Music Representation in BM + STY

Little Mix as stereotypical Geeks - They have insecure clothing, They are quite shy and self conscious, They are seen in the spotlight and geeks are normally outcasts(Challenges Geeky stereotype), They suite the typical stereotype of a typical teenager.

Little Mix as stereotypical popular girls - Very Attractive and fashionable clothing, stand out from everyone else as they wear very revealing clothing and makes them stand out as the popular people. They get all the attention in the end.

Male Geek character - The male geek is represented as a very insecure and shy person who doesn't like confrontation. We see this when he is bullied by the popular kids. He is not confronted by popular girls often as he is surprised when he is kissed by the girls on the cheek.

Popular blonde female - Very sexualised, stereotypically represented as dumb and cares more about looks than education. Gets all the boys and is the most popular in the school. 

Popular attractive male - The attractive male challenges the stereotype of an asian male as he isn't geeky and is very popular and cool. He is also stereotypically a cool person as we see him wearing a black leather jacket which symbolises being free.

Group of popular girls - Very typical as when they are together they bully the geeks and act as if they are dominant compared to the geek who is inferior to them.

Teacher - Challenges the stereotypical African American descent as he is a teacher and not a criminal/thief. Stereotypical teacher seen as boring an dull. Then changes when affected by magic and becomes fun and active.

The Vamps - Represented as very chilled out and laid back. Enjoys the beach and life. Stereotypical teenage boys (playing football, liking girls etc) 

The group of girls - Very attractive, smiling and enjoying the beach, typical stereotype of a teenage girl at the beach. Highly sexualised E.G. Bikini, revealing 

The main love interest - Between the actor from Austin and Ally and the lead singer from the vamps 

Demi Lovato - Solo singer who isn't sexualised within the video and not very commonly seen on the video and is represented as unique as she sings alone and wears all white.
The white clothing can also represent the beach

Exam Questions

How do the audiences interpret the representations within the music video? (10 Marks)


In Little Mix's (LM) video 'Black Magic', we see a range of stereotypes and representations that challenge and support each other. A representation that challenges a known stereotype is the popular Asian teenager who is getting the girl and is also looked up to. This gives the audience an interpretation that LM try to challenge the known stereotype for Asian people which is usually that they are smart, nerdy and good at maths. The group LM are also based on other races and ethnicities which shows that the band is multicultural and give the audience influence that other races and ethnicities are ok. This also links to how LM (when they were geeks) were very shy and wore nerdy outfits, but when changed by the magic they challenged the stereotype of a geek and became dominant and changed the fashion sense they had. E.G. Became very revealing and attractive.


How do audiences use music videos to construct their identity? Use two music videos you have studied to answer this. (10 Marks)

Teenage girls between the age of 12-16 may construct their identity by using Little Mix's (LM) 'Black Magic' to represent the stereotype of a popular girl. Girls who are very shy and want to get popular would have a preferred reading of LM as they would see that to get popular all you need to do is use magic. However this can be seen as an oppositional reading as people know that magic isn't real and therefore reject this ideology of using magic to get popular. 

Teenage girls between the age of 12-16 will also use The Vamps (TV) 'Somebody to you' to construct their identity as the group TV try to show that to be popular and get the boy you need to have the ideal body image within the media. This can cause however, for girls to start starving themselves and cause illness such as anorexia. This will cause girls to have an oppositional reading as girls would then be lead to think that starving themselves to look good is right.

15 Mark Holiday Homework

How far do you agree that the two videos you have studied are conventional for the genre (POP) (15)

From viewing Little Mix's music video 'Black Magic', it is evident to agree that Little Mix has a wide range of pop conventions. An example of this is the band shots, as we can see that the whole group of Little Mix has been included in most of the shots. We can see this throughout the video which suggests that they are all equal as they have the same amount of time on camera within the music video. The convention of band shots also suggests to the audience that the band are great friends and show a more superior side to what they sing as we feel inferior due to the band being together and looking down onto the audience.

The effect of this is that the audience who are watching the video have a strong insight into how powerful the bands relationship is and how we learn to understand that as a group, you can do anything.

