a2 star persona lesson

STAR PERSONA

LO: TO understand the term in more detail and represent your own star

persona

Who are these famous artists?

How have they changed?

Richard Dyer’s Star Persona/Star Image

• Music videos are essentially advertising and can be used to construct or support an ‘image’ for an artist

• Eg.Hip hop artists- wealth, power• Rock bands- authentic, music instruments

• Pick Two Genres and brainstorm some ideas about ‘Star Persona’

RepresentationMusic videos are great for analysing representation eg. Gender, race, nationality, place and culture.

They may also contain various messages and values about politics, drugs, wealth, success, crime etc

This will be key in your work that you think about a particular representations and perhaps try to challenge or subvert stereotypes in music videos.

RepresentationHow is gender represented in this video?

What messages and values are being conveyed?

Gender Theories Messages

Dominant males – Aggressive, violence – performance/punches wall/shaved head/wife beater vest/fire connotes danger/low key lighting – dark side

Challenge traditional roles – teddybear/fights back

Megan Fox – vulnerable, emotional, innocent – on the floor crying – Cus – heighten emotion

Rihanna’s shots longer pace – direct address/voyeurism

Sexual object – revealing/provocative

Objectification – revealing clothing / crop tops/male gaze/underwear – more vulnerable

Voyeurism – couple don’t know being watched – behind closed doors, private, intimate world

Empowerment – Rihanna – main focus – Cus – beauty shots – long takes – commodity/selling artist image/pleasing the fans

Alcoholism – makes them happy because they forget about problems – escalates behaviour, worsens violence

Blackmail – threatening behaviour – trapped, can’t get out – should be about choice

Empowers women to get out before it’s too late

Domestic violence: Rihanna and Chris Brown’s relationship(intertexutal to media life) – negative representation

USP

• Stars need a Unique Selling Point in such a heavily saturated market

• Think of some of your favourite artists – what is their USP?

How is Rihanna representing her star persona/USP in this video?

Practical task

• Create your own star persona for a particular genre

• What would be the image you would portray in the media…how can you reinforce or challenge stereotypes…

• Take an image to support this and create gossip column post about yourselves representing your image through the image and status update OR A CD ALBUM COVER

Research and planning marks

Initial research counts towards your final marks!

HMK: Analyse 3 music videos for representation of star persona, consider messages and values, USP, reinforcing/challenging stereotypes

Support your answers with micro evidence and theory