The music industry is always evolving and one of these changes are the way artists reinvent themselves. There are many reasons to why they feel the need to,whether it's to keep up the current era as they've been around for a long time e.g Madonna or simply just bored of their genre of music, all these changes have been observed by audiences. Other examples of why artists may reinvent themselves is because of bad press of something they did and they wish to gain good publicity or like many disney stars such as Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez, to show maturity and grow up along with their target audience. In this essay i'll be discussing the ways in which former Disney star, Miley Cyrus has changed over the past years through her music and appearance etc.
Hannah Montanna - Nobody's Perfect
Miley Dancing
The song 'nobody's perfect' is a song sang by Miley Cyrus but as her Disney character, Hannah Montanna. Goodwins theory of the style of video is evident in the music video, as we see a performance is the music e.g Miley performing on a stage in front of her fans. This is primarily seen throughout the whole music video as it is a live performance of the track which was released on July 3, 2007.
Audience
A performance is seen in the music video as we see Hannah Montana dancing and singing, and musicians at the background playing the instruments for the song. The purpose of this styled music video, is to intervene with the musical and TV side of her, as the TV show follows how she's two different people and one of them is being a singer. This shows her performance skills as an artist in the show, and showcases the talents she has that audiences from the TV show love. Incorporating a live audience as well makes the audience feel involved and feel like they're watching the live performance themselves, building a close relationship between the artist and audience. This is conventional to the Pop genre, as artists in this particular genre like to show off their talents through performing which allows them to visually see how the artist truly is like, especially when its a live performance.
The genre that this music video belongs to is the Pop genre. A convention that is apparent in the music video through mise en scene; costume and iconography is the fashionable costume worn by the artist throughout. Miley as Hannah Montanna, is seen wearing a buttoned jacket with a sparkly long sleeved top, black jeans and boots. The iconography used in the music is a blonde wig, which Miley wears when she's Hannah Montanna; the person who is a star. The use of the blonde wig could symbolise the stereotypes of how blondes ' have more fun ' and help characterise herself as an artist as a fun person which is appealing to her target audience. The dull colours and sparkly top she wears mixes her look with looking rocky but however still glamorous which is conventional to the pop genre. This is conventional as artists in this genre usually wear bright, flamboyant outfits that look glamorous to attract their audience but also convey their happiness and star qualities in themselves.
Another convention that is evident in this music video, is the use of young dancers and actors. We see this throughout as Miley has back up dancers who look similar to her age, and actors with camera that pretend to be paparazzi. The use of the young dancers and actors, especially dancers is to convey the youth of today, but also make the artist relatable and appealing to their target audience e.g Miley's target audience is of young children to early teens. In Dyer's theory of how the artist is represented, Miley Cyrus as known as Hannah Montana in the Nobody's Perfect music video is represented as a fun, confident, happy young girl. The music video portrays her as fun and happy through her performance involving dancing and singing which she clearly enjoys doing. This is clearly shown through her body language and facial expressions. Also, she's portrayed as a confident person because she is performing in front of a crowd and does not look like she is afraid to. I think Miley Cyrus in this stage of her life can be viewed as a product, especially targeted for younger audiences. Miley is viewed as a product by being seen as a girl living her dream which young audiences may look up to and see her as a role model. Examples of where she is seen as a product could be when her character, Hannah Montana has been used in magazines, TV adverts, Teen Awards etc. This shows how she's fabricated for her target audience through what she looks and says in these media platforms.
She also displays Dyer's paradox that an artist must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary as she is represented as ordinary in the TV Show as being Miley Cyrus, but as extraordinary when she is Hannah Montana and performing (as seen in Nobody's perfect music video). This makes her relatable, but fascinating for her target audience which engages them to continue following her as an artist. The second paradox of an artist being simultaneously present and absent can be seen through the use of Miley known as two people. For example, when she is seen as Hannah Montana and willing to be seen as a star she is present, but when she's Miley she's normal and doesn't want people knowing who she is. I think the music video 'Nobody's perfect' is for hegemony, as Miley Cyrus promotes it in the sense that she is saying to go against the norm and be yourself. In addition showing how the rich people are telling the working class to accept their flaws,so they don't work to be better and because its a smiley face of a teen it is internally accepted. This also links into the messages and values aspect of accepting flaws and mistakes by not beating yourself up about it but in fact learning from them. This song was released in 2007, and in this time period teen stars were dominant in the music industry where many would make music videos or songs to fit their TV Show but also keep the target audience entertained. The positive social content message behind this was essential back then as it discusses the importance of overcoming mistakes. The target audience for Miley Cyrus at this stage is primarily young, pre teen girls, specially the age 6- 15. The reason for this is because she her self is young and portrayed as a teenager, that the audience could inspire to be when they're her age, therefore acting as a role model for the younger ages.
Miley Cyrus - Can't Be Tamed
Miley's music video ' Can't Be Tamed', was the one that demonstrated the drastic change in her sound and image. Through Goodwin's theory of voyeurism, this is clearly seen as we see Miley dressed in a revealing black leather leotard which portrays her drastic change from the previous video. This is also used in the album cover of her third studio album named 'Can't Be Tamed' where we see her wear black leather tight trousers, leather jacket and black crop top. The use of this particular costume, conveys the point addressed in the whole song of how she ' can't be tamed' which suggests her breaking free from her past self, and telling the audience how she wont stay the same forever. By wearing this sort of costume, this attracts a new older audience, particularly male which shows her branching out and growth as an artist. This is conventional to the pop genre, as they often consist of revealing and tight costumes that emphasise the body figure, so it attracts the male gaze.
Synchronised dancing
A genre convention that is clear in this music video is synchronised dancing. We see this on numerous occasions in the music video, for example when Miley is in the cage with other dancers. The use of the the synchronised dancing engages the audience into watching the music video, as everyone is seen doing the same thing. This is conventional to the pop genre as it shows a sense of togetherness and makes the video look more lively, which may have the audience copy the dance moves. In addition, audiences may copy dance moves from the music video, and then create a buzz around it which produces more publicity for the artist.
