The idea of sex has drastically changed from what it used to be 50 years ago. Originally sex was between a married couple and this way the only way sex was deemed acceptable. Generally, the married couple would have sex after the wedding like some couples still do now during the honeymoon. In the beginning of the 21st century, sex became just between two people who liked each other. They tended to be older but not always. The idea that sex was for a married couple was gone but the love for their partner was still there. Now the idea of sex is drastically different. Instead of it being between two people who love or care for each other, now it is just for people who feel like hooking up. The reason for having sex has changed as well. Instead of it being to have children or even because people love each other, now it is just for pleasure or for some its accomplishment. It has become a “hookup culture”. Basically, it is sex for the sake of sex. Normally after people have sex, they want nothing to do with the other person. The term has been coined a “one-night stand”.  In Maroon 5’s Love Somebody, scopophilia is used to illustrate the idea of hook up culture. 

The first scene where scopophilia illustrates the theme is when Adam Levine is first putting the paint on the woman (1:24-1:30). In this scene, the woman’s face is sexualized. First Adam reveals her lips, and then he reveals the rest of her face. His body language shows his sexualized viewing of her. He is slowly revealing her and does so in a sexual way. This is the same way the camera is looking at her and how the audience is supposed to see her. This scene represents the first part of hook-up culture, desire. Adam’s desire for her and for someone to hold. This idea of desire is the first part of the hook up culture. The two people have a desire for one another, but not because they care for each other. It is because they want to have sex with someone. This desire is what they want to appease through the “one-night stand”. 

In the next scene, where scopophilia illustrates the theme, Adam is touching the woman on the side and she’s touching him (1:58). Previously the sexualization of the female was shown by showing the woman’s face. Now in this scene the woman’s body is being sexualized. Once again it is apparent that she is being sexualized based on Adam Levine’s body language. He is getting really close to her body and he is touching her. The audience and the camera are meant to look at her the same way Adam does. They don’t show her face much just her body because that’s what is important. This scene represents action. This represents the act of the one-night stand or the actual hook up. This is the second part of the hook up culture. In the act, there is no love for one another only the desire that is still present from the first part. It is done almost like instinct.

In the final scene, where scopophilia illustrates the theme, Adam is wiping away the paint from the woman (3:22-3:50). Earlier in the music video, the sexualization of a female was made obvious by the close-up shots of a woman’s body. Now, this scene relates to scopophilia because it is the removal of the sexualization or objectification of the woman. She is disappearing with the paint and she is no longer being sexualized because the act is over. The final part of the hook up culture is completion. After the act is over, the two people go their separate ways and don’t talk to each other or form a relationship. In most cases though, this is not what the female in the relationship wants. They would rather have a relationship than just a one-night stand. The wiping away of the paint represents Adam forgetting about her and the act. She is gone and so is he by the end. Finally, there is nothing left at all and it’s like it never happened. 

In this music video, the three parts of hook up culture were shown and explained. They were: Desire, Action, Completion. Desire is the idea that two people have desire for each other. Basically they want to have sex with each other but they don’t care about each other. Scopophilia illustrates this idea when the music video shows Adam slowly revealing the woman. He is sexualizing her like he desires her. Action is the act of the one-night stand or the meaningless sex. Scopophlia illustrates hookup culture when Adam is touching her inappropriately as he reveals her with the paint. She is sexualized through this scene. We never see her face so she isn’t supposed to have an identity. It’s only about Adam and basically her body. Completion is when the act is over and they both forget about each other because everything that they did was meaningless. Both of them are wiped away when the paint disappears. Scopophilia illustrates hook up culture when they are being wiped away. Instead of it being about sexualizing the woman it’s about removing her and the sexualizing from the scene. She is gone and out of sight. The sexualization is gone but so is she. Overall the sexualization of the woman throughout the music video shows different parts of her being sexualized and it contributes to what hook up culture is. 