Miley Cyrus
There are many reasons as to why artists may feel the need to reinvent themselves. One reason is that they want to change the genre of music that they play, for example if an artist wanted to change from R&B to rap they would have a very different lifestyle and image. Furthermore if the artist wanted a different target audience then they would have to change their image, such as if they wanted to appeal to a wider audience they would have to be less controversial which would be appropriate for children. Or it could simply be that they are bored of the genre that they are in and want to re invent themselves as something else which would appeal to a new audience.
Miley Cyrus has changed dramatically from a teen pop star to a more adult promiscuous pop star in a very short amount of time. Her songs when she first started were much more fun and light hearted than when compared to her later videos which are much more sexualised. The three of Miley Cyruses songs which I have picked areThe Climb 2009, Party in the USA 2010 and Wrecking Ball in 2013. This is because her target audience has got older , and she is just catering for that , going from the themes of friendship, to parties and then to relationships.
One of Miley Cyruss first videos after she had left Disney was " the climb" a country pop song which is very conventional to the genre. For example she is playing a guitar which is conventional of country music , however would be seen as unconventional for the pop genre. The way she is dressed is also typical of the country genre , with her wearing jeans and a blue top with converse trainers, again this would be unconventional of pop as normally they would wear a bright outfit that matched with the song. Her target audience for this song is younger teens to middle teens, and she is relying on her past audience from her Disney career which she can bring to her music. This will also be an audience who will likely buy more merchandise than many other groups from their artist. This results in the video being very conventional and so not very controversial as it is intended for a younger audience and so would have none of the themes featured in her later videos. The age range for this song could be from the ages 13-18 as it is aimed at a relatively young audience.
Goodwings theory can be seen in many ways in this video, for example the lyrics and the visuals connect with each other. When she sings " The dream I am dreaming" the background becomes a blur like a dream and special effects are used to make the background become dream like. Or when she sings " it will be a uphill battle " she is singing on a hill, connecting both visuals and lyrics. The needs of the record company are also met in that there are many times in which there are close ups of her face to indicate to new audiences who the artist actually is. Also again she is the main thing in the shot with her being in the center and at the forefront, this also shows she is the artist.
Miley Cyruss song "Party in the USA" is very conventional when we compare it to the dance / pop genre that the song is in. For example there are many people dancing and drinking at a party and having a good time, this is very conventional for this type of video as the songs in this genre are about having a good time. This also is reflected to the audience in that it feels the same as if you were there with the artist at a party. This is a typical video of her earlier Miley Cyrus when she had a strong following from younger fans and so her videos were not very extreme and were not offensive or controversial to anyone. This is in the middle of her transition where she was becoming more edgy with more sexualised behavior. At this point her target audience is mainly middle teens to late twenties, which can be explained through the party environment. The exact age range would be from 14-24 as it has limited adult themes yet does not go deeply into party themes such as drinking or sexual behavior.
This song also follows Goodwins theory in many ways, for example lyrics linking with visuals when she sings the opening " when I hopped off the plane at L.A.X" she is at an airport which is has a direct connection. Furthermore when she sings the chorus " party in the USA" everyone in the background is seen having a good time and dancing with friends. The demand for the record label is also met consistently, there are many close ups of Miley Cyrus face which immediately shows the audience who the artist is and that she is the most important. Furthermore this is helped as she is central in the shot nearly all of the time and sometimes standing higher than everyone else, which shows the audience that she is again most important in the scene. However again we can see that the image of her has changed as the audience which she is targeting has got older, the people she wants to target now want to go to party's unlike the younger audience with the previous video.
Miley Cyruss later song " Wrecking ball" is very unconventional in many ways when it comes to the genre of her song which is pop. One way we can see this is that there is no dance routine which would normally feature in a pop video along with dancers. She is also not wearing an outfit and is just wearing casual clothes which is again very unconventional of the pop genre. Lastly her video is quite extreme which is not conventional for the normal pop genre, the target audience of this music genre is normally includes younger people which this video may be unsuitable for. Therefore parents may not be comfortable with their child watching the video which does normally happen with the pop genre. So Miley Cyrus may lose fans as her song is not suitable for her previous audience from her previous image. This songs target audience is middle teens to early twenties , although it may still be inappropriate for middle aged teenagers, the exact ages could be from 15 - 30 as it is simply too explicit with too much sexual behavior for any younger ages. This song has a slightly older target audience than the previous video as it has more of a party theme than the last song which had the themes of friendship and love.
Other ways in which this song follows Goodwins theory can be through the music and visuals, when Miley is riding a wrecking ball into a wall the level of sound of the song increases and the tempo gets faster. This is to make the chorus of the song have more impact and for the audience to pay more attention. Another way this can be seen is when she licked a sledge hammer the song slows down and the tempo decreases. This could also be seen for the lyrics and visuals , for example when she sing " I came in like a wrecking ball" she is riding a wrecking ball into a wall. Lastly the video does follow Goodwins theory through the way that the music video is split between performance and narrative, which is common for the pop genre. One point we can see narrative is when she is on the wrecking ball, then we can see performance when she gets off and starts to sing.