Peacock representation
Eye Make Up
Another convention that is evident in the music video, is the use of make up. Miley's make up, especially eye make up is quite dark and green which portrays peacock colours which we see her dressed as a peacock further in the video. The eye make up help convey her bird look and can portray her as dark and free. This is conventional to the pop genre, as artists usually wear makeup that suits their music video, but also so it helps illustrate the music video and artists feelings, views or message, so audiences have more of an understanding.
Miley at the Grammy
In reference to Dyer's theory, Miley in this music video is represented as rebellious, abnormal, voyeuristic , a sexual magnetism , aggressive, youthful and creative which shows that she has more of the common values in his star theory. This is evident through the use of costumes, dancing and iconography. I don't think Miley in this music video is seen as a product, as the video is about not being held back by anyone and doing her own thing. This shows her maturity from Hannah Montana and that she's now interested in doing things her own way instead of being told what to do. An example of her growing up is from the way she dresses, its not longer 'childish' but more grown up. Artists tend to do this so that they attract an older audience but also show that they are growing up. Furthermore, Dyer's paradox of being ordinary and extraordinary is evident in the music video. Miley can be seen as extraordinary through the use of costume and concept of the music video of being a bird that cannot be tamed. This exaggerates her stardom and shows her as being different to others. However, unlike the Hannah Montana music video, She is seen as different through her real image as Miley cyrus but this can be seen as ordinary because 'normal people' do change the way they are when they grow up, which adds on the point of her growing up. The second paradox of an artist simultaneously being present and absent could be evident in this sense, as when Miley was 'breaking free' from her Hannah Montana stage she was quite low - key. But after a year, her album Can't be tamed shows the change in her and how she's reinventing herself away from the disney world. I don't think the music video ' Can't be tamed' is for Hegemony but in fact for it because of the lyrics it self and concept of not being controlled by others especially society. Therefore, she's promoting the belief of not being restricted, and being herself whilst going against the norm to her audience. Furthermore, she promotes hegemony in the sense of telling her audience to against the norm through the use of lyrics "I wanna be a part of something I don't know, And if you try to hold me back I might explode". This illustrates her wanting to be apart of something that does not follow the norms, which encourages her audience to be like her as they may see it as cool because she is feeling that way.
Miley in the bird cage
The video could be seen as breaking away from what society see's as normal because of the use of birds and a cage that she is contain her. This may attract the new audience to think that she is rebellious and fearless as she is not following societies norm in her music video and is seen as different to her Hannah Montana stage where she did follow societies norms because she was young. Unlike the previous video, the music video attracts a new target audience of young females as well as men due to her being seen as a sex symbol. This show the maturity and change in Miley, which older audiences may be intrigued to follow and watch her videos. Therefore, Miley's target audience in this period is young adults; age 17-27, due to the mild revealing costume and minimal provocative dance moves that she illustrates showing that she's fearless and powerful.
Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop
Twerking
In this stage Miley's life, she reinvented herself not only through her image but her music as well. Back in 2012, the drastic change that happened in this period, was the chop of her hair. She tweeted after cutting the hair " never felt more me in my whole life" , expressing how she feels like her self with the hair do. This drastic change in her appearance was talked about in social media a lot and was trending on twitter. This was the mark of Miley's true change. The We Cant Stop music video was one of the most talked about videos as well, due to the sense of oddness of seeing Miley do different things. Goodwin's theory of a relationship between the lyrics and visuals is evident in this music video. This is evident when we hear the lyrics " To my homegirls with the big butt, shaking it like we at a strip club" and see Miley and a couple of girls 'twerking' (shaking their bums). This style of dance was a trend that started then, and the fact Miley is incorporating it in her music video, is showing how she is up to date with the latest trends which audience may talk about and be like ' Miley did so and so', which creates a buzz around her music video. This is conventional to the pop genre, as artist tend to convey that they are following whats 'hot' right and also to show that they're not afraid to try new things.
partying
A genre convention that is apparent in the music video, is the theme of partying. This is evident in the We Can't Stop video as we see numerous of clips of Miley and other people partying in a pool and indoors. Also the use of people dressed up as bears conveys the party theme, as parties can be fancy dressed for the fun aspect. This represents the artist as fun, youthful and rebellious through the use of the setting and actions happening in the music video e.g dancing, drinking and drugs shown. This is conventional to the pop genre, as artists usually want to convey themselves as daring and fun to their audiences so that they feel like they're having a good time whilst watching their music video like how they are in the actual video. The imagery created is often based on sex or partying because this is usually associated with what the target audience e.g teens enjoy doing, which makes the artist look relatable.
Posing seductively
The next convention that is evident in the music video, is the use of Miley wearing revealing clothes. This is seen throughout the music video, as we see her wearing white mostly; a crop top and tight leggings, body suit, a cutout leotard and so on. Linking with Dyer's theory of sexual magnetism, she uses voyeurism to gain attention and inform the audience that she is rebelling from her past and has grown up. With the exposure of her body through her revealing clothes, Miley also flaunts herself provocatively to look more sexual and appeal to male audiences. This is conventional to the pop genre, as artists tend to wear more revealing clothes to portray a sexual atmosphere and lure the audience into watching their music video. This often creates a hype over the music video as audience talk about the seductive activities portrayed in them which gives the artist more publicity. The music video definitely follows Dyer's start theory, as the common values of a star e.g rebellion, sexual magnetism, originality , creativity/talent, aggression, youthfulness and references to drugs and sex are noticeable. This is because Miley wants to assure people are aware of her reinventing herself as she wants to break away from her Disney childhood image. Unlike the Can't Be Tamed video, Miley does this major change and promotes it with her new look which connotes her new style, whereas the other video it was just a small change. Miley can be seen as a product, especially for teenage girls as she represents the growing up stage in this music video which audiences can relate to. However, illustrates that she is for hegemony in the We Can't Stop video like the Can't Be Tamed video and Nobody's perfect video. This is through the use of drugs and alcohol which promotes the idea of her audience to do these activities, because they're seen numerous times in the video and emphasises on the way she's having fun with them. Therefore, hegemony is apparent within the music video, which promotes the idea that using drugs and alcohol is cool and fun and that her audience should so it as well. The target audience are quite the same as the previous video, but just more primarily with adult audiences as she is older and able to do what adults can do. The target audience is 18-30 year old females and males because she is seen indulging drugs and alcohol which is known to be consumed by this target audience, but also the whole party lifestyle is relatable to them as well, therefore making Miley look like she's one of them. In addition to Dyer's theory of being present and absent, Miley is simultaneously present after the release of the video as she further promotes her escaping from her childhood image and being 'herself' through interviews and performances e.g 2013 MTV VMA's where she performed 'We Can't Stop ' and danced provocatively with Robin Thicke. The messages and values from each video have been fairly similar, with the idea of being yourself and not allowing anyone to change you. In the Nobody's Perfect video this demonstrates this by expressing the view to accept your flaws and not let anyone get to you. Whereas, the Can't Be Tamed video expresses the ideology, that you should not restrict yourself to what others want you to be, and should break out of the norms, and the We Can't Stop video showcases the message of having fun and no one being able to stop her from doing what she wants to do. Therefore, the overall message and values promoted throughout Miley's music videos is the message of being true to yourself and not letting anyone tell you what to do or change yourself. This appeals to the audience, as we live in a society of rules and with her music videos, the audience could feel a sense of escapism from the rules.
