Plato versus Amy

Plato argues in Republic 3 that people should be spared the harsh details of reality, for Plato it was the reality of the gods. It was like Plato stated at the beginning of Republic 3, “These then, are the sorts of things which people should and should not hear about the gods from their earliest childhood, if they are to honour the gods and their parents, and to value their friendship with each other,” (Plato, 24). Nowadays the gods aren’t such a big influence as is the media. But Plato’s concept still stands…



The video is Britney Spears’ “If U Seek Amy,” and the video is basically a reference to sex. With the title working as a subliminal message, F-U-C-K-Me, it shows Britney in a whorehouse where she rises from the foot of a bed with the lyrics, “Oh baby, baby, have you seen Amy tonight? Is she in the bathroom? Is she smoking up outside?” Dressed all in black, revealing major cleavage and also wearing a pair of red pumps she begins to walk the room. The room reveals the people around either still in beds or the floors from what we are to perceive as the morning after. And not long after she breaks into the chorus of, “Love me, hate me, say what you want about me, but all of the boys and all of the girls are begging to If U Seek Amy.” This discourse of music, or art, is basically what Plato argues, to have this infest the minds of the youth, now becomes the mission of what we must censor from them. Because now sex becomes something kids don’t necessarily fear, but it still doesn’t help them truly understand what sexual intercourse means. Because now what flows in their minds is a plethora of imagery, it could either be a glamorizing vision of sex as something fun and wild, or make it appear as if sex is something that should be hidden from everyone around. As Britney spends the entire music video indoors, it isn’t until the very end that she welcomes the outside to her presence. Of course by now she is fully dressed in suburban attire and even accessorizing herself with a pie (an image of domesticity). This image could also make youths scared of sex in a sense, as some may interpret this video as imaging sex as something dirty, something to be hidden only because it is shameful. Plato I think touches on a subject similar to this in Republic 3 with this quote, “indeed the more poetic they are the less they should be heard by boys and men who must be free and fear slavery more than death, (Plato, 25). I don’t necessarily agree with this statement. Because to say that children are easily influenced by what they see is to say that they do not have minds of their own. And that simply is not true. This similar point of view is stated in the Time Magazine, Child Sexuality: Challenging the Taboos, this article discusses a journalist’s attempt to release a book that challenges parents who unnecessarily instill fear of sex in their children. “Levine, a journalist, argues that adults harm children by associating sex with danger--warning kids about pedophiles, for instance, but not acknowledging that children and teens are capable of a measure of sexual pleasure. Getting abducted by a stranger is a less likely danger for most children than the chance that a teenager will catch a sexually transmitted disease.” So therefore, talking to children and having them fear something instead of helping them understand it, proves to be even more hurtful than just watching the plain videos. For, even seen in the Britney video she shows two different sides to her, one of a sexual vixen and then one of domestic stereotype. So now youths are given two different images to choose, one of sexual “sinful” pleasure and then one of domestic “good, clean, fun” kind of pleasure. I believe that if parents are to talk to their kids about sex that maybe they should take a lesson from the popstars. In order to truly have kids understand sex, it cannot feared and it cannot be taken lightly, there needs to be morality instilled in it and children need access to it in the videos of today’s songs (to have a full image understanding of it). Because at the forefront of them listening, they need to feel trusted, they need to feel they have the liberty of making their own decision. Because ultimately they do have the final say…



This next clip shows the edited version of “If U Seek Amy,” now entitled, “If U See Amy.” This version hit radio stations across the United States, instead of the version found on the album. This version of the song does not highlight sexual intercourse instead it now sounds like an upbeat love song. Hiding away the harsh reality that is possible with sexual intercourse, the purpose now of hiding this from the youth, means that they will listen to their parents and they will (if the parents take the time to explain), understand that sex can be a choice, and it doesn’t have to end up in a whorehouse, or be a big secret that is hidden from the world, basically making defunct everything that could be interpreted from the actual song and video.

Works Cited
Spears, Britney. “If You Seek Amy.” BritneySpearsVEVO. 29 October 2009. Web. 7 February 2010.


“Winters, Rebecca.” Child Sexuality: Challenging the Taboos. 2002. Web. 7 February 2010.