Representation and Star Image - Teaching Music Video by Pete Fraser - BFI

Music videos offer excellent material for analysing the processes of

representation of gender, sexuality, race, nationality, culture and place, and
values such as war, drugs, crime and environmental concerns.
Voyeurism
This idea comes from the psychoanalytical theories of Sigmund Freud and
originally refers to the notion that erotic pleasure may be gained by looking at a
sexual object (preferably when the object is unaware it is being watched).
It has been proposed (principally by Laura Mulvey, 1975) that, because the
filmmakers are predominantly male, the presence of women in film is often
solely for the purpose of display rather than for narrative purposes. The purpose
of this display, it is argued, is to facilitate a voyeuristic response in spectators,
which presumes a male gaze regardless of the gender of the spectator, one that
is, or may feel like, a powerful controlling gaze at the female on display, who is
effectively objectified and passive.
The idea of voyeurism is also frequently evident in music video through a system
within screens - characters shown watching performers or others on TVs, via
webcams, as images on a video camera or CCTV. Indeed it has almost become an
obsession in music videos.
(For further info on Voyeurism see gender).
Exhibitionism
The apparently more powerful independent female artists of recent years from
Madonna to Lady Gaga, have added complexity to the politics of looking and
gender/cultural debates, by being at once sexually provocative in apparently in
control of, and inviting, a sexualised gaze in what could be termed as the
opposite of voyeurism: exhibitionism.
Indeed much has been written about the representation of women and race, for
example, in rap music videos and the recent trend for sexually explicit Jamaican
style dance hall moves which have influenced some mainstream performance
styles. Debate is extremely polarised, as it is with pornography, who is exploiting
whom? Is the female flesh on display simply a cynical exploitation of the female
body to increase (predominantly male profits margins, or a life-enhancing
assertion of female self-confidence and sexual independence or even that due to
sustained periods of being viewed through the male gaze women have come to
see themselves only through the males eyes.
Also, concerning this, is the queer gaze where the representation of a male or
female artist covertly addresses a a homosexual as well as heterosexual
audience, for example, Madonna, Kylie Monogue and Geri Haliwell (see case
studies further on).

Star Construction
A star is an image constructed from a range of materials (Richard Dyer 1979)
For pop music these materials include:
The songs (their lyrical themes and musical structures/genres)
The CD covers (the image of the star they present)
Media coverage (from interviews about career and private life through to
tabloid gossip.
Live performance (the image through their live show).
The music videos (arguably the most important), which may draw upon
the image presented in other media.
It would be important for you to consider all these elements when exploring
your own stars image and how it is constructed and represented.
Star Image
How a star is perceived by the audience and the characteristics ascribed to him
or her may be a combination of conscious construction by the media industry for
which s/he works and of extra-textual publicity in other media. Construction of a
star is always a combination of the two and can only be controlled by the star
and their employers up to a point, particularly in the age of magazines and
tabloid media. Can you think of any stars that have recently suffered under the
press?
The music promo has a particular role to play in the construction of a pop stars
image, by creating an associated iconography (visual features that regularly
accompany performance by a star, such as the mise en scene of costume,
jewellery and setting. Also, DVDs may include special features with stars and
directors commenting on their work, as in Jennifer Lopezs The Real Me (2003).
This construction can be reinforced through the notion of authenticity of
performance where the audience takes the songs lyrics as a direct reflection of
the stars inner or outer persona.
Star Vehicle
Is a product constructed around the image of the star in order to promote that
star; a music video being an obvious example. The videos acting as a showcase
for the stars talents and playing a significant part in the construction and
maintenance of their image or brand.
Each video may draw upon its predecessor both in reinforcing the stars image
and in taking their image further or even to subvert it and to create a new one.
This would particularly apply to stars who have had lengthy careers. Which stars
can you think of that this would apply to?
Star Power
This takes several forms:
Economic power though earnings generated by the sales of associated
products (cinema tickets, CDs, merchandise etc)
Artistic power (that is creative control of their own image and how it is
used by the media).
Ideological power in terms of their influence on their audience which may
take the form of fashion or attitude or both.
Task: Look at an artists retrospective collection of music videos to analyse the
development of their star image. For example, Kylie Monogue, Jennifer Lopez,
Madonna, George Michael and Michael Jackson.

