The Double Entendre behind Timbaland’s and Timberlake’s Carry Out

Samah Asfour

      The 2010s catchy and creative song “Carry Out”, by Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, evokes the idea of a heterosexual relationship between a stereotypical “playa” and his female clients. This video sends a very clear message surrounding sex and what men expect women to give them in a relationship like the one seen. Women serving men sexually is the stereotype that is being exploited in the music video and in the lyrics. The presumption that heterosexual women should act and behave in a promiscuous way towards heterosexual men is the internal message the singers are emphasizing.

                Dress in the main factor that helps create the stereotype surrounding this music video. The women are dressed in a very provocative way. They are made to wear very short dresses that show the majority of their bodies like a lot of their back side and their breasts are very visible as well. The heels and fish nets they have on are a symbol that relates these women to strippers. A stripper is a woman who serves men and I believe this was the image and stereotype they wanted to portray.   This is a deliberate attempt that makes the women seem inferior to the two guys. It not only degrades the women but it also makes them seem as though the main reason they are in the video is to serve the men, sexually, by fulfilling their fantasies. If the women were dressed in a very conservative way the idea of this stereotype would fall through and it wouldn’t look like the women are there for sexual purpose. In a particular scene the women are dressed in very skimpy maid outfits, this costume is a great example of how the stereotype created by these two men, effect s the women in the exact way the wanted.

In a specific scene Justin Timberlake is sitting on chair and two women are around him dancing. In is made to look like Justin is the king sitting on his throne and the girls are his maids that will obey his orders. This stereotype is very degrading because it makes it seem as though the women are inferior to the men. They make it appear as though the man is very dominate because it looks like he is controlling them and they will do whatever he wants just to please him and his desires.

The opening scene with the car has a very interesting implication. In this scene Justin and Timbaland are in a red car and two women just show up wearing very little clothing. Then we see the women start bending over and talking to the men through the car window. Body language is an extremely important aspect in this video because here the women’s bodies are open, almost in an inviting sense, and the guys look very stiff and their stance looks powerful, making them appear as though they are dominating and forceful. I believe this scene was set up like this on purpose so it looks like the women are the prostitutes. The act almost looks like they are negotiating on something, almost the way a pimp and a prostitute would. This scene is more evidence that helps prove the idea that this music video is sending; the stereotype around playa males.

                The lyrics have the most relevant meaning throughout this entire music video. The figurative meanings of the words are in fact two guys who are looking at getting some food at a fast food restaurant and they explore their different options. They mention very famous fast food quotes too like Burger King’s “have it your way”, and the lines like this convince the gullible listener that it is just something innocent that they are trying to play around with. However if you actual listen to the words simultaneously watching the music video one will realize that the literal meaning is something very sexual; encouraging the exploitation of women for the heterosexual male’s desire. The lyrics emphasize the idea of buying women and letting them know what those desires are because these prostitute will step up and give the guys what they want. When they talk about ‘not getting enough so they need a carry out’ and a ‘delivery sent home’ we come to the conclusion that there is an extremely obvious double entendre here, one that evokes the idea of male dominance and sexual aggression over compliant and passive females.

Setting a minor factor in the Carry Out music video but it has an important job in creating the sexual aura. To start off the lights were very bright and the back round was very dark; it almost appeared to be a strip club, thus relating to the idea of male dominance the playa stereotype has.

This music video is does a very good job getting their stereotype across using many factors that help send the message across clearly.

Brady Bunch

One cultural artifact that exhibits a typical stereotypic notion of a white family would be the “Brady Bunch” TV series. This classic television show took place in the 1960s. It had depicted the relatively normal life of a classic white American family with issues and concerns of the time. Social and racial identity can be seen throughout this television serious. Class is also integrated within their racial identity emphasizing that fact that these characters were your standard rich, white American family in the mid-sixties that did not associate with any black people. There is a distinction between a white family and how a black family lives.

          The suburban setting of this show exemplifies the definition of a typical white household. This idea is contrary to the black stereotype, which is believed to be in an urban setting with very poor living conditions. The Brady family had very nice material goods, modern to that time. The beautiful big house not only symbolized the American dream but it represented the desires of the white American family. Throughout the years the Brady family had many different cars as well, this helped establish their class level too. This show offered a very clear message, a message that did not allow black Americans to relate.
        The fact that they had a maid also insinuated a richer white family. The maid shed light on the fact that a rich white with a lot of kids should have a maid. The reason why the maid was white is the paradox of the message. One would assume that they would hire a maid of color, to facilitate the idea of social white supremacy; however I believe that the producers of the show wanted to incorporate the thought of change because it took place during the civil rights movement. They did not want to anger any person, nor did they want to cause controversy. So to presume the impression of white superiority they had to integrate other factors as to why they are what a normal white family should be like.
         The style of dress and clothing creates that sense of an upper white class family. They all have really nice clothes that were modern to their time. They were a very neat family that that did not look sloppy or messy. They fact that the producers also chose blonde girls is another stereotype that helps describe the white family, they all have blue eyes as well including the boys. The choice of blue eyes is yet another stereotype that defines the white family; it tries to separate them from normal brown eyed people. This also expresses the point of white supremacy, a stereotype that people have acquired, including white people, they believe that they are better than the colored because of shows like this; it plays on their desires to be supreme. ­­­­

          The Brady Bunch television series not only portrayed the definition of the modern white household, but it also helped create the image as well. The writers of this show started the concept on how a white family should act and be like. From there many other television shows have emulated the idea. Omi had stated the fact that the media and television are the factors that helped create these stereotypes for generations to come to follow.