Tuesday, March 24, 2015

The 50's are calling, they want "Dear Future Husband" back.

On March 16th, singer Meghan Trainor released yet another romanticized 50's-era music video titled "Dear Future Husband". Trainor has a number of other well-known songs such as "All About That Bass" and "Lips are Movin". While many of her songs are very catchy to most listeners, I believe that the video representations of her songs are wildly ineffective and go against all progress that women have made in the past 60 years. It was not only her choice of lyrics, but the artistic choices in the video made that were a bit off.

I can see why some people might like the video; there are a lot of fast cuts and a billion costume changes, but I think all those elements were just a distraction from the fact that the song is really really terrible. There are a lot of pop-y colors that don't look good together at all, and overall the video is just one big clusterf*ck of old-school romantic gestures and Trainor bopping around from side to side. I just want to ask the director why they think Trainor going out with all these guys who do something the teensiest bit wrong calls for her to dump them? The storyline of the music video just doesn't make sense at all.

The lyrics are also very confusing. Just an example of some of the lines from the song are, "take me on a date, I deserve it babe, and don't forget the flowers every anniversary / Cause if you treat me right I'll be the perfect wife, buying groceries, buy-buying what you need". These lyrics are just bringing back themes women were forced to follow mid-century, because that was the "norm".
According to an October Rolling Stone interview that her newest album is all about how she wants to be treated with respect by her future partners. While this is a very relevant theme for women all over, her latest video regresses to 50's-era ideals of everything being about the man first.

Throughout the video, Trainor is shown doing various "housewife" activities, such as washing the floor, cooking, and waiting in the bedroom; all for her "future husband". A number of things are wrong with this picture. First off, this girl is only 21 years old and singing about her future husband. You're young, successful, and well-known! Go and write some songs about women deserving equal pay and not needing a husband, instead of this bullcrap about everything your future husband needs to do. You are a popular celebrity in the 21st century and you have the power to make a difference through your creations.

If you so desire, watch the music video yourself and see what I mean.

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