In Praise of Rihanna's "Man Down" Video
By David Hershkovits
Rihanna does it again! The pop siren is definitely not going goody two shoes on us with the video for her new single, "Man Down." Released on Tuesday, the video raised the wrath of several organizations, like The Parents Television Council, who usually speak out on such things. Unlike "S&M," her sexually explicit music video which was also controversial, "Man Down" is more nuanced. And not really that sexy at all. What's got people stirred up this time is that the video features the vigilante justice of a woman taking the law into her own hands after being raped by a man she meets in a club. It's a touchy subject that needs to be discussed. If Rihanna succeeds in getting people to talk about it -- without the sexist "She was asking for it" comment men hear more than women -- then she's accomplished something important. Apparently, in reaction to the arrest of IMF honcho Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French newspapers are now filled with reports of women coming forward with stories of rape and intimidation they were once too scared to bring up lest they be fired from their jobs or vilified in public. Rihanna is on point and we like it.
Your Comment
Posted at 2:17 on Jun 02, 2011
As a victim of rape I had to live with the taunting of my rapist. He was a police officer and threatened me and my family if I dare to speak. Kudos to Rihanna for opening this sensitive topic. I salute her and it is not Rihanna's responsibility to mother other people's kids. What's the difference with this music video and all those lifetime movies of victims shooting their accusers?
Posted at 2:53 on Jun 02, 2011
I love it !
Posted at 2:56 on Jun 02, 2011
I wish people would leave her alone. I love the video. People have been making videos with violence in them for years. But once Rihanna does it it's a big problem. This stuff happens all the time and if you don't want your child to see it then you should only let them watch videos on the Disney channel.
Posted at 2:57 on Jun 02, 2011
i thought a gal is allowed to experiment new thngz great video in my opinion
Posted at 2:58 on Jun 02, 2011
ok thats so stupid. she wasnt tyring to be sexy. all of you need to stop. im not even a rihanna fan and i kind of like this vid and song now chill your dicks and calm the fuk down its a nice vid
Posted at 2:58 on Jun 02, 2011
Fantastic
Posted at 3:06 on Jun 02, 2011
I think, due to her shear ability to highlight such a sensitive subject in such a crude way is why she is being so heavily critisised. Yet as someone who knows a friend who was raped i personally know the effect that rape can leave a woman. Severely damaged and intrinsically traumatised. Rihanna does an extraordinary job in showing parents of today's society that you cannot always protect your children from these things, but what you can do is educate them how to adapt to the atmosphere of the modern world.
Her portrayal as a 'vigilante' shows her to be a clear heroine and the story line fits to Aristotles poetics.
Posted at 3:13 on Jun 02, 2011
Shit vid! Very boring i was just waiting for it to end! Shit song too! Allow rihanna with her large forehead!!
Posted at 3:17 on Jun 02, 2011
love this song!!
Posted at 3:31 on Jun 02, 2011
Rihanna - you are a bold woman. Love her.
Posted at 4:36 on Jun 02, 2011
Agreed! What irritates me is the critics are completely ignoring the social significance of the video, especially with the IMF scandal, the sexual harassment of female Egyptian protesters, the Lybian rape victim, and the sexual abuse of women in the world. Rihanna's response on Twitter was completely on point; the video is reality and should be a means for parents to have conversation with both their sons and daughters about sexual assault. And from a music point, the video was completely a play on the lyrics of the song. Just as "S&M" video was about S&M because of the title of the song. No one can be surprised.
Posted at 4:43 on Jun 02, 2011
I am disappointed. The video is neither here nor there.The shooting should have occured during the struggle scene.The entire video is disjointed thematically.
Posted at 5:20 on Jun 02, 2011
Tripple Awesome 4 U Gal...
Posted at 6:19 on Jun 02, 2011
I love it and I love you rihanna
Posted at 8:22 on Jun 02, 2011
What's so wrong with this video? That's exactly what should happen to every rapist.
Posted at 10:32 on Jun 02, 2011
Well said. We've seen random and senseless violence in music videos of all genres all of the time. This was more like a mini Lifetime movie. Perhaps people also need to pay attention to lyrics and not just the imagery.
Posted at 10:49 on Jun 02, 2011
EXACTLY! An article with sense at last. They make it sound as if the man was her lover she killed.
That aside, what happened with PTC when hundreds of girls on a regular basis are shown been violated on TV??? So why now it was just ONE MAN, ONE SHOT....AGAIN ONE RAPISt. By the way,it was a regret song of her avenging herself.
Violence aside without condoning it, this topic needs to be raised a whole lot more and an artist finally did. BRAVO Rihanna!
Posted at 11:07 on Jun 03, 2011
well as we know, she may be bad, but she's perfectly good at it
Posted at 5:20 on Jun 03, 2011
Rihanna is so cold ... most of her fans are some little kids and if she has over 5 million twitter followers and only a couple of her close friends make comments how good this vid is ... well it says something is wrong.... the video is wrong Rihanna , you need to accept that you have responsibilities , if you dont need responsibilities then get out of the music business. Its the fans that make you make money show them some respect !!!! I hope more stations BAN this like Youtube !!!!
Posted at 5:34 on Jun 03, 2011
One other point Rihanna is only interested in making money and to everyone she is saying " get lost with your ideas and comments she dont care about you , about kids, just allow her to make money and ruin the kids minds ... that girl needs help check out her twitter page , telling the stupid kids to buy her music , always solicting , everyone wake up she is only interested in money from the fans , she has no respect for them !!!!
Posted at 4:54 on Jun 04, 2011
Two wrongs never make a right...
Posted at 5:38 on Jun 04, 2011
A victim too. Never sued anyone (cause it happenned to me 4 times)
This vid' helps me react to myself and helps my feelings to raise.
We'll have to fight more to make more guys and gouvernement realize it's a crime and a shame.
(the guys who did it to me, never ever realized there were something wrong, and no one adviced me to go to police..) Anyway !
THANK YOU RIHANNA