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Something felt really eerie when I watched the music video. I think you really explore that well, especially in this line, which I think hits the nail on the head:

'making such brazen gestures at the idea of “empowerment” in her videos, while simultaneously suggesting that such “empowerment” derives its ultimate value from its sexiness'

Maybe this is just me, but I also sense sort of sadness from Grande in the music video. It's almost like she's couched in this incredible team, this celebratory song, but there's a lot of complexity in her life that doesn't really have space to exist in the song & video.

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Hmm! I love how you point out the sadness. Ultimately it’s almost a portrait of a lonely woman! Like we never see who she’s singing to... she’s this unparalleled creature but also she’s just performing alone for the male gaze... I wonder if that’s part of the sadness!

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Jul 16, 2022Liked by Michelle Jia

I feel this. The only time I like Ari was when my brother and I listened to Dangerous Woman while he was driving us on a dark, two-lane country road high on mushrooms he thought had hit him from Colorado.

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Haha, true danger :-)

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