Critical Investigation Task #3 - Historical text analysis and research

I will be comparing my text to Madonna. Madonna began her career in the late 1970's where she got involved in the music industry and soon began releasing her own songs and eventually her first album. She released her first song called 'Everybody' in 1983, which I have analysed below.

'Everybody' is a dance genre song where Madonna uses lyrics that encourage people to dance. The video is completely innocent, with males and females dancing individually around a stage where Madonna is dancing with some back up dancers. One obvious statement in the video is that everyone is fully dressed with no small, tight clothes that female artists wear in their videos nowadays. In fact, Madonna is wearing baggy clothes and almost looks like a tom boy compared to the clothes female artists wear today. Her lyrics are also innocent as she is singing about everyone dancing and it sounds like an encouraging song with no indirect meaning behind it.

This video is completely different to Miley Cyrus' videos as the people are covered up and the lyrics are not explicit at all, but have straight forward innocent meaning to them. One way that it is similar to Miley's videos is that it features a mix of females and males dancing, however in this video they are dancing individually. Whereas in Miley's videos everyone is dancing very close to each other and are touching.

This video shows that a few things have changed from the 1980's to the present. The genre of dance music tends to be faster with more versions nowadays. Before the dance music was very 'disco', whereas now there are more variations such as hip hop, RnB, dub etc. Also, dance music has much more explicit videos as well as lyrics nowadays and is very much 'club' music, therefore targeting at young adults. The style of teenagers and young adults who had grown up listening to dance music in the 80's is much different to the style which is preferred today.

I do not believe that the zeitgeist of the 80's was to be sexy or provocative. Instead, it was to produce an enthusiastic single and video which would be popular with the audience during that period of time. Nowadays it is the opposite, as 'sex sells' in the music industry. Therefore young females such as Miley Cyrus have to be revealing and sexy in their videos as that is what sells and what attracts views and fans.

Moreover, I believe the actions of artists such as Madonna in the 1980's were much more accepted than the actions of female artists now from a feminist perspective. Feminists main belief is in equality and feel as though we live in a patriarchy society which consists of male dominance. This was not the case in the 80's as Madonna's 'Everbody' video shows Madonna being empowered as she is the main dancer with two male backup dancers behind her. Also, she is dancing individually and there is no inappropriate content. However, feminists nowadays are outraged by female artists videos and the fact that artists such as Miley release videos showing their exposure towards males and letting males be the dominant sex in videos e.g. they touch females and dance on them. Feminists would argue that women portray themselves as belittled in media nowadays, whereas they were shown as more equal in the 80's. 

Critical Investigation Task #2 - Academic research and bibliography

Cattuci, N. (2013). The Best Music Of The Year. Entertainment Weekly. 

''Miley Cyrus- Yeah, she's crafty. But also stealthily soulful. Bangerz flaunts her savvy and her sexuality with an under-appreciated emotional directness.''

This book is relevant to my topic as it shows the features editor at Billboard's opinion of Miley Cyrus. As the editor writes for the music industry, his opinion is valued as he contributes towards publishing.

Cattuci, N. (2013). The Year's Best Albums. Entertainment Weekly. 

''Miley Cyrus- If you want a list of 21 things to restore your faith in humanity, wait for your uncle to post that claptrap on Facebook. If you're looking for 13 songs (or 16, on the totally worth-it deluxe version) that drive a stake through arbitrary notions of how a young woman and onetime tween star should conduct herself, immerse yourself in Bangerz. Miley's not shy about her sexuality- check out her narrating her own orgasm on '#GETITRIGHT'. But more than anything, she flaunts her savvy, backed up by an acute ear for cutting-edge rap (via executive producer Mike Will Made It), a soulful voice capable of showstoppers like 'Adore you', and an under-appreciated emotional directness that flowers on the too good to be a bonus track 'rooting for my baby'. Humanity could use more renegades like her.''

The editor again speaks about Miley Cyrus in a positive light. It is obvious that Nick Cattuci appreciates Miley's music and confidence and therefore feels passionate enough to want to share his opinion on her with the public. Miley has faced a lot of negative media coverage due to her controversy, therefore it is important that she has been shown in a contrasted manor.

Greenblatt, L. (2011). The Worst Singles of 2011. Entertainment Weekly. 

''Miley Cyrus covering 'Smells like teen spirit' hello, hello, hello, how low? This low.''

This feature talks about Miley Cyrus' performance of the cover song originally performed by Nirvana. The cover was released in 2011 and the performance reveals the 'rebellious' side coming out of Miley as it is a rock n roll performance, different to her usual Hannah Montana music. It was therefore surprising and landed in The Worst Singles of 2011 .''

Hot New Singles. (2010). Entertainment Weekly. 

''Miley Cyrus- 'Can't be tamed' Cyrus sheds her Hannah Montana shackles with blatant 'Uncage me!' Metaphors and a naughty-feathers video-but beneath the new plumage, it's just bouncy, mid career-Britney dance-pop.''

Although it seems like this feature is against Miley, it soon realises that in fact she is growing up and compares her to Britney Spears who faced similar reactions to her controversy when releasing more 'raunchy' music videos.

MacDonald, M. (1995). Representing Women. St Martin's Press, New York. 

Page 861:

''As victims of the rapid technological and communication revolutions, the press corps must repeatedly offer new and fresh meat to its readers. Viewers, when they pay attentions, hear the gospel from news 'interpreters' and 'experts', which are only opinions but are received as if the statements resemble the Mosaic tablets from Mt. Sinai. These factors have led to a crisis in the American news media.''

Although this book was written over 18 years ago, it still relates to technology and technology revolutions that still take place today. News is still seen as facts, as oppose to opinions for some. Therefore, if Miley Cyrus was to gain some negative feedback in the media about a scandal for example, viewers would be more likely to believe it rather than question it as it comes from a news source.


