Sabrina Carpenter's 'Manchild' Music Video is an Homage to Female Empowerment Cinema

Sabrina Carpenter is not only one of the biggest superstars of the pop world but also an artist so cheeky and fun that I think she could probably take over the world if she wanted. She's also a Phillies fan, which makes me very happy. The video for her latest single follows Carpenter on a visually rich road trip through the American West, where she leaves a string of comically inept men in her dust. Directed by Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia, the piece swaps the genre's traditional violence for witty satire, crafting a clever homage to female empowerment cinema where the ultimate payback is simply walking away.Let's dive in. Sabrina Carpenter's 'Manchild' Music VideoSabrina Carpenter's latest music video for her single "Manchild," released this morning and has ignited conversations not just for its catchy tune and scathing lyrics about immature men, but for its cinematic and arguably subversive visuals. It's one of those videos that has lived up to the pre-drop hype, and that has everyone on the internet sharing theories. Directed by Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia, the video presents a "crazy road trip" through the American West, where Carpenter encounters a series of inept and cartoonishly incompetent male companions. I think the visual language here is an homage to the female empowerment film genre. My main reason for thinking this is Carpenter trekking through the Old West, in an Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore or even Thelma and Louise vibes. We get her hitchhiking, like It Happened One Night, and while she meets a lot of guys, none of them have their acts together in a way that can support her or her dreams. In the video, we learn she's a woman wronged by men who takes control of her own destiny. But there's no violent revenge here, just a series of mishaps as she tries to get to her eventual destination, hitching her wagon to the wrong people. There's a fun western element here, almost an Oregon Trail of all the wrong guys, each a caricature of masculine inadequacy. This journey of disillusionment mirrors the inciting incidents are very fun, and "Manchild" subverts common tropes by employing humor and satire as its primary weapons, instead of having her kill them or them hurt her. Cinematically, the video is rich with references that evoke the spirit of road movies and films that often intersect. I can see a lot of Terrence Malick's Badlands and Robert Altman's 3 Women, which explores themes of identity and female relationships.Plus all the other titles I listed earlier. The core of the homage lies in the subversion of power dynamics. In "Manchild," Carpenter is consistently portrayed as more intelligent, capable, and resilient than the men around her. She is the central figure, the one who endures and moves on, leaving a trail of comically inept men in her wake. This narrative choice flips the traditional gender roles often seen in film, where the male character is the active protagonist and the female is the passive observer or victim. Here, Carpenter is the active agent in her own story. Carpenter's power comes from her wit, her refusal to be dragged down by male incompetence, and her ultimate independence. The repeated motif of her hitchhiking and moving on to the next, equally absurd, situation reinforces her resilience and her ultimate freedom from needing a capable male partner.It's a rich and hilarious video that I hope you all enjoy. Summing It All Up Watching this video was a blast. I love Sabrina Carpenter and think she's an exciting artist with a ton to say, and I'm pumped for the directors of this video, who absolutely crushed this story. It will be cool to see what they all come up with next. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Jun 6, 2025 - 20:25

Sabrina Carpenter's 'Manchild' Music Video is an Homage to Female Empowerment Cinema

Sabrina Carpenter is not only one of the biggest superstars of the pop world but also an artist so cheeky and fun that I think she could probably take over the world if she wanted.

She's also a Phillies fan, which makes me very happy.

The video for her latest single follows Carpenter on a visually rich road trip through the American West, where she leaves a string of comically inept men in her dust.

Directed by Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia, the piece swaps the genre's traditional violence for witty satire, crafting a clever homage to female empowerment cinema where the ultimate payback is simply walking away.

Let's dive in.

Sabrina Carpenter's 'Manchild' Music Video

Sabrina Carpenter's latest music video for her single "Manchild," released this morning and has ignited conversations not just for its catchy tune and scathing lyrics about immature men, but for its cinematic and arguably subversive visuals.

It's one of those videos that has lived up to the pre-drop hype, and that has everyone on the internet sharing theories.

Directed by Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia, the video presents a "crazy road trip" through the American West, where Carpenter encounters a series of inept and cartoonishly incompetent male companions.

I think the visual language here is an homage to the female empowerment film genre.

My main reason for thinking this is Carpenter trekking through the Old West, in an Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore or even Thelma and Louise vibes. We get her hitchhiking, like It Happened One Night, and while she meets a lot of guys, none of them have their acts together in a way that can support her or her dreams.

In the video, we learn she's a woman wronged by men who takes control of her own destiny.

But there's no violent revenge here, just a series of mishaps as she tries to get to her eventual destination, hitching her wagon to the wrong people.

There's a fun western element here, almost an Oregon Trail of all the wrong guys, each a caricature of masculine inadequacy.

This journey of disillusionment mirrors the inciting incidents are very fun, and "Manchild" subverts common tropes by employing humor and satire as its primary weapons, instead of having her kill them or them hurt her.

Cinematically, the video is rich with references that evoke the spirit of road movies and films that often intersect. I can see a lot of Terrence Malick's Badlands and Robert Altman's 3 Women, which explores themes of identity and female relationships.

Plus all the other titles I listed earlier.

The core of the homage lies in the subversion of power dynamics. In "Manchild," Carpenter is consistently portrayed as more intelligent, capable, and resilient than the men around her.

She is the central figure, the one who endures and moves on, leaving a trail of comically inept men in her wake.

This narrative choice flips the traditional gender roles often seen in film, where the male character is the active protagonist and the female is the passive observer or victim.

Here, Carpenter is the active agent in her own story.

Carpenter's power comes from her wit, her refusal to be dragged down by male incompetence, and her ultimate independence. The repeated motif of her hitchhiking and moving on to the next, equally absurd, situation reinforces her resilience and her ultimate freedom from needing a capable male partner.

It's a rich and hilarious video that I hope you all enjoy.

Summing It All Up

Watching this video was a blast. I love Sabrina Carpenter and think she's an exciting artist with a ton to say, and I'm pumped for the directors of this video, who absolutely crushed this story.

It will be cool to see what they all come up with next.

Let me know what you think in the comments.