Additionally, within 'The Vamps' music video 'somebody to you' the bright lighting within the music video reflects the atmosphere which is conventional to pop music. The lighting within the music video gives us an idea of how dominant the singer is in the music video and that they are trying to engage us as the audience with the lyrics he is singing and find a meaning in the words that are sung within the video. The sunlight in the video has a conventional feature, as it shows the audience how the group within the music video are having a good time and enjoying themselves whilst making the music video. This shows the audience that the band itself are very upbeat and enjoy what they do.The effect of the band doing this within their music video is that it makes the audience feel very happy and bright about the video and gives the audience a good vibe. This can be shown when the lead singer says 'somebody to you' which shows that they are trying to engage the audience within the video and say that 'you' are in this relationship.

Overall I would AGREE that the two music videos discussed above are conventional to the POP genre. Many conventions, such as lighting, band Shots, close ups etc reinforce the message that pop music portrays, as they create a sense of happiness and enjoyment within both videos which is a major aspect of the POP genre.

Pop Conventions

Textual analysis of Pop music video

Technical conventions: 

. Band shots, whole band shots and performance clips

. Shadows, mise-en-scene reflects atmosphere, equal division of shots upon band members e.g the way that little mix look in the video I.E Geeky/nerdy

. Bright Lightning E.G highlights that THEY are the DOMINANT person in the video

. High/low angle and special effect lighting E.G High angle makes us feel superior and the person in the shot inferior. Low angle makes us feel inferior and the person in the shot superior. 

. Close-Ups E.G engages the audience with what is happening, or shows a possible transition E.G Black magic from geeks to popular.

. Animation: E.G Little mix Black Magic when they fall over they knock over the text.

. Dubbed sound: Not actually singing in the music video, just does it in a music room.

How far do you agree that the two videos you have studied are conventional for the genre? (POP)

 From viewing Little Mix's music video 'Black Magic', it is evident to agree that Little Mix has a wide range of pop conventions. An example of this is the band shots, as we can see that the whole group of Little Mix has been included in most of the shots. We can see this throughout the video which suggests that they are all equal as they have the same amount of time on camera within the music video. The convention of band shots also suggests to the audience that the band are great friends and show a more superior side to what they sing as we feel inferior due to the band being together and looking down onto the audience.

The effect of this is that the audience who are watching the video have a strong insight into how powerful the bands relationship is and how we learn to understand that as a group, you can do anything.

Additionally, within 'The Vamps' music video 'somebody to you' the bright lighting within the music video reflects the atmosphere which is conventional to pop music.

Homework little mix and the vamps

A little bit about Little Mix Formed in 2011 on the XFactor – the only group to ever win the XFactor Signed to: Syco(Simon Cowell’s own label)  / Columbia Style: Pop with R&B influences 4 albums: DNA (2012), Salute (2013), Get Weird (2015), Glory Days (2016) - All toured albums. Band makeup: aged 24-26 – ethnically diverse Number 1s: Cannonball, Wings, Black Magic, Shout Out to my Ex. Singles: 17 released in the UK Limited success in the USA – only 3 of their songs have entered the top 100. Their most successful USA release was Black Magic, which got to chart position 67.
A little bit about The Vamps In 2011, James was a solo act managed by Prestige Management, but decided he wanted to form a band. The vamps are signed to Mercury Records, Island Records and EMI  The Vamps were formed in 2012 They use the genre of POP  They have 25+ albums such as - Somebody to you Ft. Demi Lovato
A little bit about Demi Lovato Been around since 2002 and is still prospering She is Pop R & B and Pop Rock She does vocal, guitar, piano and drums
Little Mix primary audience and why?  Little mix's primary audience is usually teenager because of where they originated from being a family show called X factor. This gave them a very mixed fan base and allowed them to become very popular	The Vamps primary audience and why?  The Vamps primary audience is teenagers as we see within their music videos Disney channels stars such as people from Austin and Ally, The Muppets and Demi Lovato.

Classwork Little Mix and The Vamps

       

Representation In Music Videos

Representation is a mixture of: 

1. The thing itself.

2. The opinions of the people constructing the representation.

3. The reaction of the individual to the representation.

4. The context if the society in which the representations is taking place in which the representation is taking place.


1 . Jay Z

2. Was represented as a gangster and was shown to be very violent and serious

3. People thought he was very untrustworthy and rough as his facial expression was always stern and gangster like.

4. The area that Jay Z lives in isn't very rough or violent, however they assume that where he lives would be rough as he has been shown to be a very violent and rough person. This is not the case as he lives within a relatively decent area.

