Shakira's "She-Wolf" Should Have Stayed in the Closet
I don't often get the chance to critique popular music here on Monster Land, but Shakira's video for the new single "She Wolf" is just begging for commentary. The video opens on our girl Shakira as she awakens in the light of the full moon and prepares for a night on the town.
Needless to say thinks get a little interesting from here on out. Shakira delves into her closet Narnia-style to find a new world in the form of a womb-like, sparkly red cavern. She then begins to dance with jerky movements that fall somewhere in between doing to the the robot and having a diabetic seizure.
Shakira's she-wolf counterpart is depicted in a golden cage, and the camera pans and zooms as she contorts herself in odd positions.They do some reverse camera work while Shakira is hanging from the bars of her cage that gives the video a slightly uncanny effect, but it could have just been a goof.
Though the song is called "She-Wolf" the closest we ever get to a transformation is some camera trickery that juxtaposes the image of a wolf with this young lady crawling on all fours in the club.
"She-Wolf" ultimately uses female lycanthropy as a thinly veiled metaphor for women who let their freak flag fly. Though this may seem empowering, it still must be "kept in the closet" as can be seen when Shakira crawls back into bed with her sleeping male partner.
Needless to say thinks get a little interesting from here on out. Shakira delves into her closet Narnia-style to find a new world in the form of a womb-like, sparkly red cavern. She then begins to dance with jerky movements that fall somewhere in between doing to the the robot and having a diabetic seizure.
Shakira's she-wolf counterpart is depicted in a golden cage, and the camera pans and zooms as she contorts herself in odd positions.They do some reverse camera work while Shakira is hanging from the bars of her cage that gives the video a slightly uncanny effect, but it could have just been a goof.
Though the song is called "She-Wolf" the closest we ever get to a transformation is some camera trickery that juxtaposes the image of a wolf with this young lady crawling on all fours in the club.
"She-Wolf" ultimately uses female lycanthropy as a thinly veiled metaphor for women who let their freak flag fly. Though this may seem empowering, it still must be "kept in the closet" as can be seen when Shakira crawls back into bed with her sleeping male partner.
I still dig the song but the video leaves something to be desired thematically as well as visually. As a member of the Thriller generation, I think we can do better than awkward gyrations and storylines that go nowhere.
I wouldn’t say that I’m a fan of Shakira, but I like that she does her own thing and does so in a weird way. As a man, I personally find this video captivating, because it is strange and because of how hot she is and the odd, yet sexy moves that she does. As a guy, that makes me unfitting to judge this video thematically or technically, so thank you for doing it for me. Also, thank you for posting the video…I will now watch it ten times!
ReplyDeleteGlad to be of service Matt!
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