Language Visual Essay

Every medium has its own language or combination of languages that it uses to communicate meaning. Television for example uses verbal and written languages as well as the languages of moving images and sound. We call these 'languages' because they use familiar codes and conventions that are generally understood by an audience.

Josh Fiske and Hartley
Suggest that ideology is the third meaning of signification combined from denotations and connotations. There is a strong connotation of women empowerment, this runs throughout the music video as the women are breaking the glass ceiling of having a job- which is the ideology and connotation but the denotation of this is that the women are breaking the gender stereotypes of how men normally have control over women and can have authority over them. This video challenges the generic conventions and certain ideologies. As the audience we see this challenging stereotype from the denotations and connotations, from the ideologies.

Charles Sanders Peirce (1931)
According to this philosopher, we think only in signs and they take form in words, images, sounds, odours, flavours, acts or objects but such things have no intrinsic meaning and become signs only when we invest them with a meaning. Signs can be interpreted in any way and it is the conventions that help the audience process and recognise signs in music videos and films. In artist’s song lyrics, they will have discrete particular signs for the audience to pick up and recognise, the artist uses certain lyrics that appeal to the target audience. For example in the Fifth Harmony’s ‘Worth it’ they would have had the lyrics set for that song to satisfy them and make them want to consume the artist’s music. The lyrics in this single are trying to get the audience to create an ideal world in their minds by just listening to the lyrics. 'Nothing is a sign unless it is interpreted as a sign'

Roland Barthes (1967)

Barthes noted that Saussure's model focuses on denotation rather than connotation. Therefore Barthes went on to offer an account of the importance of the connotation of a sign. He argued that in photography, connotation can be analytically distinguished from denotation. Related to this is what Barthes called a myth. He said that deeply rooted signs are based on audience expectations derived from prior knowledge of old tales or myths. In the Fifth Harmony’s music video ‘Worth it’ the connotations of the video would reflect the time period that it was produced in, which is 2015. In modern day pop music videos are all about fun, positive but also relatable.

Genre Visual Essay

Genre is a critical tool that helps us study texts and audience responses to texts by dividing them into categories based on common elements (codes and conventions, iconography). Genre also allows audiences to make choices about what products they want to consume through acceptance in order to fulfill a particular pleasure.

Jason Mittell Cultural Categories 

Argues that genres are cultural categories that surpass the boundaries of media texts and operate with the industry, audience and cultural practices as well. Industries use genre to sell products to audiences. Genre is a massive part of the selling of the artists songs, the genre has to fit in with the audience’s needs and cultural practices. In Fifth Harmony’s ‘Worth it’ and ‘BO$$’ videos them and the producer take into massive consideration what the audience will want to see and gain from the videos, culture is a large part in the music industry and with group band artist such as Fifth Harmony they need to watch out and be able to apply their music in a wide cultural way, the genre massively helps with cultural portrait.

Steve Neale Dynamic Genre 

Fifth Harmony are a pop girl band, this genre has a variety of artists that can fit underneath its umbrella, pop has changed drastically over the years and has become a wide and vast genre that many artists use as their title. Other artists that fit under this genre consist of; Justin Beiber, Taylor Swift, Megan Trainor,Katy Perry and Beyonce. Generic characteristics across all texts share similar elements depending on the medium. Typical conventions of the pop genre are the artists are predominantly clothed in fashionable, mainstream clothing that will appeal to the mass audiences eye. In the music videos the artist will generally be happy and content with life, and will express the unity between them and teenagers, which is the main audience for this genre. Bold, bright colours are normally associated with pop music videos to create a positive vibe and atmosphere for the audience. A main convention of the pop genre is that most artists all follow a particular rhythm and pattern, it is unusual for the audience to hear a pop song that is dramatically different from the last pop song released. 

Rick Altman
Argues that genre offers audiences 'a set of pleasures', these consist of emotional pleasures which are offered to audiences, genre films are particularly significant when they generate a strong audience response. Visceral Pleasures mean the internal organs and finally Intellectual Pleasures are trying to unravel a mystery or puzzle, pleasure is derived from deciphering a plot and forecasting. The emotional pleasures from the Fifth Harmony 'Worth it' music video are there to make the audience feel happy and good about themselves, when this emotional pleasure is satisfied the internal pleasure of the audience then becomes prominent as it makes them feel happy and enlightened on the inside. 

