Analysis of a star

Lady Gaga

                                                            JUST DANCE

Goodwins theory: ‘Just Dance’ Gaga follows a vast majority of goodwins theory throughout with its use of close up of Gaga's face and has the catchy dance moves which captures the steoreotypical pop music video. The video shows a typical outragious house party where it shows Gaga's party lifestyle and her misbehaving to show her wild persona.                        

Genre and generic conventions: The genre of Gaga's 'Just Dance' is purely pop based, However the video can be suggested to looking like a rock or R&B video because of its lavish lifestyle and extreme behaviour which is shown throughout; especially when Gaga licks and kisses three of her extras in the video.

Artist Image: In 'Just Dance' Lady Gaga has a slight edge to her style and comes across as a girl next door who is up for having a good time. Though she is seen to be in rather suggestive clothes in this video, it still seems to be rather innocent compared to her following videos. In the first video she still feels as though she is holding herself back and a fresh faced gaga who would be drawing in males attention with her cool easy to know vibe about her.

Target audience: Gaga is loved for her extreme and larger then life persona, which makes her one of the most popular female artists of the 21st century. From her first music video, her fan base has gone from a vast few to one of the most wildest dedicated fanbase in the world. Originally in 'Just dance' her fan base was initually aimed for teenagers (what her record company thought was ideal for the star to grab the attention of mainstream fans).

Messages and values of the video and of the time:  The meaning of the song is clear of what Gaga is trying to get across, which is basically her way of saying whatever happens in life, then just push all your troubles aside and 'Just Dance'. It consists of telling the viewer that everything is going to be okay, which aims at anyone who is going through a bad time or who wants to party. It is showing of how she has been constructed to be the party animal who enjoys having fun and can interact with her audience.

                                                             BAD ROMANCE

                                                                                                                                  Goodwins theory:

For Gaga's 'Bad Romance' video, she also keeps within Goodwins theory, which she has gone from performance to concept based and has gone for the more shock factor in the video then relatable party animal. But really she has evolved her image and has become a much more controversial star with a very quirky image which is shown clearly in this very bizarre video. The video shows Gaga throughout with a provocative choice in clothing throughout as she and her fellow dancers are paraded about infront of sleezy and rich men who gaga eventually gets sold to the highest bidder which could be a hidden message as prostitution which could suggest a deeper hidden message in the video. Again she is following the creative use of a very typical pop video with her catchy dance moves.

Genre and generic conventions:

The video for this is entirely pop as it sticks to the pop genre conventions much more. Throughout gaga is seen in next to nothing clothes and seems to be selling herself in the video which could be shown to be a far cry from her break out single 'Just Dance' and we see a darker side to her image which some pop lovers may not enjoy so much.

Artist Image:

Compared to 'Just Dance' Gagas image has changed dramatically with various different hair styles/colours, and wacky clothes. The star is wearing an extremely high pair of heels which seem completly ridicolous and physically impossible to walk in which seems to add to the unstoppable lengths she will go to, to be one of the most outragious females in the world. A music video can show and represent an artist through the representation of their lifestyle, personality and clothing. Gaga is a key example of an artist who shows individuality and potentially a feisty woman in the recording industry which is clearly shown throughout her videos.

Target audience:

In 'Bad Romance' her audience has grown and her music appeals to people who enjoy different genres of music as she has proved she never likes to keep her music the same.So her ever dedicated fans are proud to see her do the music she loves and be the outragious star she shows to the public eye.

Messages and values of the video and of the time: 

In contrast to 'Just Dance' in 'Bad Romance' Gaga has kept in touch with her fashionista but has just shown a much more quirkier and much more bizarre side of her, plus her lyrics as time has gone by have got much more promicious as in Bad Romance her message is clear that she is almost pleading with someone that she wants to "start a bad romance which is far more visual and graphic then just dance but keeps the song tongue in cheek just about to still count the song in the pop genre.

                                                            BORN THIS WAY
Goodwins theory:
Keeping in her theme of sending a message to her 'monsters' Lady Gaga's video to Born This Way not only shocks and challenges the audience but also sends a strong and meaningful statement which the majority of her demographic audience can connect with; that no matter what anyone says, they should be comfortable with who they are and to embrace their emotions and love as they were born that way. She keeps to Goodwins theory as she dances and this can be seen on a stereotypical pop music video. But she also pushes the boundaries as she is seen half naked being grabbed and caressed by other dances and also can be seen at the start of the video giving birth which relates to the lyrics.