In conclusion, it is clear that Miley Cyrus has reinvented herself in the past few years purely to break away from her past imagery and actually be seen as what she says his herself. Also, that she changed because she wants to keep up to date with the latest trends to stay relevant, but also grow up with her audience so that they will still engage to her. This research will help assist me with an idea of who I will choose an artist to create a music video to, as it is clear from the research the ways artist reinvent themselves has an impact in the music industry. Also, it'll gain me more of on understanding of my chosen artist as I'll do research on them so that I make my music video as conventional as possible. Furthermore, I've learnt from this post that it is good for an artist to reinvent themselves as it attracts new audiences which widens their target audience and gives them more publicity.
Diverse music videos are music videos that do not follow the codes and conventions for their genre. Two famous directors that are known for their unique work when making music videos are Chris Cunningham and Michael Gondry.
Chris Cunningham is a British video artist who primarily directs music videos for less popular ambient music and electronica acts such as Autechre and Aphex Twin. Chris has also created art installations,directed short movies and has too part in various film jobs such as model making, prosthetic make-up and concept illustrations for films such as Nightbreed, Dust Devil and Alien 3. The best known music videos directed by Cunningham are: Aphex Twin - 'Windowlicker(1999), Madonna - 'Frozen' and Björk - 'All is Full Of Love'. When referring to diversity of music video, Cunningham is quite extreme with this and his music videos are kind of known to be quite strange.
Madonna - Frozen
Dark costume
Birds flying away
Madonna came to work with Chris Cunningham after she watched the music video Aphex Twin "Come to daddy" in 1997. Madonna belongs to the pop genre , however this particular video is unconventional to it because of the dark and mystery involved within it. A convention that is see in the video is through mise en scene, costume and make up. We see Madonna dressed in a black dress and black wig to convey her mysterious character in the video. Black connotes mystery, darkness, evilness and powerful which could imply that she is all these things and is in power of the land she is in. This is unconventional to the pop genre, as costume and makeup are generally materialistic and they make an effort to look nice, whereas in Madonna's frozen video she is just dressed in black which may seem unattractive for the audience.
The element of Goodwin's Theory that is evident in this music video, is that the lyrics and visuals match. For example, the lyrics "Love is a bird, she needs to fly" mirror the visuals as we see crows fly away from her when this is said. The use of this could suggest that she is referring to herself as the crows and how she needs to fly away from love. This is conventional to the pop genre, as songs are usually about love or heart break which is shown in the lyrics above.
Black dog
The style of the video is concept based, with the concept of love being negative, passive and consuming. This is shown through miss en scene;iconography and costume. We see the concept of love being negative through the setting and colours used in the video, which are isolated dark places and dark clothing. Also the iconography are animals such as crows and dogs represent how love can be dark, consuming and how partners can control you through the use of black dogs. This concept of love being negative is unconventional to the pop genre, as pop songs are usually happy and the relationships in them are fine, whereas in this video it is seen in a negative light. In this music video, the artist is represented as mysterious through the dark setting and costume as you can hardly see her face and everything looks quite dull. Also she is represented as possessed, through her body language as she floats around weirdly like she's some mystical dark force on the desert.Lastly, the artist is also represented as creative as she uses props such as animals to convey meaning to her song, which draws audiences attention as they figure what their use are.
Men in the car
Aphex Twin - Windowlicker Another music video directed by Chris Cunningham is 'Windowlicker' by Aphex Twin. Chris has worked with Aphex Twin many times and this is one of the most known music videos he has worked with. Aphex Twin belongs to the genres Electronic, acid techno, ambient, ambient techno and techno ambient dance genre. These genres are usually lively and what audience who like them can dance too. The song belongs to the electronic, techno ambient dance genre. The style of the video is narrative based as in the first 4 minutes we see scenes of two men driving in car then pulling up to chat to two women. This style of the music video is unconventional to the genres, this is because they often include a concept of a club scene as it portrays the beats included in the genres. However this music video involves a narrative which is unconventional because it does not make the audience want to dance straight away. However, the video is diversified by including a narrative, so that it takes a different introduction to the video and not starting off the song straight away so it grabs the audiences attention differently and gets the video talked about. A convention that is evident in the music video is that the artist is seen dancing around. This is conventional to the genres as dancing is a part of the genre because the up tempo. When referring to Goodwin's theory, we see the element of promotion of the label or artist in two different ways.
Label Logo
Firstly, the label is being promoted as we see the labels logo on the umbrella that the artist pulls out whilst dancing. The promotion of the artist is evident as we see the artists face photoshopped onto the females faces in the music video. This is conventional to the genre as DJ's or electro artist may want to expand on their audiences so they advertise their label or themselves to attract more audiences.
Women with his face
The artist is represented in many ways; he is charming through dancing (seem impressive to the female audiences and actors in video), promiscuous as we see clips of him with females touching him sexually, superior and flashy as we see his limo push over the men in front of him and also vain because of the photoshop of his face onto the women's faces.
