Release the Dogs: Pitbulls as Companions and Their Intra-Active Agency in Finnish Rap Music Videos

What is it about?

Finnish rap music videos release pitbulls from dogfighting pits and reveal agency of dogs. Dogs hold a special place at the heart of hip hop culture and they are featured in artist names, lyrics and music video imagery. Especially pitbulls appear to be the most common and respected dog breed in the hip hop scene. US hip hop culture has cherished pitbulls and dogfighting, and highlighted the aggressive image of pitbulls. As hip hop has spread across the world, pitbulls and the cultural imagery and meanings they carry have traveled as part of globalized culture. This article studies pitbulls’ agency in seven Finnish rap music videos. In some of the videos, the dogs are made to perform threat, while the other videos releases pitbulls from their threatening reputation as a breed and affords more space for their agency as dogs, individuals, and companions. Unlike in US rap videos, dogfighting references are absent from the Finnish videos. The agency of the pitbulls in the videos reveals the anthropocentrism and limited stereotypical representations of the breed, which the material dogs do not fully submit to.

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