Entertainment

6 questions about Sabrina Carpenter's album

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It sometimes seems like Sabrina only thinks about sex, but even in Sabrina's life, steamy situations are preceded or followed by unstable relationships, sexual frustrations, and shitty breakups. Oh, and of course about how men treat women like dogs. Obviously, recognizable situations that would occur in your therapy session, but then dressed in a sexy outfit and stuffed into high heels.

1. why was the man’s bestfriend album cover so controversial?

That Sabrina writes about sex as if she is in a Naked Gun comedy film, her fans have known for a long time. But the joke in her album cover was even one step too far for internet standards. Here she is on all fours, while a man holds her hair like a leash. This bomb of a photo hit hard and caused an avalanche of discussions. It would send us women “fifty years back in time,” and we would be tired of “themes that portray women as pets.”.

Some found it terrible, but others saw the humor in it. Like Whoopie Goldberg and Alyssa Farah Griffin in the talk show The View. “If you listen to her music, you know she is a feminist,” said Alyssa. “Everything is about women's emancipation. Her latest song, Manchild, is literally about how useless men are and how they do everything to avoid growing up.”

I can attest to that. Anyone who listens to a few songs from her album Short ‘N Sweet, or especially her new song Manchild, can understand how it is after just a few lines. She writes about how dumb men are, how badly they treat her, and that they shouldn't cheat. Everything points to Sabrina constantly being busy humiliating and ridiculing men. So why would she suddenly become their lapdog?

Sabrina thought so too. Her response was simple: “Y’all need to get out more,” she said on the show CBS Mornings. In her eyes, it was perfect for what the album symbolizes; how you are emotionally kept on a leash and you beg for ‘treats’, aka the bare minimum. And honestly, I see it. She is on all fours and being pulled by her hair, which serves as a leash. She is literally the best friend of men, because she feels treated like a puppy that gets a treat when it gives a paw. And she doesn't agree with that either, but it's a journey people, it's a journey.

2. is the album feminist or just a glorification of the male gaze?

Let's be honest, Man’s Bestfriend is not a handbook of the Dolle Mina’s. In Tears and How Did You Get Hot she sings about, how do you guess, how handsome a man is and what secret fantasies she has. In House Tour she metaphorically writes about a tour of her house where the good listener can only deduce one thing. Or how would you: “I want you to come in my house and I want to be your hot tour guide” interpret otherwise?

But that doesn't mean she, as some thought, just says yes and amen to all those men. She actually sings a lot about all the things men do wrong. Sabrina is – I think like many of us – both. Emancipated but also a young woman who often falls in love with the wrong men. The lead single Manchild is about EVERYTHING that men do wrong and how stupid men always choose her. My Man on Willpower is about a friend who no longer saw her because of his obsession with self-improvement. “He used to be literally obsessed with me, I’m suddenly the least sought after girl in the land.” Sugar Talking is about a smooth man who only talks sultry, but secretly doesn't treat you well. In We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night a toxic, unstable relationship is central that everyone recognizes. Whether it's from your own memories or those of a friend. And the song Goodbye Sabrina says, as the title suggests, goodbye to all the men who treated her badly and broke up with her.

So, conclusion: no, this is not an album for the male gaze. I think men would run screaming, to the gym or some men's podcast where they can complain about everything women do. But is it feminist? Not necessarily, but it is certainly relatable.

3. what do all the jokes and metaphors mean?

Yes, those lyrics are hot. But what do they actually mean? Sabrina loves to use metaphors for her sexual jokes, and we've picked out the funniest for you:

“I get wet at the thought of you, being a responsible guy. Treating me like you’re supposed to do. Tears run down my thighs.”
– She is so not used to being treated well by men, that she gets excited by the smallest things a man does right.

“Baby, just do the dishes. I’ll give you what you want.”
– Just like the previous line: the least effort makes her happy.

“Could be John or Larry… Or the one that rhymes with villain if I’m feelin’ that way.”
– A sneaky reference to her exes and flings: John (Shawn), Larry (Barry), Josh and Dylan.

4. are the songs relatable?

Oh yes. If there is one thing that Man’s Bestfriend is, then it is being relatable. Sabrina writes about a broken heart, not feeling good enough, getting excited by anyone who comes close to your type, situationships that keep going on and off… Pff, name it and she sings about it. You have definitely experienced one of these situations.

5. which horror movie is the music video of tranen based?

The music video of Tears may be familiar to horror fans. Many of the outfits and characters are based on cs from 1975. Her starting outfit with hat and all was exactly like that of Janet Weiss. And Colman Domingo, who by the way steals the show in full drag, looks just like Frank-N-Furter.

Of course, there are also scenes reenacted: Janet getting startled in her white lingerie – exactly what Sabrina does when she is undressed by hands coming out of the wall. And her stage performance in lingerie is a clear nod to Janet.

6. why do men keep dying in Sabrina's music videos?

Just like almost everything Sabrina does, she wants to belittle men at all costs. And in the Sabrina Cinematic Universe (SCU), as Sabrina calls her music video world, men simply die. “In the SCU, women never die. Unfortunately, men are the ones who have to endure the loss.”

All her music videos since Espresso are connected by a common thread. In Espresso she gets arrested on the beach. In Please, please, please she is taken out of prison by her then-boyfriend Barry Keoghan, who is a criminal. She asks him not to disappoint her, and ends the music video with his mouth taped shut. In the version with Dolly Parton, we see the same man in the trunk of a car. That same car reappears in Manchild, where she hitches a ride with different men. At the end of that clip, she gets into a car, and we see it again in Tears. Here, surprisingly, no men are injured or mutilated, forcing Sabrina to kill her boyfriend with a stiletto at the end of the clip.

As Sabrina herself says: “It’s a thing, someone has to die every video. I’m sorry, we’ll always remember you tho.” A tragic death. For the tradition.