* How do the representations of black music celebrities like Beyoncé and Jay Z impact upon audiences?
Angle
The angle that I would be focusing on is how Beyoncé and Jay Z are represented through their music videos, lyrics, articles etc. I would also be focusing on the impact that Beyoncé and Jay Z's music and how they are represented through the media has on audiences. I will be looking at the artist's joint music videos such as Bonnie & Clyde and Crazy In Love. I would also be analysing how the celebrities have been represented through other media texts such as magazines, online articles, interviews, Jay Z's biography 'The Black Book' etc.
Hypothesis
My hypothesis is that the younger audiences are becoming more influenced/impacted by other music stars such as Chief Keef and Kendrick Lamar therefore resulting in Beyoncé and Jay Z not being as inspirational. However, the older generation and teenagers have grown up listening to Beyoncé and Jay Z therefore they may look up to them as celebrity role models. They would have mostly a good impact on audiences as they are both revolved around families however many think they are associated with the illuminate therefore making them bad role models. I will also be looking at the different representations of Beyoncé and jay Z in the media and how audiences response to this. I will also briefly be talking about other artist like mentioned before, Chief Keef and Kendrick Lamar; this would therefore give interpretations of the different types of representations of black music celebrities other than just Beyoncé and Jay Z.
Linked production piece
Reality TV show or a news report.
MIGRAIN
Representation: Beyoncé and Jay Z are being represented. Bad representations of the couple - They are being represented as to following the illuminate all their audiences and followers are likely to know about the illuminate therefore by Beyoncé presenting the illuminate sign at the beginning of the song (Bonnie & Clyde) creates mystery and interest in the audience. Beyoncé and Jay z are also shown with a lot of branded clothes and materials such as BMW, Timberland and Manolo Blahnik this therefore shows them as wealthy and superior however as bad representation of the wealth could be that they are represented as materialistic. Materialism is also shown through other black music celebrities such as Miguel, Kendrick Lamar and Chief Keef. They also represent the key conventions of a typical Hip Hop and R n B music video, these are things such as wealth, fabulous lifestyles, designer clothes and nice cars.
Media languages and forms: Re-occurring conventions and motifs throughout Beyoncé and Jay Z's music video are things such as money, crime, branded clothes and living the glamorous/fabulous lifestyles.(mise-en-scene) Beyoncé hand gesture at the beginning of her presenting the illuminate sign portrays her and Jay Z as have power and being superior. They are also shown sitting on a bed counting a load of money therefore they representing their glamorous lifestyles and wealth. This relates to the Bonnie and Clyde movie (1967) as the movie also focuses around crime, wealth and glamorous living. The props (iconography) that Beyoncé and Jay Z use also represent wealthy lifestyles these are things such as helicopters, expensive cars, grand clothing etc. The camera also keeps switching from Mexico to USA therefore showing free-ways and portraying the American dream, money and Beyoncé and Jay Z's escape from different locations. There are the surrounding settings of the house and empty pool therefore relating to the genre as it shows wealth. The Close up of the Louis Vuitton bag is also fitting for the genre. The lighting that is used is High key lighting as it is during the day and shows the couple on the run and beating the law. The Camera angels are high angel shot of the police showing they are superior and in control and then Beyoncé and Jay Z manage to escape the police therefore showing they are stronger together. Robinson (the director)also does close up shots of Beyoncé in a hate and red lipstick which is voyeurism as it could be portrayed as being sexual. The Camera flips from long shot of the police to long shots of the criminals therefore showing how they are opposites and the difference between the law and crime.