Star Image

A star's image becomes a readily recognised sign that is used in many different media forms.

Stars can be use the fact that their image has meaning by allowing it to reused for advertising purposes. 

A pop stars a manufactured image and doesn't correlate to a person's personality behind the image.

Intertextuality

Intertextuality - when a piece of media text references another piece of media text
 (1985)

An example of this was Gentlemen prefer blonds - Film - (1953) and Madonna material girl               

In 1986 Robert palmer made a song called, Addicted to love (1986) this references to, Shania twain man I feel like a woman (1999)

ITEM 1

Robbie Williams "Millennium" music video




ITEM 2

James Bond trailer for "the world is not enough" (1999)





Intertextuality

James Bond the world is not enough, makes references to Robbie Williams Millennium as we can see a similarity between clothing. There is also a reference to the countdown to 007 and is a reference to Robbie Williams new year countdown. The vehicle used in both videos are also similar in colour and model.


ITEM 1

Massve Attack "unfinished sympathy"





ITEM 2 

The verve "bittersweet symphony"


The Verve -  Bittersweet Symphony is similar to Massive attack unfinished sympathy as they both include only a few shots of the main character and both walk down a road. The characters however are not wearing any similar clothing and ends with a group of men following the main character.


The Beatles - I want to hold your hand



Outkast - Hey Ya! Is similar to The Beatles - I want to hold your hand as they both include a similar style E.G. the hair cut is the same in both videos. Parts of this video is also black and white which makes intertextual reference to The Beatles as It was in black and white.

Music Video Theory

Male Gaze Theory - by Laura mulvey

All media products (film, TV, magazines, video games) are made for heterosexual males. Women's costumes are often tighter, shorter and more revealing.

EXAMPLE - This advert is for WOMEN, but 
still has a women posing naked 
and seductively. 





Uses and Gratifications Theory

Information - To learn about the world we live in

Personal Identity - Identify with a star

Personal relationships - Using the media as a talking point to build friendships.
E.G, "Did you see Eastenders last night?"

Entertainment - To fill time / escape from a normal life. 

People use the media for these reasons....

SET MUSIC TEXTS

The Vamps - Somebody To You ft. Demi Lovato

Little mix - Black Magic


The Vamps - Somebody to you ft. Demi Lovato



1. I found The Vamps - somebody to you to be MORE engaging than Little Mix Black magic as you felt as if you were there having a good time with them

2. This music video applies to Goodwin's theory as it gives a strong link from the words of the song to what is happening in the video itself. It also uses voyeurism as a key factor of the music video.

3. This links to the Male Gaze theory as they use women within the video to get their point across and make the music video include a better structure and sexualise it.

4. 

. The video will get more views because it contained people from TV shows

. It also contained Demi Lovato which will attract more people 

. By using so many fast shots you have to go back and rewatch the video

. Using well known people to cause people to recommend the music video to others

. Using lots of shots of women to attract people




Little Mix - Black Magic




1. I found Little Mix - Black Magic to be less engaging with the audience as we don't feel like we are with them, we feel like we are watching a narrative on how they go from bullied to poplar.

2. The Goodwin's theory can be applied to this music video as we see the lyrics of the song link to what was happening in the video. We can see this when they say "Take a sip of a secret potion" this is relevant to when they learnt how to use "black magic"

3. The Uses and Gratifications theory can be applied to this video as we see the girls want to be boyfriend and girlfriend with the popular boys. We also see them escape normal life as they learn to use MAGIC which is key in what happens within the video.

4. 

. Lots of shots to engage the audience

. Shots of the singers within the video to interest the audience and make them recommend the music video to other people. 

. This video would be replayed as there are so many fast shots that the audience would wanna know everything that happened so they would have to analyse it.

. Shows how you don't need to be pretty to get a boyfriend/girlfriend

. Use different aspects to entice the audience to watch the video E.G, magic which wouldn't usually be used a lot.