Music videos theorists

 Music  video theorists + application

Richard Dyers ‘star theory’:

Richard Dyer proposed that ‘stars’ are curated images, separate from the real person, that are made to attract a fandom and ultimately bring in revenue for the artist and their record label. 

There are 3 key aspects to a star:

-the star as a construction

-as a commodity (to make profit)

-and as an ideology (reinforcing specific values)

He also talked about the paradox of the star in that they must be both:

-ordinary and extraordinary (to be relatable yet inspirational)

-and present but also absent (in order to maintain a parasocial relationship with avid fans) 

Andrew Godwin’s theory on music videos:

He also proposed that there are demands placed on artists to produce music videos that sell for profit. However he suggested this is done though 5 different ways:

1. genre characteristics
2. Linking the lyrics with the visuals
3. linking the music with the visuals
4. Including close ups (for voyeurism) and motifs 
5. Including intertextual references 

Application to Eminem ‘without me’ music video:

Richard Dyer:

• Eminem curates his star persona as being relatable (wearing Nike tracksuit, scenes in a corner shop) but also aspirational (positions himself as superhero and important with low angle shots)
• Reinforces values of possession of money and women being aspirational to his audience, and curates his disagreeable persona as ‘slim shady’

Andrew Goodwin:

• follows genre conventions of rap music video with low angle shots and explicit gesture codes, also got objectification of women 
• lyrics are linked to visuals e.g. to trailer park girls
• Pace of music linked to visuals with fast cut montage scenes
• Close ups of star provided to personalise the star
• Intertextual references to talk shows in America and superman

Context behind music videos infographic

 

First music video- made for the first GPO Film Unitadvertise the postal system, A Colour Box was the first time films were directly physcially scratched and painted on. Len Lye (the producer) thought it amplified the jazz sountracks.

Scopitone-A scopitone is a type of jukebox featuring a 16mm film component. They were most popular in 50s/ 60s in US and Europe.

The Beatles- produced a feature length film 'A Hard Days Night' featuring their own music in 1964

Bob Dylan- created one of the first televised music videos to his song 'Subterranean Homesick Blues’. It has become a cult classic and been parodied many times

Technological advances- Advances in technology such as chroma key (green screen) meant that music videos became more visually drastic and impressive. Prveiously blue screens were used but to get clearer cut edges against the hue of skin tone and higher luminosity, green screens became popular and were later used for CGI scenes

Top of the pops- Produces realised the power of music videos and created TV platforms such as top of the pops. Two of the most notable performances were David Bowie's 'starman' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t365MuktYQs) and Boy George's 'Do you really want to hurt me?, both known for the cultural impact.

Queen- In 1975, Queen released the music video for Bohemian Rhapsody which is regarded as the most significant music video of the 1970s. It was released on the platform YouTube and the video now has over 2 billion views, showing it's still popular

today.

MTV- in 1981, MTV channel started and it changed music videos. It began as a 24 hour streaming system for music videos. Madonna, Nirvana, Michael Jackson, Bon Jovie and other artists gained lots of popularity and fame through the music channel.

Michael Jackson- In 1983, Michael Jackson released the music video for Thriller. It had high production values and cost $500,000 to make. Released on MTV, the channels ratings increased tenfold, demonstrating its cultural impact and popularity.

Technological convergence- Today, lots of media platforms are condensing together in the process of technological convergence. This makes the spread of information far quicker, and has meant content is personalised to individuals through algorithms. Everything is now always on demand and can be streamed 24/7.

Super curricular: The Big Issue own copy

As research for our set text ‘The Big Issue’, I researched previous issues and made my own version reflecting the zeitgeist. 

Super curricular: shelter advertisements

 Shelter is charity that aims to induce empathy in the audience of their advertisements to promote people to give donations that go towards providing families with safe homes. I watched one of their short campaign films and noted the following media language that conveys messages containing the theme of childhood, imagination, poverty, and injustice:

-the setting of the film is other-worldly established in a wide establishing shot of a sci-fi setting that looks like Mars. The warm codes of colour, imaginary landscape, and code of gesture of holding hands suggest that childhood should be happy and magical with the love of a parent.

