International Love, the music video by Pitbull and Chris Brown, is a perfect example of the fantasy life dreamed of by many men, particularly in capitalistic societies. As successful celebrities, both Pitbull and Chris Brown have achieved this life, and in this video, they sing about the lives so many men would like to try out, at least for a period of time.
In this video, Pitbull and Chris Brown go on “whirlwind” travels around-the-world. They have unlimited money, ride around in the fanciest cars, wear the most expensive clothes, and attend all the night clubs everywhere they travel. In every country, they meet hordes of beautiful women who hang all over them and can’t wait to be with them, mainly because they are so rich and willing to spend their money. They live the life of international rock stars everywhere they go.
Women who throw themselves at Pitbull and Chris Brown in Romania even say, “You can have me and my sister!” In Lebanon, the women are blonde, and in Greece the women are “sweet.” But all around the world, the women in Miami, with their “heat,” are the best. In Colombia are some of the world’s most beautiful women. In Brazil, the women have “boobs with big cones–blue, yellow, and green.” All these women cost them a lot of money on credit cards, but for these guys, it’s no problem. Hey, it’s international love–a total men’s fantasy.
From New York to Miami, to Los Angeles, to Venezuela, they go “to countries and cities they can’t pronounce,” and “to places on the globe they didn’t know existed.” Like the songs about sailors of old having a woman in every port, these international rock stars have harems of women everyplace their airplanes fly. They don’t play football, but they “touch down” everywere; they don’t play baseball, but they “hit a home run” everywhere!
Girls’ and young women’s fantasies of celebrity culture are often just as extreme, although they dream of different details.
In the past, only kings could live this lifestyle and maintain harems; now, many ordinary youth dream of making it big in music or sports and living this sort of dream lifestyle.
The sad thing about celebrity culture is that these people are famous ONLY for looking good and/or having a lot of money, as well as for being singers and actors and actresses. They are the new heroes; they have replaced the heros of old who had to DO SOMETHING IMPORTANT AND WORTHWHILE to be considered a hero. Heroes of the previous generation had to climb Mt. Everest, invent the electric lightbulb or the polio vaccine, create the Green Revolution, or lead a nation to peace.
–Lynne Diligent
Intercultural Meanderings 