The new Britney Spears music video “Would You Hold it Against Me” has multiple layers of interesting meaning. There is intriguing social commentary throughout the song and the visual production. The first noticeable thing is that the meteor in the beginning is at first feared but when it actually hits the earth it creates color instead of destruction.
This implies that the impending concerns about modern times are necessary yet the results will be unexpected. It is clear that Britney is discussing current modern times because it says in futuristic font that the year was 2011.
As the video progresses we see males put on their pants while wearing purple underwear. The interesting thing to note is that these individuals are wearing briefs instead of boxers. So we can infer that the type of dancing that is about to occur is going to be strenuous. And contol will trump comfort or a temperate environment.
We notice that Britney is in a cylindrical room made of advanced technology. There is a tremendous amount of wiring and flat panel monitors. This is symbolic of the extreme state of media and self-inflicted over-stimulation.
Later in the video those very monitors display brief images of Britney when she was in the beginning hay-day of her career. It is quite fitting that this occurs during the Dub Step breakdown of the song. There is great deal of tension and stress during this segment and women that look like Britney are fighting with each other highly stylistically. The long scarves are emblematic that even during times of great self-conflict, a level of grace must be maintained.
One thing to note is that the song is quite good and the excellent direction of the video combined with the music warrants analysis.
Another curious costume decision was the idea of using paint dispensers quite literraly at “Britney’s fingertips” their significance has two dimensions. First the paint tubes are aligned with Britney Spears’ hand and finger veins. This implies that she is expelling her own blood or life force over all the technology and attention, including her former fame and existence as a young woman. Her dress is streaked with rainbows of blood. Even though the paint/blood scene appears to be central, it is eclipsed by the much more subtle scene when Britney is navigating PlentyOfFish.com.
Many peole may think this is a simple “plug” but it is in fact a powerful suggestion for touch screen technology used in conjunction with modern desktop computers. A roadmap for sure because people are already familiarized with the techniques of dragging and squeezing the screen via iPhones and iPads and the like. The beauty of the short scene is that it showed a keyboard at the same time. This opposed to using a virtual on-screen keyboard. Anyone who has used both types of keyboards knows that although virtual keyboards are convenient, it is much more efficient to use an actual keyboard with plastic buttons.
So the scene suggests using well known technology (the keyboard) in conjunction with cutting edge touch screen technology. The end result is stimulating the viewer in the desire for a new market of flat screen technology for desktop use. We will want to interact with the screen physically as both a status and functionality aspect. The fact that she is navigating a dating site is no where near as consequential as the closeup on the “SONY” logo at the bottom of the monitor.
Later in the video the male dancers change from people with eyes into technologically aggressive characters that are reminiscent of the modern conception of Cobra Commander. They are significantly more dangerous looking. This implies that the reinvented Britney has a clan of support that has evolved. The men have eyes and their mouths are covered. Speakers destroy themselves from the sheer power exerted by the music.
-Tyler