Artists face on tv
Aphex Twin - Come to daddy More videos that Cunningham has directed for Aphex Twin, is the music video for ' Come to daddy ' which includes weird themes that are unconventional to the genre. Firstly, Goodwin's theory is portrayed with the element of promotion of the artist which is evident in the video throughout. For example, like the windowlicker video, we see the artists face photoshopped onto the children's faces. This could link in to the representation of the artist as being quite vain as he frequently has his face photoshopped on other peoples faces in his videos. Also this is used to promote himself even more, as he stands out which makes him more rememberable because he is forced to be the centre of attention. Also, the artist promotes the label again, by having credits at the beginning of the music video and the logo seen then too. This gains more publicity for the label as people will remember the logo because they saw it at the start of the video. The style of video for this music video is primarily concept based. This is evident through the narrative of the children with the artists face on terrorising the old woman and man in the van because they were influenced to by the artist who is seen on the TV. The concept of this is how children are easily influenced by the media and also to show how children can be rebellious. A conventional convention seen in this music video, is through the editing in which we see flashing images within the video. This is conventional to the genre as it mirrors the club, dub step scene which grabs the audiences attention and makes the video more exciting.
Artists face on the childrens faces
The artist is represented in many ways for example he is represented as creepy and weird because of the use of children with his face on theirs and the way they were 'worshiping' him in a way and doing what he says. Furthermore, the artist is represented as scary as we see him on the TV in a weird form which it looked like he was masked with some sort of gunge. Also, he is represented as rebellious through the rebellion of the children in the video.
Michael Gondry Michael Gondry, born in Versailles, France started as a filmmaker by making a music video for the band Oui Oui, who he was the drummer for at the time. Now Michael makes films as well as music videos, which vary form different genres. Unlike Chris Cunningham, Gondry is quite mellow with his diversity with music videos, this is evident in the two music videos, "Come into my world" - Kylie Minogue and "The hardest button to button" - The White Stripes.
moving in time with the beat
The Hardest Button To Button - The White Stripes The music video ' The Hardest Button To Button' is a unconventional music video that belongs to the rock genre and was directed by Michael Gondry. However, the style of the video is primarily performance based which is conventional to the rock genre. This is evident as we see the artist playing the guitar as well sing in font of a microphone stand. This showcases the artists talents and informs the audience with more of the talents the artist has. When referring to Goodwin's theory, the element of the music and visuals matching is evident in the music video. For example, we see as the artist and his companion play on their instruments, they mov forward in time with the new beat. This is unconventional to the rock genre as you don't expect them to be organised as the genre is known for being energetic especially when expressing yourself. A genre convention in the music video is the use of instruments, to be precise electric guitars and drums. These musical instruments are conventional to the rock genre as these are what makes the sounds for the genre to fit in because they are quite edgy and loud. The artist is represented as talented through the use of instruments, and also quite mysterious because of his dark clothing. But also mysterious because he seems to be quite laid back and chilled out as theres not much going on or insight into them and also because he is performing in public places such as the subway and park which makes him relatable to the audience.
Come Into My World - Kylie Minogue This music video belongs to the pop genre and is also directed by Michael Gondry. The style of the music video is narrative based as we see Kylie's and other characters daily routines and lives e.g the woman throwing stuff outside the window. This could also link into the concept of her world being repetitive in the music industry or having a normal life despite being famous, which creates a relationship with the audience as they can relate to her every day lifestyle within the video. The genre convention that is unconventional to the pop genre within the music video is Kylie's costume. This consists of jeans and a T-shirt which does not seem as glamorous or outgoing as costumes in the pop genre usually are. The use of the dull, normal clothing could support the explanation of how she wants to convey herself as normal so that the audience can relate to her within the video. However a convention that is conventional to the pop genre is the upbeat, repetitive music within the music video. This is conventional to the pop genre as they usually include music that is repetitive and upbeat so that audience can dance to and remember the song. There are several ways in which the artist is represented in the Come Into My world music video, for example Kylie is represented as girly through her costume of a pink t-shirt. Even though this is a regular top, the pink colour conveys the pop genre as costumes are usually in bright colours so that the artist stand out from everyone around them. Moreover, she is represented as confident and vain as we see her walking in the streets proudly and because there are 4 clones of her which may convey her as vain. Lastly, she is represented as creative through the clones, even though this is a sign of Michael Gondry's work. The element of Goodwin's theory that is evident in this video is when the lyrics and visuals match. This is evident when the lyrics 'come, come , come into my world' link in with the new replica of Kylie come out of the laundrette and go around the street again. This matches with the lyrics as we see the replica's coming out starting her day again, showing us her world by her going round in circles implies that its her cycle. In summary, Chris Cunnigham's diverse music videos from my research are portrayed as dark, mysterious and odd. This is because the settings are usually in low key lighting abandoned places, for example in the madonna video it was set in a desert and the Aphex Twin video Come to daddy it was set in a underground rough place. Whereas in Michael Gondry's music video, they are set in high key lighting places that are usually in public e.g Kylie's setting is of a busy street that looks local to her character in her video and in The Hardest Button To Button video they are seen at a park. This shows that Cunningham relies on making the audience not feel apart of the video but makes it interesting to watch, whereas Gondry adds elements of realism through the use of public settings so that the audience can some how relate to the video. Both videos promote their artists, but in different ways. In the Aphex Twin videos the artist is promoted through the use of CGI of his face on the characters involved for example the girls in the limo with him in windowlicker. In reference to Gondry he promotes the artist differently by replicating them within the video for example Kylie is seen doing her everyday things more than once and in the White Striped video they are replicated when performing around the park and subway. The ways in which both directors promoted the artists in their videos may differ, however they surely do make the music video look more interesting by introducing their artist more than once.
The reason why some artist choose to make a diverse music video is because they want to: try new things to stand out, be creative, show a true representation of themselves, create a buzz around them to increase popularity, widen audiences and attract niche audiences and become more rememberable for trying something new. However the disadvantages to making a diverse music video are: due to the oddness to the artists usual stuff, it may decrease fans because they don't like or understand the new material, it could be a risk to take as it could become a flop due to the change, existing fans may lose interest and plus it might not get as much publicity. Out of the two diverse directors (Chris Cunningham and Michael Gondry), I think that if I were to make a diverse music video, I would ask Michael Gondry to direct it for me. This is because I believe with a diverse music video made by him, it wont be too crazy and wild that the fans would lose interest because they do not understand the video. Whereas, Cunningham's work is too creative and weird that may only attract a niche audience due to its craziness. However, I dont think Im going to make a diverse music video, because with the Indie Pop genre its important you have as many conventions, so that the target audience understand the song and visuals which may be a narrative.
