Jimenez,JacinthRamoneD.

Topic:
Theportrayalofbasichumanvaluesinmusicvideos

IntroductionandReviewofRelatedLiterature

Music,perse,ispartofgrowingup.Itservesdifferentpurposesforadolescents:
entertainment,escape,andenergy.Theentertainmentaspectofitisselfexplanatory.Itisaformof
escapebecause,asclichasitmaysound,adolescentsactuallyfindsolaceinmusicwhenfacedwith
problems.Italsoprovidesenergyassomestudieshaveconcludedthatteenagersuseitasawaytocalm
theiremotionsandmoodiness.Teenagersalsooftenusemusictoformindividualandgroup
identitiesitiswaytoconnectwithpeers,tointegrateintotheyouthculture.Tosummarize,music
playsaveryimportantroleinadolescentdevelopment.(CouncilonCommunicationsandMedia,2009)
Musicisalsoanimportanttoolforlearning,especiallywithchildren.Educatorsoftenuse
musicasatoolforchildrentolearnasitiseasiertorememberlessonswhenitistaughtwithmelody.
Combinedwithimageryandusedanaudiovisualtool,musicandmusicvideosgreatlyinfluencethe
waywethinkandact.
Thepresentstudyshallfocusonamorerecentformofmusicmusicvideos.
Musicvideos
mergetwotypesofmediathatareveryappealingtotheyouth:televisionandmusic.Amusicvideoisa
shortfilmintegratingasongandimagery,producedforpromotionalorartisticpurposes.(Street,
2011,par.5).Thisisacatchalldefinitionofmusicvideosasitcapturesalltheusesofmusicvideos,it
isusedtoadvertisemusic,butitisalsousedasanartisticavenuebywhichsongscouldbeexpounded
intermsofvisualimagery.Theycanbeclassifiedintoperformancevideosandconceptvideos.
Performancevideosarestraightforwardtheartistorgroupisusuallyfilmedwhileperformingthesong.
Conceptvideosaremuchmoreartistic.Theycaneitherbebasedonthelyricsofthevideoora
completelydifferentconcept.
Musicvideoshaveprovidedartistsanewmediumofexpressionasidefromfilms.Ithasproventobe
pervasiveastherearetelevisionchannelssuchasMTVdedicatedtomostlyshowingmusicvideos.
Musicvideoshavebeenstudiedextensivelybecauseofthis.Ithasproventobetheultimate
postmodernmediuminthewaythatitisfragmentaryandrepetitivestructurally,andassuch,has
inspiredmanystudiesregardingtheircontent,theirstructuresandtheireffects.(Straw,2012,p.1)
Intermsofcontent,musicvideoshavereceivedmuchflakfortheiroftennegativeand
destructivenature(CouncilonCommunicationsandMedia,2009,p.8).A2009studybytheCouncil
onCommunicationsandMediafoundthatexposuretoviolence,sexualmessages,sexualstereotypes,
anduseofsubstancesofabuseinmusicvideoshavebeenassociatedwithchangesinbehaviorand
attitudesinadolescents.Theauthorgoesasfarasadvisingpediatriciansandparentstoguidetheir
childrenaccordinglywithregardstothemusicandmusicvideostheyallowtheirchildrentobeexposed
to.OneAmericanstudybyDuRantetalfocusedonanalyzingmusicvideosintermsofviolence,
alcoholconsumption,tobaccouseandsexualrepresentations.A4weekperiodofrandomlyselecting
timeslotswithhighadolscentviewershipwasusedasthesample,withtheresearchersviewingBlack
EntertainmentTelevision,CountryMusicTelevision,MusicTelevision,andVideoHits1.Thisstudy
showedthatrapandrockvideoshadthemostviolenceportrayed,withtheaggressorsmostly
AfricanAmerican,andthevictimsmostlyCaucasianfemales.DuRantetalconcludedthatmusic

