Star Theory Richard Dyer

Promotion - Stars as Constructions

- Dyer believes artists are constructed through artificial images such as advertising, films, magazines and music.

- He claims that consumers prefer artists to convey their true emotions themselves and not be groomed by record labels who try to create a fake image for them.

- A “real” artist can use this as their unique selling point.

- A modern artist who demonstrates this is Ed Sheeran.

Promotion - Industry and Audiences

- Richard Dyer also believes that stars are manufactured to make money for their record labels by appealing to target audiences.

- As a result of this record labels have to market different artists to cater for certain target audiences as there are both ‘niche’ and ‘mainstream’ markets.

Promotion - Ideology and Culture

- Another one of Dyers beliefs within his Star Theory is that artists become trendsetters in the sense that audience members will imitate hairstyles and artists clothing styles.

- Artists may have certain religious beliefs and cultural values that audiences may also pick up on if shared by the artist. (e.g. The Osmands - Mormons and Bob Dylan – anti-Vietnam)

- The internet has meant audiences now have far greater access to the “personal” lives of stars.

Promotion - Stars support Hegemony

- Presented as 'real' human beings

- Stars support hegemony/dominant ideology of their time/generation - glorified versions of ‘us’

- Leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others

- Gramsci is best known for his theory of cultural hegemony, which describes how states use cultural institutions to maintain power in capitalist societies.

Women seen as objects:
- Main physical 'assets' are highlighted - faces are primarily not shown.

Representation in Music Videos.

- The music industry creates and promotes artists within clearly defined genres (categories) – rock, rap etc. (E.g. African/American rappers are often depicted as mysogenistic, 'gangsters')

- These genres offer signifiers (signs/symbols that send out specific messages) relating to race and gender identities.

Deconstructing Britney Spears

- Britney raises interesting issues regarding female identity in pop music.

- Initially viewed as a role model for the teen girl market.

- From a gender perspective, Britney’s identity is placed securely within a male-dominated industry that manufactures limited stereotypes of femininity.

- In her early videos Britney was surrounded by ‘girlie iconography’ – bedroom culture, dolls, dressing up with friends, hanging out, applying make-up and teen pigtails complete the image!

- Choreographed dance routines create the desire to be part of ‘her gang’.

Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey’s theory relates to classical Hollywood cinema. However, we can apply some of her ideas to our work on the pop video.

Many of these characteristics apply to Britney’s Music Videos.

The male gaze =

- Women viewed as the objects of male erotic desire – in film and audience

- Men active / women passive.

- Women do not have agency – they do not move the plot forward.

- The audience is forced to identify with male gaze.

- Cinema reflects patriarchal (male dominated) society

- Patriarchy and phallocentrism linked – phallus (penis) a symbol of power – e.g. in cinema guns = phallus = power.                            

 Deconstructing Britney Spears II

“Baby One More Time” (1998).

- However, in opposition to this innocence is an underlying sexuality.

- This video is blatantly exploitative. It takes the innocence of a school child and sexualises it to appeal to a younger generation of teen girls and attempts to iconise this new 'school girl' image.

- Not only that but its only the girls who are sexualised in this video - men still wear their uniforms where the women apparently need to show off a bit of skin.

- In her early videos Britney was surrounded by ‘girlie iconography’ – bedroom culture, dolls, dressing up with friends, hanging out, applying make-up.

- Again, teen pigtails complete the image!

- Choreographed dance routines create the desire to be part of ‘her gang’.

“From the Bottom of my Broken Heart” (2000).

- Britney’s songs and video narratives express teen girl identity, the concerns and reflections.

“I’m not a girl, not yet a woman” (2001)
- Constructed as a role model in “I’m not a girl, not yet a woman” from the film “Crossroads”. Rites of passage story explores tensions of growing up and passage journey from childish innocence to realities of adult life.

Innocence vs Sexuality

- There's an underlying theme of innocence versus sexuality in her videos, where Britney tries to portray a version of youth to appeal to hr teenaged audience, but she flaunts her sexuality like a weapon, thereby creating a threatening image.

- Are the messages in these videos confused? It is obvious Britney is trying to empower women, yet the methods she uses only causes men to exploit her. The male gaze focuses on her body rather than the messages she tries to portray.

- Exploited or Exploiting? The sexuality of the choreographed routines contrast with lyrics.

- This is portrayed in the videos: “Oops I did it Again” and "Toxic".

- The colour red symbolises Britney's loss of innocence - she is no longer the teen-girl icon from her early videos but a woman.

- The white 'innocent' image contrasts with the lyrics - white is supposed to symbolise purity whereas she sings "I'm not that innocent".

- Again, she tries to empower women, but only succeeds in conforming to the typical stereotypes portrayed on women.

- The unrealistic imagery enables her audience to not take her seriously, thereby presenting her 'strong woman' image as a joke.

Is “Overprotected” (2002) Empowering to women?

- Within the Music Video’s narrative, her performance is a result of watching a news report on her wearing few clothes.

- She is no longer a girl and should not be told what to wear. Being half-naked is an empowering act.

- There is a more confident tone to the choreographed routine.

Conclusion:

- When it comes to gender debates, Britney Spears’s Music Videos are a polysemic text (a text that has multiple meanings).

- N.B. Her career has evolved from ‘Teen Princess’ with connotations of innocence and girliness to a half naked woman who performs for a male audience in FHM and Loaded.

- Both identities are stereotypical visions of femininity as presented in a range of media texts.

This video depicts Britney rejecting her constructed image:

- Attacks her image (also the screens of her past videos)

- Staining her white dress - no longer the innocent image she once was

- Not empowered at the end - her images fall but so does she