Don’t worry, I’m not going to mention “Twilight,” but the book series phenomena has served as the launching pad for what the popular culture industry is selling the most now — paranormal erotica.
The creatures that left us terrified as children now contribute to our sexual charge. How did that happen?
The paranormal fad shows either that people are becoming kinkier or that they are just more open to expressing it now.
Kanye West poses, “Tell me what’s next, alien sex?” Apparently so. In an interview, Katy Perry recalls that the inspiration of her song “E.T.,” featuring Kanye West, lies in her fantasy of a hot, super(nova) lover who has an ultimate other-worldly power. As usual, Kanye bosses “I’ma disrobe you, then I’ma probe you/ See I abducted you, so I tell ya what to do.”
Perhaps this song is so popular because women have similar ideas about their ideal man. Gentlemen, us ladies have cosmic standards now, and you guys can’t meet them. It’s not us; it’s your male DNA. So, so sorry.
And if aliens are going to be mentioned, Lady Gaga’s music video for “Born This Way” must also be brought up. From the beginning, it’s not clear if the video is supposed to be sexy as it starts with her thrusting out slime and, later, a large gun from between her legs. The “manifesto” of Mother Monster takes place on G.O.A.T — a Government Owned Alien Territory in space where “a birth of magnificent and magical proportions took place.” Through the rest of the video she continues to suggestively rub, walk, contort, slither and twist (as to be expected from Gaga), making this music video out of this world.
Kanye West’s song “Monster,” the third single from his No. 1 hit album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” sexualizes, eroticizes and fetishizes the idea of a threatening and dangerous creature. From the beginning, Rick Ross raps, “B-tch, I’m a monster, no good blood sucker/ Fat muthaf-cker, now look who’s in trouble/ As you run through my jungle all you hear is rumbles.” The rest of the song instills a sense of power and control through the violence of a monstrous force. The monsters mentioned in the song, (Sasquatch, Loch Ness, goblins, ghouls, zombies), are accredited by acting “with no conscience.” In the music video, the women are either evil, cannibalizing demons or mutilated corpses. Both, of course, clad in lingerie. So, the women are eroticized through their disfigurement and death or through their portrayal as sexy, animalistic savages. Nicki Minaj sneaks in to let us know she’s craving some brain food (literally).
The prevalence of paranormal erotica in music continues with Shakira’s song “She-Wolf” (she howls to her audience, “Darling, is it no joke, this is lycanthropy/… My body’s craving, so feed the hungry”) and Lady Gaga’s other song, “Monster.”
The music industry is currently relying on the shock value and glamorization of fabled and galactic figures to boost sales. After research, I wonder if I will also find myself daydreaming about dinner dates and movie nights with destructive demons. Wait, this might explain a lot …
Reach the columnist at mgrichar@asu.edu
