The music video director Diane Martel died on Thursday, September 18, in New York, her household instructed Rolling Stone. “Diane handed away peacefully at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital—surrounded by family and friends—after an extended battle with breast most cancers,” the household stated. “She is survived by her aunt, Gail Merrifield Papp (spouse of Joseph Papp, founding father of the Public Theatre), her three beloved, loyal cats (Poki, PopPop, PomPom), and lots of loving lifetime mates.” Martel was 63 years previous.
Martel directed her first music video, for Onyx’s “Throw Ya Gunz,” in 1992. She continued to work primarily within the hip-hop world, filming Technique Man’s “Bring the Pain,” Gang Starr’s “Mass Appeal,” and extra. She additionally did lots of movies for Mariah Carey, together with “Dreamlover,” “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” and “Whenever You Call.” Martel continued to work steadily within the 2000s, collaborating with Clipse, Jennifer Lopez, the Killers, Britney Spears, Franz Ferdinand, Ne-Yo, and others.
Martel started the 2010s with movies for Beyoncé’s “Best Thing I Never Had,” Alicia Keys’ “Brand New Me,” and extra. It was 2013, nevertheless, that turned her right into a family identify, because of her headline-grabbing music movies for Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop.”
The “Blurred Strains” video starred Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and T.I. with fashions Emily Ratajkowski, Elle Evans, and Jessi M’Bengue. The minimalist video featured the lads and the fashions dancing in entrance of a white background, and Martel defined the overall idea to Grantland in a 2013 interview: “Robin requested me to make a white cyc video. I heard the music and beloved it. Right here was a possibility to check out a few of my concepts about gross sales and craft working in unison.”
“I needed to cope with the misogynist, humorous lyrics in a means the place the women have been going to overpower the lads,” Martel continued. “Have a look at Emily Ratajkowski’s efficiency; it’s very, very humorous and subtly ridiculing. That’s what’s recent to me. It additionally forces the lads to really feel playful and under no circumstances like predators. I directed the women to look into the digital camera, that is very intentional they usually do it more often than not; they’re within the energy place.”
Regardless of Martel’s intentions, the video was extensively seen as sexist and misogynistic, with many seeing the ladies as being objectified by the three male artists. (The music’s lyrics have been additionally seen as “rapey,” as Williams said in reflection in 2019.) Not serving to issues was a second, unrated model of the “Blurred Strains” video during which the ladies have been largely bare.
