Analysis of Star and Dyers theory - Miss Miller

Analysis of Star and Dyer's theory

Introduction

Many artists within the music industry have changed over time for many reasons. Some artists change their style, the genre they sing or their appearance to catch a new audience's eye. This may be for many reasons such as they want to break away from a bad previous reputation, or just want more publicity. A few artists that have reinvented themselves over time are Justin Bieber and Michael Jackson. 

Justin Bieber: Justin released his first single in 2009- One time. This was a popular hit globally and the first time that one of his songs had been released. Within this music video Justin was very young and showed conventional activates and lifestyle of a young teenage boy and was seen as a teen sensation. The opening scene of the video shows him playing a games console with his friend, and as it progresses he starts to sing about being in love sty such a young age. Obviously this attracts a wide audience, and by him singing about this it attracts his target audience of teenage girls. Justin Bieber has changed over time because of his appearance. When he first appeared on screen he had long styled hair, and was very relaxed about his image. To present Justin has died his hair, had many tattoo's produced on his body and cared a lot about what he wears and in some video's be exclusive about his body and not wear a top at all. Furthermore,  Justin used to sing songs from the pop genre, and has now tried to change from that, and now includes the genre of rap within his songs. Justin shows reasons for doing this as he wants to grow up with his audience, and be an idol for them and a good role model. 

Michael Jackson: Michael was an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actor. Michael was known as the "king of pop", and being an inspiration towards his audience. Michael's famous track "thriller" was a number one hit, his best selling album and is still popular to this day. Michael was in the famous pop group "jackson 5", where he built his fame up from. Michael was very popular until in the 1990's Michael turned and relied on drugs. His skin was a medium-brown colour throughout his youth but starting in the mid 1980's, his skin gradually gee more pale through what was considered skin bleaching. Michael also had surgery to make his nose smaller and also adjust other features of his face. 

Richard Dyer

Richard Dyer has written extensively about the role of stars in film, television and music. Irrespective of the type of features in common: - a star is an image, not a real person, that is constructed out of range of materials for example advertising magazines and films. -stars are commodities produces and consumed on the strength of their manager. The star image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to the target audience. Fundamentally the star image us incoherent; incomplete and 'open'. Dyer says that this this because it is based upon two key paradoxes. The term 'star' refers to the semi-mythological set of meanings contracted around music performers in order to sell the performer to a large and loyal audience. 

For my research of analysis of star and dyer's theory i am using Miley Cyrus. Miley has changed dramatically from her childhood when she was first known as "hannah montana". Most children loved this show, as grew up watching her changing into singer "Miley Cyrus". I have chosen three of her music videos which i feel show most of how she has reinvented herself and how this has affected her audience. The first video i chose to analyse is "The best of Both worlds" sung by Hannah Montana. 

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLD'S

Goodwin's theory

For goodwin's theory i have chosen to analyse point 7. point seven shows whether the video is preliminary performance based, narrative based or concept based. After watching this music video i feel this video is performance based. The opening of the music video shows Hannah Montana walking onto the stage, with surrounding accompaniment. A panning movement of the camera quickly moves round from the stage onto the audience, showing the audience (her fans) jumping and feeling excited to watch her sing. This supports the fact that the misc video is performance based as we see Hannah performing to her target audience on stage. The music video is set out in the style of a concert, which means that this isn't pre-recorded and edited like most music video's. This creates a relationship towards the audience and the artist as she is performing to them and expressing her feelings to them. This may influence her target audience of teenage girls within the age of 11-16, as they will look up to her, and feel inspired by her performance.

Genre conventions

The genre for this music video is pop-rock, and many conventions are included within the video. The first convention of pop is the lyrics. Hannah is singing about her life, but two sides of it. She explains to her audience that she is living two lives and feels different when she is performing her music. The lyrics  "yeah you get to be a small town girl, but big time when you play your guitar". This evidence concludes the meaning behind her lyrics. Although from Miley Cyrus's image now, this might have been what she was explaining then within her lyrics, and has now become apparent. Furthermore, Miley's costume and her guitarists and drummers. Hannah Montana is wearing skinny blue jeans, and a pink top with knew high boots. This relates to the genre of pop as she is wearing girly clothing, that will attract her target audience of teenage girls and will be attracted to watch her new music videos in the future. They may also see her as a role model by the things she wears or the way she acts about singing about her personal life, this is a good thing and creates a relationship between the audience and the artist and represents Hannah Montana as a good person. Moreover, the drummer within the performance is wearing a leather jacket and has a Mohican hair style which relates to the genre of rock. 