-2 people are then shown to disrupt the narrative with codes of gesture connoting anger and wearing clothes that convey them to be living in poverty. Todorov would argue they disrupt the equilibrium. 

-there is then a cut to a different setting where it is revealed the father and daughter are in a desolate flat of laying with cardboard boxes over their head, suggesting their economic plight and poor living situation.

-the fathers facial expression may then be read as defeated and desolate, and the daughter appears frightened.

-the film ends on a black screen with short impactful statements that reinforce the message that the magic of childhood created by the love of a parent cannot be sustained if they can’t provide a safe home for the child to maintain their happiness. It then uses direct address to suggest ‘your’ donations could help, which is a direct call to action. 

Take a look at this video, 'shelter charity films'
https://share.google/KHXTVkpVgWnIq6c8K

Levi Strauss: theory analysis

 In September 2025, I had to create a presentation on one of the set A-level theorists. I was assigned Levi Strauss and have attached screenshots of my findings on his theory of binary opposites in the media. Since then, I have done further reading on his theory using the Mark Dixon textbook and learnt the following information:

• media products may also use stylistic oppositions where the camera work may switch from stable and steady to a series of frenzied whip pans. This technique is used to maintain audience interest and reflect narrative opposition between moments of calm to distress, loss to gain, or poverty to affluence in montage sequences.
• Genre driven binary oppositions can be so deeply entrenched they become a genre convention. For example technology vs humanity in science fiction.
• Binary opposites can be used to simplify complicated themes and ideas by using blatant contrast to make them more digestible. Therefore, they can also speed up audience understanding 
• Furthermore, they can make narratives more compelling by promising an entertaining narrative clash  
• Narratives resolve themselves in a way that privileges one set of oppositions- for example newspapers may teach us that criminals are caught and justice prevails, or that corrupt politicians loose elections to suggest that justice will always win. News stories are hence crafted to reinforce cultural or editorial bias. By extension, binary opposites are used to reinforce societal norms and values.

Supercurricular: Media Magazine article analysis

 An article that caught my attention in the Media Magazine's Spring 2017 edition was a piece that analysed the film 'I, Daniel Blake. Released in 2016, the film promotes socialist ideas and has sparked much political controversy. After reading the article I learned how the producer, Ken Loach, made the decision to use guerrilla 'below the line' marketing strategies (a tactic often associated with activism) since he hoped his audience would be left with a 'sense of outrage’. This included 'clean graffiti' and light projections of the film's title on the Houses of Parliament. The audience interaction with the film relates to my studies on audiences and Stuart Hall's reception theory. While the socialist messages were accepted by most as the preferred dominant reading and a desired feeling of outrage was reached, others on the political spectrum had oppositional readings, with right wing journalists in the Daily Mail criticising it as ‘romanticis[ing] benefits’. The article could further be applied to the News Industry topic: the distributors (eOne) chose to partner with Trinity Mirror Group newspaper rather than an expected broadsheet (that'd have a cineliterate middle class demographic) since the film's socialist messages aligned the newspaper's brand image who desired the value transference that'd appeal to the paper's working class demographic (who are socially and culturally conscious and want to change things for the better.)

Supercurricular: analysis of St George’s flag controversy (applied to media theories)

 https://southendhighschoolforgirls-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/20-mbla_shsg_org/EX9En3vEynxGnc-PUYdDpuEBgvueTR0_IZvJMzGjc4BNHQ?e=RJQUa1

After learning of the media theorists in the A-level spec, I attempted to apply each that I thought was relevant to the current situation of the erection of St George’s flags in local areas, and what it means to different people.

Beauty advert

 

To progress my understanding of how advertisements work, I created two adverts featuring hair products using word and other platforms available to be at home (I was absent at the time and unfortunately could not access photoshop)

School advert

 As an introduction to photoshop in year 12, the class created flyers to advertise the school after taking our own professional pictures in small groups using the departments’ cameras. Attached is my work, from which I learnt the skill of erasing the background of a picture on photoshop and layering to impose one image on top of another in a neat and professional way.