ludaverse + obesiverse = phat !

I brought up a video in another post that I thought was "cute" the first time I saw it because there were some really sexy looking plus sized dancers who play a much larger than usual part in the music video.

When I link to the Ludacris video "Get Back" in the other post, I was moved to do a little research on it, and also moved to give my interpretation of the role that the plus sized women play and how it is my opinion that they portray a more positive role than negative.

When watching the video, 5 plus sized women of different sizes are featured in the context of body guards, and they escort Ludacris down a street that is obviously messed up from a "hero vs. villain" type of conflict, and lined with people on both sides who have been spectators in the conflict. The over-all theme of the song "Get Back" involves conflict, and to put it politely, a "get out my face" attitude towards the other party in the conflict. This conflict is hinted at by small references within the lyrics of the song, but it is not my intention to become enthralled with that particular conflict.

When I re-visited the video and the lyrics, I started to see how ironic it is that this song has a central theme that is easy to morph into whatever you feel is your own personal struggle. Part of what makes Ludacris such a successful artist is in the way he can relate personally to his audience and provide them with an opportunity to do the same. Many of his songs portray a strength and an overwhelming ability to deal with personal adversity and overcome the odds to succeed.

When I watch the video, there is an obvious visual element of exaggeration being used, the first hint is the oversize hands and forearms of the artist meant to inspire a comic book sense of strength. When the five voluptuous female body guards appear, it is almost necessary for them to be "larger than life" because they are also a metaphor for physical strength. It is nice, for once, to see a larger woman portrayed as strong and powerful instead of coming across as helpless or a victim that needs to be cured or rescued from their condition. I linked to plus size yoga because when I did a google search for "plus size women of strength" I had to get to the middle of page 2 before plus size and strength was not being talked about in the context of selling plus sized clothing! Not good! It is good that there was at least one site that made reference to plus size and strength of the person, not what they're wearing to work out and lose those pounds!

When I dig deeper, I have to find out by seeing a "other videos directed by" link that lets me know that the video is directed by Spike Jonze, who is also credited as the co-creator of MTV's "Jackass". It's interested that the crew of Jackass had one plus sized male member who would revel in the spectacle of his visual presence and willingly provide himself in various schemes of extreme visual "performance art" so to speak. In one sequel to the Jackass movie, a super size female model is shown jumping onto a little person, providing the extreme spectacle of a very large person coming down on a very little person. In that particular case, I have to put that whole visual in the category of extreme visual art simply because it didn't show intent to ridicule either the supersize individual or the little person, but instead used the extreme nature of the premise (crushing) to provide the visual spectacle and the humor. In this way, it made that stunt deeper than a "fat joke" and instead used the visual vehicle of fat to solicit a reaction in relation to extremes rather than simply making fun of how fat someone is or what their body looks like.

When looking back at the vast collection of his work, I can see where this director is comfortable using extreme images that attempt to distract but end up being an integral part of the work as a whole. Even a more serious artistic endeavor would contain examples of this exaggerated and sometimes distorted imagery. Because of his use of size to indicate strength in the "Get Back" video, and because that role was given to a group of females, I have to come to the conclusion that Mr. Jonze is simply skilled in the use of metaphor and surreal imagery to create a comical theme that still contains serious undertones. When watching the women in the video, I get the cerebral feeling that even though he is using size to create visual affect and draw reaction, he's still on the positive spectrum of the balance because of the simple association between size and power. Because the dancers in the video caused one link to the obesiverse, and the director has been involved with projects that feature super size people in the past, this has created a secondary point of relevance to show how powerful the use of size in media is and how people from all disciplines of media are tempted to use it. I know some people might disagree with the dancers being good or bad for size acceptance, but in my personal opinion, there is more good than bad there.