Nicholas Abercombie

He suggests the "the boundaries between genre are shifting and becoming more permeable". This means that genres are becoming less fixed, and are starting to combine different genres, creating newer styles. He also suggests that the generic classification of certain texts may be uncertain or subject to dispute due to hybrid genres. Genres (and the relationships between them) change over time; the conventions of each genre shift, new genres and sub-genres emerge and others are 'discontinued'. He adds that 'genres permit the creation and maintenance of a loyal audience which becomes used to seeing programmes within a genre'. Nicholas Abercrombie suggests that 'part of the pleasure is knowing what the genre rules are, knowing that the programme has to solve problems in the genre framework, and wondering how it is going to do so'. He adds that audiences derive pleasure from the way in which their expectations are finally realised.'Worth it' has the genre of Pop and R&B. This genre has origins from blues and rhythms. Therefore Fifth Harmony's genre is hybrid, bringing elements from various genres whilst having a base genre of Pop. 

Davis Buckingham

He studied children's and young people's interactions with electronic media. he argues that genre is not simply given by the culture; rather it is a constant process of negotiated and change. ''Worth it' both conform and disagrees with this argument as firstly, today's culture and society has had a large impact on the adaption of the Pop genre including Kid Inks unique style in featuring R&B within the Fifth Harmony's song. This song therefore agrees that genre does constantly change, but also suggests that culture has impact on those changes.

Audience Visual Essay

Blumler and Katz

The uses and gratification model represented a change in thinking as researchers began to describe the effects of the media from the point of view of audiences. The model looks at the motives of the people who use media asking why we watch television programmes/films in the way we do, why we bother to read the newspapers, why we find ourselves so compelled to keep it to date with our favourite soap or consume films. The audience needs have social and psychology needs which generate certain expectations. The audience is the active participant and makes choices in relation to what they consume.

There are 4 main points to this theory; surveillance - based on the idea that people feel better having the feeling they know what is going on in the world around them. E.g. the news. Personal identity - explains how being a subject of the media allows is to confirm the identity and positioning of ourselves within society. personal relationships - is in 2 parts; relationships with the media and using the media within relationships, many people use the television as a form of companionship and then people use media as a form of conversation starter or topic. And diversion - is the need to escape everyday life - forget about our own lives - distract ourselves and forget about our own problems by focusing on someone else's

I will be applying Blumler and Katz uses and gratification theory to the music video ‘Worth it’- Fifth Harmony.

1. What features in this video allows an audience to personally identify with it?

An audience can identify with this video because it’s primarily about women wanting one night stands and that they can be in control of what they do instead of the men. Also the video features many feminist attributes, as it shows women working and succeeding in a male dominated work such as Wall Street, and statements flashing in front of the stock market tickets such as “women in power”, “ feminism is sexy”.

2. Does it appeal to only one age category?

I think the music video is possibly aimed at younger adult generation (16-23) however also can be older generation. I believe it is aimed at 16-23 year olds is because this is the time in life when adults decide and aim for their career paths in life therefore the message is saying that if you try and succeed you can be powerful.

3. Does it appeal to only one gender?

This song appeals to mainly females as the features of feminist shows that women are equal to men so they put that dominant message out there to the women to tell them they can be just as powerful and successful as men.

4. How does it address issues that all members of society can associate to and why does it make the product successful?

Allows women to believe that they can achieve something in life and can have the same persona as the male gender. It makes the product successful as it appeals to the target audience and the product is seen as successful as the video has been viewed 340 million times alone on just on YouTube.

Surveillance

Applying surveillance to Fifth Harmony’s music video is how the video reassures the audience (mainly aimed at a female audience) and makes them aware that women don't have to be controlled by men and that they can take authority over situations. It makes females aware that males are not the dominant and stereo typically 'stronger' sex, which reassures the audience in their self-confidence towards feminist views. The ‘Worth it’ it song shows awareness to others that the working environment is changing also Fifth Harmony also have other songs which are about women been dominant and powerful instead of men like their song ‘BO$$’ this song is also proven to be successful because it has 103 million views on YouTube.

