Group - Justin Bieber Analysis

How does a music video provide a platform for an artist to reinvent himself/herself to a target audience?

A music video allows an artist to present himself/herself  through an additional dimension . The visuals that music videos contain help to build the artists meta-narrative.

Justin Bieber has recently reinvented himself and is using his music to help him do so. He has had a stylistic change and we will be discussing two of his new music videos that show the reinvention of Justin Bieber.

What do you mean?  - Justin Bieber

• This music video complies with Torodovs theory of music videos being structured like a film. There is a beginning, middle and end to this video. The Beginning - Justin Bieber pays someone to kidnap him and his girlfriend. The Middle - When Bieber and his girlfriend are together, they both get kidnapped by people in masks and are kept captive together in a dark room. The End - Bieber manages to find a way out for him and his girlfriend and they escape. He is hero of the music video.
• In this music video, there are scenes of a sexual nature which connotes adulthood and maturity in Bieber. This causes there to be an older feel to the video as Bieber only has one girl who he is in a relationship with opposed to his first videos where there would be many girls surrounding him.
• There are many meat shots of Bieber which allows the audience to value his importance and attracts potential fans to watch the video as they are consuming more of him.
• In Dyer's theory, he proposes that a star is an image that is constructed and not a real person. A unique construction for Bieber was his haircut. His hair was his visual motif. In this video, his old side fringe hair cut is not there and he instead has a different hairdo that is more mature and makes him look older. This helps to reinvent Bieber as a more mature star who can appeal to an wider audience rather than just teenage girls.
• Another aspect to Dyer's theory is the stars' character and personality. He believes that stars show what people are supposed to be like. In this video, Bieber conforms to this belief. Bieber is seen as healthy and beautiful and he is also shown as brave as he saves the girl.
• There are many close up shots of Bieber which creates para-social intimacy. This means that there is a relationship between the artist and the audience. Fans of Justin Bieber will be willing to watch this video as they are able to consume more of him.
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Where Are U Now' Skrillex & Diplo with Justin Bieber

• Before we even see or hear the music video, we first register the artists that Justin Bieber is associating himself with. Skrillex and Diplo are the first names we see underlining the YouTube video. The video therefore creates a strong association with Justin Bieber and his new collaborators which have an older, more mature audience than what his previous music attracted.

• The various meat shots centre the video around him. They are a valuable platform for Bieber to reinvent his image on as they not only allow Bieber to give people a close up of his new, more mature haircut, but they also give people an insight into the types of people he works and is trying to associate himself with. The meat shots in the video allow the viewer to see the detailed CGI that went into creating the paint that slowly covers his face. This shows that he is working with creative people, and reflects that he's now far more creative and innovative than he was. It's an attempt to gain more respect and appreciation as a creative and serious artist from his existing and new audiences.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Dyer's theory that a star is to be present yet not present & ordinary yet extraordinary features very distinctly in this video of Beiber. Beiber is intended to be grounded in relation to his fans by allowing them to draw and annotate on each individual frame in certain parts of the video which shrouds him under layer after layer of colour and drawings. This degree of involvement with fans would only be available via a visual medium such as this. It therefore makes Bieber seem in touch with the people who admire him along with being mysterious, creative and worthy of said admiration.

How can a CD cover provide a platform for an artist to reinvent him/herself?

• CD covers can provide a medium in which to present an artist using costume appearance and thoughts feelings and attitude.

• The cover titled "What Do You Mean" delivers to the audience a rhetorical question. This suggests his attitude has matured from a immature teenage boy of naivety to someone who has wider experience of life. His tattoos and checked shirt add to the appearance of him as maturing into a man and appealing to the older audience.

• The simply black and white cover suggest he has gone back to the basic meanings and true meaning of what he is about taking away the frills.

• This also appeals to a more mature audience and could reflect in his more insightful meaningful songs of which he has had creative input. This supported by the plain font in which they have used to put emphasis on the meaning of the words.
  

• The tattoos and creativity Justin Bieber oozes supports Dyer's star theory which makes him appeal to a large and loyal audience. His plain T-shirt and hair cut make him ordinary and extraordinary  at the same time.
• The other album cover titled "Where R U Now". Has the same thread as the other cover of a rhetorical question.

• The fact that half of the title implies the person who wrote it was either illiterate or has no care for standard English and is a rebellious soul fitting in with dyers star theory. The picture on the cover has semiotics of memories and emotions of where he's been and all the experiences he's had with different people.

• This makes the album cover feel as if it is bigger than one person and the song was inspired by many different people. This enforces the mature and adult approach in which Justin is trying to influence throughout his work turning over a new leaf and reinventing himself.