Dyer's star theory puts forward the idea that celebrities are artificially
manufactured by male dominated institutions. These stars are
constructed to represent real people so audiences can relate thus the
fan base expands. This also helps stars gain more profit.
Audience and Institutions
Stars are made for the purpose of making money.
Increasing the brand identity benefits institutions eg.
record labels. They become a household name increasing
sales in all the media platforms they are in.
Constitutions
Hegemony (Culture)
The audience relates to the star because the
star has features they can identify with. Some
fans will attempt to replicate the star. However,
this could have a negative impact; The Beatles in
were open about their use of drugs and alcohol.
So in the 60s and 70s there was a rapid increase
of illegal cannabis sales due to The Beatles being
open about using it. Their fans saw them as role
models and so copied these acts.
Gramsci - Hegemony
Gramsci supports the Marxist perspective.
Marxists believe that all institutions in society
benefit the bourgeoisie (ruling class). When
people saw the ideologies put forward by the
bourgeoisie they believed that these actions were
the norm. For example; Britney Spears' Hit Me
Baby One More Time she is dressed very sexy
with little clothing therefore young girls believed
it was the norm to dress provocatively.
In the music video we see Britney in a sexy school
girl outfit and her hair in braids with a fluffy pink
hair tie which suggests that this video is
exploitive.We rarely see the man, Britney is
always shown either singing or dancing thus
proving that she is the centre of attention.
Therefore, it could be argued that this video is
empowering.
Laura Mulvey - Male Gaze
Mulvey puts forward a feminist perspective. She believes
that the audiences view characters from the perspective of
a heterosexual male. The camera lingers on the curves on a
woman's body and sexual movements. This relegates
women to the status of sexual objects
Andrew Godwin -
Illustrate
Amplify
Disjuncture
Illustrate - Music video can use a set of images to
illustrate the meaning of lyrics and genre;
most common way
A good example of a music video
that clearly illustrates the meaning
of the lyrics is Owl City - Firefly as
he sings about fireflies, fireflies
come upon the screen to a little toy
gadget.
Disjuncture - Meaning of song is ignored.
A very good example of a music
video that is irrelevant to the lyrics is
Fatboy Slim - Praise You. We see
actors doing awful dance routines
Amplify - Meanings and effects are
manipulated and shown through the
video.
Kanye West -
Homecoming shows
him walking around
his home city and from
the lyrics they can tell
he is "coming home
again."