Maroon 5: From "Masculine" to Monogamy?

            When I think of Maroon 5, particularly front man, Adam Levine, I conjure up the image of People’s 2013 Sexiest Man Alive. Known for his signature pretty boy face and tattoo-clad arms, Levine’s almost paradoxical appearance lures all female demographics: from the young elementary school girl to the middle-aged mother. As someone who grew up with Maroon 5 I’ve seen the band go from an up-and-coming pop band to a hit sensation; I’ve therefore also seen Levine go from just another musician trying to make it in the business to a sex symbol.

            With this in mind, and the rooted parasocial relationship I feel I have with Maroon 5 (stemming from around age eight), I thought it was interesting to consider their new music video for their song “Sugar” and its comparison to one of their first music videos for “She Will Be Loved.” To be honest, when I was younger I didn’t get the narrative of “She Will Be Loved”; I was drawn to the risqué and suggestive sex scenes of one of my favorite bands. However, after watching it years later, I finally understand that it follows a narrative style, telling the unfortunate love story of Levine and a young girl juxtaposed with the abusive relationship between the girl’s mother and father. Levine’s character, however, is infatuated with his girlfriend’s mother and ends up having an affair with her. The video concludes with the daughter discovering the outlandish infidelity.

When we look at their most recent video “Sugar” the tone is completely different. The plot is modeled after the movie Wedding Crashers with it beginning with Levine saying, “It’s December 6, 2014. We’re going to drive across LA and hit every wedding we possibly can. It’s going to be awesome.” Based in reality, the band did just what they set out to do; they hop into their old-fashioned convertible and surprise recently married couples.

            Certainly the videos differ in a variety of ways; however, they share a theme, romance and love. With this in mind, it’s interesting to consider how the videos take divergent approaches, and how society tends to accept them both as aesthetically interesting. The “She Will Be Loved” video approaches love and romance through dysfunction; ostensibly, Levine and the mother were not “supposed” to end up together. By contrast, the “Sugar” video conveys a more prototypical image of love, by promoting the happily-ever-after ideology.

            Sure, these differences are obvious, so what makes the video contrast matter? Really, the contrast between the videos goes beyond just the divergent thematic approaches. Scholars have noticed a discrepancy in gendered portrayals in today’s media. Specifically, Janna L. Kim and her fellow researchers coined what they perceived as being a Heterosexual Script or, “the blueprint for societally sanctioned romantic and sexual interactions” (146), which they then analyzed along different dimensions.

            Using some of these dimensions as a basis, the differences between “She Will Be Loved” and “Sugar” become much more intriguing. I would argue that “She Will Be Loved” follows the Heterosexual Script pretty literally: Levine is the sexual instigator, whereas the daughter and mother are merely taken by him; Levine acts as the savior of the helplessly abused mother; Levine is an infidel, struggling between his girlfriend and her mother; and finally, his womanizer tendencies are inherently a byproduct of his heterosexual tendencies. On the other hand, “Sugar,” I’m contending, diverges from the Heterosexual Script. Certainly, all of the couples shown in the video are heterosexual (something I thought the director and Levine ought to have considered especially considering his endorsement of same-sex marriage), which adheres to the Heterosexual Script’s idea of male-oriented homophobia; however, along the other dimensions I found that the video departed from the Script. The video actively promotes monogamy and marriage, and the newly married husbands and wives are seemingly positioned as equals: equally excited by the unexpected performance and equally in love.

            So then, is this a new Maroon 5? Did Levine’s recent marriage instigate a change in the band’s approach to videography? Will the popular pop band continue to stray away from the hypersexual version of the Heterosexual Script, which they once actively employed, and opt for a newfound promotion of equity and commitment? The answer: who knows. What I can say is that as someone who grew up a Maroon 5 fan, thus seeking out their music videos from a young age, I certainly hope so. There’s such a value in indoctrinating children with positive images of relationships from a young age. Rather than furthering this Heterosexual Script, which positions males as more powerful and unable to commit (or in the case of the “She Will Be Loved” video, as infidels and abusers), I would hope that my kids are taught that relationships can be productive, can be positive, and are endorsed by the musicians that they esteem.

References:

Kim, J. L., Sorsoli, C. L., Collins, K., Zylbergold, B. A., Schooler, D., & Tolman, D. L. (2007). From sex to sexuality: Exposing the heterosexual script on primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research, 44(2), 145-157. doi: 10.1080/00224490701263660