Representation in my music video “Look The Part”

What does my music video represent?In regards to representation, my music video is mostly focused around representing gender and age in conjunction with each other, considering my music video is representing the fears of teenage girls. It could be said it focuses more on gender because this is stereotypically something that most girls deal with. However, it could also be said to focus more on age because this is an issue that teenagers deal with and it just happens to be shown through a girl. Gender seems to be the most prominent feature of representation.

How is it represented?I am representing the anxieties that come from teenagers through the mask that my main actor wears as it demonstrates that she wants to hide her face, as well as the idea that she is specifically presenting a version of herself to the people around her. The fact that this then comes off demonstrates the idea that she learns to shrug off the problem.

How do theories relate to my music video?Laura Mulvey- it could be said that the way I present women is very typical of media since all the girls are

stereotypically pretty with long hair and makeup. Since lots of my shots of Georgina will start at her toes and move up to her face, this could be seen to be very typical of male directors also. However, I don’t think that I oversexualise Georgina at all, due to the very conceptual nature of my music video- we are meant to be more focused on the emotion of the song and the message as opposed to Georgina as a brand that is trying to be sold

Antonio Gramsci- since I am presenting women, it could be said that I am going against the natural hegemony of the world and the media as I am using the story of women and I am demonstrating my own view of the world which is not the stereotypical masculine one. However, it could also be said that I am working very much within stereotypes since it is stereotypically women that have these anxieties and to be truly progressive I should have focused on men’s feelings

Stuart Hall- I very much appear to be reflecting the media’s general view that teenage girls are only focused on themselves and their own anxieties. However, I believe that I am sharing my own opinion as a teenage girl and that I am somewhat going against the media as I am presenting this an issue to be focused on rather than ignored and considered the norm

Richard Dyer- Overall, it does appear that I am creating a “reel” image of my star since I am going along with typical conventions of what to do when your star is unknown such as do a lot of close ups and consistently mention the songs name. However, since we initially show Georgina as an anxious girl, while this could be seen as a ploy to make her seem more relatable, it could also be seen as very sincere and therefore showing Georgina off as the real Georgina. While some aspects of Georgina have been changed for the music video such as her look, there is a lot of influence of her true character.

What criticisms could be made of my music video?Men are hardly seen in my music video compared to women. I could be seen as conforming to the stereotypes of women being weak because of their anxiety, as well as the fact that I am seemingly ignoring the fact that men also feel these anxieties. However, I personally believe that my music video instead shows a very strong female character who manages to overcome her anxiety. We also don’t follow the stories of the extras, so it could be said that I too show their own anxieties as they don’t react.