Write an analysis based on ONE kpop girlgroup mv that related to the topic of portrayals of women, women stereotype, women objectification and male gaze in the kpop industry.

AN ANALYSIS OF WOMEN’S PORTRAYALS IN K-POP: BLACKPINK'S "KILL THIS LOVE" Your name Subject and Section University Professor’s Name Date AN ANALYSIS OF WOMEN’S PORTRAYALS IN K-POP K-pop is a phenomenon that has found its place on the global map of popular music and discusses and often subverts gender norms. BLACKPINK, the current wrecking-ball-swinging hottest girl group in the world, encapsulates this in her new mini album released in June of 2019, Kill This Love. The song and its music video did well all around the globe in helping solidify BLACKPINK as a cultural ambassador (Kelley, 2019). Thematically, Kill This Love addresses self-assertion, freedom, and betrayal to or by a female, making Black Pink's image in K-pop quite different. At the same time, it repeats some of the prejudice and objectification typical for the industry. This paper analyses Kill This Love under the cultural analysis of feminism and the media analysis of visuals and representations, emphasizing how it defied and conformed to the stereotypical representation of women in K-pop. SECTION 1 – CULTURE The music video “Kill This Love," released on April 5, 2019, represents BLACKPINK's positioning of the 'girl crush' theme, a new concept in the K-pop industry. The notion uses assertive, powerful, and self-sufficient women, breaking gender stereotype conventions so intrinsic to the industry in the past. In detail, Kill This Love is all about the message of finding power within women and turning the tables around in an exploitative relationship (Liang, n.d.). Although it lacks the fight against stereotypical messages concerning gender roles, the song's underlying theme still has elements of feminism: the lyrics express every woman's confidence. In doing so, this leaves BLACKPINK at the vanguard of changing gender discourses within K-pop. In particular, carelessness in treating and constructing female images has been primarily a problem in the K-pop industry. Cultural taboos oppress female idols in which they have to choose between two extremes: a pure image of a girl next door or the sexual appeal of a femme fatale. Such roles are still gendered by the male gaze and constrain women and femininity in similar ways. Video clips, dresses, and posters often make references to body and beauty standards, and objectification dominates in defining a female idol. In this regard, I think BLACKPINK's girl crush concept is quite subversive. In this way, Jones and other women artists actively 'turn the page' on traditional misogynistic representations. At the same time, they are caught up in the constraints of the hegemonic vocabularies of a male-dominated music industry. The song's title, Kill This Love, and its overall mood discusses emotional strength or self-sufficiency motifs. Juliet advises people to cut off value with their destructive partners in such lines as like; We must kill this love before it kills you too. Though the lyrics do not directly address societal expectations of women, the underlying message is clear: a woman should respect herself. She should feel that she should look after herself. Such thematic correlation with Feminist principles makes Kill This Love a disguised protest against what women experience, including K-pop girls. However, it is necessary to have a critical approach to sending empowered messages within the K-pop industry. While BLACKPINK attempts to question stock images, it does so in an industry that too often tends to reward picturesque beauty over a unique look. High production values and constructed images that the members of the groups cultivate for their various audiences can sometimes even water down the suggested feminist motives behind their performances. This conflict between freedom and commoditization is always a question that female idols encounter when experiencing society's construction and consumer culture's influence within the industry. Furthermore, historically, K-pop girl groups have often been framed within two dominant concepts: the "cute" and "sexy" archetypes, which are intended for the male consumer's eyes only. There were the cute groups like SNSD (Girls' Generation) with their clean, innocent looks and cute moves, and then there were the scandalous ladies barely dressed, presenting a role to be gazed at. These representations continued stereotyping women and gave a stereotyped portrayal and restricted the domain identities of women to different frames only. BLACKPINK's debut stands out from this narrative. Unlike many contemporary pop videos, which objectify women by introducing the concept of 'girl crush,' the group of masculine women in charge, powerful and independent. This shift not only broadened the representation of women in K-pop but also made sense to the world that wants better representation of women (Sun, Paje’, and Lee, 2023). Overall, it is important to understand that Kill This Love promotes positive changes by highlighting how women are depicted. This has made BLACKPINK ready to change in an industry where women's voices have been dominated through concepts such as resilience and independence. The successes of the two prove that female idols may provide a unique means to change the gender story and motivate fans to do the same. Cultural Context Gender norms have a long history in the K-pop business fabric, and posters presenting models are not devoid of it. Historically, female idols were often portrayed through rigid stereotypes: the pure and virginal woman or the provocative seductress. What sets BLACKPINK's girl crush...