Narrative: Majority of Jay Z and Beyonce's music and videos are both narrative based as well as performance based. Jay Z and Beyonce both ensure their lyrics as well as spoken narratives in their music videos are structured in a way that it tells a story promptly as if this is not done the song as well as music video would not make much sense. Furthermore, the music video for Bonnie&Clyde is structured in a way that the criminals are made to be seen as superior over the police as they successfully escape the law. At first the police are shown as being superior and the heroes as they are catching the criminals however as the music video goes on it is clear to see Beyonce and Jay Z are the actual heroes as they are able to escape the law. As Beyonce and Jay Z are through the music video together they bring a sense of romance and joint crime. The police men are talking at the beginning therefore causing narrative to the song, the lyrics also add narrative as the singers commonly refer to the things that are being shown in the music video. For example, when Jay Z mentions louis Vuitton they are shown sitting on a bed counting money in a Louis Vuitton bag.
Genre: The genre of black music is conventionally jazz, hip hop, RnB etc. The music that Jay Z and Beyonce produce is most commonly Hip hop, RnB and rap the reason for this is that Beyonce is an RnB singer and Jay Z is an American rapper. the major generic conventions would be wealth, crime and glamorous lifestyles. The generic theme of their song Bonnie&Clyde is crime and law as their actions and the music video shows the opposites and highlights the differences. Black music is usually represented with a genre of crime and violence or sex and hoes however black music stars such as Beyonce and Jay Z have different approaches as they commonly talk about love or their lifestyles such as what they have been through or what they wish to become. crime, money and glamorous lifestyles is the main themes and genres of a typical black music video and regarding representations.
Media Institutions: Black music celebrities are known to work extremely close with one another; for example in Jay Z's seventh album he had Shaun Carter, Kanye West, Prince, Tupac Shakur, Ricky Rouse, Tyrone Wrice and Darryl Harper help compose it along with himself and Beyonce. Furthermore, they use beats from others songs this is common in hip hop music as it came in to play in the 20th century where as other music such as jazz and the blues were being heard by the public long before. For example, for Beyonce and Jay Z's song Bonnie&Clyde they used the beat from Tupac Shakur's song 'Me and my girlfriend'. However, this did cause conflict with other singers such as Toni Braxton this was because at the time of the release for 'Bonnie&Clyde' she wanted to release her song 'Me and my boyfriend' which also had the back beat from Tupac's song therefore she accused Jay Z and Kanye West of plagiarising her ideas however they denied these accusations and Jay Z also went on to say if he had known Toni Braxton wanted to also use the same beat they could have made a song together.
Media values and ideologies: Some values and ideologies of a black music video would be to portrayed as wealthy, criminals (seen a good light) and living the glamorous lifestyle. The celebrities are also always shown as successful and as the heroes such as 2 chainz in his song 'I'm different' the police is shown as chasing him however he is sitting on top of the car wearing all sorts of gold accessories therefore being shown as superior and wealthy. Also ideologies of a black music video is to show the difference between crime and law.
Media audience: Black music videos and lyrics usually target the demographics of D E classes and they usually run from the law and talk about crime, drugs and sex. However, there is the minority of A class demographics who are also interested in hip hop, RnB music as they look at how they are represented in term of wealth and glamorous lifestyles this would be things such as how they are dressed or what sorts of accessories they have such as cars, jewellery, the area they are in etc. there is also the target audience of 16-27 year old as they have been brought up listening to Jay Z and Beyonce also the enjoy listening to the lyrics where as older people may find the lyrics to explicit or inappropriate.
SHEP:
Social:
- By black celebrities showing themselves as successfully running away from the law it shows them as superior therefore influences other teenagers into believing it would be acceptable for them to also proceed with committing crimes.
- Furthermore, as black celebrities have previously been portrayed as criminals through their music it is likely for others to view most black African-American people as this therefore it is likely for people to blame black people for the 2010 riots in Britain.
Historical:
- Hip hop was formed in the late 20th century from earlier forms of African-American music such as jazz and the blues.
- Rapper Tupac Shakur was shot four times while leaving the MGM Grand Las Vegas, he died six days later in hospital. (1996)
- In 1996 scribble jam began showcasing underground rappers such as Sage Francis and Eminem.
