Born in Iran and raised in the Netherlands, singer Sevdaliza incorporates a lot of aspects of voyeurism in her lyrics and music videos, as well as unconscious drives and desires.
It all started when she read the sociology books her mother had stored, which included Freud.
It all started when she read the sociology books her mother had stored, which included Freud.
Her music video 'HUMAN', directed by Emmanuel Adjei, is a good example of voyeurism.
The music video is accompanied by the next text on Youtube:
"The basic human need to be watched was once satisfied by God. Now the same functionality can be replicated by man. This is the tale of a voyeuristic consumerism nightmare."
It shows Sevdaliza herself in a horse arena, dancing in the centre and being watched by different men, who have similar looks on their faces. Think of how the article of Otto Fenichel begins: "...When someones gazes intently at an object, we say that he 'devours it with his eyes'."
Part of the lyrics of the song is simple, it goes something like this: "...I am flesh, bones, I am skin, soul. I am human, nothing more than human."
I think her having animal legs, symbolizes her as an object made of flesh. Which explain the devouring gazes of different men who objectify her. It's also a statement of humans not being different from animals, because we are made from the same materials: flesh, bones, skin, soul.
The music video is accompanied by the next text on Youtube:
"The basic human need to be watched was once satisfied by God. Now the same functionality can be replicated by man. This is the tale of a voyeuristic consumerism nightmare."
It shows Sevdaliza herself in a horse arena, dancing in the centre and being watched by different men, who have similar looks on their faces. Think of how the article of Otto Fenichel begins: "...When someones gazes intently at an object, we say that he 'devours it with his eyes'."
Part of the lyrics of the song is simple, it goes something like this: "...I am flesh, bones, I am skin, soul. I am human, nothing more than human."
I think her having animal legs, symbolizes her as an object made of flesh. Which explain the devouring gazes of different men who objectify her. It's also a statement of humans not being different from animals, because we are made from the same materials: flesh, bones, skin, soul.
Her costume and her dance are inspired on the dance Debra Paget performs in 'The Indian Tomb' shown below. In this snake dance, there are other forms of voyeurism. Fenichel states in his article that the snake fascinates its victim in order to devour it. Ofcourse, according to Freud the snake eyes symbolize the penis.
Paget in this video has to perform a snake dance to try and fascinate the snake itself (starting from 1:10).
This being said, it looks as if Sevdaliza is the snake herself, and fascinates her victims, the men, in order to devour them. Concluding, the music video has different layers of meaning and makes total sense in a Freudian way of performing art, where Sevdaliza is not the objectified victim, but it's the other way around.
Are "Femmes fatales" strong women? Interesting discussion.
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