Bieber Baby Bowling??

Justin’s Bieber’s video for the hit single, “Baby”, is a modern take on a classic teen scene from movies such as Grease. This new version does maintain the basic characteristics of such a scene: bowling alley, boys and girls on separate sides of the room while one guy looks longingly across the room at his love interest, and he then proceeds to chase her to and fro while displaying his amazing agility coordinating by jumping, dancing and swinging from any available fixtures. However, Bieber does give these scene the fresh new look of the millennium. Instead of the bright fluorescents of more traditional bowling alley scenes, “Baby” utilizes dark backdrops and strobe lights that make it look like more of a tame club scene than a bowling alley. The boy/girl interaction is a somewhat slight change from the traditional, as the female is bit aggressively adverse to Bieber’s advances, rather than coy and playful in turning down his advances, which might be more accurate of how teenagers interact in this age. The addition of a hip-hop verse from Ludacris and cameo appearances from Drake and Young Money lends Bieber a hip new “swag” that would not have been previously evident in earlier male pop singers, and can be attributed to the reverse crossover appeal that was originally enjoyed by Justin Timberlake. Altogether, Bieber’s “Baby” does not seem to fit neatly into a reality where teens usually meet and congregate through virtual spaces like Facebook and Twitter, it does bring a new fresh look at a goodie but oldie, the traditional bowling alley scene, minus the poodle skirts and leather jackets of course!