Dyer's theory

The video represents the artist as being young and enjoying performing. Hannah Montana within this video is a young teenage performer who is shown to be popular within her own television show. She is represented as having a large targeted audience as her audience is shown within the camera shot, this shows her performance of her own song being enjoyed by a wide variety of people. The first paradox is that the star must be extraordinary as she is glamorous and is a role model to her target audience, as well as wearing fashionable clothing; eg. dresses, pink flowery tops and short skirts, that can relate to what girls wear and find attractive. Hannah Montana can be viewed as a product as when she was popular in the music industry you could buy Hannah Montana Barbie dolls, which you could buy clothes for  and dress up, which attracted her targeted audience as they could dress up Hannah how they wanted and almost act out her life with the doll. You could also buy girls clothing like pyjamas and tops which had Hannah's logo on the front and symbols of her dancing pose. This all promoted Hannah Montana, letting more people enjoy her show and music, and broadcasting herself globally. 

Target Audience

Hannah Montana's target audience is girls of around the age of 6-14. Hannah performs on her own television channel on Disney Channel which is broadcasted on sky and virgin. Her target audience are girls who enjoy watching her show and enjoying her music. She performs a lot and is seen as a role model to her audience by the clothes she wears and the lyrics she sings. In all of her music video's she wears stylish clothing that will attract her audience in a way of them wanting to wear the same things and be like her. Her lyrics in her music videos are mainly positive which gives off a positive vibe to her audience, giving her a good image. At the age of her target audience they are growing up with Hannah, and see how her lifestyle changes with them. Her target audience is wide and her music/performances can be enjoyed by a lot of children, and is still popular to this day. I think that Hannah's target audience is large and mainly girls, is because she sings about her lifestyle and was very up-to-date when making her music, also the lyrics were very easy to remember and catchy.

Messages and Values

A message that was being pot rayed in this music video was one that wasn't very clear at the time of the release. Now from analysis i can see that Hannah was singing about her life on stage compared to her life not on stage and living reality and comparing her lifestyle of becoming Miley Cyrus. She gives a positive vibe off to the audience. She sings about having a lifestyle of luxury and this is how her audience should enjoy these things just like she does. "you get the limo out front, hottest styles, every shoes, every colour". Hannah within this music video wants to send a good message to her audience to enjoy her song, but to listen to the lyrics closely. This is one music video that is performed many times by Hannah in her television shows and hasn't changed since the last videos. In all of Hannah's video she sings about positive things, and never includes negative lyrics that might upset her target audience or lead them away. In the era that this song was made it was good to have an up beat song that was catchy and well known by most children, and this song is in accordance with the era. Most children in that era enjoyed songs that were aimed at them and they could relate to watching there favourite pop star on television. 

The second music video i have chosen to analyse is Miley Cyrus - Party in the USA. This video shows her as Miley Cyrus. Hannah Montana was her stage name on her show, and now this song is one of her most popular older songs which featured in the charts when released. 

PARTY IN THE U.S.A

Goodwin's theory

For my analysis of Goodwin's theory i have chosen to use point four. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work. Close ups are used frequently of her face, as well as her clothing. Close-ups are used on her face to show her facial expressions and the emotion that the artist is trying to portray and the audience want to feel the lyrics. The picture i have screenshotted on the left is from her official music video. This shows a close up of her singing into a microphone with the American flag hanging behind her. A close up shows clearly what Miley is saying and how her emotion on her face tells a story behind the lyrics.

Genre Conventions
The genre of this music video is pop. The conventions of the pop genre includes fashionable or clothing that stands out to the audience. Appeals to the teenage/youth audience, also a up-beat tune which is popular and enjoyable. Within this music video Miley is wearing a blue skimpy top with a short Jean skirt. She is also wearing knee high brown cow boy boots, which links with the convention of America (USA). In some parts of the music video Miley's top is pulled low and her underwear is on show to the audience. This might be a tactic of seduction towards her audience and to cause her audience to talk about her, and this acting as a method of promotion. She is also dancing and singing infront of the camera which is a convention of the pop genre. The song itself is very up-beat and includes a lot of instruments in the background. The lyrics are also quite repetitive which is conventional of the pop genre. The lyrics being repetitive means that the audience and her fans can remember the song easily, meaning her fans remember the song for a long time and is never forgotten and stays popular.

Dyer's theory
The video represents the artist positively. Within the music video Miley shows to the audience that she 'likes to party in the USA' with her friends, and this is shown through the visuals. She doesn't show any rebellious behaviour such as smoking or drinking, just shows herself dancing, performing and singing. Miley within this video is shown as a role model from her outfit, the things she is shown to be doing and the lyrics. No swearing or bad language is used, as well as no negativity is used towards the audience. The artist can be viewed as a product as her target audience can buy her CD or single. Also children's clothing which included pictures of Miley on the front, which may feature the background of one of her popular singles e.g. American flag. The artist is extraordinary within this music video. She is wearing glamorous and attractive clothing, which attracts her target audience in a way that they see her as a role model.

