Analysis of a star

Analysis of a star.

Artists change their image from time to time but the most significant change of image to me and the one I will be discussing is Michael Jackson’s.

Michael Jackson’s first solo music video after the Jackson 5 was ‘Don’t stop ‘til you get enough’. It was released in 1979 when he was just 19. This is clear in the video as it is innocent and light hearted. His video has no narrative or concepts and is completely performance based. We know this because the performance is him dancing on his own against a colourful and moving background.

It is classed as ‘pop’ and he's image conforms to the pop culture as he is youthful looking, for example he quite energetic and healthy in appearance and has lots of energy when he is dancing. this dancing makes it clear that is 'pop' as this was one of the conventions of 'pop' music at the time. This appealed to the target audience who were young adults and teenagers. This is because he is also only 19 years old and was seen to be attractive and desirable by teenage girls. Also the background is full of bright colours which appealed to his target audience as they are accosted with youth and having fun. Also the technology used in this video was very new at the time which was attractive to the demographic as they were interested in new technologies. 

At the time of the video Michael Jackson wanted to show that he was a entertainer as he dances for the whole of the video and makes the whole video performance based.

Michael Jackson's 'Black or White' was released in 1991 which was about half way through his career as a solo artist. This video has a lot of production involved as he is now a well established artist.

This video mainly follows the performance and concept styles but did also feature some relevant short stories in order to help the concept being conveyed to the audience. It is clear that this  video is performance based as it features Micheal himself along with various background dancers dancing and performing to the camera to help include the target audience. It fits the typical conventions of its genre which is 'pop' a it has a lot of dancing and performing and is generally upbeat. This is what the target audience want from this video.

Micheal Jackson's image has dramatically changed in this video, for example his clothes are a lot less formal and his outfit is casual but some what extravigant. The biggest change is that he has undergone surgery to change his apperence but his style and motifs in this video have remained the same. The target audience for this video are people around  the ages of 12-30 as it is not crude in any way and only contains performances that can relate to a wide audience as everybody likes to dance.

A concept and message being sold in this video is about racism and the dismisle of lableing due to skin colour. This was a current issue at the time and so it was a good time to relaese the video as many people would be interested in what the artists wants to say so they wold watch it. Micheal wanted to appear as an all round entertainer in this video which is why he is seen dancing and singing in the scene that he is in.    

Michael Jackson's latest solo music video that he is featured in is 'You rock my world' which was released in 2001. As this was made towards the end of his epic career there is a lot of money and production involved, this is clear as it features various well known actors.

This particular video is mostly made up of a big performance which is run parallel to a narrative which is set in a bar. It is clear that this video is performance based as the artist is dancing throughout the video within a group of background dancers. It is connected to the narrative as all of the performance is done the same setting and costumes.

This video is classed as 'pop' as it is aimed at a large audience and generally is upbeat and features a lot of dancing however it does not conform to some of the conventions of 'pop' as there is no ideology or access into the artists lifestyle. The artists' image in this video is pretty smart and formal. He is wearing a black suit and a matching mafia styled hat with a bright orange shirt. The artists' backing dancers are also wearing the same outfit to make them seem more similar to each other as they are dancing a group and need to look similar and in sync with each other for the dancing to look better.

This video has a very broad target audience but does manage to appeal to all of them as it contains excellent choreography and an interesting story line and also has a range of famous actors to attracted as many people as possible. This is because the artist wanted to be seen as an all round entertainer.     
     

Summary

There has been a lot of  changes throughout Michael Jackson's career but he has managed to keep his famous trait that is his influential dance routines and skills. He has also maintained his iconic sound that he sings in almost all of his songs. He started his solo career with a music video of mainly him dancing in a smart suit and ended his career with a music video that was mainly made up of him dancing in a suit. This shows that his image did change and was shown through his music videos but he almost returned to his original image which is just that he is an entertainer that performs amazing dance routines various smart or casual suits.  

Richard Dyer's theory of Stars and their image.

This theory can be applied to many of Michael Jackson's music videos. There are two paradoxes in this theory, one is that the star must be absent and present at the same time. this means that the artists must be present through the media for example but also be absent in order to come back with new material. In Michael Jackson's case this is done through him always being present through the TV and radio but also being absent for many years in his case and them coming back into the spotlight with new material. Another paradox is that the artist must be ordinary and extraordinary. Michael Jackson achieves this as he started his career as a normal young boy who was an average looking child. However he is extraordinary through his talents as a dancer and his singing abilities. One factor that makes up Richard Dyers's theory is that stars are seen as products, Michael Jackson is seen as a product as his image has been so easily and frequently changed throughout the course of his career. this makes him seem a lot less genuine as an artist and more of a product. He has been changed through his style of music and the costumes he wares.