Case Study of a Star
Madonna provides an ideal case study concerning notions of stardom within
music videos, from her urchin street look in Boaderline (Mary Lambert, 1984)
through to the controversial messages of Like a Virgin (Lambert, 1984) and the
film pastiche of Material Girl (Lambert, 1985) and on several notions of
patriarchy such as Papa Dont Preach (James Foley, 1986) and Express
Yourself (David Fincher, 1998) and then the challenging Like a Prayer
(Lambert, 1989) for which she was accused of blasphemy. Equally interesting is
her choice of director for each promo. She obviously has affinity with Mary
Lambert, why does she sometimes chose a male director for her promos?
Across the history of her promos Madonnas physical appearance changes
dramatically, her costume hair and also her physique. She often creates a series
of characters often at odds with with a father figure and at times, apparently
with mainstream Amercian society.. Her explicit questioning of sexuality in
Justify My Love and Vogue takes this further with Drowned World/Subsitute
for Love in the late 1990s she has once again shifted her focus, this time to the
concept of the price of fame and an apparent homage to motherhood. In Ray of
Light in 1998 she returned to being a disco diva. For her Drowned World Tour
she became a cowgirl.
Madonnas sales have ensured huge earnings, but also the ability to create and
control her own record label, Maverick. Maverick have given opportunities to
bands such as The Prodigy, and Leftfield. Madonna also represents the power of
synergy with her appearance in films, her own documentary In Bed With
Madonna, the best selling sex book, and her foray into childrens books. Having
her own label means she also has complete control over who directs her music
videos, giving her greater control over how she is represented.
But perhaps the most significant element of her power has been ideological, with
an influence over her audience, particularly the fashion of young girls in the early
1980s, developing into shifting attitudes of ordinary young women who might
have been unwilling to embrace more traditional forms of feminism. Like many
pop stars she has championed gay causes but possibly had the greatest of impact
on her audiences attitudes towards alternative sexualities. Finally, a
combination of her institutional position the most successful female artist of all
time and her iconic status amongst women, has undoubtedly led to a shift in
the music industry, with a huge number of successful female acts in pop music
giving many women more confidence to make it and providing a model of
economic success.
Race
The growth of MTV in the USA was rapid. American artists soon realised the
potential of the medium and followed the British invasion with promo clips of
their own. In the early years, however, assumptions about the demographics of
the audience led to the dominance by white acts and a preponderance of male
rock. This was despite the success of the high-budget productions of Michael
Jackson, such as his promo for Thriller (John Landis, 1983) and Bad (Martin
Scorsese, 1987). It was almost the end of the decade before any other black
artists broke through.
The reluctance to play black videos served to ensure that rap videos were able to
attract only very few small budgets and tended to be distributed through
alternative means due to having a niche audience. Gangsta rap was seen as
threatening to the white audience and it was only due to creating hybrids in the
shape of Run DMC and Aerosmiths Walk This Way (1986) and later the humour
of the work of MC Hammer and Coolio that rap became acceptable and eligible
for large scale budgets.
Gender
The Monkees was created in the USA as Americas response to the success of the
Beetles. The four band members were selected for how they would look on TV, a
notion that has become even more familiar with the creation of boy bands in the
1990s right through to X-Factor and Pop Idol phenomenon and its imitations at
the start of the twenty first century. Shortly, the music video form had started to
propel some acts to mega stardom, bypassing in some cases, the traditional route
of live performance. This was exemplified by Madonna, whose videos have
always been high profile and innovative. She led a host of female artists whose
rise to prominence has undoubtedly been precipitated by the use of music video
to showcase their talents. The emphasis on image, performance and
choreography and the use of close up shots have arguably been especially helpful
to the success of female acts.
Goodwin argues that the female performer is frequently objectified, often
through a combination of camerawork and editing with fragmented body shots
emphasising a sexualised treatment of the star. In male music videos the
voyeuristic approach to the female body is often apparent, with the use of
dancers as adornments to the male star ego. The idea becomes more complex
when, in more recent times, we see the male body on display the post feminist
female gaze where women exercise their own power by looking at men as sex
objects.