‘Thank u, next” is the biggest music video of 2018. Ariana Grande’s video broke numerous records for its immediate popularity and response within the first 24 hours of its release. It has collected over 100 million views in the first week and there are many reasons why, many pertaining to feminism.
Grande wrote the song after the large amount of publicity after her break up. The song, however, focuses on concepts so much larger than that. In the song, Grande focuses on the idea of learning from her breakups.
Usually, women in media are portrayed as weak, emotional and sensitive. This video breaks those stereotypes by displaying an array of strong women (Grande’s friends and many prominent actors), focusing on themselves, rather than the men they are supposed to please. Grande utilizes feminist theories by expressing her sexuality in the different scenes resembling many classic movies.
Regarding the video, which she was featured in, Jennifer Coolidge explains that when she was growing up there was no video like this one that taught women to “get over and move on” after breakups.
Grande’s rise to fame in general is parallel to the rise in feminism. She embodies, a strong, confident women expressing her thought, talents, and sexuality unapologetically.