For decades, music videos have faced censorship due to artist beginning to craft visual companions to their music. Censorship of music is the practice of restricting free access to musical works. This involves censoring explicit themes such as weapons, strong language or violence that could be deemed as offensive or a threat to audiences or people in power (e.g government). A prime audience that are protected by censorship are young children, so that they are not influenced to do what 'bad' or offensive activities are shown. Music videos may include nudity or drug abuse and this may be seen as too mature for the young children to see, so these are censored as well as strong language. Of com is the communication regulator in the UK. It regulates TV and radio, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services and the airwaves which wireless devices use. It has a legal duty to represent the interests of citizens and consumers by promoting competition and protecting the public from harmful or offensive material used in communication. An example of a music video that has been banned is Lana Del Rey's 'Born to Die' video, where we see she and "her lover" kiss, smoke marijuana and drive around in a car. Also at the end of the video, her lover carried her bloodied body from a background of flames, insinuating she died in a car crash. MTV disapproved the video simply for her violent death. The artist, Lana told a reporter that she wished she was dead because of the censorship. Indie-pop star, Lana is known for creative, story telling music videos that her target audience enjoy watching and understand her songs a lot more. However, parents may think that the music video is too explicit, due to the violent death and that children may be even scared of it. Rapper, Eminem opposes censorship and believes that children will see the explicit content no matter what and that it wont affect their behaviour as music is purely for entertainment.
Artist Rihanna also opposes with censorship as she disagrees that she feels she cannot express herself nor show off her personality that audiences are intrigued to see. When it comes to Rihanna's music videos, it is evident that she is not afraid to showcase the many things that could be censored for example, in the B*tch better have my money video she is seen nude but covered in blood and lots of money laying in a chest. Rihanna has expressed before in her famous music video S&M which was banned in 11 countries, her thoughts on censorship as she mocks it by wearing a boob tube printed with the word censored.
Rihanna is an artist that makes her own rules and with her music videos and censorship she argues that she can do what she wants with them as its hers and she is not afraid of judgement. When finding out about the controversy with her S&M video, Rihanna went of social network Twitter and tweeted "Are you f*cking kidding me???" showing her angriness to the censoring of her song. Also when asked by a fan whether she was okay with the situation, she said "Absolutely NOT!". She also feels that with her music videos she is 'growing up' with her audiences as she sometimes adapts to their interests or make it relatable to their life situations.
Record Label Rihanna belongs to the record labels: Roc Nation, Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. These labels are known to sign artists most likely in the R&B,Pop and Hip Hop genres which frankly some include the explicit themes that may be censored. In relation to censorship, the labels argue that music videos from their artists should not be censored as its their way of expression. As Rihanna is a controversial artist, her music videos attracts a wider audience due to its individualistic, which increase her popularity and sales due to the publicity of her music videos. If music videos were to be censored, this limits the creativity for artists in their music and may even make music videos in general just look too similar, as they are restricting what is to be heard or seen in these videos. Also argue that Rihanna tells it how it is in her music videos, and some may be relatable to the audiences and shows her as not 'fake' but a true representation of herself. Furthermore, the record label feel that censorship does not do them any favours and also by not using Parental Advisory stickers on the albums, this attracts a wider audience. Finally, they argue that Rihanna is held responsible for the influence of pop as a genre of music, and these songs which are from this genre have soured in the top charts e.g Stay (Number 1 on US pop songs chart) and We found love (Number 1 on UK Dance chart). Parents For Censorship In a research collected by Of com from 1000 parents, they found that there were a lot of sexual content and nudity in entertainment, especially music videos. With the explicit content used in Rihanna's songs and music videos, they argue that she is not setting a good example for children and that they're easily influenced with the content shown. As music videos expand and are available to watch on different platforms, it is evident that more younger children are witnessing these music videos, which parents believe are influencing children's behaviour. An example of an artist who's been in the spotlight for children and is seen as a 'role model' is Miley Cyrus. Miley Cyrus was involved in her own TV show which aired on Disney Channel, called Hannah Montana. The TV show is highly known and watched by young children. After, being heavily involved with Hannah Montana, Miley has become quite out-going and less child friendly which leads to children maybe being influenced to copy the things she does.
we cant stop video
Her image and behaviour have changed rapidly that she's been spoken about in the media so much for this change. For example her song 'we wont stop' was spoken about a lot in the media, as this was her debut as someone new. In the video we see sexual behaviour such as spanking, dancing sexually and kissing. Parents argue with Miley Cyrus's drastic change, this affects her original target audiences of young children more than the ones she's trying to attract now. Therefore,artist who were popular in children's entertainment and were seen as role models then, should be considerate that children may still be idolising them and watching they're every move, which may lead to copying of behaviour. In reference to Rihanna, Parents argue that the song S&M is too explicit and children have been influenced by it. For example a 10 year old boy was singing the song and got into trouble as the other children were wondering what it meant, but also singing the lyrics that they did not even understand the meaning behind. Parents Against Censorship Parents against censorship argue that there a far more factors that influence children's behaviour, not only music videos. With the topic of nudity in music videos, these parents argue that nudity is natural and should not be censored as children should be able to see it so that they're more comfortable in society and feel equal. In addition, they say that by Rihanna exposing her body, it is allowing feminism to be seen in society. Also, when referring to smoking and drinking in music videos, they argue that children see these actions in real life so what difference does it make when its shown on music videos. Around 158.8 million people in the world smoke weed, so if children see this in their lives why cant they simple watch it on music videos. These parents simply argue that there is no need for censoring whats already out there in real life, and that regulating music videos only hides the reality of the world which keeps children out of the loop. Rihanna's target audience are most likely to be 16 year olds and onwards, and in our country 16 year olds are legally allowed to play the lottery. So if children at 16 are allowed to gamble, why cant Rihanna who is a 27 year old woman allowed to gamble in her own music videos? Also 2% of 12 - 15 year olds who are exposed to gambling at a young age actually develop an addiction. The lowest age to go to jail is 10, and in the laws eyes children this age onwards should know whats right and wrong. So if children can go jail at 10, this shows that children are mature enough to know whats right and wrong in a music video, and what not to copy. Events like Nottingham carnival, drugs are taken and the police do not do anything about it. At this event, children do attend so are likely to be exposed by drugs. What is the difference if the child sees drugs in a music video. More or less, music videos usually show the negative sides of drugs anyways, so really they educate the children not actually encourage them to use them. Therefore, parents against censorship simply believe that censorship is useless when the law states that children are old enough to do certain things that are seen in music videos. Furthermore, Rihanna only includes these themes to promote herself and most of the time, explicit themes included are evident in real life, so there is no shame of showcasing it in her music videos, when its already out there. Fans In agreement with the parents against censorship, Fans also oppose censoring of music videos. Rihanna is a highly known celebrity that is in the public eye all the time. She currently has over 81 million likes on her Facebook page, 22million Instagram followers and over 48million followers on Twitter. These statistics show that Rihanna is highly appreciated and has a wide fan base that enjoy what she does.
