Star Theory and Pop Videos

Star Theory & Pop Videos

Richard Dyer's theory explained how the three ways music videos promote songs.

Illustrate: When music videos have images that match the lyrics.

Amplify: There is no clear distinction, it portrays the narrative. Layers of meaning are added.

Disjunctive: The meaning of the lyrics in the song are completely ignored.

Richard Dyer believes artists are constructed through artificial images e.g. advertising, films, magazines and music videos.  Dyer believes stars are manufactured to make money for their record label.

Gramsci is known for his theory; the belief that the ruling overview from the higher power is imposed.


Britney Spears

Her early music videos were surrounded by "girly iconography" - one of her first songs Baby One More Time has images of her with pigtails and displayed in a sweet and innocent light. The white blouse she is seen wearing as a sort of crop top in this video became a fashion trend for all of her fans who set out to copy this trend.

In opposition to her portrayed innocence is an underlining sexuality.

 This video is colourful, which is typical for a pop music video. She is also singing about an innocent high school relationship, as well as wearing white which can symbolise her purity.












Later on in her career, her music and lyrics became more meaningful. An example of this is I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman where she sings about her life experiences starting from when she was younger. The video completely ignores the meaning of the song (it is disjunctive), but it is cleverly shots with all sorts of different angles and you can see the passion in her facial expression. However, she is dressed to appeal to the male gaze (Laura Mulvey's theory) much like in Baby One More Time she is once again wearing a crop top.
Britney Spears' music videos are a polysemic text (a text that has multiple meanings.)

Oops! I Did It Again (2000) displays Britney in a red latex suit with a fiery background. This opposes her innocence showed in previous videos and exposes her feistier, more sexual side.

Womanizer (2008) suggests a side of her which is both attracting to the male gaze and is also showing a dominating female side.