Besides all of the serious commentary, I have to risk my credibility as a true fat admirer by putting my reputation on the line in saying those are real plus sized women instead of professional skinny dancers made to look like big women. I also have to say that they are looking pretty good, and at different times in the video even Ludacris is enjoying the experience of dancing with and getting close to a hot sexy plus sized woman.

While I can't imagine this particular song being any kind of "size acceptance anthem", I still think that the mood, energy, and some of the lyrical content can be easily related to the size acceptance struggle, and the simple desire of people of size to have a right to exist and be allowed to make their own decisions about what they eat, how much, and what size they happen to be in the moment. When I read the lyrics I can imagine the narrator of the song speaking to the diet and bariatric industries, telling them to "get back" and stop getting in their face trying to sell them cures that never work.

Lyrics to the song below, I know that the real conflict within the song is not relevant to size acceptance, but there is a conflict, a struggle to cope, and an hope for a positive resolution. I really like the "you don't know me like that" line because it is so parallel to the struggle of someone who is obese and being pressured to change themselves but cannot with the inadequate "solutions" being provided at the moment. What's worse is in the way that the very people who are screaming the loudest about "curing obesity" are the ones who have never offered a solution that works for everyone without hurting or even killing anyone in the process. I know it keeps coming up, but the paradox of killing people "for their health" still gets me every time I think about it.

[Intro]
Heads Up! Heads Up! Here's another one.. and a.. and a.. another one.

[Chorus]
(Yeek-Yeek Woop-Woop) Why you all in my ear? Talkin' a whole bunch a shit that I ain't tryin to hear.
Get Back! Motherfucker You don't know me like that.
Get back! Motherfucker You don't know me like that!
(Yeek-Yeek Woop-Woop) I ain't playin' around.. Make one false move, I'll take you down.
Get back! Motherfucker You don't know me like that.
Get back! Motherfucker You don't know me like that!

[Verse 1]
So, so, come on, come on. DON'T get swung on, swung on. It's the knick-knack-patty-whack still riding cadillacs. Family
off the streets, made my homies put the baggies back. (Whoo!) Still snaggin' plaques (yep), still action-packed (yep), and
dope.. i keep it flippin' like acrobats. That's why I pack a mack, that'll crack a back, cause on my waist, there's more
heat than the shaq-attack! But I ain't speakin' about ballin', jus' thinkin' about brawlin' 'til y'all start ballin'. We
all in together now, birds of the feather now, jus' bought a plane so we change in the weather now. So put your brakes on,
cats put your capes on, and knock off your block, get dropped, and have your face blown. Cause I'll prove it, scratch off
the music, like hey little stupid, don't make me looose it!

[Chorus]

[Verse 2]
I came (I came), I saw (I saw), I hit him right dead in the jaw (in the jaw). [x4]

See I caught him with a right hook, caught him with a jab, caught him with an upper cut, kicked him in his ass. Sent him
on his way cause I ain't for that talk, and no trips to the county.. I ain't for that walk! We split like 2 pins at the
end of a lane, we'll knock out your spotlight and put end to your fame. Holding DTP pinned at the end of yo' chain, and put
the booty of a swish at the end of a flaamme.

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
Hey, you want WHAT with me?! I'm gonna tell you one time, don't FUCK with me! Get down! Beat his ass.. ain't got nothin'
to lose, and i'm havin a bad day, don't make me take it out on you! [x2]

Maann, cause I don't wanna do that. I wanna have a good time and enjoy my Jack.. sit back and watch some women get drunk
as hell, so I can wake up in the morning with a story to tell. I know it's been a little while since I've been out the
house, but now I'm here.. you wanna stand around runnin' yo' mouth? I can't hear nothing you sayin' or spittin', so what's
up? Don't you see we in the club?, man shut the fuck up!

[Chorus]

[Outro]
Ah! We in the red light district!
Ah! We in the red light district!
Whoo! We in the red light district!
Ah! We in the red light district!
Whoo! We in the red light district!
Whoo! The red light district!
Whoo! The red light district..
Ah! The red light district..