Research: Dyer's Star Theory

What is star theory?
‘Star’ refers to a set of meanings constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a large and loyal audience base.  Dyer see’s artist as an artificial image presented to their target audience, even if they are being represented as ‘real people’.

Audience’s relationship with the industry and the star doesn’t necessarily have to be a positive thing, as long as the relationship is strong. It also depends on the audiences taste and the actual character.

Richard Dyer is an English academic, as of 2006 he is a Professor of Film Studies in Kings College London.

His 5 suggestions include:

• The star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer.
• The star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer.
• The star must have distinct ideologies views and ideals
• Have values that are personal to them
• Financial backing

The Difference between a performer and a pop star.
·         Performer – Is when an image is constructed to an artist and presented to the audience.
·         Pop star – May or may not be famous however, is there just to perform music

Dyer identified four key elements to recognise a star: 

- Stars and constructions

- Industry and audience

- Ideology and culture

- Character and personality
Stars as constructions

Stars are constructed, artificial images. Helps if their image contains a USP (unique selling point). The X-factor shows the construction process of how a individual/band is groomed and coached. 

Dyer believes the music audiences are made to believe that star that is seen to be real and genuine is actually a fake, artificial image which is created to appeal to a target audience. For example, Miley Cyrus who for years is represented as a sweet, innocent young teenager and now has broken out and proven that she is the total opposite of her traditional representation.

Industry and audience

Stars are manufactured to make money. Pop stars, whatever their nature, are quite clearly the product of their record company and they must be sold. There is always someone fresh to choose from. Another way is to produce a star with long lasting appeal, who once their brand is established, can cater to a fan audience for decades. Synergy is a way in which the artist could be promoted. Differing formats could be used and interacted with to gain a greater reaction from the public. Dr. Dre being a prime example, as he released electronic headphones which would enhance his popularity with the audience, and ultimately contribute to his success and the industry success.

Ideology and culture

Represents cultural values, attitudes and promotes a certain ideology
Audience interest in these values enhances the ‘Star quality’ and creates their star persona.
Social networks sites such as Twitter and Facebook now days give pop stars the opportunity to establish their own values outside their own music. This gives them a true insight of the Star and able to judge whether or not the star is constructed or genuine.

Character and personality

The star is a construct but a construct that has a foundation of realism. Stars provide audiences with a focus for ideas of ‘ what people are supposed to be like’ Stars may support hegemony by conforming to it by being thin and beautiful or providing a different perspective and being overweight and still loveable. For example Adele, as psychically she is not a role model or at a perfect weight but still is loveable because of her singing and personality. 

Control

- An artist doesn’t necessarily have as much control of their life as let’s say a film actor as an artist is continuously following instructions and being told what to do, how to dress and present themselves etc. compared to a film actor who has more of a freedom.
- TV programmes such as The X Factor shows us the audience how the construction progress happens as we get to see how an ordinary person’s star image changed as they are groomed and styled to look different in order to appeal to the audience.
- Stars are constructed by the industry, artificial star images are used to fit the industries needs of targeting and appealing to a specific target audience in order to make money off them.

Conclusion

Dyers theory is a significant theory in outlining the importance of star image of an artist. In my music video I would concentrate more heavily on the ideology and culture element of Dyers star theory. This would convey my star in a more clear way and the viewers could have more of a insight in his personality and beliefs of the star.

Research: star image

What is star image?

Star image is the way an artist is represented to the audience. Music videos are seen as the most effective way to do this as it is able to reach a mainstream and international audience. Star image makes an artist unique as they’ll all have their own styles which will allow them to create an expectation of themselves. In addition, they can also use their star image to reinvent themselves in order to change from their representation or to target new audience.

How can music videos help to boost and artists career?

• Music videos contribute to the popularity of the artist/band
• New audiences and viewers could be gained
• Financially boost the artist
• Could re-invent the image
• Portray the ideologies through the music videos

Political Reasons, Moral Reasons and Social Reasons

 

 Sexual reasons,

·         Help express sexuality

·         Sexual views

·         Exploit or to feel comfortable

Political reasons

·         For/Against something political

·         Express political views

Moral reasons

·         Personal opinions

·         Issues they believe are important

Social reasons

·         Represent lifestyle or ideologies of having a good time.