Personal identity

Fifth Harmony members as a celebrity strives to be an empowering role model to her audience and wants the identity that is shown off her to be true and one that the audience can conform with. The audience (primarily female) can have a personal identity when consuming and watching this music video as they will feel enlightened by the powerful message that Fifth Harmony is giving out about women having authority and meaning. The audience will feel gratified to be a part of the experience of consuming the product and being able to relate to the music video itself, which then creates a closer bond between the audience and artist as they feel they can conform to her messages and ideologies. Making the audience feel closer to her as a person. Women who do have a powerful status in their job will be able to associate and relate to the product directly making them feel gratified in one way or another making them understand that they share other people’s identities making them feel ‘normal/ and accepted.

Personal relationships

This music video allows the audience to create a personal relationship in two ways, one is a relationship with the media and the other is using the media within relationships. Females who watch this music video can not only form a personal relationship with the product itself but also with other females that have seen and have conformed to the video, relationships can be formed with other social peers as they may have the same beliefs and attitudes towards the music video as you do.  People may not only watch this video because they agree with the message about females but also just because they like Fifth Harmony as an artist and enjoy her music. Personal relationships in this theory can be made on a variety of platforms. For example they may look on ‘Fifth Harmony’s’ twitter page and go onto other people’s profiles who are fans of them and be able to build a relationship with strangers just by ‘favouring’ their post or even ‘retweeting’ their tweet. This is proven that people create relationships with the stars as they have 2.58 million followers on Twitter.

Diversion

In the music video ‘Worth It’ Fifth Harmony creates a diversion for the audience in that fact that whilst watching this video, they can escape any problems they are dealing with or have to face, this is called 'escapism'. This product has been made so the audience feel fulfilled after watching it, this is massively helped by the editing and lighting used in the video. The video is mainly made up of soft pinks and blues which are calming colours for an audience, the lighting is bright and never dull so the audience’s mood is uplifted whilst watching it and of course the music is made to make the audience sing along and feel good about themselves. 

Stuart Hall

Stuart Hall Reception theory states that media texts are encoded by the producer meaning that whoever produces the text fills the product with values and messages. These messages are then decoded by the spectators (us) and the audience will decode the text in different ways, the audience can have different views on the producer’s encoded message or meaning. The 3 views are Dominant, Negotiated and oppositional. I will be applying the reception theory to the music video ‘Worth it’- Fifth Harmony and I will be talking about the three views within the video.

Dominant or preferred - The audience view the media text in the way the producer intended, they agree with the ideology and the institution are happy. The dominant message for Fifth Harmony’s music video is about the women breaking the conventions and how they all have a high status and powerful stamina in the work force. The intended message that is meant to reach the audience is that they should feel empowered and proud of the video as the woman comes out on top.

Negotiated - the audience compromise between the dominant and oppositional reading. They do not agree or disagree but can see the point being made but still have their own opinion. This could be evident in the ‘Worth it' video as the audience could accept the fact that it is about empowering women but also have a different view of their own, for example the audience could see the video as being about gender stereotypes and see the video as a whole different topic.

Oppositional - The audience rejects the preferred reading and create their own reading of the text, they reject the meaning fully as they do not agree with the message intended by the producer or they may just interpret the product in a totally different light and become upset/offended by the product as they have misinterpreted the intended message from the institution. For example a male may watch the music video and be offended by the way Kid Ink is presented in the video and may misinterpret what the institution is actually trying to insinuate.  Women could too misjudge the videos messages/meanings and create an oppositional view against the video as, for example it may challenge their beliefs and attitudes. 

Hypodermic Needle 

The Hypodermic Needle Theory suggests that mass media has a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audience. Hense the 'needle' imagery, this is used to represent the 'injecting' of the media institutions ideologies and messages into their audiences. The theory suggests that the mass media can influence a very large audience directly and uniformly by 'injecting' them with their messages and ideologies which are in turn designed to trigger their desired response. This is a powerful and instantaneous flow of information from the sender (media institutions/producers) to the receiver (their audiences). These messages are 'injected' straight into a passive audience, who are then immediately influenced by these messages.

