The impacts of female subcultures within the music industry

There are always impacts within the music industry and people usually look towards artists who take drugs or artists who condone violence and death in either their singles or videos. But one of the problems which isn't always directly taken into consideration is young female fans role modeling themselves on female artists or bands who's ideas and image may not be considered to the age group who are able to listen and aspire to be them.

An example of one of these groups is The Pussycat Dolls. They are a group of 5 woman who are trying to give across a sexy and seductive image with singles such as 'don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me' and 'When I grow up' which includes lyrics 'when I grow up I wanna be famous I wanna see the world I wanna be in movies,' which is telling there younger fans that there ambitions should be to be famous rather than having the ambition to carry on at school and go to University.

A book, Media Gender and Identity by David Gauntlett mentions how there song 'Don't cha' can be seen as empowering confident and seductive and how there band is trying to represent female power. However he goes on to say that the idea of being a 'doll' is considered to be not so empowering as it sends the message that they are not human beings but lifeless plastic figures.

This video for their single 'don't cha' shows the group in not a lot of clothing and how they are the main focus of the video, giving across the idea that by the way they do and their image gives them the main focus and attention.






Another example of a female artist who could be considered to be sending out the wrong messages to younger fans is Britney Spears. Her first single 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' is supposed to be a catchy song for all ages to be able to listen to but when the lyrics are actually uncovered this song has a derocative message to women and is even critiscied in her early years as being in rolling stones as being 'child pornography,' As she began her carrer at the young age of 16 and therefore wasn't deemed old enough to carry off her image.

A quote taken from the American Family Association said "pictures, which showed Spears in push-up bras and a minuscule pair of shorts with 'Baby' in rhinestones on the bottom, presented a 'disturbing mix of childhood innocence and adult sexuality' and asked that all 'God-loving Americans' boycott stores carrying her albums"


Young girls will be influenced by her image and lyrics and therefore think it's right for them to wear hot-pants and be a 'sexy schoolgirl'.

I found these comments written on Britney Spears' website and show young a lot of her fans where when they first started listening to Britney Spears.


i love this albumm i mean i was 4 11 years ago ive been a fan of britney since then i loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee her <3>


This is my 1st review.. I finally realized where to do'em.. so here goes! I was 11 in the 5th grade when i heard BOMT.. from there i was hooked! So this WHOLE album is a classic, a "door opening" to a "Crazy" ride for me.


There are other impacts as well resulting from these female subculutres and their choice image and lifestyle and that's anorexia. Thousands of girls will aspire to look like these artists and therefore can have body confidence issues.
A study was made at the University of Sussex to see if there really where effects of girls aged 12-19 really where suffering from these issues.

Dr Helga Dittmar says: "The mass media is a pervasive force in shaping body ideals, but this negative impact has remained under-examined. Female models in music videos help to promote thinness as desirable - and are often depicted in ways that emphasise this physical ideal. It is against this ideal that young girls come to measure themselves, often unfavourably, which can lead to body dissatisfaction and, in turn, unhealthy eating behaviours."

The researchers discovered that after just ten minutes' exposure, it was the group who watched music videos featuring thin, idealised models who exhibited the greatest increase in body dissatisfaction, compared to those who merely listened to the songs or had completed the memory task.

However despite all this their are artists and groups who are trying to combat this issue. One artist in particular is Lily Allen. Reports came out a few weeks ago claiming Katy Perry considered herself 'like a skinnier version of Lily Allen and a fatter version of Amy Winehouse'.

This sort of comment is not what the music industry want to hear as Lily Allen is hardly large herself and it's making it appear as though skinnier is more attractive.

In which Lily Allen replied

"I happen to know for a fact that she was an American version of me," because their record company needed, "to find something controversial and 'kooky' like Lily Allen."

