AN - Domestic Abuse in Music Videos

After I did my pitch my class, I got feedback from my colleagues and teacher. They claimed that the idea of showing domestic violence via the protagonist beating his girlfriend would be controversial and suggested that I should have a variety of shots of the couple arguing instead. However, I feel implementing that into my video would only weaken it because this convention has been overdone in this era of music videos and would weaken the moral message which shows the negative impact of drugs and abuse in a relationship.

I want to show domestic abuse in my video because I feel that would add an impact to the moral message the video gives and it would also deepen the dark narrative of the video. Even though I plan on doing this, I will only show the shadows of the characters during the sequence, similar to the scene where the protagonist is taking a needle. By doing this, I will be able to give the audience a slight idea of what's happening while allowing the audience to come up with their own theories about what is happening without giving too much away.

A prime example of domestic violence can be seen in the music video for the Eminem ft Rihanna song, Love the Way You Lie where a couple (played by Dominic Monaghan and Megan Fox) are struggling to cope with their relationship. In the video, the couple can be seen fighting each other, while making out at the same time along with what looks like there house is burning down. The burning house symbolises the destruction of the character's relationship with each other. Also the abusive relationship links in with the lyrics of the song such as, "If she ever tries to f****** leave me again, I'm a tie her to the bed and set this house on fire" and "Just gonna stand there and watch me burn. But that's all right because I like the way it hurts." The video faced controversy with the National Organisation for Women, due to apparently glorifying domestic violence.

Here is the video for Love the Way You Lie:

In conclusion, I feel that by showing domestic violence in the video without being too violent, I would be able to get a powerful message across to the target audience of my video (15-24 year olds) and it would reveal the truth behind relationships which fall apart, without hiding that prime fact from the public.