The theory expresses the view that the media is a dangerous means of communicating an idea because the receiver (audience) is powerless to resist the impact of the message. The audience is perceived to be passive, as they have a lot of media material 'injected' towards them they must believe  and accept whatever they are told. this may have been the case due to a lack of resources to gain information from. This theory assumes that we believe anything we see or hear in the media, as if the audience is brainwashed by the institutions so that they believe every message and conform to every ideology 'injected' towards them.

This theory can be applied to the music video 'Worth It' as it 'injects' the message of feminism and girl power and the women empowerment is awesome. With this 'injection' the 'desired response' would be for women to get an education and go for the high status jobs. However it is hard to apply this theory to the music video 'Worth it' because the audience may not get the same 'injections' as others as everybody consumes media in the same way and the audience are not simply passive also the new technology has changed how we consume media and the various sources we can gain it from. Also audiences are now more aware of society and the way in which institutions operate. So we now know how the media deceives us, giving us the knowledge to reject messages if we oppose to them.

Narrative Visual Essay

The music video I decided to study is “Worth it” which is the 4^th song released off of Fifth Harmony’s album Reflection also with-in the song Kid Ink is featuring in it. It’s an urban pop song about hooking up with a man at the club while maintaining control. After studying many narrative theorist, the theorist I will be discussing and relating to this music video are Kate Domaille, Michael Shore and Sven Carlsson the reason for doing these theorist is because they link best to the music video.

One of the narrative theorist studied is Kate Domaille (2001) and according to her she believes every story ever told can be fitted into one of the eight narrative types: Achilles, Candide, Cinderella, Orpheus, Romeo & Juliet, Circe, Tristan & Iseult and Faust. Each of these narrative types has a source, an original story upon which the others are based. Using Kate’s theory I consider that the “worth it” music video belongs to the Romeo & Juliet narrative type however because the song it about sex rather than love I believe it would be a modern-day Romeo & Juliet.

Michael Shore’s concludes that music video are recycled styles that contains an information overload and therefore contains views of adolescent male fantasies. Most videos contain elements of speed, power girls and wealth. All this conveys into soft-core pornography with clichéd imagery. I believe Michael’s theory links to this music video as the female protagonist are seen as powerful as the video features the ladies in business-esque attire. Taking place in an office building, they are seen as CEOs and bosses, dancing in front of a stock market ticker. The video features many feminist attributes, as it shows women working and succeeding in a male dominated world such as Wall street, and statements flashing in front of the stock market ticket such as “women in power”, “feminism is sexy” and “glass ceiling”.

Sven Carlsson suggests that music videos in general, videos in general, video fall into rough group’s performance, conceptual and narrative clips. This music video is a performance clip as it shows the group performing the song. It is one of the cheapest and easiest types of music video and is normally used to promote the main artist. This performance based music video enables the artist to show off their skills and ability to perform enabling viewers to personally connect, identify and relate to their style of music. This type of video can also be beneficial for the group as their image is portrayed to a wider audience leading them to be more easily recognized by the public and home and abroad.

 As well as the women showing power in the music video they also convey this in the song lyrics “give it to me I’m worth it” expressing that she might call all the shots, but the end results will be worth the effort. “Show me what you got, cus I don’t wanna was my time” meaning she ends the interplay by putting the burden on him. She’s proven herself, now it’s time for him to show his sexy and maybe turn a one-night-stand into memorable romance. “It’s all on you, so what you wanna do? If you don’t have a clue, I’ll tell you what to do” verifying that she will let him decide what is going to go down. Traditionally, the man take the lead in romance, but she’s up for that. However if he is unsure how it should go down, she is NOT afraid to take charge. She will take the reins and be the dominate one and that doesn’t bother her one bit. Either way, she gives consent, whatever she’s the top or the power bottom. She can submit in the bedroom without losing control of the relationship. “Come harder just because, I don’t like it to soft” these lyrics are reference to the bedroom department, she makes her preferences known in almost demanding way, so he knows what she consents to.