 Artists who include politics within their music videos in order to portray an issue are:

- Kanye West
- immortal technique

Artists who include morals within their music videos in order to display their beliefs are:

- Michael Jackson
- John Lennon

Artists who include social qualities in their music videos in order to reveal their identity are:

- Drake
- The Saturdays

 

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus just began Hannah Montana here as we can see she is really young and innocent and this is represented through the way she dresses. She is seen to be enjoying her childhood and road to fame due to her She chilled out and cheerful and chilled out.. The lyrics she uses are very childish and innocent. She doesn’t necessarily have a target audience yet due to her yet to make herself known and establish herself.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Miley Cyrus is seen here just after she left her TV show Hannah Montana, she is seen as glamorous, sophisticated yet sexy and intimidating adult. She has a wider range of target audience now as she attracts and targets a lot of male audience because of her looks as she is seen as a sexual object. At this point Miley Cyrus begins to become a lot more independent and this is shown through her dance moves as she performs her own dance moves now and is seen to be a little more revealing. She is viewed as even more lyrically confident towards the opposite sex as she is more mature and her lyrics are more meaningful.

At this point the traditional Miley Cyrus we have all grown to love has gone on a rollercoaster due to the dramatic change which has occurred in her left just a year after leaving Hannah Montana and becoming more independent. She is now viewed as a sexual object designed to visual pleasure both men and women. Her target audience will have known changed from young children to young adults and above due to the sexual references which are associated with her. We can't stop is seen as her first big step to change due to all the sexual tension and implications she creates in the video. Compare this to her climb video a few years ago and you can see how her star image has changed dramatically.

 

 

 

Stars and their image

 

Demi lovato is another young artist who was very similar in comparison towards Miley Cyrus who chose not to go down that sexual voyeuristic route as Miley did. She is also very independent since leaving her TV show and is now seen as a very mature and respectful young adult. This is shown through the way she represents herself as she dresses and looks very sophisticated. She’s recently just been given the opportunity to be a judge on 'xfactor usa.' In addition, this also allows her to promote and advertise herself to different markets such as the perfume industry.

 

Conclusion

Star image is important as it represents the artist to the audience through the use of music videos. The artist’s star image represents themselves which allows the audience to get closer and be able to relate to the artist. I plan to present my Star in a very innocent yet mature manor as I don’t have a big enough fan base to go on a rollercoaster like Miley Cyrus did.

Research: Mulvey's male gaze

The male gaze theory

The concept of male gaze is how the heterosexual male gender looks at the voyeuristic female genders that are presented to them in music videos. Feminist believe that women are viewed different in order to attract and please the male target audience in return for success within their career. Moreover some women actually enjoying being in the video and feel a sense of empowerment with what they are doing e.g. beauty pageants. This shows that being e.g. a candy girl is not a negative thing to do as long as it is what a female loves and has a passion for doing. 

• This theory also assumes everyone is heterosexual and does not consider the homosexual viewpoint.
• Some women enjoy being looked at and showing off their figure and body.
• The female gender isn't considered as the main focus is the male gender.

    Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist. She is currently professor of film and media studies at Birbeck, University of London. Her theory (1975) suggests that audiences view characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male. She believes that men look at women for sexual pleasure in music videos.

 

Different ways it can be thought of:

• How men look at women
• How women look at themselves
• How women look at other women

Example of the 'male gaze' within music videos

Rihanna - pour it up

Male gaze is heavily exploited in this music video as every female is seen demonstrating the male gaze, including the artist Rihanna who is known for her sexual behavior in her music videos. Firstly, when one of the women is seen dancing on a pole in her revealing clothes, close up editing is used to focus on the women shaking her ass. This is a sign of voyeurism as the camera movements make the women viewed differently as they are now seen as sexual objects and fantasy’s to men. This relates and reinforces Laura Mulvey’s theory of men looking at women for visual pleasures.

Benny Benassi - Satisfaction

In the Satisfaction music video, women are represented as hard working, voyeuristic individuals. The way they are dressed and how they choose to wear their clothes makes them in a male’s perspective look like sex symbols. An example of this is when one of women are viewed using the sander in a seductive way, cinematography is seen in this motion as the camera focuses on her body rather than her face. A close up shot is then used to view her breast. This reinforces Laura Mulvey’s Theory of characters being viewed from a heterosexual male’s perspective.

Conclusion
In my music video I could consider using aspects of the male gaze as it would enhance the popularity of my music video. If I do use women I would represent them in a more passive way as this would gain popularity from the male audience. However I would not portray females as sexual objects or other extreme ways as such shown in the examples.