Rihanna in pour it up video
They also argue that censorship is objectionable as you cannot see Rihanna's real personality, which many do what to see. The mail online said ' Pour it up ' video was "vile and pornographic" which told the readers that she is a bad influence. Fans would disagree with the mails statement about the video and argue that, the video may be explicit due to the themes of pole dancing but not 'pornographic'. In addition, the dancing seen in the video shows fans more about Rihanna as an artist, and lets them in her life style. However, not all of Rihanna's explicit music videos are just for fun, in the video for 'Love the way you lie' featuring Eminem, we see the topic domestic violence showcased in the video. This is an informative, realistic video that shows to her audiences what a domestic violence relationship looks like and how to speak out. Also Rihanna herself has experience domestic abuse in the past with her ex boyfriend, R&B singer Chris Brown in 2009. The sensitivity and bravery shown form Rihanna by showcasing this to her fans, makes her more of a role model and someone to look up to as those who have experienced what she's been through can relate with her. Overall fans of Rihanna simple think that censorship is wrong, as it restricts artists expressing themselves and also if they don't like it they don't have to watch it, so they shouldn't change it for everyone else who do enjoy the explicit themes in music videos. MTV (British Music Channel) The MTV channel are for censorship, however they do allow uncensored videos to be shown on their channel after 9pm, which is called watershed. MTV argue that this schedule is fair to both audiences and artist, videos that are not censored may be censored in the day, but not at night. So older audience can watch the videos on their channel at the appropriate time. They argue that censorship is simply there to protect the children from seeing explicit themes and copying the behaviour shown. They believe as a music channel, it is their responsibility to regulate what is shown at what time, as they are aware they're audiences range from a young age upwards. The lead author of the position paper stated that children spend an average of 2 hours a day listening to music through headphones. This makes it harder for parents to hear what their child is listening to as they are not aware because they cannot hear it. MTV also prefer artists who are aware of they're audiences that may be young, to censor videos themselves. Lady Gaga and Madonna do this by having two videos released, where one is censored and the other one is not. For example Lady Gaga's song paparazzi has an explicit music video and a normal one on youtube. However some may argue that this is pointless, as technology has advanced and there are many ways to get a hold of music videos, so children are bound to see the explicit music videos anyways. But MTV still agree with censorship, as they are aware of their wide audience, and want to keep their ratings so they make their channel for everyone by having watershed, so both young audiences and older audiences are 'Happy'. Channel AKA (British Music Channel) Channel AKA oppose censorship, as they believe it goes against their whole purpose as a music channel. The music channel is known to showcase upcoming artists as well as the successful ones. Channel AKA believe that it is not their job to regulate what is said or seen in music videos, and that their job is to simple showcase music videos not edit them. Moreover, that they are not entitled to control ones music nor music videos, and that everyone is their own person and peoples individuality should be seen. If one does not want to watch a music video with swearing in it, then they should not watch it, but that does not mean the music channel has to censor the song just to meet the standards for one. They argue that the censoring in music videos takes away the artists freedom of speech. They believe that the songs or music videos showcase artists true intentions and messages to their fans and with the censoring it restricts them. Also Channel AKA argue that there are far more worse things going on around in the world in real life, than swearing in music videos. They argue that music videos are a way of showing the real representation of the artist and that it allows their creativity to be seen. Chris Brown's song 'These Hoes Ain't Loyal' is censored on some music channels, e.g the word Hoes is changed into girls. This change of the lyrics implies that Chris Brown is calling all girls not loyal, when really in the uncensored lyric, he is just referring to women who are 'Hoes'. Censoring confuses audiences and takes away the real meanings of artists lyrics, which is unfair as its their music and they should be allowed to say whatever they want to be understood. Therefore, Channel AKA do not agree with censorship.
BBC Radio 1 (British Radio Station) BBC Radio 1 are for censorship due to their wide audience of all ages. BBC radio 1 presenter Nick Grimshaw refused to play Rihanna's single ' S&M '. However instead BBC Radio 1 changed the title of the song to 'Come On', this iteration of Rihanna's racy track S&M had all references to "sex," "chains" and "whips" edited out. Rihanna did not like that they made a new version of her song and took twitter to show her rage. But BBC Radio 1 continued playing the radio edit, which is called Come on, and also continued to play the original track in specialist shows with an appropriate introduction for example instead of having the lyrics " but chains and whips, excite me", we hear the words 'chains' and 'whips' censored out with a sound affect. Capital Xtra (British Radio Station) When it comes to censorship, Capital Xtra are for it but uncensored songs are played at watershed. The radio station is fully aware of their audiences and how they have young audiences as well, so by having watershed they are considerate to all audiences. Capital Xtra do believe in freedom of speech, but because of their vast audience, it is important that they censor explicit languages at the appropriate times. Strong language in a song would be replaced with either silence;beeping, re-sampling, back masking and repeating. This technique is used to make sure that they have not changed the song completely as audiences probably still know what the word is, but just censored out words which they believe is harmful for younger audiences. From this research, the general overview is equally fair and both subjects that are either for or against censorship have some fair good points. A point that has been mentioned quite a lot for those for censorship, is that it is good because it protects children from seeing or hearing harmful things which they may copy or be influenced by. Also, a key point that those against censorship said was that it restricts the artists and takes away their freedom of speech which everyone is suppose to be entitled by. However, my personal opinion is that songs should not be censored as I believe it is down to the parent or child to control themselves and not watch or listen to music with explicit content. Also, I am against censorship because I believe music in general is a tool to be creative and express yourself, and if censored it is not really personal which defeats the purpose of making music. But I believe that if artists are aware of their younger audiences, I think when releasing an explicit video or song there should be an appropriate introduction stating what is including, so that viewers are aware of what explicit themes they are about to see or hear.When referring to censorship in my planning for music video, I do not think I will be using censorship in my music video. This is because I want my artist to be free to express themselves so that audiences can get a better understanding of the song.
