Cowboys, pop stars, pimps and players: themes in music videos

Television is something that is a part of the everyday lives of a majority of people in America. The content of what is on television can vary in nature from being positive to being negative. However, what people are exposed to through music videos, in particular, a very popular form of artistic expression, has not been thoroughly investigated. This study uses structural ritualization affect, gender schema theory, media and audience power theories, cultivation theory, agenda setting and framing theories, and (cognitive) social learning theory in order to investigate what people are actually exposed to by watching music videos, in particular, MTV, BET, and GAC.