Target audience
The target audience of Miley Cyrus's music video; Party in the USA has the main attraction of girls aged between aged 12-18. As well as Miley having the target audience of girls, boys/men may also be attracted to her way of style or even her music. Within this music video Miley is wearing very revealing clothes which will seduce her target audience and create a relationship between the two. Miley has a wide audience, not just in the UK but is very popular within America, which links to this song, which was found popular in both countries. Miley's audience will see her as a role model as at that age you look up to singers and want to do the things that they do. Her good vibes and positive lyrics attract her audience and can create a good relationship between the audience and Miley.

Messages and Values
From my analysis I can see that there are many values and messages being sent out to the audience from this video. Miley talks about living the high live in the USA and how its so great hangin with friends and partying. "welcome to the land of the fame excess". This quote shows that you are recognised easily and this is life is one to lead. This shows to her audience that Miley is popular and enjoys living and spending her time within America.

The next music video I have chosen to analyse is one of Miley Cyrus's most recent new relseases, that was in the charts for a very long time and reached a lot of publicity. This song is called "wrecking ball"

WRECKING BALL

Goodwin's theory

For my analysis of the video wrecking ball, I have chosen to analyse the point of how the demands of the record label will have the need to use close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which reoccur across their work. The close ups are shown when Miley Cyrus is singing about the heart break she has been through and you can see the tear falling down her eye. This shows that she has a strong amount of emotion in her words and the song has a meaning behind itself, and the reason she wrote this song was because of a heartbreak she recently had with an ex boyfriend. The feelings and emotions are strongly shown through the close-ups as we see her facial expressions closely, creating a relationship between the audience and the artist as they get in insight into what she is feeling.

Genre conventions

The genre of this music video is pop, just like most of Miley's other music videos she has created. The use of mise-en-scene ; costume, shows her to be seen as very revealing and not wearing very many clothes. In one scene of the video Miley is hanging on a ball hanging from the ceiling. We see a mid-shot of her hanging, with no clothing on her top half. This shows a point that Miley has re-invented herself, as she never used to be so daring and rebellious. Her action show that this "heartbreak" have shown to take some effect on her. Furthermore, this does increase her publicity and the amount of people talking about her. Furthermore, the beat of the music isn't very conventional of the pop genre. It doesn't have an up-beat tune and the lyrics are quite sad and distressing. She sings about her love life which is conventional but the tune and emotion put into the lyrics are sad, whereas in her previous music videos she is happy and send of a good vibe to her audience.

Dyer's theory

h    In the music video it represents Miley in a negative way. Her body language, costume and the narrative of the song show that she is distressed making her audience realise that she has changed a lot from her previous music videos. The emotions used helps to portray Dyer's theory further as its clear how much Miley has changed since she first appeared as Hannah Montana. The star seems as though she is not having fun like she used to, and now singing about serious subjects unlike when she was carefree. Miley within this music video is both ordinary and extraordinary. We can relate to ordinary as she is singing about love and heartbreak, and how this has effected her life. Whereas, extraordinary due to her outfit and the way she looks. Her "outfit" isn't really much of one, and is very revealing in what she is doing on stage. This pot rays her as not really caring about her appearance, and all she wants to do is express her emotions and feelings to her target audience. 

Target Audience

From moving on from her stage name "hannah montana" and having a large amount of fans, Miley has grown up a lot and started production music which a lot of people can relate to and grown up with her audience. For this particular music video the target audience is 16-22, as language is sometimes used that isn't appropriate as well as the way that she presents herself e.g naked. Her audience are respectable and may have the same feelings as Miley and can relate to what she is saying. Whereas some of her audience just enjoy her music and follow her in whatever she makes, as she has changed the way she looks, sings and performs a lot over the years. Her target audience have seen her change things such as her hair, which is shown in the picture on the left where she has had long natural hair in the past and now short, dyed hair, which may be seen as out of the ordinary.

Conclusion

In conclusion i have identified that my artist Miley Cyrus has changed her image a lot throughout the years, and i have shown this evidently through my analysis. As well as researching Miley/Hannah i briefly researched into two different artists which i have shown. These two were Justin Bieber, a teenage hit, and Michael Jackson the king of pop. Both these artist have different target audiences and different genres of music, but have both changed their identities throughout the years. I feel that Miley Cyrus has changed a lot, which include some god things and some bad things. Her image before hand when she her stage name was Hannah Montana and then started releasing singles as Miley Cyrus. Her image was more relaxed, she has lot of fans and sent out a lot of positive vibes to her audience. Whereas now, she is very wary about what her audience think of her and how they are going to react when she posts something on the internet or her choice of style. I feel that my research of star and dyer's theory has allowed me to see why stars reinvent themselves and how this can change the way that there target audience see them or changes who their audience is. I feel that this will help with my research into my own music video as i have researched a lot into an artist which has helped me understood her. For my own music video i will be thinking carefully about star and dyer's theory and how it will affect my production.