist. I never actually even called her a sexists or a misogynst, in fact. Please read carefully next time :-)
 
shanshan310 said:
Loved everything except for the autotune. If that was supposed to be part of the satire I don't feel like it was clever or making the same point as the rest of the video.
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Considering the vocal distortion towards the end, I think it's safe to say that it was intended to be part of the satirical message.
Infinite said:
Meh. Ironic sexism/misogyny is still sexism/misogyny btw
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If anime has taught me anything, this certainly can be the case. It's better to say that ironic sexism can effectively function as sexism at times.
 
So glad she came back with a strong comeback. If you're coming back to an industry after so long since The Fear, this is how you do it.

shanshan310 said:
Mmm. Plus some of the dancers in the video are fair skinned. What does race have to do with any of this? Seems like people are trying to find problems with the video that don't exist.
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Spin: Lily Allen Hits Back at 'Hard Out Here' Racism Claims

It's not surprising that the Internet, the kneejerk jumping to conclusions place it can be, tried to pull the race card that their strive for supposed political correctness backfired spectacularly to show them as much a fool to fall to reflexes as any other bigot they hate. That's the only reason I can see why people can think the video or her tweet would be racist.
 
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