Andrew Goodwin writing in 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory'(Routledge 1992) Goodwin's theory states that there are 7 key aspects to a music video. It is essential to consider as it gives artists and directors a guide on how make a music video that fits well with the genre and to their target audiences. Also without applying Goodwin's Theory to a music video, people may not understand music videos, which could lead to jeopardy.
Music video demonstrates genre characteristics
There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
There is a relationship between music and visuals
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
There is frequently reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes or other music videos etc.)
Whether the video is primarily performance, narrative or concept based
In this post I will be applying Goodwin's theory to the music video Pretty Hurts by Beyonce, to help assist me with further knowledge about music videos. Beyonce's music is generally R&B, but she also incorporates pop, soul and funk into some of her songs. However in the song Pretty Hurts, the genre for this song is Power Pop and a Soul Ballad.
Singing at the beauty pageant
Beyonce and other contestants
The music video does demonstrate genre characteristics of Power Pop as we see in the screenshot, Beyonce is singing with clear strong vocals which is conventional to the genre. Also, in pop music they're are often performance based, and we see the artist usually give a sort of performance whether its dancing,singing or playing an instrument. In this music video, it is evident as we see Beyonce performing vocally and modelling at a beauty pageant. This builds a relationship with the audience as they see the artist strongly sing acapella and this focuses on the artist's talents, making the audience engage more with the video. Another generic convention to the pop genre, especially for female artists, is that they look glamorous and attractive to appeal their target audience and catch their attention. We see this as we see Beyonce and the other beauty pageant contestants dressed up in gowns, to compete with each other for the title. Even though, Beyonce's reason for looking 'attractive' in this video was to show the bad sides of being 'pretty', it is still shown that she is attractive. Therefore, this creates a great emphasis on the concept of the video and draws viewers attention so that they find out why it is sometimes bad to be 'pretty', building a relationship between artist and audiences as they receive more information about her. The age group that this could be reaching out to are females 15 - 28 as this range is where girls/woman are conscious with their appearance.
Beyonce "fixing her teeth"
When referring to Goodwin's theory with the point about there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals, this is seen in the pretty hurts video. From 2:20 to 2:23 the lyrics " brush your hair, fix your teeth" are parallel to what we visually see Beyonce physically doing, as she's getting ready for the contest. The purpose of this is to build a relationship between Beyonce and the audience as what she's doing are things women can relate to which links to the concept of being apart of society's standards of 'beauty'. This ables audiences to understand and sympathise with her but also share that they have similar life experiences.
Another example of where the lyrics and visuals match is from 4:41 - 4:43 where the lyrics "Pretty Hurts" are conveyed through Beyonce's actions which are of her using one of her beauty pageant trophies to smash down the others. These lyrics show the artists emotions and mirrors not only the lyrics but also conveys the pain of how being pretty and being awarded for it is not satisfying. In addition to this part of the song, not only do the lyrics match with the visuals but the music as well. This is through a long shot showing Beyonce smash her trophies and the non-diegetic sound speeds up, as if it was the sound of her smashing the trophies. The build up to this sound, creates an adrenaline and shock in the audience as we see her smash awards that you would think were important to her, that are clearly not. This grabs the audiences attention and makes the sympathise with her as she's not happy even though she has won all those awards.
The demands of the record label often include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist. This is evident in the pretty hurts video, as we see many close ups Beyonce when getting ready for the contest and at the contest. The different close ups seen in the video help convey the narrative, as we see Beyonce in these different shots do something to make her seem more 'beautiful' but she's not enjoying it. The close ups establish her facial expressions, and these often consist of confusion, worry and tension. This helps build a relationship between the artist and the audience, as the close ups allows them to see the artists emotions and how she feels. Therefore, creates sympathy towards her. The fact that the artist is even showcasing this may make the audience like her more, as its a real issue that happens in todays society.
The fifth element of Goodwins music video theory is that there is frequently reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. In this music video there are many ways in which the female body is looked in voyeuristic way because the song is about beauty. For example we see Beyonce getting a spray tan and she's wearing a bikini which may look voyeuristic and viewers might find that 'sexy'. This is seen through cinematography, mid shot and long shot and this shows us what she's doing to prepare herself to look 'perfect' for the beauty pageant. The use of this links in with the concept of the music video, and gives the audience a more understanding about what the song is about. Also, this conveys to the audience what society see's as "beautiful" which the target audience of 15-28 year old females would understand because they see it in the media that having less on is "attractive".
There is intertextual reference in the pretty hurts video at 2:07, where we see through the use of cinematography, long shot of Beyonce standing next to a big TV. As you can see in the screenshot, the TV is not airing anything. This could link to the concept of how media and society portray whats beautiful. The fact that the theres nothing being shown on the TV, could represent how media shouldn't take control of the way women or girls see themselves. This creates a relationship between the artist and the female audience, as they feel that Beyonce is sending a good message about the reality of media and that all is not what it seems, making the audience relate to her more.
Beyonce throwing up in toilet
The final element of Goodwin's music video theory is whether a music video is a performance, narrative or concept based video. The style of music video that Beyonce - Pretty Hurts is primarily a concept based. We do see elements of a narrative and performance based, but the whole point of the video was to showcase the concept of the massive pressure on women to have outer beauty in society. This is evident throughout the music video as we Beyonce participating in a beauty pageant, and we see the backstage footage and also the contest it self in the music video. This illustrates the concept well as we see Beyonce do many things to herself that may seem pressuring or harmful such as making herself puke, getting botox done, measuring her weight and getting a fake tan etc. These are all actions done in the video to show the pressure on women to look 'perfect' on the outside, but not be happy in the inside. This creates a relationship with the audience, as they are aware of what she's trying to showcase and the message about it, and it educates them more about the negativity side to beauty pageants. Also, the relationship between the artist and audience is built as some may relate to what she's doing in the video, as it is a real life problem that happens in society right now, especially in the age range of 15-28 which song appeals to.