“Worth it” is written from the perspective of a woman telling a man that she’s “Worth it”, applying sexual connotation. However, the single could also be taken as a feminist anthem, as it can inspire “young girls to truly believe they’re ‘worth it’ and can own Wall Street or any other place on which they set their sights”. This latter view of the song is highlighted in its music video.

Representation Visual Essay

Representation is about.....

Laura Mulvey

The music video I decided to study is “Worth it” which is the 4^th song released off of Fifth Harmony’s album Reflection also with-in the song Kid Ink is featuring in it. It’s an urban pop song about hooking up with a man at the club while maintaining control. In this essay I will be analyzing how Laura Mulvey’s theory is put towards the music video.

One of theory’s studied is ‘The Male Gaze’ which is a theory by Laura Mulvey this theory focuses on ‘visual pleasure and narrative cinema’ her studies are based on how women are viewed as sexual objects initially in Hollywood films. The male gaze occurs when the audience is put into the perspective of a heterosexual man. A scene may focus on the curves of a women’s body putting you as the viewer in the eyes of a male. The concept of gaze is one that deals with how an audience views the people presented. Also Mulvey’s research focuses on women as sexual objects and how they are placed in media texts to be enjoyed by men and objectified (seen not heard).

At the beginning of the music video we see the females walking in heels before showing their identity.  With-in the first 30 seconds of the video as we introduced to the group members they are all close up shots and features them winking, looking up slowly, Biting the ends of glasses or giggling. A female winking suggests that she like you. Also if she’s slowly looking up indicates that she’s ‘checking you out’. A female giggling implies that she’s impressed. A female biting the end of her glasses meaning she’s feeling ‘spontaneous’ or even ‘playful’. All these actions link to Laura Mulvey’s theory as the women come across as flirty and defiantly confident. Also at the beginning of the song the lyrics are “Give it to me I’m worth it, baby I’m worth it, uh huh I’m worth t, gimme gimme I’m worth it” I believe these words are implying that she’s worth starting a relationship- or at least a one night stand with. In any case, she’s the one inviting the “it” from her pursuer. She might call the shots, but the end results will be worth the effort. This sets the song’s assertive position.

The next part of the music video is when Kid ink is performing, the lyrics are “I tell her bring it back like she left some, bring it back” also saying “bringing it back like you left something” is like going back to a bar if you left something like your phone there. It also like booty shaking. While’s these lyrics are playing Kid Ink is sat on a sofa with a female who’s dressed in black jacket and underneath she wearing a strapped buckled/harnessed like top. This item of clothing links to Mulvey's theory as the buckles are often used in the bedroom department "to strap down the female" therefore the female here is seen as a sexual object towards the men.

Also the women that comes to join Kid ink and the female on the sofa doesn't stop staring at him and also flutters her eyelashes constantly towards him, by her doing this she is flirting with the him. The next part of the lyrics are "in the club with lights off. What you acting shy for? Come and show me that you, Wid it" Implying that she's acting shy instead of showing that she's "wid it", or enjoying the entire moment. She might genuinely be shy, or she's playing hard to get. In any case, she doesn't give in, which make her all the more attractive. He wants her to let loose and start dancing, because that could led to another place with the lights off- the bedroom. Again the women as seen as a sexual object as he's imply sex in the bedroom. In between Kid Ink rapping we see Fifth Harmony dancing (shaking hips) which makes them come across sexy also they are flicking their hairs this demonstrates that they are interested in the male item, making the male crave them even more. 