The three videos show how Miley Cyrus's image and style has changed dramatically over a relatively short period of time. In one of her first videos "the climb" she is very simple in her dress and her song is about a relationship and the song is very uncontroversial. Her target audience at this point is young teens to middle teens and so must be suitable for a relatively young audience. Her second video " Party in the USA" is aimed at an older audience and so the theme of this is party, this is a small transition from her earlier video about relationships and feeling. There are people dancing , drinking and having fun so this is aimed at middle teens to early twenties which make the environment more acceptable for the age range. Finally "Wrecking ball" is the most controversial in many ways and is a huge transition from her very early videos. In this she is wearing revealing clothes which are very sexualised and doing things some people would see as inappropriate such as when she licks a hammer. The target audience for this is older teenagers and early twenties as it is possibly to much for a younger audience. The change between her first video has been huge as she has become a adult and sexualised artist from a Disney star, this has made it so controversial. However it could be that she has had the same fans and that as they have got older she has catered for their music tastes as they mature. Furthermore with this the image of the star has changed as they are now marketing to a different audience that they were when Miley Cyrus was younger and targeting people from her previous Disney career.
The message and values have also had a massive change from her first video, in her first video it is about relationships and feelings and being in a dream land. This could not be further from her new videos such as wrecking ball which is again about relationships but has a sexual aspect which was not there before. The video during her transition is about having a good time and partying which has very little to do with the other videos. The values have also changed with over time her values becoming less conservative and more promiscuous than her earlier videos which can be seen in ways such as her clothing which is revealing. This could be due to her wanting to get rid if her child style type of music and lifestyle and becoming more adult and care free. This also does fit in with society with promiscuous behavior becoming more socially acceptable and so more things can be done in a music video which would be unheard of ten years ago.
Miley Cyrus has changed dramatically from a teen pop star to a more adult promiscuous pop star in a very short amount of time. Her songs when she first started were much more fun and light hearted than when compared to her later videos which are much more sexualised. The three of Miley Cyruses songs which I have picked areThe Climb 2009, Party in the USA 2010 and Wrecking Ball in 2013. This is because her target audience has got older , and she is just catering for that , going from the themes of friendship, to parties and then to relationships.
One of Miley Cyruss first videos after she had left Disney was " the climb" a country pop song which is very conventional to the genre. For example she is playing a guitar which is conventional of country music , however would be seen as unconventional for the pop genre. The way she is dressed is also typical of the country genre , with her wearing jeans and a blue top with converse trainers, again this would be unconventional of pop as normally they would wear a bright outfit that matched with the song. Her target audience for this song is younger teens to middle teens, and she is relying on her past audience from her Disney career which she can bring to her music. This will also be an audience who will likely buy more merchandise than many other groups from their artist. This results in the video being very conventional and so not very controversial as it is intended for a younger audience and so would have none of the themes featured in her later videos. The age range for this song could be from the ages 13-18 as it is aimed at a relatively young audience.
Goodwings theory can be seen in many ways in this video, for example the lyrics and the visuals connect with each other. When she sings " The dream I am dreaming" the background becomes a blur like a dream and special effects are used to make the background become dream like. Or when she sings " it will be a uphill battle " she is singing on a hill, connecting both visuals and lyrics. The needs of the record company are also met in that there are many times in which there are close ups of her face to indicate to new audiences who the artist actually is. Also again she is the main thing in the shot with her being in the center and at the forefront, this also shows she is the artist.
Miley Cyruss song "Party in the USA" is very conventional when we compare it to the dance / pop genre that the song is in. For example there are many people dancing and drinking at a party and having a good time, this is very conventional for this type of video as the songs in this genre are about having a good time. This also is reflected to the audience in that it feels the same as if you were there with the artist at a party. This is a typical video of her earlier Miley Cyrus when she had a strong following from younger fans and so her videos were not very extreme and were not offensive or controversial to anyone. This is in the middle of her transition where she was becoming more edgy with more sexualised behavior. At this point her target audience is mainly middle teens to late twenties, which can be explained through the party environment. The exact age range would be from 14-24 as it has limited adult themes yet does not go deeply into party themes such as drinking or sexual behavior.
This song also follows Goodwins theory in many ways, for example lyrics linking with visuals when she sings the opening " when I hopped off the plane at L.A.X" she is at an airport which is has a direct connection. Furthermore when she sings the chorus " party in the USA" everyone in the background is seen having a good time and dancing with friends. The demand for the record label is also met consistently, there are many close ups of Miley Cyrus face which immediately shows the audience who the artist is and that she is the most important. Furthermore this is helped as she is central in the shot nearly all of the time and sometimes standing higher than everyone else, which shows the audience that she is again most important in the scene. However again we can see that the image of her has changed as the audience which she is targeting has got older, the people she wants to target now want to go to party's unlike the younger audience with the previous video.
