Now, we’ve looked a lot at Lisa A. Lewis’s applications of access signs and discovery signs in female-address music videos. For a quick refresher, access signs are public cultural spaces typically closed off to women and girls. A good example we haven’t brought up is Lily Allen frequenting a record store and wandering the streets of London in “LDN.” Discovery signs, by contrast, are traditionally private, feminized spaces like the home, as illustrated in most of the music video for Estelle’s “1980.”
But the reality is that most women and girls navigate both the public and private spheres, a fact that the last 40 seconds of “1980″ makes clear when the home opens up into the neighborhood for a block party. A fantastic example of a music video that showcases the negotiation of access and discovery signs is Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” So tonight, as I bundle up in my house and watch the pilot of Friday Night Lights after a long day at the office and some post-work errand-running, I thought it would be fun to showcase a couple of music videos that acknowledge the fluidity of movement in our daily lives.
Speech Debelle
“The Key”
Speech Therapy
Directed by Anthony Dickenson
Sleater-Kinney
“Get Up”
The Hot Rock
Directed by Miranda July
BTW, kudos to my friend Caitlin for nudging me toward Speech Debelle. Isn’t she great?
