About
“Blurred Lines” is a song by R&B singer Robin Thicke with guest vocals by rapper T.I. and singer Pharrell, which known for its sexually explicit music video that has been the subject of remixes and parody videos on YouTube.
Origin
On March 15th, 2013, “Blurred Lines” was released as the lead single for Robin Thicke’s sixth studio album of the same name. Five days later on March 20th, the music video was released as both explicit[7] and edited (shown below) versions, featuring Thicke, T.I. and Pharrel flirting with scantily clad models Emily Ratajkowski, Jessi M’Bengue and Elle Evans.
Spread
On March 26th, 2013, Redditor WorkoutProblems submitted the explicit version of the video to the /r/Music[4] subreddit, receiving over 8,600 up votes and 1,600 comments in the first three months. On March 30th, the unedited version of the video was removed from YouTube for violating the site’s terms of service regarding content containing nudity in a sexual context.[2] On May 7th, the men’s interest blog GQ[3] published an interview with Thicke, who responded to allegations that the music video was degrading toward women:
“We tried to do everything that was taboo. Bestiality, drug injections, and everything that is completely derogatory towards women. Because all three of us are happily married with children, we were like, ’We’re the perfect guys to make fun of this.’ People say, ‘Hey, do you think this is degrading to women?’ I’m like, ‘Of course it is. What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman. I’ve never gotten to do that before. I’ve always respected women.’”
On May 12th, YouTuber Aja Dang uploaded a food-related parody of the Thicke video titled “#HungryGirl” (shown below, left). In one month, the video gained more than 530,000 views and 440 comments. On July 8th, YouTuber GarlicJacksonComedy uploaded a remix video featuring the opening sequence from the 1980s American comedy television show The Cosby Show with “Blurred Lines” dubbed over the background audio track (shown below, right).
On June 20th, Vimeo[5] user Ryan Rapaport uploaded a version of the explicit video edited with only shots featuring Ratajkowski. The following day, Redditor godsgimp submitted the Ratajkowski edit to the /r/videos[6] subreddit, where it accumulated upwards of 6,900 up votes and 880 comments in the next 19 days. On July 4th, YouTuber Laina Morris uploaded a Snapchat-related “Blurred Lines” parody (shown below), which gained over 180,000 views and 2,100 comments in the first week.
Controversy
On June 17th, 2013, The Daily Beast[1] published an article criticizing the song’s lyrics for being “creepy” and “trivializing consent” and the music video for treating women as sex objects. On June 26th, the women’s interest blog Jezebel[8] published an article condemning the “Blurred Lines” director for admitting the video was supposed to be “sublty ridiculing.”
Notable Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1]The Daily Beast – Blurred Lines Robin Thickes Summer Anthem is Kind of Rapey
[2]Gizmodo – YouTubes Naked Lady Problem
[3]GQ – Robin Thicke on That Banned Video
[4]Reddit – Wonder how long this will last before it gets pulled
[5]Vimeo – Blurred Lines Emily Ratajowski Edit
[6]Reddit – Guy I work with is slightly obsessed with Emily Ratajkowski
[7]Vimeo – Robin Thicke ft Pharrel and TI Blurred Lines Explicit
[8]Jezebel – Blurred Lines Director Meant the Video to be Subtly Ridiculing