Lily Allen doesn't let comments like this affect her and therefore sends out a postive message to her fans. She is also an independent artist who writes her own songs. Her songs also don't tgive out the same messages as some of the other artists and are more focused on her previous relationships and her revenge. For example her first single 'smile'.

But has the music industry gone less central to pop in recent years? Some might argue that female artists are considered to much of a 'gimmic' with an article from 'don't panic magazine'

saying:

There are few examples where female singer-songwriters are completely doing it for themselves. Take La Roux (above)- fronted by a woman (who technically can't sing) but whose songs are actually co-written and produced by Ben Langmaid. Little Boots’ first song ‘Stuck on Repeat’ was produced by Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard, a name that undoubtedly helped to elevate her to the mainstream. Lady Gaga, Florence, Roux and Natasha Khan (Bat for Lashes) all pride themselves on some sort of flamboyant gimmick. It’s hard to ascertain whether dancing around half-naked in flimsy costumes was entirely their own idea.

But artists have always been influenced by other musicians and if the artist happens to be male then it shouldn't matter as long as they are successful and it's artists such as Florence, La Roux and Natasha whoare trying to give a different impression on woman within the music industry for being individual and showing that they have musical talent rather than being like The Pussycat Dolls which in some ways show their group to be a franchise with their T.v Programmes 'search for the next Pussycat Dolls' as well as T-shirts and novelty items.

The impacts of subcultures within the music industry

Most artists or bands particularly under the genre of Punk or Rock will have to be keeping up an image of themselves which can sometimes go against everyday society or even the law.

It is this image that their fans will try to copy and therefore can lead to tragedy.

For example. Pete Doherty.

Pete Doherty has been in two bands The Libertines and The Babyshambles and is now going solo. But he is more famous for his out and about antics rather than for his music. He has been arrested several times for drug pocession as well as abuse.

NME have several articles related to Pete Doherty about his off-stage antics

Pete Doherty's show tonight (June 11) at the Derby Rockhouse has been cancelled after the Babyshambles man was arrested in Gloucester for driving and drugs offences.

Pete Doherty was arrested yesterday (November 18) for crack cocaine possession

Pete Doherty is to stand trial in Gloucester Crown Court after being arrested for drug, drink and driving offences.

As well as The Guardian

The Babyshambles singer was arrested in the early hours of Thursday morning after police spotted him driving erratically as he left a gig in Gloucester. The singer has been remanded in custody and is due to appear before magistrates in Stroud on Friday.

And The Daily Mail

The singer, who famously dated model Kate Moss, was detained at an airport in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday after he was found slumped in a bathroom on board a British Airways plane.
He was believed to be intoxicated and was taken back to his seat, but flight staff alerted police when a hypodermic needle was later found on the plane, which they wrapped in tissue.Read more

Pete Doherty plays music to the Indie genre which has a massive fan base and therefore fans of his music will be looking at Pete as a 'role model' with the idea that the only way to be 'cool' or 'outrageous' is to take drugs and get arrested.

This article found on http://www.contactmusic.com/ is the point which I'm trying to focus on and is an impact which is known within the music industry:

Editors of British magazine NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS (NME) have been accused of glamorising drug abuse by naming troubled cocaine and heroin addict PETE DOHERTY its "Cool Icon" of 2004.
Drugs charities ADDACTION and DRUGSCOPE are furious the influential publication chose Doherty, who was thrown out of rock band THE LIBERTINES for failing to combat the addiction and for breaking into the band's co-founder CARL BARAT's house last year (03) to steal possessions to sell for drugs.
But NME's deputy editor ALEX NEEDHAM insists, "It is not a heroin addiction which makes Pete Doherty the coolest. He is a very talented musician who has become a modern day minstrel.
"There is a parallel with KURT COBAIN but NME does not endorse drug abuse. Readers can see it has caused the disintegration of a great band like The Libertines."
Addaction's policy manager REBECCA CHESHIRE counters, "Young people are vulnerable to hard drugs and not everyone has the ability to afford expensive rehabilitation programmes like rock stars."

