It’s all about the “It Girl” Pharrell Williams #GIRL
The “It Girl”
At the end of September, the highly gifted musician/ producer, Pharrell Williams released his new Pokémon-inspired video “It Girl” to the public.
As a fan of anime and Takashi Murakami, I thought Pharrell Williams’ “It Girl” video was really amazing. It portrays a lot of imagination and beauty, and is fun and exciting. However, I was disappointed when I read some of the comments below the video, as there were accusations of pedophilia. I found nothing of the sort. The problem is people have a tendency to over-sexualize everything. There was nothing sexual in the video whatsoever.
We are introduced to the character Yoshi, a vibrant beautiful young woman looking into the ocean. She is the “it girl”… the girl who inspires him. We see Pharrell as himself as art in motion, then he becomes animated into the video as a character. We see him as a colorful character, which implies that he and Yoshi are the characters of a video game.
We see Pharrell observing the story from afar as himself and not as the character.
Then we are back in the game! We see the interaction between the two characters within the game. Murakami did a phenomenal job creating an exciting interface. It brings the viewers into the game in every element.
Anime characters are always youthful in appearance. We live in such an oversexual society that people look at the characters as sexual, which is why they feel it is inappropriate. However, in reality, the video actually promotes the opposite. The character in this video is never sexualized. She is in a modest swimsuit; she is strong, fearless, adventurous, and has depth. Though she is slightly younger, she is full of wisdom. She has depth and I must say, her vision and perception is inspiring. It’s the way she sees the world that makes Pharrell’s character fall in love. She is always off into the distance observing the stars in the sky, and in deep thought.
She is led by her heart and the stars until their two worlds finally connect. And of course, he gives her the sun and the stars.
As seen in the photo the characters that usually would be the lead or garner attention, his character is not interested in. The “it girl” is modest and he fell in love with how she sees the world, rather than how flashy she is. This video is a far cry from “Blurred Lines” but music is about evolution. I can respect the way this video evolved.
So what did we learn from this video? It girls are those who stand out not because of how much they reveal but how they see the world. That being different is OK. Also, anime rocks!
Check it out!
