Representation & Star ImageBy Stefano Towell

Voyeurism

The idea of voyeurism comes from Sigmund Freud and it originally refers to the notion that erotic pleasure might be gained by looking at a sexual object – when the “sexual object” is unaware that they are being watched at all.

This particular idea has been used in a variety of music videos in the sense that women have been sexualised by the dominance of the males.

This particular idea has been used in many ways but perhaps the most frequent “style” is where characters are shown watching the sexual objects through a TV, Camera or anything similar to this.

Exhibitionism

In complete contrast to the previous term, this term focuses more on independent female artists such as Lady Gaga and how they are supposedly in control of the sexualised gaze being put on them – artists like this have added a complexity to the politics of looking and gender/cultural debates.

A lot has been written about the representation of women in terms of race, e.g. the recent trend of sexualised Jamaican style dance moves, within rap music videos, which are influencing mainstream artist’s performance styles.

The debate however is extremely polarised – is the cynical exploitation of the female body within music videos simply used to increase profit margins? Or is it a life enhancing assertion of female self-confidence and sexual independence or perhaps that due to the long periods of being viewed for the male gaze women have t see themselves only for the males’ eyes.

Encapsulating this is the ‘queer gaze’ – the representation of a male/female artist covertly addresses a homosexual and heterosexual audience, e.g. Madonna and Kylie Minogue.

Star Power

‘Star Power’ can take several forms: One of which being the economic power through

earnings generated by the sales of associated products – cinema tickets, merchandise and CD’s being only a few of these.

Artistic Power – this is when an artist has creative control over their own image and how it is seen by the media.

The last one if Ideological Power in relation to their influence over their audience – this could potentially take the form of fashion, attitude or even both.

Star Construction

Richard Dyer (1979) said that ‘a star is an image constructed from a range of material’, for pop music artists these particular materials include: The songs in relation to their lyrical themes and musical

structures/genres. The Covers of the Artists CD’s – the image of the star they

present. Media Coverage, for example, interviews about the artist’s

private life and career all the way through to gossip in the tabloids.

Live Performance – the image they present through their live shows

Music videos, which could be argued to be the most important aspect in building star image, may draw upon the image presented in other media.

Star Image

This is how a star is presented or perceived by an audience, this encompasses or the characteristic of the artist and may be a combination of conscious construction by the media industry for which the artist works and of extra-textual publicity in other media. The actual construction of the star can only be controlled by the star themselves and their employers up to a particular point, especially in the age of magazines and tabloid media. The music promo has a particular role to play in the construction of a pop star’s image, this is done by creating an associated iconography – visual features that may regularly accompany the star during live performances, such as the mise-en-scene of the star. This construction can be reinforced through the notion of authenticity of performance where the audience perceives the song lyrics as a direct reflection of the star’s inner or outer persona.

Star Vehicle

‘Star Vehicle’ is a product which is constructed around the image of the star in order to promote the star – the prime example being a music video.

The music videos essentially act as a showcase for the star’s talents and playing a significant part in the construction and maintenance of their image/brand.

Each video may draw upon its predecessor both in terms of reinforcing the star’s image and taking their image further or even to subvert it and create a new one entirely.

This would particularly apply to stars who have had lengthy careers.

Gender

In response to the Beetles in the UK, The Monkees were created in the USA. The four members of the band were selected for how they would look and come across on TV – a similar concept which has become a lot familiar with the creation of boy bands in the 90’s right up to the mass amount of singing contests which are around today, such as X Factor. Shortly after this music videos started to throw some artist’s into stardom without the traditional method of live performances. The emphasis on image, performance and choreography and the use of Close-Up shots have arguably been helpful to the success of female artists. Goodwin argued that the female artist nowadays is objectified in a regular basis, and this is often seen through the combination of camerawork and editing with shots which emphasise a sexualised treatment of the star. The voyeuristic approach, to the female body, seen within male music videos is often very apparent, with the use of dancers as embellishments on the male artist’s ego. This idea becomes more complex when we see the male body on display – the ‘female gaze’. This is where women exercise their own power by looking at men as sexual objects opposed to the other way around.