After the rapping scene we have Dinah-Jane Hansen (member of Fifth Harmony) in a sequence on her own with just one male. She is laying across on a high raised bar top while the male is standing and polishing her shoes this is established through a extreme longshot. She is wearing a tube skirt and a black top by her wearing these clothes she is emphasising her body and curves making her be seen as a sexual desire by heterosexual men which supports Mulvey's theory. In Dinah's sequence there are many close up shots of her face which shows her stroking her face and using her nails towards her lips. Most of these close up's shot we have Dinah looking straight into the camera which therefor making it look like she is aiming towards the men watching. This then agree's with Mulvey's theory as the video is been targeted to the men. As well as having close up shots we also have extreme long shots which again shows us her stroking her body/face making her come across  'appealing' to the men. Dinah's lyrics do not conform Mulvey's theory as Dinah is being powerful through her words "just gimme you, that's all I wanna do" meaning Dinah only has her eye out for HIM, and she plans to get him. All he has to do is submit to her wishes. He is her one and only goal, at least for the night. She won't be down for anyone besides him and, boy is she determined. Basically its her way or the high way! "And if what they say is true, I might give me to you" these lyrics import if what they (people) are saying is the truth, probably something good (like he loves her), then she might give herself to him, again Dinah has more power as she decides whether the man can have her or not. "Guarantee I can back it up" this verse was given to Dinah because she can back it up for sure! (https://vine.co/v/OO7TOB7XqKB) The male that is in the sequence with Dinah doesn't ever take his eyes off her, making her look desirable, by him making this action conforms Mulvey's theory as he looks at her and admires what she's doing.

 The next sequence is dominated by Normani Hamilton (member of Fifth Harmony). In Normani sequence the setting is in an 'office' and she is wearing glasses I believe that she is only wearing these to look 'intelligent' meaning she feels that intelligence will impress the men. Normani is wearing a leopard print shirt which is only fastened up to her bra level, making her boobs be revealed this is done purely to grabs the males attention and she almost teases the men as they think they are going to see more of her as the first time we already see her bra. I believe they decided to use a leopard print shirt to make her come across sexy yet also feisty and perhaps it interprets that she's like an animal in the bedroom. Throughout Normani specified sequence there is close up of her face and its shows that she’s singing to the audience but what Normani does is she slowly looks up and also rises her eyebrow implying that she’s had a good look at the audience and she likes what she sees. Just this part helps us to agree with Mulvey’s theory as this is what the male audience want ‘the women’ to like him. After the close up shot we have a long shot which we see Normani throwing her jacket to the desk this implies that she’s ready to see ‘what he’s got’ in the sexual form. Throughout Normani’s sequence the lyrics are “you see me in the spot, like “oooh I love your style”… show me what you got now come and make it worth my while. Which means he’s impressed by not only her choice of clothing (and fifth harmony is fashionable), nut also her “style” in the dating game. She’s an unusual combination of submissive and dominance. She ends the interplay by putting the burden on him. She’s proven herself, now its time for him to show his sexiness and maybe turn a one-night stand into a memorable romance. So just from the lyrics and understanding of them it shows that its basically about sex which conforms to Mulvey’s theory as the female is seen as a sexual object. Lastly in Normani's sequence we see a male with-in the scene and he doesn't take his eyes of her but the way he does it like "I want a bit of that" again she is seen as the sexual object towards men even though Normani is provoking herself towards him.

The next sequence is dominated by Camila Cabello (member of Fifth Harmony). In Camila’s sequence the setting is almost a “golf range”' and she is wearing a feminised suit so it’s all almost skin tight showing off her asset’s and also she is wearing a shirt that is cut out near her bust area almost exploiting the area. Camila often is shown through a long shot which when a male looks up at her we see her bum straightaway and with-in these shots she bends slightly just to enhance it even more and also she moves it seductively like ‘hey look at my but’. Males look for this in women a women who will ‘flaunt what she’s got’ linking to Mulvey’s theory the men ‘check out the women’. The lyrics in this part of the video are “it’s all on you, so what you wanna do? And if you don’t have a clue, I’ll tell you what to do” sensing that she will let him decide what is going to go down. Traditionally, the man takes the lead in the romance, but she’s up for that. However if he is unsure how it should go down, she is Not afraid to take charge. She will take the reigns and be the dominant one and that doesn’t bother her one bit. Either way, she gives consent, whatever she’s the top or the power bottom. She can submit in the bedroom without losing control of the relationship. Again the lyrics are implying about sex however this section of the song disguises Mulvey’s theory as the female is implying she enjoys being ‘ looked at as a sexual object; she feels liberated and dominant. Also the lyrics continue in the sexual context “come harder just because, I don’t like it too soft, I like it a little rough” again these lyrics relate to Mulvey’s theory as guy get to know how the women likes sex.

