Zayn
Malik's Pillow Talk made me switch from shuffle mode to repeat single on my
phone. I couldn't get enough of it. His soothing rich voice and the lyrics had
me captivated. And then the music video happened. Needless to say that the
first time you watch, it is a visual delight. The second time, I realised there
seemed a few subliminal innuendos to it. Gigi Hadid was gorgeous, Zayn Malik
was covered up to his neck in black but at certain points there popped an
African-American girl who was mostly naked with a very strategically placed exotic
flower and sometimes with a spiked face. You could tell that Gigi was the
princess of the video. But why was the African-American girl so garish? What
did the exotic flower signify? These were just a few of the questions that came
at first which obviously had to be answered.
While trying to find answers, I read a research by Richard L. Allen, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, University of Michigan. It stated that television and cinema has shown African American people in comedic stances and in degrading ways. The images of African Americans, when not controlled by African Americans, serve a specific purpose for those who control those images.
This was quite an eye opener, when I looked back at certain movies and videos that I enjoyed as a young adult. The African-American girl definitely seemed like an alter ego against the beauty of Gigi Hadid. We know that an alter ego is always the darker side, was it necessary to put it across so literally? How could Zayn Malik, being a minority, use such imagery for another minority? I felt that the point made by Prof. Richard L. Allen, was driven home with this video. With so many creative minds at work behind the scenes of such a multi-million dollar industry, I wonder why no one could imagine a better portrayal of an alter ego.
I have
so many questions for Zayn Malik at this point of time. I wish he followed my
blog and answered a few of my questions. But all is not well because it surely
didn't end well with Pillow Talk.
