Rihanna - Man Down

The music video, "Man Down" was shot in the streets of Jamaica in a bedroom, and a quite deprived and rough area outside a nightclub. The genre of the video is considered as reggae as she is emphasises her carribean routes and heritage in the song.

Rihanna uses a primarily narrative-based  and concept-based video for this song as the video begins with Rihanna shooting a man and then a flashback into the past justifying her reasons for shooting the man.

The chorus of the song states, "I shot a man down" suggesting that she had to murder a man for her own personal protection. This video is interesting as it states that men and women are equal. A women is as equal as commiting a crime as men. The video depicts the woman as being a strong independent female who can protect herself through the use of self defense.

This shot portrays the woman being sexually assaulted and it also acknowledges the patriarchal society. The male is controlling the woman in a very violent attitude. The dark lighting illustrates the dull and dark atmospheres that can be seen within the night.



This shot could be considered as a masculine and dark short, as the effect of a red blink is the connotation of a police car siren approaching which suggests that a crime has been committed. The artists face is hidden by the dark shadow which suggests that she is in remorse for her actions and is ashamed that she has murdered a man. I think this is a very successful shot as it really emphasises the mood and atmosphere of the rough area of Kingston.

 This shot illustrates Rihanna in the dark hiding away as she is about to murder a man. I believe that the minimal lighting on this shot depicts the shame and vulnerability which Rihanna felt when she was sexually assaulted by her partner.

This video particularly interests me as it is the only video that I have seen which consists of advertising. This shot demonstrates the advertising of coconut milk. The artist has signed a contract with the compny therefore she has had permission to promote the product within her video.

The music video by far, creates a significant amount of contraversy due to its sensitive issues and violence, I believe that it is quite a negative ifluence on women suggesting tht murder is the way, but on the other hand it is very iconic towards women as it shows that they can stand on their own two feet withiut the support of the male gender. The video overall is quite successful in terms of the shots and effects.