- Jay Z's unlikely collabo with Linkin Park on Collision Course debuts at number one and becomes the biggest-selling CD/DVD package of the year.
- In 2005 destiny child announced their break-up this is where Beyonce's solo career became.
- The black culture is to significant for the American culture to glorify the blacks especially through their music.
- the black celebrities economy through music is increasing as the younger population is increasing and there is money people in the industry therefore bring in new and diverse songs, lyrics, beats and music in general.
Political:
- As Barak Obama is the United States president and is the first US black president it is extremely significant as he is a coloured individual at a high status therefore representing black celebrities as at a high status with no differences from others such as the whites.
- Also, Beyonce and Jay Z are seen as role models and are looked up by many individuals therefore showing their high status.
- Beyonce and Jay Z were also claimed as being in the top ten of the richest celebrities therefore showing a black celebrity in the music industries hard work and determination to become wealthy and high figures to society.
Issues and debates
Representation and stereotypes: Black music stereotypes are usually for the singers to rap or sing about drug, sex and money. However, Jay Z and Beyonce avoid these topics at times as Beyonce does not at all talk about drugs or sex and Jay Z does not tend to talk about sex however has previously mentions drugs and money in his music. This would therefore represent black celebrities in a bad way however, the way in which they present it the target audiences tend to enjoy listening to the celebrities music and in some way relate with it. There is also the stereotype that black music star have all come from a bad background, broken family and have lived a difficult life this therefore represents them as good now as they have had many struggles in their past and still come out as celebrities and making something out of their lives. Beyonce and Jay Z are represented through the media to audiences as role models as they have been together since and extremely young age and have now had a child therefore represented them as family orientated and as good people.
Media effects: There are many media effects towards the black music industry. There have previously been many different criticisms from the media towards the black industry. As black celebrities are known as to doing drugs and being a bad influence on the younger generation, the media is highly against the black music industry. This is because they view the bad sides of the industry such as money, sex and drugs however they also view the fact that black celebrities show crime and breaking the law as something fun and enthusiastic to do therefore showing it as something right. However, Beyonce once again goes against this and has been in the media many time for the right reasons such as having a child and making it into the top 5 music chart.
Ownership and control: It is said that the African-American music is taking over a lot of the music industry however a lot of the black music celebrities are not in ownership of their own work. For example, they may be singing the songs and be present in the music video however the writers and composers of the song have had no credit therefore giving the black celebrities a bad name and showing them as liars. However, most black celebrities have now got a say in what they wish to do and how they wish to record their music video there is usually a control from the music record they are signed to for example, young money. But these music record work extremely close together and are like a family within the industry therefore enabling them all to have a say and express how in control they are of their music and music videos.
Regulation and censorship: The censorship of music videos allows others to accept their feeling and expressions in other ways such as through crime therefore when black music videos are censored it is likely for them to go of to do other things therefore representing them in a bad was and increasing the crime rates. The expression in RnB is that it openly talks about sexual desires, drug use and other features which were never really familiar in other forms of music as RnB music is highly composed by the black music industry it was not seem as appropriate and acceptable one young white and youths began to listen to RnB therefore making it censored on sites such as youtube. In the 1980's many radio stations as well as music channels such as MTV refused to play any controversial music therefore causing them to get many complain letters however in 1983 Michael Jackson's song Thriller was credited for being the first black music video that had been at high constant demand.
Media technology and the digital revolution-changing technologies in the 21st century: New media technology and the digital revolution-changing technologies in the 21st century have impacted audiences on the representations of black music videos in an extreme way. This is that new technology now allows people to access RnB, hip hop music where ever and whenever they want to. This is due to the development of technology, therefore people are able to see ways in which black celebrities in the music industry are being represented for example someone can view Beyonce and Jay Z's music video on youtube however they could also go onto daily mail or type something in Google and find a news article on the couple therefore looked at the different ways in which they are being represented.New technologies such as camera's and mics could also represent the black celebrities differently as their music videos are now becoming much more advanced therefore allowing them to be represented in a much more wealthy and superior way as they have got better facilities.