Media Magazine

Media Magazine 26, the film issue
http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/mm26_feminist_bond.html

Post-feminism does not assume that this means gender issues are no longer valid. On the contrary, it acknowledges that there are still many areas of interest and concern within gender politics; but it recognises that these issues are very different from the ones faced by gender theorists in the mid-20th century.

Gender relationships: the feminist model

Even though it sought to change the way people thought about women’s position in society, feminism was based on the idea of binary opposition between the two genders. As Levi-Strauss tells us in narrative theory, binary oppositions create conflict. Feminism can be seen to be a range of ideas that arose from this perceived conflict, focussed on the idea of a power struggle in society between two opposing groups: masculine and feminine. As with any power struggle, as one side gains power, the other side must lose it.

Gender relationships: the post-feminist model

Post-feminism sees gender as a set of socially constructed behaviours, attitudes and expectations which have no essential relationship to a person’s biological sex – an individual may at any time be more or less masculine or more or less feminine regardless of whether they are male or female. For example, a man crying is no less a man, or an aggressive woman no less a woman. The behaviours are culturally associated with a specific sex; but people are not that simple. Individuals may even choose to ‘perform’ gender depending on the circumstances they find themselves in.

The Culture issue 35

Does popular music conform to this description? Barely, in some ways; it is now divided into so many sub-species that it is hard to construct a case for finding any coherence. On the other hand, it is possible to argue that this diversity is the very attribute that will keep music in the forefront of popular consciousness. As the available choice of leisure pursuits broadens, two things happen: first, the acceleration of change leads to a similar speeding up of the processes by which music reaches us; and second, the certainties of a shared culture that were prevalent, say, a hundred years ago, break down further so that culture becomes an ever more shifting, amorphous concept.

The Change issue 34

How far have media representations of women changed over the last 40 years? Nick Lacey explores the traditional view of active men and passive women, and finds that. Feminism still has a fight on its hands.

Fifty years on, the ‘Bond Girl’ still exists – and she remains ‘eye candy’. However, in the recent ‘reboot’ of the franchise, Casino Royale (US-UK, 2008), it is Bond himself, in the shape of Daniel Craig, who emerges from the sea, fit in his tight swimming gear. In addition the ‘girl’, though still in need of saving by the ‘hero’, has become a narrative ‘helper’ and not the entirely passive ‘princess’. Things have changed – but Bond himself remains male.

Occasionally the media does represent women as powerful and independent characters, and yet they still almost invariably require a man to tell them what to do. The ideologies of male dominance and patriarchal values have not diminished; and the belief that they have offers a classic example of ‘hegemony’: a state where the oppressed consent to, and accept, their situation because they are not conscious of being exploited. We, both female and male, are socialised into a world where the relationships of power between the sexes appear ‘natural’, and so few question the inequality. Youth culture, despite its radicalism in the ‘60s and ‘70s, is now politically conservative; and so radical messages do not circulate in the mainstream, further obscuring the fact that in 2010 women have not yet attained equal opportunities with men.

The Collaboration Issue 36

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, aka ‘Lady Gaga’, has over 10 million Facebook ‘friends’ and over 3 million people follow her on Twitter. This mastery of social media has been a feature of her career since she emerged from the New York underground dance scene. She wrote her own newsletter to her loyal followers and saw the potential of communicating directly with the fans in new ways. She calls her fans her little monsters, and the bond she has generated between fan and artist is unprecedented. In a recent post on Twitter she wrote how she loved the way her fans post pictures of her on the web: There’s something heroic about the way my fans operate their cameras. So precisely, so intricately, and so proudly. Like Kings writing the history of their people. It’s their prolific nature that both creates and procures what will later be perceived as the ‘kingdom.’ So, the real truth about Lady Gaga fans, my little monsters, lies in this sentiment: They are the kings. They are the queens. They write the history of the kingdom, and I am something of a devoted Jester.Love and art,gaga. The media theorist Marshall McLuhan, in a hugely influential 1964 text called Understanding Media, commented on the link between what is said and how it is communicated. His most famous line was, ‘The medium is the message.’ In Understanding Media, he suggests that a medium is ‘an extension of ourselves.’ So the Twitterverse and the Facebook virtual world can be seen as a new way of extending our self and our persona. The medium of communication for Lady Gaga is the online network of social media. With 10 million Facebook fans, she is using the new medium to put forward a message with massive success.

Reading the Media Issue 45

Music is one of those things in life that we all interpret differently. It has the power to bring people together whilst simultaneously segregating us. This is more apparent in the social networking world of harsh tweets and hashtag battles fought by rival fan bases – the ‘Chris Brown vs Tyler The Creator’ Twitter feud exemplified this. One thing’s for sure, there is a definite generation gap between the kids and the adults because of it. Popular songs of today have more power than ever before. They dictate social circles, fashion trends, the clubs you go to (preference of DJ playlists), new memes, slang... the list goes on. And let’s not forget – according to popular conspiracies – mainstream music is also responsible for ‘brainwashing’ the delicate minds of the prepubescent population.

Iggy Azealia, a female rapper, recently sat in an interview to discuss the state of hip-hop today. She complained of an encounter she had whilst at Interscope Records. From what she said, the staff members there seem a bit too candid for my liking. She was told somethingalong the lines of:Most of the people who listen to the music nowadays can’t even construct a proper sentence, nobody cares about the intricate stories you put into your songs.Whoa now!I’ll give you a moment to pick your jaw up off the floor, because this isn’t a unique situation. This woman is one of countless artists who’ve been told to ‘dumb down’ their material in order to make it more marketable to the wider world. Is this a marketing strategy – or are we simply becoming less intelligent when it comes to interpreting music?