Task: Choose a music video of your choice and analyse using the male gaze theory.

I have chosen the video Roll Deep by HyunA ft. Jung Il-Hoon of BTOB.
HyunA, is a South Korean singer, dancer, songwriter and model.
Synth-heavy hip-hop beats back HyunA on "Roll Deep." She boasts about being high and mighty to the point of being untouchable. Some of the few English-language lyrics include "You can't touch me / Don't touch me!", Therefor we expect a lot of sexiness within this video. HyunA pulls all the stops to assert sexual dominance but instead treads ground already heavily torched by other well known artists such as Nicki Minaj and/or Miley Cyrus.  

1) 00:03 - 00:10

Within the first ten seconds we are given this image of HyunA holding onto chains attached to 6 other women. This gives viewers the impression that HyunA has taken charge of this group, relegating the other women to something less important than herself. In effect we can now view HyunA as the main focal point, HyunA's message is to have her name in shining lights and be the one and only star in the show.

2) 00:13- 00:30

 In this section of the video we see HyunA wearing a Tshirt thus exposing the lower part of her body. she is seen walking in a very sexualised way down a corridor, showing of her body in many different positions and poses. The video is following and incredibly western blueprint: bright lights, lots of colours, manufactured stages and revealing costumes. HyunA is observed being surrounded by signs with her name on which leads us, as viewers, to believe she views herself as sexy, important and irresistible.




3) 00: 34- 00:48

In this section of the music video we can see HyunA posing in a swimming costume (limited, exposing clothing).She is seen with a gun and money which could possibly portray that this image is empowering towards these women.

  She is also posing in very sexualised positions which suggests that she actually finds authority and success in the way she views herself. She clearly has no shame or anxiety in the ways she is being presented to the public.

4) 00:50- 00:53

As we can see we are barely a minuet into this music video and HyunA is choosing to portray herself in a way which allows her sex to be the main focus. This is an obvious effort to receive success because of her arousing nature and movements. This video, unfortunately, encourages all of HyunA's popularity and success to come from her sex appeal.

5) 0:58- 1:16

This part of the video is a breakdown of dance scenes where we can see HyunA and her dancers wearing very little clothing. The dance in this section of the video is quite reserved in comparison to other moves made, this makes it slightly more acceptable.



6) 1:18- 1:35

This section of the video is the second dance break which features vulgar and inappropriate movement which overall objectify women to sexual nature. Originally When I heard, this second dance break coming in I got excited but it turned out to be just twerking and rolling on the floor seductively . Obviously HyunA can manage to get away with this because she is viewed as a very successful idol, despite the fact she is surrounded by a reserved culture in a country which finds the slip of your T-Shirt off your shoulder unacceptable . Among the squeaky clean K-Pop scene, HyunA does her best to stand out in the most provocative ways. 


7) 1:35- 2:06

ENTER Jung Il-Hoon of BTOB! Il-Hoon honestly saved this song for me. Despite the way he is presented in the video, being quite degrading to the women around him, his lyrics are quite supportive towards HyunA and the way he views her. This continues to support the idea that HyunA has authority and the main focus within this video, thus empowering the way she is viewed. HyunA is obviously seen in a positive way by Il-Hoon, even if that is just because of her body.

8) 2:23- 2:43

Once again when I heard this second breakdown coming I was excited and was curious as to weather this would make the sand a fraction better, unfortunately I was balked, beaten and dissatisfied. The dances were relegated to the positions on the floor whilst Hyuna once again flaunted her body and owned her sexual prowess. HyunA obviously found this empowering but me, as a female viewer, find it embarrassing that she can be so comfortable to show herself off so much.



9) 2:43- 3:00

Within this section we see everyone having a good time and partying, this is how I wish the video had ended. everyone looks like they're having fun and there is no visual representation of who is superior in status of power. Its edited with previous choreography and bright lights along with no sexualisation apart from the expected crop top or short shorts.  


10) 3:00-..

This part of the MV is a complete mess. The shock factor, that HyunA usually nails to her benefit,  comes off as forced. If we thought that the inappropriate movements and dances featured earlier on were unacceptable then we were very wrong, in comparison to this last 30 seconds those dances seem like the most innocent things you will view within this video. To accompany the tasteless, unsuitable and indecent dancing we see HyunA and her dancers wearing very unimaginative clothing, at this point we have seen so much of HyunA that there is nothing left for the imagination to do.


The beginnings of this music video is not bad, but it gets weird in the pre-chorus and bridge where the bumpin’ flow of the song is unfortunately disrupted. you cant focus on the music because of the off putting, messy and uneven production along with a lack of progression.Its clear to see that the male gaze was perhaps the main focal point in the production of this video. Although It is nice to see people like Hyuna own their sexuality in such a reserved culture but I wished this would've been less sexy on the choreography. unfortunately, even with the appearance of a westernised style and sexualised dancing, HyunA's inappropriate style and lack of imagination doesn’t help this forgettable song very much.