Representation and Star persona Cross Media Study Unit 1(AO4)

 

For this essay, I have to talk about how my artist has been represented across different media texts.  Two of these media studies are one of Rihanna’s CD cover and her music video.  

In order to do the essay, I had to find an artist that is known globally and is signed to a major recording label. This is why, I have chosen Rihanna because she is very popular and have got a wide range of audiences and is signed to many recording industries such as The Island Def Jam Music Group, SRP, Universal and Roc Nation.

Rihanna is presented through a variety of media texts in order for her to become a global star icon.  Rihanna is an R&B singer, besides singing she is also a songwriter, executive producer, dancer, video director, philanthropist, cultural ambassador, author, and actress. This signifies how high her status is within the society. As a result of this, people including her fans will respect her even more because of her highly qualified status. Also, people who despise her music might favour her books or movies. This way she will appeal to a mass audience.

Her star persona is that Rihanna's image has become a sex symbol and set herself apart from other R&B starlets, deciding for designer couture over belly-baring crop tops which reveals are her sensitive body parts shown in many video’s or pictures of her. This is the way her star persona is set up in the public eye. She is also portrayed as a fashion icon rather than a positive role model. Her style can be changed in multiple ways and still she looks good in anything.

It’s important to mention, that her star persona is also reflecting her tattoo which she has got all over her body parts. Her tattoos have drawn much media attention. Her tattoos include a music note tattoo on her ankle, a Pisces sign behind her right ear, a Sanskrit prayer going down her hip, a star in her left ear, the word love on her left middle finger, an Arabic phrase meaning "Freedom in Christ" on her ribcage area, trail of stars going down the back of her neck, a skull with a pink hair bow, the phrase "shhh..." on her right index finger, the date 11.4.86 in Roman numerals on top of her left shoulder, a henna-style dragon claw including hibiscus flowers, a handgun under her right armpit, a six-word phrase on her chest, and the phrase "rebelle fleur" on her neck, said to mean "rebel/rebellious flower" in French. Her gun tattoo located on her ribcage. This image represents strength and power. Additionally, her thirteenth tattoo which she had was on her chest and reads, "Never a failure, always a lesson".

In addition, Rihanna’s primary target audience are young teenage girls, aged 17-19+, White/Black African. Their hobbies are, mainly, shopping, dancing, listening loud R&B music, partying, hanging around, talking about boys, wearing revealing or fashionable clothing, are obsessed with their appearance and figure, they have a ’’I don’t care attitude’’ towards many things. These are girls that have an urban, youthful image. At last, as young girls, they are interested in love, desire for intimacy, attention and seduction. Rihanna would be the perfect singer that would appeal to them and want to see more of her outrageous image and couture.

However, her secondary target audience are black teenage boys, also aged 17- 19+, mainly from White/Black African backgrounds, who can easily get distracted by Rihanna’s seductive psyche. These boys have completely the same hobbies and interests as Rihanna’s primary target audience. In other words, these men like partying as well, hanging around, listening loud music, going to clubs, bars, shopping, and wearing fashionable urban image clothing, being promiscuous, flirtatious, and youthful, they have got a wild lifestyle such as binge drinking, late nights and they have irresponsible attitudes towards the morals of life.  

Interestingly enough, Rihanna is signed to Def Jam Recordings which produces pop, reggae and R&B music.  Most importantly, Def Jam Recordings is an American Hip-Hop recording label which is parented by Universal Music Group. This means that Rihanna’s star persona will be affect positively which means that she will be represented through different media text highly professional and her songs will be hitting top charts in any music channels to emphasis her popularity and expertise. However, her star persona is represented as a black/mixed raced female artist who is very seductive, flirtatious, sexy, sassy and mischievous by putting lots of makeup and wearing revealing clothing. Likewise, she is also represented as though she desires for intimacy, devotion and sensual seduction. This will mainly appeal to her male audience. But young naive girls want to be like her, they imitate her media image in reality. It’s important to mention, that Rihanna is not a role model but a fashion icon.

At the same time, she is represented as hard working, talented and intelligent through her music career. Conventionally, her star persona is also be represent as wealthy and a fashion chameleon. Def Jam Recordings constructs artist that consumes human consciousness such as using symbols, props, customs and metaphors that conforms to their star persona and that the target audience are familiar with. For example, in the song of Rihanna featuring with Jay Z/Run This Town has used lots of gang cultural signs and symbols which connote very strong messages to the viewers. As a result of this, Rihanna’s audiences will start to idolize her false media image creation.

