Controversial Music Video

Banned in 11 countries and restricted online, Rihanna's music video for 'S&M' sparked controversy for its sexually charged imagery in 2011. 

The video features the singer, wearing white latex, sucking a banana, wearing bondage gear and simulating sex with a life-size doll. The lyrics depict the 'dirt' of the song. “Sex in the air, I don’t care, I love the smell of it,” she sings. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but chains and whips excite me.”

It is questionable whether the controversy of the video was intended because of Rihanna's claim:  “I think that the ban worked out because I don’t think people would have been that curious if there wasn’t some controversy involved or connected to it.” The director of the video, Melina Matsoukas, said, "When I go out to make something, I kind of go out with the intention to get it banned — well not to get it banned, I always want my stuff played but to make something provocative." Clearly, the explicit content of the video was in fact a ploy to create a stir within the media and get it seen by this mass audience.

With social media harnessed, a controversial topic can very quickly be 'marketed' in this way. What at first is a talking point, heightens to a trending topic on the likes of Twitter and Facebook, with the connotations of the video creating a buzz; in this case, a negative one. 

Theorist Discussion: I have found that all of Andrew Goodwin identified key features are present within the video. 

1) Certain genre characteristics are demonstrated through the objectification of the female body. In society you could argue that there is now almost an expectancy for scandily-clad to feature, because of the 'r&b/pop' genres it stems from. The voyeuristic treatment to the female body draws reference to the notion of 'looking' (another of Goodwin's identified features). 
2) The taboo featured in the lyrics is reflected in the visuals. The music also has a clear-cut relationship with the visuals equally, making the video increasingly daring. 
3) Def Jam Records would have certainly demanded a lot of shots of the artists. The controversy of the video is something they would have liked and encouraged, (having let the video be aired suggests that the label intended for the director to deliver such a compelling video).
4) Intertextual references of the press and pop culture are reflected in the video. The shots of journalists making notes and photographers supports the idea that the controversy was intended. The explicit content of the video is the underlined theme throughout. 
5) The artist has also developed her own iconography across her work. However since establishing herself within the industry the artist has been a lot more 'daring' in her appearance, whilst juggling the look of 'glamour'. 

What I like about the video is the basis of originality but the 'shock factor' that Rihanna and her director have decided to experiment with. In my opinion controversy is always positive, i.e. 'any press is good press.' To shock your audience creates a talking point and has been manipulated in this way to escalate her view count.