Richard Dyer suggests that celebrities and stars aren't real people. He argues that they are constructed by institutions for financial purposes and are built to target a specific audience.
In class we came up with a list of qualities a pop star need:
Confidence
Good looking
Controversial
Conforming
Mold-able
Sob story
Brand Image
Powerful
Bold
Creative
Aspiration
The theory can be broken down into three sections:
1. Audiences and institutions: Stars are made for the sole purpose of making money. Audiences want to consume what they believe is ideal.
2. Constructions: Star is built for an audience and not an actual person. A persona is created for each individual star.
3. Hegemony (cultural beliefs): Leadership or dominance - people idolize stars and want to be and copy them.
Quotes on the theory:
"Stars are commodities that are produced by institutions"
"A star star is a constructed image, represented across a range of media and mediums"
"Stars represent and embody certain ideologies"
This theory is about how the audience view women in the Media. Mulvey states that women are there to be seen and that the camera portrays them as sexual objects through shot types and movement.
Her three main focuses are:
1. How men look at women.
2. How women look at themselves.
3. How women look at other women.
Focuses on:
- Emphasising the curves of the female body.
- Referring to women as objects, not people.
The man emerges as the dominant power within the created film fantasy. The women is paasive to active gaze from the man.
To conclude, the male gaze theory states that women within the media are represented sexually, and that the media is viewed from a straight male's perspective. To back this up, in class we examined the top 5 songs in the charts and their music video's and argued whether or not we thought the male gaze theory applied to them. Astonishingly, the theory could be applied to each and every one of the video's. This was due to the sexual content, the way the camera explores the female body, tight clothing on females and cleavage being on display. When concluding this theory, watching these videos helped us to realise that the theory certainly applies to modern music music video's. Furthermore, in Iggy Azalea's music video for the song Black Widow, even though the ideology and messages of the video are women power. Women are still represented as sexual objects and appeal to the active male gaze.
Using Tim O’Sullivan’s narrative theory; which states that
every media text tells the audience some kind of story. The lyrics in the song
tell a story throughout. In the first verse it is noticed that anaconda is
referring to the buttocks. Whereas in the second verse, more of the narrative
is established. Throughout the verse Nicki sings about a boy from Detroit buys
her designer clothing from money he earned selling drugs; this suggests that
Nicki has a pimp.
Within media, it is argued that there are 3 different
aspects of music videos. These are performance, narrative and abstract. This
video is only performance based as it just features the artist dancing/twerking
and showing her behind to the audience. Nicki Minaj is known for her sex appeal
and flaunts her behind often as it is globally recognisable.
This video lacks any kind of verisimilitude within the
diegesis. It is extremely rare that you would find a large number of scantily
clad women dancing in a sexual manner in the middle of a jungle. Additionally,
as a person, Nicki Minaj is viewed as a fantasy figure. This links to Laura
Mulvey’s male gaze theory. This theory suggests that women within the media are
represented sexually and that the media is viewed from a straight male’s
perspective. The theory certainly applies when watching this video as women are
viewed as sexual objects from start to finish in the media text. Women would
argue that this video gives them a bad name as they are just viewed as sexual
objects, they would suggest that they should be able to have control and
success throughout dressing and performing whilst scantily clad.
In narrative theory it is said that there are three types of
relationship between song content and narrative content; these are illustration,
amplification and disjuncture. When applying this to the anaconda video the relationship
type is amplification. This is because the narrative whilst inspired by the
song adds a narrative element to complement the themes. For example, the song
is about how women’s sexuality is powerful over men. This is injected into the
narrative through the vast use of close ups on women’s sexually prominent body
parts such as their legs, bums and breast. It can be argued that the video is
used for the purpose of gaining male attention; rather than the genre’s
intended audience of young females.
Levi-Strauss’ binary oppositions are implemented in the
video; the key oppositions put across are men vs women and rich vs poor. The
men vs women opposition is the one shown more often as women are not only
represented as objects, which in some cases people would suggest this is a
weakness, however in the lyrics Nicki is singing about how her sexuality can
influence and control a man. She even suggests that control over men gained her
wealth. At one stage of the song, Nicki sings “Real country ass nigga, let me
play with his rifle, Pussy put his ass to sleep, now he calling my NyQuil”. Vicks
Nyquil is a medication that will help you sleep through the night. Therefore
Nicki is suggesting that after engaging in sexual activity, the male just goes
to sleep; this implies that men only want women for sexual reasons and after
they have been used they just let them go.
The theme of my song is beauty, modernisation and Britain.
Throughout my video I plan on implementing these themes in a variety of ways.
For example I will have shots of both performance and narrative in rural and
urban areas; this is to compare the two places in terms of beauty and
modernity. The lyrics within the song are extremely important, therefore I will
have many people lip syncing (close ups) to reinforce the lyrics importance. I
will use tracking shots to follow my performer; the locations of the shots will
be in old town. I will also have my actress dancing under a waterfall due to
the name of the song; she will then proceed to dry herself with a Union Jack
towel which is iconographic of the song’s theme. I will be filming some shots
of an audience and band in concert and splicing them into the video.
Chimes sing
Sunday morn [0.15-0.28] Today's the day She's sworn [0.19-0.23] To steal what She never could own [0.24-0.27] And race from this hole She calls home [0.29-0.35]
Now you're at the wheel, Tell me how how does it
feel [0.38-0.46] So good to have equalised [0.47-0.51] To lift up the lids of your eyes [0.52-0.58]
As the miles they disappear [1.01-1.05] See land begin to clear [1.06-1.10] Free from the filth and the scum, This
American satellite's won [1.11-1.22]
She'll carry on through it all, She's a waterfall
[1.24-1.31]
She'll carry on through it all, She's a
waterfall [1.34-1.40]
See the steeple pine, The hills as old as time [1.43-1.52] Soon to be put to the test [1.52-1.56] To be whipped by the winds of the West [1.56-2.03]
Stands on shifting sands [2.06-2.10] The scales held in her hands [2.12-2.15] The wind it just whips Her and wails, And fills
up Her rickety sails [2.15-2.26]
She'll carry on through it all, She's a
waterfall [2.29-2.36]
She'll carry on through it all, She's a
waterfall [2.39-2.45]