videosmighthaveaneffectonhowadolescentsviewrelationshipsandracism.(DuRantetal,1997).
Toaddtothis,anotherstudyreportedthathigherexposuretomusicvideoswithsexualthemesleadtoa
moreacceptingattitudetonegative,violentrelationshipsthanthoselessexposed.(Kalof,1999).
Expoundingontheeffectsofmusicvideos,a1988studyconcludedthatrockmusicvideosoftenhavea
primingeffect,atleastinromanticheterosexualrelationships.Theserockmusicvideosseemedto
enforcethestereotypeofmale/femalegenderroles,thusthecontentofthesemusicvideoshavethe
powertoaffecthowtheaudiencesactwithintheirownromanticrelationships.(HansenandHansen,
1988).
Musicvideoshavealsooftenbeenstudiedintermsofgenderrepresentation,withmoststudies
focusingonfemalerepresentation.A2008studynamedDropItLikeIt'sHot:CultureIndurstry
LaborersandTheirPerspectivesonRapMusicVideoProductionexploredtheconceptofthebooty
video,whichisbasicallytheformulaofrapmusicvideos.Bootyvideosboastoftherapper'swealthin
theformofhouses,cars,jewelry,andwomen.Suchvideosusuallyfeaturewomenwithcurvybody
typeswhoareofblackandLatinaancestry.Itconcludedthatmusicvideosprojectgenderedhierarchies
amongwomeninthewaytheyareportrayed.Thispromotesalackofcooperationamongwomenand
doesnotencouragesupportamongstoneanother(Fitts,2008).A1999studycategorizedthewomenin
musicvideosintothree:a.)conventionalwomen(whoarepassive,dependentonmaleattention)b.)
independentwomen(selfreliant,dominantinsexualrelationships)andc.)theinternalparadox(roles
switchwithinthevideo).Theauthorofthisstudysuggeststhathavingalloftheseprojectedbyseveral
musicvideoscanhinderawoman'sselfconceptofwhatbeingawomanis,andcanconfuseviewers
(maleorfemale)astohowtoconstructtheconceptofawoman(Alexander,1999).
Alongthelinesoffemalerepresentation,anotherstudyfocusedontherelationbetweenfemale
bodysizeandmusicvideocontent.Thisstudyconcludedthatifthemusicvideoswerehigherin
projectingconceptssuchasmaterialism(i.e.,abootyvideo),womenhadsmaller,moreattractivebody
sizes.However,ifthemusicvideofocusedonmoreserioustopicssuchaspolitics,thewomeninthe
musicvideoshadlargerbodysizes(Zhangetal.,2010)
Thisstudyaimstofocusonthebiggerpicture:whatarethevaluesportrayedbythemusic
videosthroughouttheyearsandhowhavetheychanged?Asignificantamountofthestudiesdoneon
musicvideoshavefocusedmainlyondetectingthenegativeattitudesportrayedinmusicvideosand
genderrepresentation.Studieshavemostlybeenfocusedonstudyingtheeffectsmusicvideoshaveon
theyouth.Thisstudyshallaimtotakeamoreneutralandmacrostandpointandstudythemusicvideos
inamoreacceptingandobjectivemannerdescribingthecontentbasedonSchwartz'sTenBasic
HumanValues.Thisstudyalsoaimstoplothowthetimeshavechangedthroughthisparticularlens.
Valuesareoftenstudiedbecauseoftheirinfluenceonanindividual'sbehavior.Averypractical
exampleofthiswouldbemarketresearch.Marketingprofessionalsoftensurveyclientsintermsofthe
valuestheyupholdsoastoemploymarketingstrategiesthatwoulddirectlyappealtotheirconsumers,
thustranslatingintobettersales.(Howell,2014,p.2)Valuesstudieshavealsoprovedtousefulin
determiningandpredicitingethicalbehavior.Organizationalvaluesoftenpredictbehavior(Akaahand
Lund,1994).
Studiesfocusingonmusicvideosoftendonottakeonalongitudinalapproach.Mostonlytake
asampleofoneyear,oratmost,halfadecade.Thisisprobablybecauseofthedifficultyofacquiring
thevideosinthedecadespast.However,inlightoftheInternetandYouTube,theresearchernowhas
accesstoalmostanymusicvideothatwasairedfromthe1950stodate.Thisstudyshallaimtotrace

