Jessie J-'Do It Like A Dude' Analysis

The video for this song was filmed in a dark hall tower which adds to the mystery of the video and also gives it a dark edge. At the beginning of the music video a heartbeat is played which makes the video quite intense and the dark location adds to this atmosphere too.

The use of dance routines is a very common characteristic that is featured in R and B videos. During the chorus Jessie J and her back up dancers perform the same routine and this routine shows a relationship between the lyrics and visuals. When Jessie J sings 'Grab my crutch' the music video shows her doing that. Also when she says 'Wear my hat low like you' on one occasion the camera focuses on a lady wearing her at low as it covers some of her face. So here it shows amplification as the video can is visualised because there are some direct links from the lyrics to the video.

This music video also features characteristics typical of its genre as the pace of cutting in the video matches the beat of the music, which is a common theme among R and B videos. R and B videos tend to make a female body appear to a male audience and also make men appear dominant. However, Jessie J seems to divert from this genre characteristic as the song is implying how women, as she makes constant reference to 'we', 'we can do it' as they can do what men do, suggesting that they are equally as powerful. This is also apparent through the costume and the behaviour of Jessie J and the ladies in her video as they are wearing baggy jeans, baggy tops and hats and they are doing things that men would be likely to do; as at the beginning of the video the camera captures a women smoking a cigar, a woman slicing a pig's trotter, a woman doing some chemical experiments and licking a bottle of "poison" and a woman being tattooed which are usually normal elements attached to the male gender.

There are a lot of close up/mid shots of Jessie J which is usual of a new artist as as demands of her record label, 'Island' will include the need for close-ups. These use of close-ups establish Jessie J as an artist as this song was her debut single back in November 2010. Also, the use of close-ups present Jessie J as a fierce and dominant individual which is the image she is trying to connote through the video; since she is implying that women can equally be as strong as men and that they can can do anything that they can. From the close ups it allows the viewer to see Jessie J's make up. Her bejewelled lips creates the sense that she as an individual is very fierce as her lips have spikes on them, This also gives the impression that she as an artist is very distinct, has her own sense of style and is not like other 'typical' female R and B singers she is not afraid to show her 'dark'/'wild' side. Generally, her make-up which is very dark, thus again connoting a sense of strength and power. This is also illustrated at the the beginning of the video as when she says 'Stomp, stomp, I've arrived' there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals as the people move to the side to show this, which may suggest she is a dominant figure. By her saying that she has 'arrived' it may also reference her arrival into the music industry, maybe that she is ready to take the music industry 'by storm'.

Jessie J subverts from the typical representations of females in R and B videos through her attitude and clothing in this music video. Women in R and B videos usually appear beautiful in regards to their make-up, clothes etc. however, Jessie J contradicts this convention as she is shown looking rather scanty and her clothes are also ripped and dirty.