Miley Cyruss later song " Wrecking ball" is very unconventional in many ways when it comes to the genre of her song which is pop. One way we can see this is that there is no dance routine which would normally feature in a pop video along with dancers. She is also not wearing an outfit and is just wearing casual clothes which is again very unconventional of the pop genre. Lastly her video is quite extreme which is not conventional for the normal pop genre, the target audience of this music genre is normally includes younger people which this video may be unsuitable for. Therefore parents may not be comfortable with their child watching the video which does normally happen with the pop genre. So Miley Cyrus may lose fans as her song is not suitable for her previous audience from her previous image. This songs target audience is middle teens to early twenties , although it may still be inappropriate for middle aged teenagers, the exact ages could be from 15 - 30 as it is simply too explicit with too much sexual behavior for any younger ages. This song has a slightly older target audience than the previous video as it has more of a party theme than the last song which had the themes of friendship and love.
Other ways in which this song follows Goodwins theory can be through the music and visuals, when Miley is riding a wrecking ball into a wall the level of sound of the song increases and the tempo gets faster. This is to make the chorus of the song have more impact and for the audience to pay more attention. Another way this can be seen is when she licked a sledge hammer the song slows down and the tempo decreases. This could also be seen for the lyrics and visuals , for example when she sing " I came in like a wrecking ball" she is riding a wrecking ball into a wall. Lastly the video does follow Goodwins theory through the way that the music video is split between performance and narrative, which is common for the pop genre. One point we can see narrative is when she is on the wrecking ball, then we can see performance when she gets off and starts to sing.
The three videos show how Miley Cyrus's image and style has changed dramatically over a relatively short period of time. In one of her first videos "the climb" she is very simple in her dress and her song is about a relationship and the song is very uncontroversial. Her target audience at this point is young teens to middle teens and so must be suitable for a relatively young audience. Her second video " Party in the USA" is aimed at an older audience and so the theme of this is party, this is a small transition from her earlier video about relationships and feeling. There are people dancing , drinking and having fun so this is aimed at middle teens to early twenties which make the environment more acceptable for the age range. Finally "Wrecking ball" is the most controversial in many ways and is a huge transition from her very early videos. In this she is wearing revealing clothes which are very sexualised and doing things some people would see as inappropriate such as when she licks a hammer. The target audience for this is older teenagers and early twenties as it is possibly to much for a younger audience. The change between her first video has been huge as she has become a adult and sexualised artist from a Disney star, this has made it so controversial. However it could be that she has had the same fans and that as they have got older she has catered for their music tastes as they mature. Furthermore with this the image of the star has changed as they are now marketing to a different audience that they were when Miley Cyrus was younger and targeting people from her previous Disney career.
The message and values have also had a massive change from her first video, in her first video it is about relationships and feelings and being in a dream land. This could not be further from her new videos such as wrecking ball which is again about relationships but has a sexual aspect which was not there before. The video during her transition is about having a good time and partying which has very little to do with the other videos. The values have also changed with over time her values becoming less conservative and more promiscuous than her earlier videos which can be seen in ways such as her clothing which is revealing. This could be due to her wanting to get rid if her child style type of music and lifestyle and becoming more adult and care free. This also does fit in with society with promiscuous behavior becoming more socially acceptable and so more things can be done in a music video which would be unheard of ten years ago.
This research has helped me greatly in understanding how important an artists image is because of the audience they are targeting . Without the image of certain artists then a certain type of audience will not be attracted to the music of the artist, this can be seen with Miley Cyrus and when she became much more promiscuous for an older audience which attracts them. Without this they will have an audience who are confused with the artist as they will be playing music that is not appropriate for them , such as Miley Cyrus having her young audience watching her extremely provocative videos would not be acceptable. It is possible that she has kept the same people as fans but they have just got older together and she has changed herself for her age.
This is a basic analysis of Miley Cyrus' artist image, as you have only explained briefly how she has changed overtime and you have not related specific points within each video to Dyer's theory.
ReplyDeleteYou need to:
1) Put the videos in the correct order of release
2) Apply Dyer's theory to each video throughout the analysis
3) Elaborate on who the target audience is for each video and how they have changed over time
4) Elaborate on the messages and value of each video and how they have changed over time
5) Use micro-elements to support points made about generic conventions etc.
6) Elaborate on all points made by using PEER analysis
7) Include a conclusion stating how this research has helped you understand the importance of an artist's image and helped you decide on your artist and target audience
Although you have included a conclusion stating how research helped you, and put the videos in the correct order, you have still not applied Dyer's theory to the videos or explained in enough detail how they a re conventional of their genre etc. Refer back to previous comment
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