In contrast to its bright colours and delicate appearance, the music video for Scene Queens 'Pretty in Pink' is just as aggressive and symbolic as the song itself, and its making a statement about the pressure that society places on women to conform to a rigid set of standards, and the serious strain that it puts upon ones mental health. When viewed initially, it looks like a performance video- Scene Queen makes direct eye contact with the camera/audience throughout the video, and its shot in a way that fits with the overall theme of this song and her music in general. But this video is also a 'narrative video'- with the story it tells and the meanings behind it. The artist herself plays a character, although its not so much a character then it is a representation of her specific experiences (and the experiences of so many other women) throughout her life and career.
One of the first shots in the video is of a vase of roses set to a bright pink backdrop. The specific use of white and pink roses is interesting because of the associated meaning- white roses tend to be used in conjuncture with purity, loyalty and innocence. And the pink roses are used to connotate meanings of appreciation, innocent love, femininity and elegance. The number of roses specifically shown is also interesting, for to give someone 10 roses means that the giver believes the reciepient is 'perfect' This bouquet is a perfect representation of the expectations placed upon women within our society- they have to be pure and innocent, feminine and elegant, appreciative and perfect- these are an impossible set of standards to meet, and yet society believes we should anyway.
The setting of the entire room is also comprised of various shades of pink, which represents how even before birth women are forced into one box, forced to wear and like this one colour, and are not given the freedom to choose for themselves.
The cut to the next scene highlights a sharp contrast to the ideals of perfection and femininity, as the artist is shown to be snorting glitter, a referential code to using cocaine. Even with this bold break away from the societal standars set, said standards are still clearly ingrained within her, as shown from the bright pink glitter, credit card and pills- even with such a drastic break from societal norms, the pressure to conform to ideals of women is still there.
The themes of the video are the representation of rebellion against the patriarchy and just how much damage to someones mental/physical health pernament conformity can do.
The camera angles/shots in this music video also lend to this idea, with the camera using a high angle shot in order to create the idea of looking down upon women. within this shot a hand is seen focing pills into her mouth, presumably to make her 'more comp[liant' with the demands of society.
The next shot cuts to the artist wrapping a pink feather boa around her neck, and then reffering to hanging herself. This lends into the overarching theme of rebellion against the patriarchy and the expectations of women, with her dead, she cant be forced to conform to societies standards. The mise-en-sene if important in regards to the themes in this video- everything is pink, from her clothes, to the walls, the deocrations,even the feather boa she uses to fake hang herself is pink. This could be used to represent just how constrictive forced femininity is. Women are forced to make themselves smaller, more feminine, more paletteable in order to exist in the same spaces as men, in order to be seen at all, even if it is just as a sexual object for men. The lighting is one more code that adds to the expectations of women- its warm, and inviting- just how women are expected to behave, no matter how aggrevise others are toward them.
During the chorus however, the defiance of the patriarchy become much more obvious in how the video has been filmed. Before the defiance was sutble, small ways in which women were expected to survive a system of power that oppressed them- but now its much more obvious, given the change in lighting, clothing and the setting of the video.
in contrast to the almost dollike scenery beforehand, during the chorus the background is much darker, destroyed and decayed- which could be a symbolic code for the decaying of womens mental health after being forced to perform for the sake of society. the lighting is darker, colder, and her outfit is less innocent feminine and more sexual feminine, with the corset and the ripped skirt representing how men see her. The cuts between the 'properly dressed' but acting out version of her and the 'sexual more authenitc' side of her raging in the hallway shows just how far shes been pushed throughout her life and her career.
The next scene shows her picking up and throwing away a childrens doll- this is important for establishing the overall themes of the video as it represents the rejection of one of the biggest things for women-motherhood and children. Women have often been reduced to just their ability to bear children, from being pressured to have children, otherwise being seen as selfish and immature, to women who can't have kids -wether due to fertility issues, being trans etc- are seen as 'not really women' because they don't have a uterus/haven't had kids. The act of throwing away the doll is the visible rejection of the notion that women are worthless without children, and that having children is their primary purpose.
The visual code of other hands 'helping' her take pills, and touching her hair etc could be symbolic for the idea that women's bodies are property, for men to do with as they please, no matter what the woman actually wants- it perpeptuates the idea that women's bodies will aways be subject to scrutinization, both by men and other women, wether it be tatoos, peircings, scars etc, people will always have the need to comment on women's bodies, which adds to the overall themes of lack of womens agency within this music video.
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