There are clearly fears that these artists are encouraginf more people into taking drugs with other indie artists MGMT including in their lyrics, 'I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin, and f*** with the stars.You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars.'

The lyrics are telling young people that drug taking will make you attractive and famous.

However despite all this in 1998 Sir George Martin the producer for the Beatles tried to voice his concerns about drug taking within the music industry by proposing that 'record companies refuse to sign new bands if they took drugs. Sir George added, however, that he was not "unrealistic" enough to believe companies would drop existing artists just because they were on drugs.'

But sadly had this thrown in his face by Alen McGee. Alan McGee, head of the Creation record label, said Sir George had personally gained from music recorded under the influence of drugs.

This appears to be the case amongst most producers and artists as the artist is able to write better music if they are under the influence. And producers and executives are being selfish for this "I can hear some record company executives say: `You must be out of your mind, you would ruin us.' What's more important? Is it the future of the country, the future of the youth, or the bottom line?"

Reasons for Nelly Furtado's changed image

An article found on contactmusic.com

This comment made by Nelly Furtado makes it seem a bit clearer it the reasons why she chose to scrap her tomboy appearance for a for feminine sexy look.

FURTADO: 'FEMINISM TURNED ME AGAINST MEN'
NELLY FURTADO has turned her back on her feminist past because she fears it "brainwashed" her into hating men. The LIKE A BIRD singer admits she dabbled with women's rights when she first became a star, but now she's a single mum with a "secret boyfriend" she's a huge fan of guys. She says, "I went through a feminist phase and read a lot of philosophical stuff. "Some of the male-bashing brainwashed me for a bit so I stopped. I love men."

Analysis on Nelly Furtado's video I'm Like a Bird and Promiscuous Girl

Analysis on Nelly Furtado’s video’ I’m Like a Bird’ and ‘Promiscuous Girl ‘ and the difference between the two.

The music video for I’m Like a Bird is very different to her more recent released video ‘Promiscuous girl.’
The costume used in I’m Like a Bird is very casual with the artist wearing a pair of jeans and a top which shows her stomach but is long sleeved and round-necked. Therefore the artist is trying to use sexuality to appeal to the target audience of the video and instead is making the scenery and lyrics her main focus. This is also shown in her make-up which is natural which is linking to her setting of her forest. The look she is using is that which is fitting for her genre of music ‘folk’ as other folk artists such as Laura Marling and Regina Spektor have a natural look to their appearance as their music is uplifting as well as sorrowful rather than sexy and provocative.

This costume is contrasted in her R&B single for Promiscuous girl as she is now wearing tops which are much more alluring and provocative. She is also wearing heavy makeup showing how she is now trying to portray herself as feminine and sexy. Therefore the artist is using her sexuality as the main focus of the video which links with the lyrics as she is a ‘promiscuous girl’. This look is now typical to the genre of R&B as she is competing with artists such as Rhianna and Beyonce who will also use costume and make-up as a focus within their videos to entice their audience and make them desirable. Some of Nellys Furtado’s earlier fans will be likely to criticise her for this change of image as they would have liked her personality before of a beautiful woman who doesn’t need to use her sexuality to sell her singles.

The lighting is high key making the colouring used with the video much more saturated which enhances the green grass of the forest and the orange on the artist’s top. The lighting is also ambient making the video appear natural. The sun is used within the video to make the artist and location appear brighter it also is a representation of freedom as she wants to ‘fly away’ and also has a contrasting effect of something positive being used with something negative.
The lighting works well with the setting of the forest. This is the only location used throughout the video and the wide angled shots of the vast forest and meadows show her freedom.