Following Camila sequence it moves on to Ally Brooke (member of fifth harmony) sequence with-in the music video. Throughout the video she is wearing shorts and a red/black top the red part of the top just covers her boobs and the other half of the top and arms is netting. The setting within her scene is hard to identify as all it includes is red chairs, desk and a male typing on a typewriter. However with the use of the colour red which connotates danger this may link that Ally is the most dangerous one out of the group. Ally often sings directly into the camera and is shown through a close up this shows she is aiming towards the audience (male) while singing she flips her hair which is an automatic attempt to make herself appear as attractive as possible. She also ‘slut drops’ throughout her sequence which is a modern dance move that most women simply do just to get the attention of a male. Ally also rolls her body against the desk towards the male but she almost teases him as she seen moves away and she also twists her hair but then looks at the camera imply she wants the male audience not the guy who’s in the scene with her, so her doing this makes her come across almost like a player but females would relate to this as a ‘slag’ therefor many women won’t take her actions and they don’t want to be seen or portrayed in that way. Ally also grabs her hair which demonstrates she likes her ‘hair been pulled’ this may well be specifically in the bedroom area. Ally doing all these actions shows she is dedicating it towards her male audience, this links to Mulvey’s theory as Ally is doing this to make herself look like a sex object and that she wants the man.

We then go back to the scene of Kid Ink and where the two females join him. Straightaway into the scene the females slap their thighs seductively and also open and close them which can show strong sexual invitation and they continue to do this through his scene. Also before we couldn’t see the full outfits of both girls joined with Kid ink so now we see that one of the girls is wearing a corset type top which is enhancing her boobs.

Then toward the end of the song we have a montage which included clips from the individual members and also all of the together dancing. When the girls are dancing together we see them all slowly getting up from the ground while doing so their hands are on their thighs which makes their bottoms stand out more. The girls often like to shake their hips/butts which allow them to show off their assets. Another dance move they do is they pull their arms towards them while moving there pelvis forward which is visualising ‘sex’ and a male audience wants this and therefore this shows that the women are looked as a sex object conveying to Mulvey’s theory. When the members are shown alone they’re either winking, twisting their hair, raising eyebrow, slowing looking up, giggles, strokes face/body these are all signals of flirtation and this mixed with the song lyrics “give it to me, I’m worth it” implies that she wants sex.

 

All of these women are aged between 18-22 and the way they present them self and get attention off men makes girls the same age be inspired by them or believe that they have to be like this as women look at other women to shape their own identities. They will take elements of what they like from women they see to try and construct an identity they deem fit and desirable for society. Also women look at other women and compare themselves to them to create and ideal version of themselves.

Richard Dyer

In this essay I will be relating the Richard Dyer star theory towards the popular girl band Fifth Harmony. Richard Dyer star theory is the idea that icons and celebrities are manufactured by institutions for financial gain. He believes that stars are constructed to represent 'real people' experiencing real emotions. Stars are manufactured by the music industry to serve a purpose; to make money out of audience, who respond to various elements of a star's personality by buying records and becoming fans. Richard Dyer theory is split into 4 sections:

Stars as constructs:

The X Factor creator and judge Simon Cowell said before Fifth Harmony performed their version of Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” on the show last year. He decided then and there that individual contestants Dinah Jane Hansen, Lauren Jauregui, Ally Brooke, Normani Hamilton, and Camila Cabello were too special to let go, so at the end of the show’s Boot Camp week, the five young women became Fifth Harmony. This then conforms to Dyers theory as they have been constructed together to form a girl group by the institution (Simon Cowell) for financial gain. There is evidence that financial gain has come out of Fifth Harmony as they have a website which allows you to buy tickets to their concerts, merchandise and also the audience can buy their album on this website.

yer says in order for artist to become a star they need to be unique. Fifth harmony are a unique girl band as each of the girls have natural talent, they all have different body shapes, skin colour and styles.

