Ananlysis of a star and Dyers theory- Miss Miller

Artists may feel the need to reinvent themselves as they may want to change the genre of music they are producing as they are either bored or want to try something new which will widen their target audience also. Also they may want audiences to perceive a different image of themselves which will bring in new fans however their risking of loosing their existing fans. For example Miley Cyrus target audience was younger audiences as she used to sing pop however she changed her image to more edgy and has more older fans now. Artists may also want to change their style if they have had bad press or a bad reputation in the past for example Chris Brown had to change his image so people will perceive him differently. Artists that have been around a long time may want to change their image so that their audience wont get bored and to gain more publicity which will promote them also. Artists such as Justin Bieber when he first became an artist he had mainly younger fans but now he has widen his audiences by changing his style slightly and has more older fans now.

Richard Dyer came up with the star theory. He said that the term 'star' refers to the semi mythological set of meanings constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a large and loyal audience. Common values of a star include:
-Youthfulness
-Rebellion
-Sexual Magnetisum
- An anti-authoration attitude
-Originality
-Creativity/Talent
-Aggression/Anger
-A disregard for social values relating to drugs, sex and good behaviour.
- Conspicious consumption, of sex, drugs and material goods
- Success againt the odds.
A star is an image not a real person that is constructed out of a range of materials. Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings. Stars depend upon a range of subsidary media- Magazines, Tv, Rdio, the internet- in order to construct an image which can be marketed to their target audience. The star image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to the target audiences. The star image is coherent incomplete and open. The star image is based upon two paradoxes:
Paradox one
The star must be simutaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer.
Paradox two
The star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer.

An artist that has significantly changed from when she first started as an artist to now is Miley Cyrus. The conventions and her messages has significantly changed throughout her career. Miley Cyrus's big career started in 2006 when she played the lead role in Disney Channel's 'Hannah Montana'  Due to the programme being based around her singing, her songs became really popular with the young teenage female audience and became an icon. She continued her signing career after the show and became known as a 'pop princess'. 

One of the first songs Miley Cyrus produced was "Start all over" in 2007. The music video is a typical rock/pop song and follows many conventions of the rock/pop genre. Within the music video Miley is wearing black, red and white clothing which portrays her as a rock star which is conventional to the rock/pop genre, she has also got blonde highlights in her hair which make the audience perceive her as different and unique. Her make up is also heavy which is conventional to the rock/pop genre. The music video is set in a realistic place such as a skate park along a street, this is very typical setting in a pop/rock genre. The audience will also be able to relate to her easily which will build a relationship between the artist and audience. The music video is just performance based as Miley is singing towards the camera for the duration of the music video.  Her target audience which are younger fans will look up to her and inspire to be like her.This allows the audience to remember who she is and shows her as a strong pop/rock artist. With in the music video at the end Miley performs to an audience, this again is typical of a pop/rock genre and promotes Miley as an popular artist. Overall "Start all over" conforms to typical characteristics of a rock/pop genre. 

Goodwins theory is present within "Start all over". There is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals. Within the chorus the lyrics are 'out of the fire and into the fire again' whilst Miley is dancing with the fire in the background. By doing this makes the music video more interesting to watch and easier especially as her target audience at this point were young girls. It also presents Miley as a unique artist to the audience as she is dancing near fire which may also present her as a strong rock/pop singer. 

Also within the music video the visuals match with music. Miley's dancing is within time of the music beat. This makes the video more interesting and easier to watch. It also makes Miley look like a good performer which presents her as a strong artist. 

Another Goodwins theory point within the music video is that the music video is just performance based. Miley is seen dancing and singing throughout the whole of the video. This allows the audience to see that she is a strong dancer and performer which builds a relationship between the artist and the audience. 

Within the music video I believe that Miley Cyrus was portrayed as an ordinary girl, average teenager through her clothing and realistic setting. This applies to the Dyers theory as Dyer believes that music industry models around the target audience they chose. He states that celebrities are modelled by the industry just to gain profit. Stars are constructed as real people who experience relateable things. Which Miley conforms to within this music video. 

This was Miley Cyrus's first song to start off her career therefore it can be argued that she wanted to keep her young fan base from which she gained from Hannah Montanna. 

I believe the target audience at this stage of her career were young girls 8-14 year olds due to the choreographed dancing and routine. Furthermore the clothes she's wearing and how she is acting is something young girls would look up to. The music video is also set in a realistic location so that the young fan base will look up to her. I also believe her target audience were young girls at this stage as she just finished her acting career from Hannah Montanna which gained a huge fan base of young girls.  

In this music video I believe Miley just promotes to young girls to be themselves and have fun as there isnt really a message within the music video. 

In 2010 Miley released "Cant be tamed" It demonstrated major change from her previous image and music in 2007/8. The music videos in itself is extremely different as we start to see that Miley's image is changing from girl next door to a unique image. The music genre is still in the rock/pop genre however this music video breaks the typical conventions of a pop/rock music video. We see Miley Cyrus within this music video wearing dark clothing which appears to be a bird costume with also dark make up which produces a goth effect which subverts to the rock/pop genre as artists within them are usually wearing bright clothing. The lighting also subverts the pop/rock typical conventions as the lighting within this music video is low key which produces an eerie atmosphere which is unconventional for a pop/rock music video. Her old music videos were set in bright realistic locations whereas this one is set within a bird cage which shows to the audience she'changing. Within this music video there is more of a rock dance routine which differs from her old dancing. Miley Cyrus within the video is presented as rebellious and dominant whereas in her old videos she came across as happy and well behaved, this shows the audience that she is trying to change her image so people perceive her differently.