The lighting for Promiscuous girl uses blue and green filters which make the scene feel like a dream or fantasy. The blue is also showing the artist to have a ‘cold side’ to the male who is trying to ‘win her’ and therefore makes her seem secretive and mysterious. The skin of the artist and the dancers is enhanced within this video to make the female body seem ‘appealing’. It has a definite contrast in lighting to I’m like a bird as she’s not trying to make a single which is uplifting but instead ‘sexual’ and this is reflected within the colours of the video. The colours also make the setting feel claustrophobic as though the artist isn’t trying to be so free with her music anymore but more generic.

The mise-en scene within this video helps uncover hidden messages of the lyrics and what they are trying to portray as well as the way the female is being represented. The long shot of her floating in the air makes her appear powerful as though she is Mother Nature or even Eve trapped within her own Garden of Eden. Therefore portraying her femininity as being dominant and powerful. Also the power she has within the video reflects the energy of the song and makes the listener feel powerful as well. Crowds used within this video show how she doesn’t need to be a bird to have the freedom to fly away as she is crowd surfing and therefore saying how people have the power to lift your mood and make you feel happy.

The Mise-en –scene of ‘ Promiscuous Girl’ is trying to appeal to her new target audience of the younger generation aged 16-25 as technology of the mobile phone conversation between the male and female shows their divide in character and role. The club setting is also appealing to her target audience and how she wants this song to be listened to.
The setting of this video is very claustrophobic which is generic to the ‘club scene’ as it makes it seem as though people have to dance closer together and therefore the video can include the dancers ‘bumping and grinding’ within the video which again adds sex appeal to the single. This is a contrast to the setting for I’m Like a Bird which was more free and natural where as this location is more urban and gritty.

The editing used within this video is representing life and nature as there is a shot where the artist is standing at a tree and the camera zooms in and out making it seem like a heartbeat. The editing as also made the artist the main focus of this video with the shots cutting to mid close ups of her face as she is singing and then cuts back to her being lifted in the forest.

The editing on Promiscuous Girl is still showing the artist to be the main focus but now for the role sexuality rather than just being the artist of the track. Rather than just the artist in the video she now uses a male and female cast. The video is also edited around the track as it is a single intended to dance to the dancers and music link at certain points of the song. The video is trying to show the artist to be independent and dominant as a female but by including Timbaland it now shows her as an artist who needs to have influences from other mainstream artists in order to sell.

It is therefore clear that Nelly Furtado has completely abandoned her previous style of folk/rock in order to appeal to a more mainstream younger audience. But in order for her to have done this she has had to abandon her independent natural appearance and style and become generic and ‘sexy’ which is typical of an R&B female. This is a negative representation of the music industry as it’s not allowing females to use their individuality and talent to come out of their music. However this is mainly shown within the R&B/pop genre with other female artists such as Ladyhawke and M.I.A who are of Indie and electronica who don’t try to use this image to sell their singles.

Storyboards

Costume

The costume for our cast is a typical ska skater look. So therefore want to try and include trilbys, braces but try to keep it looking modern and fresh at the same time.

Male Skateboarder

This is just one of the looks we are going for, for our male skateboarder which includes skinny jeans, and casual top and headphones worn around is neck to develop the fact it is a music video by showing how our cast are into music.

Female Skateboarder

The look we dont want in our video.

We want our female skateboarder to look feminine but with a boyish side as well. The look we don't want is for our female to look like the pop icon 'Avril Lavigne' when she released her single sk8er boi. If we had this look in our video it wouldn't relate to the genre of the band and would also make our video look tacky.

The Look we do want

The look we want for our female skateboarder is that similar to Samantha Ronson as she herself as a stylish tomboy image and being a DJ reflects someone who is into music. She is often wearing skinny jeans, T-shirt and trainers. Her look also includes a trilby which is a signifying look of Ska The specials where a massive ska band from 1977 and therefore we are wanting to make sure we include some of the original ska style within our video but with a feminist twist.

This video from The Specials 'Message to you Rudy' shows the ska image of the 70's and gives an insight into the ska style and what we want to incorporate into our video as a dedication to this era of music.