Star Theory: To what extent does a pop stars image influence their audience?

Professor Richard Dyer

“A star is an image not a real person that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (e.g. advertising, magazines etc as well as films [music])”.  This quote is from English academic Richard Dyer who is a professor of film studies at Kings College London. Dyer wrote a book called “Stars” in 1979 which discusses the viewer’s perception of film and the idea that it is heavily influenced by the perception of its stars. He believed that it was not the film which attracted the audience by the idea of who famous was in it and publicity materials such as reviews, interviews etc. determine the that the audience experience the film. An example of this is the film “Mission: Impossible” which stars Tom Cruise. The DVD cover and posters of the film both have Tom Cruise’s name in the same size font as the title. From this it is evident that Tom Cruise is just as important as the actual film it self and they use this as a way of drawing in Tom Cruise fans and an audience.

Katy B

Dyer also applied this star theory to music and pop stars. The term “pop performer” and “pop star” have become interchangeable and many people can not distinguish the difference between the two. However a “pop performer” is someone strictly known for just performing pop music and a “pop star” is someone who has an identity not restricted solely to their music. Many pop stars will start off as a pop performer and build an image from there. An example of a pop performer would be British born artist Katy B who is only known for her music and an example of a pop star would be Lady Gaga who is not only known for her music but for her outfits, her video’s, her personal life and many other things. The construction process to turning a “pop performer” into a “pop star” is neither automatic nor fully understood. Shows like X Factor show the supposed construction process of how an ordinary person is groomed and coached into fulfilling expectations that are needed when becoming a pop star, however how true is this stardom? Many of the contestants seen on shows like X Factor will have their five minutes of fame before they are forgotten and unknown again.

A true pop star has a long lasting significance and brand awareness. Michael Jackson is one of the best examples for this, even after death he is known as the ‘King of Pop’ and many of his dance routines have become iconic. The moon walk was not necessarily created by Jackson; however everyone will associate it with him regardless. This shows real stardom. In the present day many stars are manufactured by the music industry to serve a purpose and make money out of their audience. Record companies, specifically their mangers will nurture and shape their stars just as X Factor shows us to appeal to the audience. A star will begin as a “real” human who possesses gender and race characteristics which exist against a socio-historic background and will transfer into the image their record companies want them to portray and the “star” the audience will see and love. However the “star” will always have a real foundation and so will be seen as not as fictional as Dyer made out but someone who is very much of their time and culture or in other words the product of their generation. This makes them easy to relate too and so essentially more appealing to their audience.

Not everyone is convinced by the hype created around these stars and so will not spend their money. However historically pop stars have been created to each have a different appeal. Some will be produce to fit a specific genre of music and some will be produce to have a long lasting appeal. U2  is an example of a established band who have a long lasting appeal and so are able to cater to their fan audiences for decades

Auteur Theory

Auteur Theory from clwp_cloe06

"Super Bass" Video Analysis

The song “Super Bass” by America female recording artist Nicki Minaj was released on the 5^th April 2011. It is from her deluxe edition of her album Pink Friday and comes under the music genre’s of R’n’B, Pop and Hip Hop. It was produced by Kane Beatz and JMIKE and is under the record labels of young money, cash money and Universal Motown.

The technical codes in this video involve camerawork where low angle shots and close ups are used. The low angle shots of Nicki Minaj near the beginning of the video accentuates the size of her cleavage which increases her appeal to the audience particularly those of the opposite sex. Close up’s of the male model’s body are also shown to sexualise him and boost his appeal to the audience.

These are not only technical codes but they conform to the genre conventions of an R’n’B/Hip Hop music video where males or females are usually dressed provocatively in order to attract the audience watching. This could also be seen as a symbolic code as the men used within a video of this genre are always either very muscular and the women are always extremely curvy with large assets.

Another genre convention of this music is the fact that money and expensive things such as cars appear. However this is also a symbolic code as the expensive car is pink and so is the hair colour of Nicki Minaj and her dancers and many other elements in her video. This connotes the idea of feminism and the specifically idea of Barbie. As Nicki Minaj also refers to herself as the “Harajuku Barbie” this could be a way of putting that across within her music video. 

The idea of feminism with in the video is also a symbolic code itself as Nicki Minaj challenges gender stereotypes in this video because she is doing things to the male like touching him and showing a more dominant side towards him. In one of the scenes she is seen to be throwing water at the male from a pink cup which is very symbolic as the pink connotes feminism however the throwing of the water shows a more aggressive female. Aggression is a personality trait which males are said to have whilst females are meant to be more motherly and caring and so this definitely goes against that.

Many common conventions of music videos are used such as fast edits, the video is the same length as the actual song and also the artist is presented as though she is singing along to the song and so performing for the audience. The genre convention used which would fit a Pop video is the fact that there is a lot of performing especially through synchronized dancing however the artist is the main dancer.

Genre Conventions

Genre Conventions on Prezi

Codes

Codes are a system of signs which create meaning. This may include technical codes or symbolic codes.

Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see. The video for "Take Care" by Drake ft Rihanna has many symbolic codes which can relate back to his personal life and the lyrics of the song. The bull in the video represents the Taurus star sign which is what Rihanna ex boyfriend Chris Brown was and the fish represents the Pisces start sign which is what Rihanna is. Chris Brown and Rihanna broke up due to abusive reasons and through out the video Drake is embracing her which relates back to the song and could be seen as him "taking care" of her.

Technical codes are ways which equipment is used to tell  the story in a media text. This can inclue the camera work specifically the movement, angle and shot distance of the camera. Close ups are a very common form of camera shot to use as it helps the audience to recognize the artist. In real life no one will ever be as close to a person as the close up shot is unless they have a very close and intimate relationship with that person. A close up shot helps to create that itimacy for the audience. This can be seen in the Take That "Back for Good" video where many close up shots are used of Gary Barlow.

Another technical code is the editing. The most common form of editing associated with music promo is fast cut montage. This when the editing is fast enough so the audience watching cant really understand whats on the screen the first time and so will have to watch again. Not only does this increase video views but by doing that promotes the video. When a slow pace and more gentle transitions are used this is to establish the mood which the song is trying to get across to the audience. An example of this would be in a love song, usually the transitions will be very slow in order to enhance the romantic feel which the video may be trying to get across. Editing in music may also be enhanced with digital effects such as split screens, coluorisation and blockbuster film styles like CGI. Colourisation is when the colour of the video is either enhanced dramatically or changed to a certain theme such as black and white. This is commonly used in pop video's. An example of split screen effect can be seen in the Lauryn Hill "Doo Wop (That Thing)" music video where it is showing to different era's at the same time.

Verbal codes is everything to do with the language. This can be either written or spoken.