1.
2.
3.
4.

societalchangesmirroredthroughthemusicvideosthroughouttheyearsatleastintermsofthe
valuesprojectedperdecade.Thecapabilityofmusicvideosandvaluestoaffectbehaviorprovidethe
rationaleforthisstudy.
StatementoftheResearchProblemandObjectives
Howhavethemainstreammusicvideoschangedintermsofthevaluestheyproject?
Objectives:
Toidentifythevaluesthattopmusicvideosproducedin19802015project
Todescribehowthevalueswereportrayedinthemusicvideos
Toascertainchangesinthetypesandmannerofportrayalofvaluesprojectedinthetopmusicvideos
producedin19802015
Toexplicatethechangesinthevaluesthatmusicvideosproject
Framework
ThisstudyshallbeguidedbytheSociologicalDiscourseTheoryasitsoverarchingframework.
SociologicalDiscoursemandatesthreelevelsofanalysis:textualanalysis,contextualanalysis,and
sociologicalanalysis.Textualanalysiswillbedoneby
textualizing
thevisualformofmusicvideos.
Thisshallentaildescribingthevideosinwordsinthemostdetailedwaypossible.Thisisthecoding
stageofanalysis.
Contextualanalysiswillthenbedonetounderstandthetexts.First,theSchwartzTheoryof
BasicValuesshallbeusedtoknowwhatvaluesareprojectedbythemusicvideos,tocategorizethe
musicvideos.ShalomSchwartzdefinesavalueaswhatushumansholdasimportantinlife.These
aretheconceptsbywhichwebaseourdecisionsdaytoday.(Schwartz,2012)Hegivesaninventoryof
tenvaluesandtheirindicators:
1.Selfdirectioncreativity,freedom,choosingowngoals,curiosity,independence
2.Stimulationavaried,excitinglifebeingdaring
3.Hedonismpleasure,enjoyment,selfindulgence
4.Achievementambitiousness,success,capability,influence
5.Powerauthority,wealth,socialpower
6.Securitysocialorder,familysecurity,reciprocationoffavors
7.Conformityobedience,selfdiscipline,politeness
8.Traditionrespectfortradition,humility,devoutness,acceptance
9.Benevolencehelpfulness,honesty,forgiveness,responsibility,loyalty,ftruefriendship,maturelove
10.Universalismunitywithnature,wisdom,protectingtheenvironment,worldpeace

SeveralsurveysincludingtheWorldValuesSurvey(WVS),thePortraitValuesQuestionnaire
(PVQ)andtheSchwartzValueScale(SVS)areusedtomeasurevalues,allofwhicharebasedonthe
SchwartzBasicValues.Theseinstrumentsaimtofindoutwhichofthetenvaluesanindividualgives
moreimportanceto.
Assuch,thisstudyshallfocusonthevaluesprojectedbythemaincharacterofthemusicvideo
andthepeoplewhointeractwiththemaincharacterfrequently.Thesevaluescouldberepresented
througha.)thelyricsofthesong,b.)thevisuals(clothing,setting,etc.)andc.)thesettingandplotof
theactualvideo.However,theresearcherwillnotonlylookatthepositivepresenceofthevalues,but
alsothenegativeportrayalofthevalues.Forexampleprotectingtheenvironment(anindicatorof
universalism)couldbeportrayedasagoodthinginonemusicvideoandthenanothermusicvideo,it
couldbedepictedasnegativebythemainartistdestroyingtheenvironment.Thisisonewayto

