There are different representations in music videos i.e. gender, race culture sexuality, nationality and place. There can be different messages and values relating to different aspects such as, personal, political, war environmental concern, drugs and crime.
In some music videos there can be scenes which can create the notion of erotic pleasure, according to the theory of Sigmund Freud, where women are looked at as sexual objects rather than for narrative purposes. Goodwin argues that there is a combination of camera work and editing that intensifies the body shots in music videos. Goodwin also says it becomes more complex when you see the male body on display as women then have the power to look at men as sexual objects too. Some people think that the display of the female body increases the male profit margins in music videos.
Star Image and Power
Richard Dyer had noted that “A star is an image constructed from a range of material”
Richard Dyers material included a range of different things. The first material is the song, as they should be lyrical themes and musical structures/genres. I think a song can tell a story about the writer or different issues which are interoperated individually. The second material is the record covers which are singles, albums and images of the star they present. Some famous artist use record covers to sell their music e.g. Michael Jackson. The third material is media coverage which gives you an insight into someone’s private life, making you curious about how the star become artist he/she is. The fourth material is the live performance- the images of the stage show, enabling you to see the full extent of someone’s abilities under pressure. Some artist will thrive under the pressure whilst some break down.
The star image is all about how the audience perceive them to be in the music industry, involving their character. The music promo is playing an important role in constructing a star image; this is creating an associated iconography. An iconography is the visual features of the star such as costume and jewellery or setting. The economic powers of the stars are generated through sales of products such as CD sales, downloads and cinema tickets. Stars get a lot of money from advertisements. A stars image can also be analysed from the type of music video collection they have.
Conclusion
The stars image has a lot of factors that make them in to professional performer. They can be under tremendous pressure when they are performing live, from this they can generate music videos, downloads and CD’s as there is a wide audience that they appeal to.