However the elements of the narrative comes along with the concept. The narrative is of Beyonce simply getting ready and participating in a beauty pageant, but at the end we see that Beyonce does not win this competition. Finally we see the performance elements in the music video, as we see Beyonce sing for the judges, so that she could win the contest. The performance is conventional to the pop genre, as artist genuinely showcase either dancing or singing in their videos. Even though this song isn't the typical pop, it still conveys a performance through Beyonce's acapella singing, which gives the audience an insight of how she sounds without any music behind. Analysing Goodwin's music video theory has given me the knowledge and guidelines of whats included in a music video. With the information from the 7 elements, I will assist these information and consider using them to enable me to make a successful music video. This has helped establish what is conventional to the pop genre, but also given me a more in depth understanding of a concept based music video. When planning my own music video, I will include Goodwin's theory to help me gather what to include in my video for it to be conventional to my chosen genre. What i'm considering now, is the Indie genre, and I believe with the elements from Goodwin's Theory such as close ups of artist and a narrative based music video, this would convey the genre well and make the music video successful.
Another convention that is evident in this music video, is the use of young dancers and actors. We see this throughout as Miley has back up dancers who look similar to her age, and actors with camera that pretend to be paparazzi. The use of the young dancers and actors, especially dancers is to convey the youth of today, but also make the artist relatable and appealing to their target audience e.g Miley's target audience is of young children to early teens. 
In Dyer's theory of how the artist is represented, Miley Cyrus as known as Hannah Montana in the Nobody's Perfect music video is represented as a fun, confident, happy young girl. The music video portrays her as fun and happy through her performance involving dancing and singing which she clearly enjoys doing. This is clearly shown through her body language and facial expressions. Also, she's portrayed as a confident person because she is performing in front of a crowd and does not look like she is afraid to.
She also displays Dyer's paradox that an artist must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary as she is represented as ordinary in the TV Show as being Miley Cyrus, but as extraordinary when she is Hannah Montana and performing (as seen in Nobody's perfect music video). This makes her relatable, but fascinating for her target audience which engages them to continue following her as an artist. The second paradox of an artist being simultaneously present and absent can be seen through the use of Miley known as two people. For example, when she is seen as Hannah Montana and willing to be seen as a star she is present, but when she's Miley she's normal and doesn't want people knowing who she is. 
Miley's music video ' Can't Be Tamed', was the one that demonstrated the drastic change in her sound and image. Through Goodwin's theory of voyeurism, this is clearly seen as we see Miley dressed in a revealing black leather leotard which portrays her drastic change from the previous video. This is also used in the album cover of her third studio album named 'Can't Be Tamed' where we see her wear black leather tight trousers, leather jacket and black crop top. The use of this particular costume, conveys the point addressed in the whole song of how she ' can't be tamed' which suggests her breaking free from her past self, and telling the audience how she wont stay the same forever. By wearing this sort of costume, this attracts a new older audience, particularly male which shows her branching out and growth as an artist. This is conventional to the pop genre, as they often consist of revealing and tight costumes that emphasise the body figure, so it attracts the male gaze.
In Dyer's theory of how the artist is represented, Miley Cyrus as known as Hannah Montana in the Nobody's Perfect music video is represented as a fun, confident, happy young girl. The music video portrays her as fun and happy through her performance involving dancing and singing which she clearly enjoys doing. This is clearly shown through her body language and facial expressions. Also, she's portrayed as a confident person because she is performing in front of a crowd and does not look like she is afraid to.
Miley's music video ' Can't Be Tamed', was the one that demonstrated the drastic change in her sound and image. Through Goodwin's theory of voyeurism, this is clearly seen as we see Miley dressed in a revealing black leather leotard which portrays her drastic change from the previous video. This is also used in the album cover of her third studio album named 'Can't Be Tamed' where we see her wear black leather tight trousers, leather jacket and black crop top. The use of this particular costume, conveys the point addressed in the whole song of how she ' can't be tamed' which suggests her breaking free from her past self, and telling the audience how she wont stay the same forever. By wearing this sort of costume, this attracts a new older audience, particularly male which shows her branching out and growth as an artist. This is conventional to the pop genre, as they often consist of revealing and tight costumes that emphasise the body figure, so it attracts the male gaze. 
The music video definitely follows Dyer's start theory, as the common values of a star e.g rebellion, sexual magnetism, originality , creativity/talent, aggression, youthfulness and references to drugs and sex are noticeable. This is because Miley wants to assure people are aware of her reinventing herself as she wants to break away from her Disney childhood image. Unlike the Can't Be Tamed video, Miley does this major change and promotes it with her new look which connotes her new style, whereas the other video it was just a small change. Miley can be seen as a product, especially for teenage girls as she represents the growing up stage in this music video which audiences can relate to. However, illustrates that she is for hegemony in the We Can't Stop video like the Can't Be Tamed video and Nobody's perfect video. This is through the use of drugs and alcohol which promotes the idea of her audience to do these activities, because they're seen numerous times in the video and emphasises on the way she's having fun with them. Therefore, hegemony is apparent within the music video, which promotes the idea that using drugs and alcohol is cool and fun and that her audience should so it as well. The target audience are quite the same as the previous video, but just more primarily with adult audiences as she is older and able to do what adults can do. The target audience is 18-30 year old females and males because she is seen indulging drugs and alcohol which is known to be consumed by this target audience, but also the whole party lifestyle is relatable to them as well, therefore making Miley look like she's one of them. In addition to Dyer's theory of being present and absent, Miley is simultaneously present after the release of the video as she further promotes her escaping from her childhood image and being 'herself' through interviews and performances e.g 2013 MTV VMA's where she performed 'We Can't Stop ' and danced provocatively with Robin Thicke. 