Audience and industry/institutions:

Fifth Harmony band members each individual member of the band having different personalities, other social groups are able to identify and relate themselves to that member. Due to technology we can now go on websites and take quiz’s (http://www.mtv.com/news/2175032/fifth-harmony-personality-quiz/) which labels us as one of the band members by asking questions like: What’s your favourite dance move? How would you like to be proposed? How would your friends describe you? Etc. After taking the quiz serval times I found out all of the member’s personalities. Lauren is sometimes reserved, sometimes boisterous, people might have a hard time figuring her out. Camila is sometimes a bit out there, but her friends love her anyways. And just because you like girly things doesn’t mean you can’t have a tomboy personality either. Dinah is sassy, funny and a bit juicy. She isn’t afraid to let loose and have fun. Her selfies are always on point. Normani knows what she likes and loves living it up, a bit glam, a bit sensitive and is a girl’s girl. Ally is positive, caring and genuinely sweet, even when she’s having a weird moment and she really, really likes Waffle House. As well as society matching their personality’s to fifth harmony members they will also deconstruct themselves to be like them by changing their clothes and styles etc. 

Ideology and culture:

Stars promote certain ideology about themselves that will attract an audience, dominant desirable ideologies allow the audience to see their star qualities. For example Fifth Harmony want people to think they are modest about their fame and they don’t flaunt it because they know they are well known/ famous in the media eye and they also have a huge fan base but they don’t act ‘big headed’ about it. They also want people to see them as a group therefor when they are out in the public eye their outfits will co-operate therefor people can recognise them as a group.

Character and personality:

Stars provide audiences with ideas of what people are supposed to be like, a star creates a character on themselves and what they want the audience to consume. Fifth Harmony want women to have the same ideas as them that it okay for women to be powerful and successful. They want their fans to be confident like them.

Dyer also suggests that there are paradoxes and that the star is both 'ordinary and extraordinary' the star need to be like us to be able to relate to the audience but special enough to be stars.



Tessa Perkins

For this essay I will be relating the Tessa Perkins theory towards the pop band Fifth harmony. I will be discussing how they’re seen as a positive role model or even in a negative way. Also I will discuss what stereotypes are held about other artist within the pop genre.

Tessa Perkins theory is she that she believes that stereotyping is not a simple process. She says that stereotypes are not always negative. (E.g. the French are good cooks).They are not always about minority groups or the less powerful (e.g. Upper class twits). They can be held about one’s own group. They are not rigid or unchanging. They are not always false (Supported by evidence). Stereotypes are usually created by the media, though not always as they are a concept which are part of everyday life. There must be some sort of truth in stereotypes because they have a large influence on our lives. Perkins argues that if stereotyping was simple then over time they would not work, nor would they work culturally.

Fifth Harmony are a pop band. Pop bands are stereotyped to be beautiful, divas, high standards, fit freaks and rich. However this band aren’t stereotypical pop stars as they look different to most other singers doing the rounds. One of the members (Lauren) mentioned in an interview “we like that when girls look at us, they don’t see perfect little blonde-haired, blue-eyed Barbie dolls. We all have different body types and skin... We’re all minorities doing a major things.” They are real girls with natural talent, never trying too hard, they stay true to who they are. 5^th harmony break the glossy girl band stereotype, they are youth style icons with real fashion credibility. Each girl has an evolving signature style that the audience can follow and identify with.

Fifth Harmony are seen as positive role models as the have natural talent, they’re youth style icons and they all have different body shapes and looks which informs the audience that you don’t all have to look the same, Ally (member of Fifth Harmony) tweeted “Don’t let anyone tell you who to be. Be yourself and be PROOOOOOOUD of who that is”. Also the song BO$$ is about the rewards of being an independent women is plentiful, this allows women to believe that being independent can be successful. On the other hand Fifth Harmony may be seen as a negative role model as they may be seen as rebels for not conforming to the stereotypical glossy girl band also their popular song “Worth it” is about having one night stands therefore the women will be seen to have no respect for themselves.

Here I have chosen the most popular female artists album covers and placed them next to Fifth Harmony's. Just by looking at them we can tell that the albums are going to have totally different meanings and content. As we can see the photos on the right are all pretty similar, proving that Fifth Harmony are one of a kind and even though they are in the same music category as the others, their message is different.