Spoof Video Diary - Bitter Sweet Synthony

Laura Mulvey Theorist

Laura Mulvey's Theory...

Laura Mulvey's Theorist believes that because filmakers were and still are today predominantly male, the presence of women in films is often solely for the purpose of display as appose to narrative purposes.The purpose of this displace is to facilitate a voyeuristic response in spectators, which presumes a 'male gaze' one that is a powerful controlling gaze at the female on display, who is effectively objectified and passive.

R&B and Hip Hop Videos are a genre that most represents Laura Mulvey's Theory as they constantly objectify the female. 

A clear representation of this is in the Robin Thicke- Blurred Lines video as a class we discussed both the rated and unrated version to the video and in both women are objectified to the male gaze with the use of both see through outfits and no outfits at all. 

Richard Dyer Music Theorist

Richard Dyer States: " A star is an image not a real person this is constructed (as any aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (e.g. advertising, magazines etc. as well as films (music) "

"Pop Performer" and "Pop Stars" are not the same thing. Pop Stars have lasting significance and have "brand awareness"

Stars as Construction:

Pop Stars are constructed, they are artificial images, even if they are represented as being " real people". Often their representations may be metonymic (stereotyped).

An example of Stars as construction is One Direction. These are an example of stars who are manufactured by the music industry to serve a purpose- to make money out of audiences who respond to various elements of a star persona by buying records and becoming fans. One direction are an example of a typical boy band they are represented as a stereotypical group of people. One direction are manufactured to become a girls childhood sweetheart and fans are lead to believe this persona is real. The boys are given individual persona's for girl to follow and this allows fans to pick one member that they love the most, they are constructed to represent themselves as boys who just want to have fun with a rebellious attitude and this is represented in almost all of there videos.
Another example of why I chose One direction for Richard Dyers "Pop Star" Theory is their upcoming movie. This is an example of  constructed stars being represented as real people. The film suggests that the movie is a follow of the stars as real people and is made from footage of their everyday lives. However this is something fans are lead to believe and the movie is something the industry have created in order to make money out of the audiences who believe they are gaining an insight into the boys everyday lives and purchase a ticket to the movie. This is an example of "Pop Stars" being a product of their record company who must be sold "Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings"

Another good example of Star as Construction is James Arthur's Winner video for "Impossible".

This video has been constructed as a heart throb for audiences representing his journey from a real person to a "constructed pop star"

Andrew Goodwin Theory

5 Different Idea's Regarding Music Videos

Genre- videos should represent stereotypes and conventions of the genre 

This is represented in the Dj Khaled I Wanna Be With You Video typical conventions such as girls, money, jewellery and luxury lifestyle is represented in this video all these things are typical conventions of a Hip Hop Music Video

 

Sound and Vision- Goodwin felt there should be a clear relationship between lyrics and visuals for example Illustrative- This is when the visuals literally represent the lyrics

A Clear representation of this is the Taylor Swift Never Ever Video here she is literally acting her lyrics throughout the whole video and this is a good example of Illustrative.

Notions of Looking- Watching the performer and gaining pleasure from it

This is Represented in the Katy Perry California Girls video, Here Katy Perry is wearing very seductive revealing clothing that focuses on the main assets of her body this is something the viewer may gain pleasure from. The scene where Katy Perry is laying in candy floss clouds with no clothing is also an example of Notions of Looking that the video used to gain attention from viewers by setting up scenes that they know viewers can gain pleasure from.

Star Image- Promotion of the star through the video using frequent close ups and recurring motifs to represent the artist.

This is represented in the Beyonce Run the World Video Here Beyonce is playing a very dominant role as a woman in the video. By doing this she is securing her dominance by implying her position of power in the industry and this is something that represents her as a artist. The key motif of the video is to have power over her world (The industry) and this is backed up by the lyrics of the song- "Who Run the World Girls" also creating a sense of Sound and Vision another one of Goodwin's Theories.

Intertextuality- Reference to other media texts, it allows the audience to quickly decode the meaning

This is show in the Lady Gaga and Beyonce Video Telephone when other media texts  such as Virgin Mobile, Beats,Fast Food, Polaroid Camera, Wonder Bread ETC are shown throughout

Another Video that has reference to the theory intertextuality is  Ludacris- Act a Fool. This video has reference the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious and has clips from the movie throughout.

Simon Firth's Video Concepts

 Simon Firth Stated- "music videos may be characterised by free broad typology : Performance, Narrative and Conceptual" (1988)

Conceptual- Conceptual videos do not tell a story in linear fashion, but rather create a mood, a feeling to be evoked in the experience of viewing"

In the Sam Smith La La La video this is presented very well the video gives an insight to the video potentially being about the wizard of oz but however leaves it to the viewers to make there own assumption of the video.

 Narrative- A video may tell any kind of story in linear cause effect sequencing

In the Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne High School video there is a narrative of school lovers this is shown through the video along with other story lines within the video

Performance -Performance Videos are the most common type.They feature the star or group singing in concert to widely enthusiastic fans. The aim of this is to convey a sense of the in concert experience

This is presented in the Nicki Minaj Did It On Em video During the video she is performing on stage giving viewers an insight to what her concerts are like potentially promoting the concert atmosphere to viewers making them want to purchase tickets to her concert

Music Video Timeline