The Imagery of Gender

I thought I would share my reflection paper with everyone. The music video I chose to analyze for gender stereotypes is titled About You Now. It is by the Sugababes. Here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPPgHlh1PVI
The most apparent pattern of behavior I saw in this video was the activity level for characters of each gender. The males in the video were much more active in their environment than the women. The main guy throughout the video was walking through the city, overcoming various obstacles. He climbed over traffic barriers and construction zone signs. He scaled dumpsters and dump trucks. Even one of the extras, a man throwing out the trash, was being more physically active than the women in the video. The main girl in the storyline of the video was walking through the same city, but when she came to the construction signs, she walked around them. The entire time, she was looking at her phone, trying to call the guy or waiting for him to call. Another woman on crutches was walking slowly and served only as another obstacle for the guy to get past. Even the three singers were not too active. They did not dance, so much as they moved from one stance to another along with the music. All of this imagery plays to the gender stereotype that men are active, conquerors of their environment and women are more passive, avoiding obstacles.
The lyrics of the song are basically an apology from one character to another. The couple had an argument, but one or possibly both of them have realized they said things they did not mean or did not think through. Now they are out on the town searching for each other. The way I interpreted the video after a couple of viewings, the apologetic lyrics fit both the male and the female. And both were searching for each other. However, the first time I watched it, I assumed the singers were acting as the voice for the female character in the video, simply because they were all women. If one does not analyze the lyrics, they can easily make these assumptions without giving it any more thought. The initial interpretation made me think the song was saying that the couple broke up because the girl overreacted about something, but now she was sorry. Unfortunately, it can end up sounding like a story about how girls are too emotional and responsible for any relationship troubles.
The intended message in the video is drawn from what I discovered after several viewings. The lyrics can be applied to either of the characters and many real-life people. Anybody is capable of overreacting or misconstruing a situation, male or female. And anybody is also capable of recognizing their mistake and apologizing for it or repairing the damage. The message is that we cannot “bring yesterday back around.” We must rectify our errors and then move on, instead of having too much pride to apologize. Also, it can be taken to mean that we should let the little things go. It is unfortunate that some couples fight about some of the most insignificant things as if they were the foundation of their relationship. Not only should we make amends for past arguments, but we should try to relax more. Do not worry about your boyfriend’s unhealthy eating habits or your girlfriend constantly texting or getting phone calls from her friends. Let go of things that are not important and remember your love for each other.
Other than the males being more active in the video than the females, it does not speak to any issues of power differences between men and women. Both characters seemed like relatable people. Other than my initial misinterpretation of the lyrics, there does not seem to be any unintentional messages in this video.
Let me know what you think.