 

 

 

 

 

Research: Diverse music videos

What are diverse music videos?
Diverse music videos are videos which are from are from a different/alternative genre of music. These videos are used to express the directors and artists creative yet unique ideas. Diverse music videos have a niche target audience as it contains a lot of weird contents which is viewed by people outside the mainstream genre. In addition, they are also often concept based as these types of videos show no relationship with the lyrics or music therefore, it is random, different and concept-based.

Chris Cunningham

Chris Cunningham is a British video artist. Cunningham has close ties to Warp records. His work compliments the diverse nature of music videos& includes music videos that do not appeal to a large mainstream audience. Cunningham has primarily directed music videos for ambient music and electronica arts such as Autechre and Aphex twins. 


Chris Cunningham has worked with aritsts such as:

• Bjork - All Is Full Of Love (won multiple awards including MTV music video awards for 'Breakthrough Video' & nominated for a Grammy for 'Best Short Film Music Video
• Aphex Twins - Come To Daddy, Flex and Window Licker which won 'Best Video' at the BRIT Awards 2000.
• Madonna - Frozen (international hit and won award for Best Special Effects at 1998 MTV awards 

The music video for 'Come to daddy' by the Aphex twins come across as weird and controversial as the characters seem disabled and disturbing to look at.

This diverse music video Featuring Chris Cunningham and Aphex Twin is of course a concept based video and it is clearly represented and reinforced through the use of crazy special effects. The video is to some extent quite chilling due to the use of low key lighting used on top of the dark environment in the video thorough the video and also the Alien/deformed man which looks really scary and disturbing. This video may be seen as too abstract to comprehend for some people who are why diverse music videos mainly target a niche audience.

The music video 'Bjork all is full of love'  was one of his more successful and this implies that effort and money is still put into for a music video that appeals to a limited audience and not being part of mainstream culture. Moreover, robots are the main theme in this music video and it is not likely to have this as a main theme in a music video.

'Bjork all is full of love' music video had won multiple awards including the MTV music video award for breakthrough video due to its creativity and realism.

 

As with all diverse music videos this is a concept based video and it is reflected through the choice of lyrics, music and visuals as they don’t seem to have any kind of relationship what so ever

what so ever.

Research: Categories and intertexuality of music videos

what is intertexuality?

Intertextuality is when the music video has formed a relationship with or shows reference to something/one else. This can be done in a number of ways, for example gimmicking an artist, referring to a film or even making references to someone political. This is often called an intertextual reference as it is being ‘referred’ to in the video. Theorist Andrew Goodwin suggests that intertextual references in music videos are becoming very popular as it is now a new way of entertaining the audience and allow the artist to illustrate their views.

purpose of intertexuality?

Intertexuality is used in most music videos as it allows the audience to relate themselves to the music or artist due to the unique effects used by the artist in the music video. References allow the music video to seem controversial which then allows the audience to make they own interpretation of the music video. Some intertextual references can appeal to a target audience due to the audience manipulating these references into humour and making the music video more interesting compared to the usual conventional music videos.

An example of intertexuality in music videos could be Lady Gaga's 'paparazzi' music video where we see photographers taking pictures of her and we see newspaper headlines and articles intertextually referring to her own life by form of newspaper (from 2:20 to 2:30). Andrew Goodwin also stated that artist can also make intertexual references to their own lives.

 

 

A popular artist who has made his fame and recognition through intertexuality is Marshall Bruce Mathers also known by his rapper name, Eminem. In this video we see that he refers to many famous icon however one of the main famous people we recognise is Michael Jackson where he mimics notorious parts in his life in which the media and the audience will recognise such as his constant surgeries and the law suits hes been through. Moreover he shows scenes from music videos such as 'billie jean'

 

 

 

 

 

Another example of intertexuality is Madonnas music video "give ma all your lovin."

This music video conveys intertextual reference to Marilyn Monroe: By all three of the artists dressed up in a white dress with a curly, blonde, short and classy win, red lips and also her beauty spot.

The criticisms that may follow intertextual references...

 There are also significant criticisms of intertextuality. There is the issue of the intertextual reference  used is legal and that the artist/band are legally able to use it in their video. It could also be considered as offensive to some viewers as it could convey people in negative ways.

 

Advantages of Intertexuality

 

·         Forms a relationship with Audience.
·         Unique to other conventional Videos
·         Targets Audience’s interest such as Humour