Analysing Koroba: Empowerment or Commodification what is showcased?

 

Male Gaze vs. Oppositional Gaze in Tiwa Savage’s ‘Koroba’

The music video: Koroba sung by Tiwa Savage, it’s an afrobeat musical video that shows Africa and afrobeat rhythms. In the video, we see Tiwa dancing, singing, and showing confidence. But beyond the music and dance, the video makes us ask deeper questions: Is Tiwa in control of how she looks and what she says, or is the camera and music industry controlling her? Using two important theories; Laura Mulvey’s “Male Gaze” and Bell Hooks’ “Oppositional Gaze” we can understand how women, especially Black women, are shown in media. The video shows Tiwa’s body and the lyrics are not really satisfying. Using Bell Hooks and Laura Mulvey lens the oppositional gaze and male gaze respectively. We would analyze how the video shows how black women looks recover their agency and how women in this video was shown as pleasure or spectacle to Men. Using the oppositional gaze by Bell Hook, we would see how the women empower themselves rather being placed as nothing. While also we see how the Male gaze by Laura Mulvey to see whether Tiwa was placed as a plot or a spectacle. Also, how the camera is positioned to Tiwa’s body, for pleasure to the male viewers.

According to Laura Mulvey’s essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1975) describes how women are often objectified in visual media to satisfy a heterosexual male audience. According to Mulvey, the camera often “looks” at women as passive objects of male desire, focusing on their bodies, movement, and physicality rather than their voice or agency. The camera position is that the camera often “looks” at women as passive objects of male desire, focusing on their bodies, movement, and physicality rather than their voice or agency. As we can see in the video the body framing is how Tiwa’s hips are shown, legs and curves in the body fitting dresses, even her cleavages. To show that they have reduced the presence of Tiwa to a visual pleasure for the viewer, we see how Tiwa is used as a decoration rather than a full person. Example: the camera, the movement and the lighting that brought the enticing skin of the lady. All this is to pleasure the male viewers, so even though she was in control or maybe she was trying to you know say something, she has been reduced to an object for pleasure.

Another is Bell Hook’s theory, the oppositional gaze says that we should look with a critical eye and question what we see. It is an act of rebellion and recovery of who they are. There is an understanding that the eye the give is not just for looking but an eye of consciousness and to recover their agency, because from history they was rule that punished enslaved women just for looking {not just looking back, but eye to eye}. So, whenever a woman looks at an individual, it says a lot or how they want to recover who they are. In essence, it is a theory to bring alive another deeper eye while watching what the media tells us.

So, now how this oppositional gaze frame the video, even if the male gaze says she is an object for pleasure. The music video’s dominant gaze could be lustful to some people, and to others confidence and women in her definition of power and many will see her as a sexual object. Others might say that she is just putting out her confidence in beauty and fashion, she is portraying how powerful she is in music videos. For example: when Tiwa is seen playing ball and a guy try to touch her, she stops such act with a slap. Even with that many might say in the lyrics of the video she says, “you don’t have money……….”  So, it might be understood for a black female that she is trying to say that women are only for Money.  So, it is based on how you want to interpret the gaze. But the dominant gaze of the music video is confidence and taking control. So, while some may see her as a sexual object, others may see her as a woman who owns her body and her story.

Besides, the dominant gaze, there is an oppositional note. There is how the music video has decided that the dominant gaze is control, but there is an enaction of refusal by the viewers. Blacks would say that you don’t have to be almost naked to be able to show you have confidence. Tiwa, showing her body out there to put up with control and confidence could be placed in a more decent manner. In the aspect of preserving discipline, someone who watches this video might go against its principles because of the curves and revealing legs and hips. Therefore, there is an oppositional note to this oppositional gaze that shows how a black feminist would reject the dominant gaze.

In addition, to put a balance in the aspect of empowerment and commodification. Although, the video shows both women empowerment and showing women as products. Empowerment in the sense that Tiwa Savage is free to show her body how she feels like, and that she has full control to whatever she decide to do with her body. While in commodification, that the industry is using her to sell music and fashion for money. Tiwa might be doing this to empower, but in the case of commodification the industry or producers might just care on how the music video would be sexy enough to gain more views online. It would be difficult to strategically strike a balance between these two, but it is done in today’s world. Which is why we must critically look at video, [not just to consume it wholesomely because it is enticing] so we would notice the true intentions. So, keep in mind, in case you come across videos like Koroba.

In conclusion, Koroba is not just a fun video, but a message that can be seen in different ways. From the lens of Laura Mulvey, where females are placed as an object for pleasures for the male viewers. Using Tiwa to please men rather uplift women in real world. But it is different with the oppositional gaze, it enlightens us to open and see critically when watching or reading anything. Also, this video shows strength, confidence, beauty, even if it isn’t accepted by the cultural norms of the society we live in. By watching koroba, we can now see in a different way and how to stand gallant in today’s world.

THANK YOU JESUS