Theories
Semiotics: This is the study of signs and what they could mean. I would be using this theory for my coursework study as I will be looking at what non verbal signs and language Beyonce and Jay Z in particular use in order to send a message to the audience. Furthermore, I would also be looking at other black celebrities in the music industry and will be comparing the differences as well as similarities between the two types of individuals.
Structuralism and post-structuralism: This is Roland Barthes theory, he made the narrative codes this is the belief that all media texts follow either one or all of these codes:
- The actions code ; this is where the text in this case music video had a sequence of events that the audience must follow in order to understand the plot of the music video.
- The enigmatic code ; this is where it builds a series of questions in the audience regarding the texts for example in a music video audiences may wonder why Jay Z and Beyonce are running after the police however by the end of the video it is clear that they are the actual criminals and have stolen money (Bonnie&Clyde).
- Symbolic codes(binary opposites) ; this is where there are major or even minor opposites that are evident throughout the text for example in the Bonnie&Clyde music video the binary opposites are clear between the police and Beyonce and Jay Z as it is obvious who the criminals are and who the law abiding citizens are. (good vs bad)
structuralism argues that it is in the authors hands how something is being represented however post-structuralism states that it is in fact in the readers/audiences hands to how something is being represented for example, if Jay Z and Beyonce are being represented as bad the audience may see a good side of them therefore would avoid viewing the couple from a bad prospective. The way in which I would be using this theory is by looking at black celebrities in the music industries music videos as well as who they are represented outside of the music industry therefore getting different interpretations and comparing them therefore getting different views on structuralism as well as post-structuralism.
Gender and ethnicity: Through gender and ethnicity we are able to see the differences between masculinity and femininity. We are also able to view how white-British/Americans are being represented through the media compared to how black-British/Americans are being represented as this shows the different ethnicities. I would be using this theory as I would be able to compare the black grime music to Beyonce and Jay Z's music as I believe differentiate in many different ways.
Audience theories: The audience theory considers how the audience would respond, react and interpret the media text. I would be using this in my study of representations of black celebrities in music as I would be looking at how they celebrities such as Beyonce and Jay Z have presented themselves and the messages they wish to send to audiences. I would also be looking at other black celebrities and how effective their approaches are compared to the two main celebrities 'Beyonce and Jay Z'.
Genre theories: The genre theory relates with the audiences that the text is being presented to. Furthermore, the way in which I would be using this theory is by looking at the different genres that are being shown throughout the media texts that I would be viewing. I would also be comparing Beyonce and Jay Z's music and music videos with other black celebrities in the music industry.
RESEARCH PLAN.
Media texts:
Beyonce webpage,
Jay Z's webpage,
Their concerts,
Their music videos (joint and single),
How they are portrayed through the media
Other media texts:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/24171165 - Beyonce and Jay Z article; bbc
TV documentaries:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03c3cmy/Who_Sold_the_Soul_Rhythm_and_Business/ - the representations of blacks
http://24wired.tv/50675/hoodwinked-documentary-about-black-men-and-stereotypes/ - stereotypes of blacks
Academic books/texts:
Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation by Jeff Chang
http://www.arts.cornell.edu/knight_institute/publicationsprizes/discoveries/discoveriesspring2001/03sullivan.pdf - upspring of black music
http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/black-music - article on black music
Internet links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=copiznIfV3E&safe=active - Bonnie & clyde; Beyonce and Jay Z.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob7vObnFUJc&safe=active - Love on top; Beyonce.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHp2KgyQUFk&safe=active - Best thing I never had; Beyonce.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uikJTnmtgw&safe=active - 99 problems; Jay Z.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVA-xTBeHyM - Run this town; Jay Z.