There is a relationship between the visuals and music. The lyrics 'cant be tamed' link with the visuals of her being stuck in a bird cage. This shows the audience she is now wild and her image has changed. By having the visuals match with the music also helps the audience to watch the music video as they will understand the video better. 

There is also voyeuristic treatment of the female body within this music video as she dances throughout the whole of the video and the camera is just on her body. She is also wearing a black leather leotard which can be seen as revealing. This is done to show to the audience she is attractive and her target audience is males. Furthermore there are also males looking at her body within the music video which promotes her as an icon for men. 

The music matches with the visuals within the music video. Mileys dancing speed matches with the speed of the music therefore again promoting her as a good singer and dancer which shows she still is a strong artist. 

There are many close ups of Miley to be used for the demands of the record label. Close ups make the audience remember her and also makes her a product so that she is recognizable and can be indentified anywhere. By using close ups build a relationship between the audience and the artist as the audience can see her emotions clearly which makes them relate to her therefore they are more likely to buy her songs which will make a profit.  

Dyer states that a star is an image and not a real person. Stars are constructed through advertising, magazines, films and music videos. Within this music video I believe that Miley is constructed as an image not a real person due to the setting/location and her costume which shows to the audience she isnt a normal person. Also through her dancing shows her confidence and her unique style which allows the audience to idolise her as a product not a human being. Therefore she has been constructed to make a profit. Miley also shows rebellion, originality within her music video which follows dyers theory. 

Her target audience for this video has dramatically changed from the video before due to the nature of the music video and the way her image has changed from a typical teenage girl to a goth like women. In my opinion I believe her target audience has changed from young girls to 17-25 year old girls and boys. Her reputation has changed from the 'pop princess' to an outspoken girl through her costume, setting and cinematography throughout the video. Her image has changed dramatically and also her style of music therefore her target audience has changed. 

Within this music video she also gives out a different message to her previous song. In the other song she was just full of life dancing whereas this one conveys a different message. The theme and message of this song is about romance and sex which will change her target audience completely. She's trying to show the audience a different side of her to gain a more wider target audience. 

In 2013 Miley Cyrus produced "We cant stop" which shows again she has changed her image from her two previous videos. The genre of this music video has changed from pop/rock to hip hop however she breaks the conventions as she wants to shown as unique and diverse artist. Normally within a Hip hop music video you expect to see a narrative but also with performance such as dancing whereas within this music video its very random and you just see Miley partying with odd things occurring. Also you expect to see a club setting within a hip hop music video whereas in this music video its set in a house. The lighting also subverts the typical hip hop lighting within music videos, the lighting is high key with no strobe lighting which subverts the hip hop genre. I believe Miley Cyrus breaks the conventions to show audiences she is different and wants to be noticed. 

The visuals match the lyrics within the music video. For example "Dancing with Miley and on the screen are people dancing with Miley. I believe this is done to show that Miley has a high reputation therefore audiences will look up to her. It also makes the music video easier to watch therefore audience will engage more within the music video. 

There are many close ups of Miley throughout the music video. I believe this is done due to the demands of the record label. By having many close ups builds a relationship between the audience and artist as they can clearly see her facial expression therefore they will be able to relate to her easily. Also many close ups will mean they will be able to remember her easily also. 

There is also voyeuristic treatment of the female body. This is displayed by her provocative dancing and her revealing outfit. Also there are many shots of her body which show off her assests. The purpose of this is to show that she is a sex symbol and males find her attractive. It will also make other females inspire to be like her, also increasing her fan base. 

Dyers star theory states that stars are made just for money which can be argued why Miley has changed her image from girl next door pop princess to a raunchy sex icon, it illustrates to us that the star is treated like a product as she has changed her image to meet the demands of the record label. Dyers theory states that this is done so that it suits the audience and gives them what they want which will also benefit the institutions. Miley cyrus has become a brand an idenity in which people want to become like, they may change their hair cut to look like Mileys for example. 

Also Mileys behaviour within the music video will be copied as she is now a brand. 

Mileys target audience for this video has changed again to older teenagers due to the partying theme and getting drunk. I believe she has done this to show her audiences she can conform to different styles therefore she will build a big fan base. The content within the music video wouldn't appeal to her younger fan base. 

Miley has changed from the beginning of her career to now as she has got older but also the demands of the music industry has made her change her image to gain profit. By changing she has gained a different fan base and people perceive her differently. 

The message within this music video is to do drugs, have fun, party and do what you want. The song promotes drugs as a good thing due to the random stuff happening in the video and the happy artists within it. She has a more laid back approach towards drugs which promotes the audiences that shes out of control. 

In conclusion, from "start all over" to "We cant stop" we can see that Mileys image has significantly changed. Miley had a innocent image changing into more of a goth image to finally a raunchy sex icon. Audience can see her different styles. I believe she has changed so that she can gain publicity which will earn her and her record labels more profit. I also believe she has changed due to age therefore she didn't want her fan base to be young girls and wanted to attract more of a older fan base. By changing also shows the audience she can conform to different styles which will make her have a good reputation. 

This research will help me to choose an artist for my own music video as I can now see what conventions each genre conform therefore showing me what genre will be easiest to film. It also has taught me to how to target to a specific target audience through micro elements.