Representation of females in We

are The In Crowds The Best

Thing (That Never Happened)
By Thomas Cutmore

Background on the band

We Are the In Crowdis an Americanpop punkband
fromPoughkeepsie, New York, formed in 2009. The band
consists of Taylor Jardine (vocals),Jordan Eckes(rhythm
guitar and vocals), Mike Ferri (bass),Rob
Chianelli(drums), Cameron Hurley (lead guitar and
vocals).
Their song The Best Thing (That Never Happened) is
from their latest released album Weird Kids which was
released in Feburary 2014, yet the song itself was first
released as a single in December 2013, which went on
to reach 29th place on the US Billboard 200 and 5th place
on the US Independent Albums at the time.

The representation of females in this

video
The music video has a strong support for females and is
anti male, which challenges the conventional idea in
music videos where women are objectified as sex
objects or pretty things to look at, and only be used
for that purpose. In We Are The In Crowds video, Taylor
is made to look attractive to the males eye, who may
see themselves as being able to dominate her in terms
of gender, but yet that is challenge as she is seen to be
stronger and smarter than the male in the music video.

Screenshots of the portrayal of

power and the challenging of the
conventional female role

However so the use of close ups in the

other scene (above) show Taylor as a pretty
female which is almost centred to be
looked at by the males, but in the next
scene after that, Taylor is seen to be driving
a big, angry Dodge muscle car, which
could conventionally be associated with
men in other music videos or media text.
This could then challenge the females role
of being a pretty thing to be looked at.

The representation of females in this

video
There are certain shots in the video where it could have a
voyeuristic reference in it, such as where Taylor goes to the back
of the car to open the boot, and the camera is set low down but
levelled on Taylors bum. This however is only a short cut and
Taylor redeems herself after this by overpowering the man in the
next set of scenes, such as where she makes him dig his own
grave while she watches.
The man who is tied up by the hands is also seen to fall out of the
boot instead of getting out, which could show her overpowering
role in the music video. Taylor is also seen to throw the shovel in
front of the man while he is on the floor, this as well emphasises
the fact that the female is in full control over the male.

Screenshots of the portrayal of

power and the challenging of the
conventional female role

The voyeuristic shot of Taylors rear.

Moves to

The introductory shot of the man.

The way he falls out of the boot

emphasises weakness of the male
gender.
Taylor throwing the shovel in front of the
man emphasises her dominance and power
in the music video.

Props and objects used to show

female power
As well as Taylor throwing the shovel down on the
ground in front of the man, she also holds a gun, which
although it is fake, it still represents the changing of the
power role of women and men as men are usually seen
as the gunmen in other media texts and music videos.
After Taylor has used this and spooked the man, it
shows that women can still hold power against males
and that men are not always the dominating or
oppressing gender over females.

Screenshots of props and objects

showing power.
The fake gun could show females are more
mature than men

The gun brings an imagery

of power

The challenging of the conventional

gender in media texts females over
males

The male has accepted her dominance and

her power over him is successful as he is
spooked, which challenges the conventional
idea of men being fearlessly strong

The use of camera angles and movements to

emphasise female dominance in the music video
The video has a lot of low angle shots on Taylor in the bands performance
scenes, and this camera angle is only really used on Taylor the most out of the
whole band as the rest of the band have mostly levelled shots of them, or their
instruments. This is used to mainly focus upon the female in the band, which
brings around a sense of power and dominance as the is the only female in the
band, and also the lead singer, who could be seen as the leading position in the
band. The cuts of the male band members compared to Taylors cuts are a lot
shorter, which also emphasises the leading role of females in the video
In the other scenes of the performance between her and the male, there are
still more close ups of Taylor, but when the camera turns to the man, there are
little shots when it is just him and not her somewhat in the shot. This could
show that Taylors role in this music video is vital as she is the reason for why
the male actor is in the situation he is in as he has done wrong and she is
punishing him for it, which therefore supports the idea of the Taylor holding the
power in the music video.

Screenshots of camera angles

emphasising and showing female
dominance

Through out the bands performance scenes

when the camera is focussing on Taylor, a
majority of the camera angles are low,
emphasising her role and her power in not
just the music video, but also in the band

Screenshots of camera angles

emphasising and showing female
dominance

When the music video turns to the other

male band members, the shots are yet low,
but only focus on their instruments (with an
exception of the drummer) most of the time,
and when ever it does show the face of the
male band member, it is only a very short
cut. This could show that the females role in
the video is dominating and stronger than
all of the males overall.

Viewpoints that could correlate to

this
Feminists could argue that this video backs up the idea
that women should overpower men and become equal
in all aspects and not be used and oppressed. Feminist
Dorothy Parker would argue that this could be seen as a
sign of women fighting back for their equal freedom
and that they are becoming more equal, or even
overpowering the males who used to dominate them.
Parker used a phrase "The first thing I do in the morning
is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue. This phrase
could be used with this video as Taylor is seen to be
sharp and powerful against the male.

Intertextual references
This music video could be linked to Eminems Love the Way You Lie
featuring Rhianna. This music video shows the opposite of EchoSmiths
portrayal of females and links to WATiCs more independent and
stronger female. Rhianna and Taylor are seen to be strong and pro
active, who are not afraid to show their power in who they are through
the power of their voices, which could go against other conventional
female singers in bands such as EchoSmiths Come Together, who
show Sydney in a more female and a more voyeuristic view more often.
WATiCs music video could also link to Tonight Alives Lonely Girl music
video in terms of how the lead singer is represented. The two singers;
Taylor and Jenna both follow a self respect rule in both of the music
videos, which emphasising more they are not showing themselves off,
i.e. no revealing clothing, and instead, following a more mature and
casual clothing choice.

Screenshots of intertextuality

There is a difference in how both

of the singers are represented;
Sydney is all glamoured and
wearing a lot of make up, where
as Taylor is wearing little make

Both Rhianna and Taylor ressemble

power in both of the music videos as
the two music videos both evolve
around the idea of females fighting
for their rights/against oppression
and standing strong against the

Screenshots of intertextuality

Both have a similar type of

dress for the two different
scenes, i.e. one with only
arms showing, and then more
suited up. However so these
two conventions go against
the idea of women wearing
little and showing off a lot,
which is used in many other