ascertainthechangesinthemannerbywhichvaluesareportrayed.Theresearcherwillalsolookatthe
situationsassociatedwitheachvalue.Thesecouldbeseeninthesettingandplotineachmusicvideo.
FramingTheoryshallthenbeusedtoexplicatethemannerbywhichthesevaluesareportrayed
inthemusicvideos.Theresearchershalllookintowhichvaluesarehighlightedoverothers,whichare
givenmoreimportancethanothers,and
Thelaststageofanalysisshallbetheinterpretivestage,orsociologicalinterpretation.This
shallcatertothelastobjectiveofthisstudyexplicatingthechangesinvaluesthatthemusicvideos
project.Tobeabletodothis,datafromthepreviousstagesofanalysisshallbecrossreferencedwith
historicalrecordsfromthedecadespast.Thisshallbedonetoexplainwhythedepictionsand
portrayalsofthevaluesvarythroughhistoricalandsocietalcontext.

Fig.1Sociologicaldiscourse,TheoryofBasicValuesandFramingTheoryintegrated

ResearchDesign
Thisstudywillutilizequalitativeandquantitativemethodologies.Theresearcherwilldo
contentandtextualanalysisof105musicvideosthetop3musicvideosfrom1980to2015.The
informationregardingtherankingofmusicvideosperyearwillbeacquiredfromMTVPhilippinesand
MYXPhilippines.Toaddtothis,acontentandtextualanalysisofhistoricalrecordsandanecdoteswill
alsobedonetobeabletocrossreferencethedatafromthemusicvideostoreallifeevents.
Tobeabletoidentifythevaluesineachmusicvideo,achecklistprovidedbytheWVSshallbe
used.ExamplesofthestatementsgivenbytheWVSinclude:Itisimportantforthispersontohelpthe
peoplenearbytocarefortheirwellbeing.Thisisastatementforthevaluebenevolence.These
statementsprovidedbytheWVSwillbeusedasmorespecificindicatorsofthevalues,complementing
thebasicindicatorsprovidedbySchwartzinhistheory.However,theresearcherwillonlystudythe
dominantvaluespermusicvideo.Tobeabletodothis,contentanalysisshallbeusedtodetermine
whichvaluesappearmorethanothers.Toreducearbitrarinessofselectinganddifferentiatingbetween
eachvalue,threecodersshallcodethesamemusicvideoatthesametime.
Todescribeandascertainhowthevalueswereportrayedinthemusicvideosandhowthey
change,theresearcherwilllookatthemaincharacterofthemusicvideo.Thisisbasedonthe
Frameworkmodelwhichlooksintotheindividual,andnotintomediatextsperse.Theportrayalswill
beseeninthecharactersactions,thelyricsofthesong,thepersonalitiesprojectedbythecharacters,
andthevisualsettingwhichincludeswardrobeandsetting.Thesewillbetrackedbyhowtheychange
every5years.

Bibliography
Akaah,I.P.,&Lund,D.(1994).Theinfluenceofpersonalandorganizationalvaluesonmarketing
professionals'ethicalbehavior.
JournalofBusinessEthics,13
(6),417.Retrievedfrom
http://search.proquest.com/docview/198009453?accountid=47253

Alexander,K.M.(2006).Valuesbasedleadership:practicesinoccupationaltherapy.
Proquest
InformationandLearningCompany.
RetrievedonApril21,2015from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/304920567/9A7441FF24C44E33PQ/7?accountid=47253

Alexander,S.(1999).Thegenderroleparadoxinyouthculture:ananalysisofwomeninmusicvideos.
MichiganSociologicalReview
13,4464.RetrievedonApril20,2015from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40969035

AmericanAcademyofPediatrics(2009).
Policystatementimpactofmusic,musiclyrics,andmusic
videosonchildrenandyouth.
Pediatrics.
124(5)34.RetrievedonApril10,2015from
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/124/5/1488.full.pdf+html

