Which star are you analysing?
Christina Aguilera is both a singer and an actress from Wexford Pennsylvania. Aguilera first became apparent to the public in the television show Star Search in 1990. Three years later she went on to star in Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club House series accompanying other stars of the show such as Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. The attention generated from this series helped Aguilera go on to record her first single `Reflections` which was the film theme song to the 1998 animated film Mulan. This first single generated huge publicity for Aguilera as the film was very popular making over 300 million dollars at the box office. The publicity created by this and her Golden Globe nomination for her debut release attracted the attention of major record labels. One of these labels, RCA went on to sign Aguilera and she continues to work with them in the present day. The majority of Aguilera’s songs arguably belong to the pop genre; however she has also done work in other genres such as soul, R&B and dance.
How was his/her star image established in the earliest music videos?
In her early career Aguilera had a very innocent image which would mirror the image of a typical girl of her age. This was shown through both her music and her costume. For example the video for the song `genie in a bottle` showed Aguilera in a costume which would have been very common to the teenage fashion of that time. Also the colours that were used in the costume for this video are orange and blue which are very neutral colours. This continues to create an innocent image of the artist as the selected especially the blue has connotations of being a calming colour. By using colours that are not to overpowering it creates a natural image for the artist which further makes Aguilera seem as if she is an average teenager and also keeps her image non-sexual and innocent whilst still giving her a girl next door type image. This naive image that Aguilera portrays is further shown through her dance routine in this music video. The dance routine which she displays in this video choreographed. This simplistic and generic routine further displays her innocents and naivety. This may have been done to attract the attention of her audience which would have been pre teen and teenage girls as they may have learnt and mimicked her dancing which would explain the simplicity of the dance routine.
How that image was developed later in his/her career?
As Aguilera’s career developed so did her image. This was largely symbolised through her album `stripped`. This was a real showcase that Aguilera had grown as an artist from her previous `girl next door` persona. One of the songs on this album was the single `Dirrty` featuring Redman. This showed a highly sexual far more promiscuous side to Aguilera. This is clearly shown through her costume. The costume that she wears is very revealing which shows a dramatic change in clothing compared to her previous videos which shows a more mature and sexually promiscuous side to the artist. The colours that have been chosen for her clothing are black and red. These two colours especially red have very unambiguous conations of passion, lust and love which further shows the progression of the artist towards a more mature, sexual image. This would also support the theory of the “Male Gaze” however Aguilera seems to use this in a contradictory way. Aguilera uses this technique in a way which suggests that she is displaying herself rather than her being displayed. This suggests that Aguilera has some sort of power and control as it was her decision to dress this way which suggest she is using the “Male Gaze” theory to her advantage. She further goes against the typical stereotypes of women as she plays the part of a female boxer in this video. This shows a more feisty side to the artist which may suggest she is going to be less influenced by others as her early career seemed to be dominated by what her superiors wanted of her. This could mean that her future work is going to be more unpredictable compared to the previous.
Are there close-ups of the artist throughout his/her career?
There are occasions throughout Aguilera’s where close-ups have been used. For example in some of her early work such as the music video to the song `What a Girl Wants` there are a number of close-up shots. This is likely to be because of the audience that her record label was trying to attract. The audience that Aguilera was trying to attract was pre-teen and teenage girls. They tried to attract this audience by trying to show that Aguilera was in a similar situation to them, therefore close-ups were used combined with the lyrics to show an empathetic side to the artist which showed she could sympathises with the problems of her audience. Later on in her career less close-ups were used in her music videos however close-ups were used in some of her projects such as `Beautiful`. However the uses of close-ups have been used to show a different effect in this instance to how the artist had used them previously. The use of close-ups in this song has been done to bring an emphasis to the lyrics and the meaning of the song. Although it could be argued that the close-ups have again been used to show empathy in this video similarly to her older work it creates a more genuine feel of empathy and emotion compared to `What a Girl Wants` which seemed to be a way of marketing the artist.
How are camerawork and editing are used to reinforce and develop the image of the star?
The range of cinematography used throughout Aguilera’s career show the development of her image. For example in the video `Dirrty` many mid-shots have been used to show off the artists body. By using mid-shots in her video it shows that the artist is displaying herself as she wants the audience to concentrate on her body. This has been done to show Aguilera as a sex symbol which is a large progression from her previous image of innocence. Furthermore the editing in this video is very quick which has been done to make the video grab the audience’s attention and make the video seem less tame and choreographed. This is a direct contrast to her previous work such as `Genie in a Bottle` which had a very calm relaxed pace to its editing which made it seem very controlled and choreographed. There are also a number of close-up shots in this video which creates an image of innocence as there is not a focus on the artist’s body.
What do you consider the wider cultural significance of the star? E.g. `girl power` or `macho` posturing.
Throughout her career Aguilera has aimed to be a role model for women. In the early stages of her career Aguilera was supposed to reflect a typical teenage girl (through songs such as `Genie in a Bottle` and `What a Girl Wants`) as her career progressed it seemed that Aguilera was trying to convey a message of feminism and individuality. This is why many may view Aguilera as a role model and maybe tried to aspire to be her. Her early work would have showed a similarity between Aguilera and her audience which would have meant many would have idolised her and the message in her later work would have inspired her audience to react in a similar way. For example in the song `Dirrty` Aguilera attempts to challenge the gender boundaries by using the theory of the male gaze to display herself and contradict the whole idea of the use of this technique. Also through the song `Beautiful` she encourages individualism with a message of “be yourself” as she tries to tell her audience not to change just to fit in.
Conclusion
In conclusion Aguilera’s image has transformed dramatically throughout her career. She started off with an image of a sweet innocent girl which shared the same problems as any teenage girl. However as her career progressed so did her image as she created an image of promiscuity however whilst maintaining this very sexual image she still attempt to keep a very feminist view and message in her songs.
