Music Video
Directed by David LaChapelle, who previously directed the video for Dirrty, the video shows Aguilera, Kim and a dozen of their friends take on a gang of guys in New York's Lower East Side. The video was shot on a Los Angeles soundstage that depicts a 1980s Lower East Side neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City which features African-Americans and Puerto Ricans aside the whole neighborhood.
LaChapelle commented about the video:
"It's a real female empowerment song, so the girls are getting theirs". "Men objectify women all the time and it's no big deal, so this time the girl's doing it." "It's my ode to the '80s". "I love hip-hop and breakdancing and b-boys and fly girls and all that, and they're all represented. We have some amazing characters in the video and I think it looks pretty cool."
About Aguilera visuals in the video, LaChapelle commented: ""You saw 'Dirrty' right? We were calling it 'Dirrtier'". "No, I don't want to repeat myself. There's a lot going on. She looks hot. A good friend of mine, Jonas Akerlund, said Christina is the new Johnny Lydon, 'cause she doesn't give a f---. She does her own thing. There's not many people who don't have to ask their publicist if something's OK, and it's fun working with people like that."
In the video, Aguilera is seen walking into the street when a man grabs her bottom. She starts accusing him and singing the song while many other women join her and many neighborhood men join the man. It continues until Lil' Kim arrives and takes off her robe. They begin dancing and Aguilera leaves with a smile on her face. The video premiered on MTV in July 2003 and on BET's 106 & Park on August 22, 2003, as the "New Joint" of the day. A tribute to Michael Jackson and his moonwalk can also been seen in the video.
Read more about this topic: Can't Hold Us Down
Famous quotes containing the words music and/or video:
“Through music the passions enjoy themselves.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“We attempt to remember our collective American childhood, the way it was, but what we often remember is a combination of real past, pieces reshaped by bitterness and love, and, of course, the video past—the portrayals of family life on such television programs as “Leave it to Beaver” and “Father Knows Best” and all the rest.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)