AmericanAcademyofChildandAdolescentPsychiatry.(2008).Theinfluenceofmusicandmusic
videos.
Factsforfamilies
40.12.RetrievedonApril9,2015from
http://www.aacap.org/App_Themes/AACAP/docs/facts_for_families/40_the_influence_of_mus
ic_and_music_videos.pdf

Bernard,M.,Maio,G.R.,Olson,J.M.(2003).Effectsofintrospectionaboutreasonsforvalues:
extendingresearchonvaluesastruisms.
Socialcognition.
21(1)16.RetrievedonApril21,
2015from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/229662818/abstract/9A7441FF24C44E33PQ/3?accountid=
47253

Brewer,C.B.(1995).Musicandlearning:integratingmusicintheclassroom.RetrievedonApril5,
2015from
http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/strategies/topics/Arts%20in%20Education/brewer.ht
m

DuRant,etal.(1998).Aggressorsorvictims:genderandraceinmusicvideoviolence.
Pediatrics4(1).
669674.RetrievedonApril9,2015from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/228330081/56CDBB7AC1C44D1PQ/6?accountid=47253

Fitts,M.(2008).Dropitlikeit'shot:cultureindustrylaborersandtheirperspectivesonrapmusic
production.
Meridians,
8(1),1.RetrievedonApril20,2015from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40338918

Hansen,C.H.,Hansen,R.D.(1988).Howrockmusicvideoscanchangewhatisseenwhenboymeets
girl:primingstereotypicappraisalofsocialinteractions.
SexRoles
19(5/6),1


Howell,R.T.(2014)Viralvalues:howdopersonalvaluesaffectbehavior?
PsychologyToday.
RetrievedonApril20,2015from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cantbuyhappiness/201406/viralvalueshowdoperso
nalvaluesaffectbehavior

Kalof,L.(1999).Theeffectsofgenderandmusicvideosimageryonsexualattitudes.
JSocPsychol.
139(3)378385.

Littlejohn,S.W.,&Foss,K.(2009).
EncyclopediaofCommunicationTheory.
NY:Sagepub.

Levande,M.(2008).Women,popmusicandpornography.
Meridians
8(1),1.RetrievedonApril20,
2015 from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40338921

Roberts,R.(1990).Sexasaweapon:feministrockmusicvideos.
NWSAJournal
2(1),1.

Roszkowski,M.J.etal.,(2014)ProfileofaresidentallearningcommunityonSchwartz'stypologyof
values.
JournalofServiceLearninginHigherEducation.
3,7.

Ruiz,J.R.(2009).Sociologicaldiscourseanalysis:methodsandlogic.
Forum Qualitative
Sozialforschung/Forum:QualitativeSocialResearch
,
10
(2).RetrievedonApril
1,
2015
from
http://www.qualitative research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1298/2882#gcit

Scally,R.(1997).Musicvideogetsbywithalittlehelpfromthecatalog.
DiscountStoreNews,36
(5),
3537.Retrievedfromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/228451433?accountid=47253

Schwartz,S.H.(2012).AnoverviewoftheSchwartzTheoryofBasicValues.OnlineReadings
in
PsychologyandCulture,2(1).RetrievedonMarch20,2015from
http://dx.doi.org/10.9707/23070919.1116

UniversityofSheffield.(n.d.)
WhatisDiscourseAnalysis?
RetrievedonApril1,2015from
https://sites.google.com/a/sheffield.ac.uk/allaboutlinguistics/branches/discourse
analysis/whatisdiscourseanalysis

Wetherill,R.R.,Neal,D.J.,&Fromme,K.(2010).Parents,peers,andsexualvaluesinfluencesexual
behaviorduringthetransitiontocollege.
ArchivesofSexualBehavior,39
(3),68294.
doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s1050800994768

YuanyuanZ.,DixonT.L.,Conrad,K.(2010).Femalebodyimageasafunctionofthemesinrapmusic
videos:acontentanalysis.
SexRoles
62(787),1.