Below are some of the examples of Rihanna’s CD cover reflecting her star persona.
The conventions of Rihanna's CD cover are that she has got a title taht tells the audience what the album is about, main image, hidden meanings, one character, simplistic design, with natural or black and with colour schemes, the use of the colour for Rihanna's title compared to the rest of the cover and bold and simple fonts, entirely opposite font for the album title. Most importantly, Rihanna doesn't entirely conform to a conventional R&B CD cover because she looks down, her name isn't on the CD cover and from her main image we can tell it's Rihanna's album.

As you can see, the first image clearly reflects her star persona as being very seductive, flirtatious through the use of the extreme close up. This shot will denote to us, as viewer, a very detail image of her face and her facial expression tells us everything.

Her lips are held in a purposefully ambiguous not-smile, not-frown look, which invites the viewer to project their own reading onto the expression. Rihanna is often presented as a sex symbol. Also, her lip are red which can connote a wide range of messages such as romance, love, danger, alertness, be aware, intimacy, passion, eye catching and it’s a very bold colour which attracts immediate attention. It’s the colour of daring to rebel which the tattoo on her neck is an evidence for her image.

In conclusion, the similarities and differences in the CD cover and music video are that Rihanna's CD covers overall presentation of her star persona is portrayed exactly the same as her music video. The video denotes her star persona as sexual, seductive, in love, flirtatious and passionate. Similarly, so does her CD cover. In both media texts her hair is red denoting her personality as dominant, rebellious, controlling, romantic,
For example, Rihanna’s CD cover and music video interlinks to each other to make it more recognisable and the messages convey similar connotations in the CD cover, Rihanna’s website, her music videos, and all the other media texts. The a variety of media texts are used to cross promote Rihanna’s star persona through her posing seductively on her CD covers, looking flirtatious and attractive

Her star persona is about looking as unique and outrageous as possible but at the same time maintaining her beauty, flirtatious, attractive, sassy and seductive looks to attract her female and male target audiences. 

 music video conventions,

Below the artificial lighting put Rihanna and Drake in an enhanced mood.

On Rihanna's CD covers as you can see above the typography of bold, in capital letters, big and significant. This connotes that the typography in her CD cover ''Hard'' suggests that she is sexually controlling, seductive and rebellious. Rihanna's singles often represents her star persona as ''Hard'', ''Loud'' or ''Only girl (in the world)''.

In both of the media texts, her CD covers and her music video, Rihanna hasn't used a lot of props, particularly in her CD covers. However, she has used a glass of wine as a prop which creates a romantic, loving, joyful and comforting atmosphere.

The mese on scence in Rihanna's first CD cover of her single 'HARD' takes place in a rather mysterious, distinctive and dark place. Where there is a side of a desk visible.

But in her music videos Rihanna is out in the street walker connoting freedom, ''the street girl'' and informalism. Likewise, the rest of the misce on scene took place in a domestic setting where she is accompanied with Drake as her lover. Significantly, at the end in her What's my name? single the mise en scene takes place in a variety of ordinary places such as on the streets, in a domestic setting, out in a field where there is this misty effect on Rihanna's background connoting mystery, secretive and it makes rihanna the significant figure in the frame. At the same time, this interlinks to Rihanna's CD cover 'LOUD' which she doesn't look into the camera.

The mise en scene where Rihanna is together with Drake in a domestic setting in her music video What's my name? creates the division of a rather intimate and quite misce en scene. Whereas, the misce on scene out in the field creates a wild, exciting and up beating atmosphere.

Throughout, Rihanna's different media texts her star persona is represented as a tempting, sassy, enticing, attractive, flirtacious, good looking, sensual and sexual character. Often, her customs in her CD covers and music videos are really seductive where she is revealing lots of clothing and sometimes she wears nothing but just covers her hand infront of the main tempting parts. This is appealing to her secondary target audience which is young teenage boys and her primary target audience which is teenage girls as they want to look like her.

Additionnally, Rihanna is often seen as a fashion chameleon as she's got an outrageous clothing line. Her firing red dyed and blondy yellow hair in her above CD covers and music videos connotes that her star persona is represented as a colourful, vibrant, sexy, bold, bright and superior, yet also,  cute, innocent and caring figure.

Another piont, I have to make is that the major record label she is signed to makes her a very out of the main character. Her star persona creates her Unique Selling Piont. Universal already understood by its name is a globally know company which makes Rihanna an multinational and successful artist. They have a lot more funding to make her well known and a popular artist.

Through the access of a variety of promoting, advertising, publicity and marketing strategies Rihanna can be exposed to a maximum extend for fame and fortune.