Genre and generic conventions:

Like the artists other music video she has a constant theme of wearing provocative clothes which would not necessarily apply to a generic pop video as a conventionally made video would consist of a cheesy, all singing, all dancing star and corny air grabs. So except from Gaga's dancing the video would go against a stereotypical pop video.

Artist Image:
The image of the star has grown more controversial and weird but this is what helps build the wacky and extreme world that creates Lady Gaga. She is seen with implanted horns and a very visible gap which brushes aside the usual glamourous star.Bizarrely she is seen giving birth to very odd looking head which adds to the shock factor of her persona. She is seen throughout wearing just her underwear which amazingly shows a more innocent and vulnerable side to the star, which also relates back to the message of the video to be comfortable in her own skin.

Target audience:
The targeted audience would initially be her very loyal demographic of fans. This video has a clear message which sums up why she is such a huge role model to people who struggle with their sexuality, have low self esteem or just genually don't feel confident within themselves; she expresses she wants everyone to be comfortable with who they are and do what you want to do with your life. This really shows her connection with her fans and loyalty to their emotions which adds to her fan base and makes her demographic listen and really take in her music.

Messages and values of the video and of the time: 
Similar to 'Just Dance' and 'Bad Romance' she still oozes her diva-ish, bigger then life persona that she successfully tries to perceive to her fan base. This video seems to be one of the most extreme and wackiest of her videos but the message overlooks the video so she doesn't care how she looks as long as her audience know the meaning of her lyrics.

How has the artist changed over time?
Lady Gaga has gone from being no more then a typical pop artist new to the industry but throughout her career has grown a bizarre edge to her which leaves her audience wanting more and confused by her videos and never before seen outfits. Also as the star has become more established she has grown a thicker skin and seems to not care about what criticism she receives and feels she can push the boundaries like no other as she is in control of what she does now, compared to at the beginning of her career seems more restricted of what she was doing. So now she is the dominant woman who is in control of her career thanks to her overwhelming amount of support from her following.

Richard Dyer's star theory:

In Richard Dyer's Star Theory he states that the artist is given a so called 'star image' which their record label thinks best suits the gap that is missing in the public eye; which as whole will be that the artist will have to act and present themselves the way that their record company suggests to make them be perfect for the media and their audeince. This can be shown in Gaga's past image as the Gaga in 'Just Dance' seems a lot more sheltered and less in control with a much more 'girl next door' ora about her, which is a far cry then her evolving into the fiesty and wacky Gaga that we know today, which could be an implication that suggests that her record label have suggested that she mold into the star who they think she should be. Her fans may not be able to directly point out when Gaga become in control of her identity or not be as would say the labels 'puppet' but we can see that Gaga has almost admediatly lost her girl next door image and become the fiesty alter ego that is Lady Gaga. This could have been her record label trying to change her image to appeal to male fans who would like to date her and for her female fans who would want to look like her which would equal more sales for the label as they felt that she could fill the gap in the market and apply to the pop demographic.

Over the years Lady Gaga has grown up and obviously like everybody, has experimented with her looks,weight and has tried to discover herself but in the media has been exagerated and highlighted for better and for the worse. But this is all to do with the maturing stage and it is fair to say that she has been pratically been on the hunt of stardom from an extremely young age which will show extravagant Gaga and down to earth normal Gaga which will constatnly be under scrutany in the public eye. Some of her fans would agree that they prefere the early stages of her fame to what she has become now but it is very clear that her demographic may have changed over the years but the vast majority of her fans will stick to whatever Gaga wishes to do and this is what makes her one of the most powerful woman in the business which can be applied to Richard Dyer's star theory. Also Dyer has suggested that "the star must be simultaniously ordinary but extraordinary" which the term extraordinary is the perfect definition to use for the artist as she is intriguingly wonderful but bizarre to the eye which just adds to her persona. In my opinion I feel that Gaga image now connects with fans more as she is dominant in teaching her fans to be true to themselves and thats what she has set out to do now, whereas before we were not witnessing the real her and I think she would not be even half as sucessful today if she carried on as the pretty normal Gaga from back in 'Just Dance' so think the change has suited her for the better.