Aims and Intentions

AIMS AND INTENTIONS ESSAY:

Within my music video, I aim to create the narrative that women are strong and powerful individuals, by subverting outdated stereotypes surrounding women as a group. I will achieve this in the music video, by using symbolic coding, such as the colours of red and black, both of which I believe connote the idea of power and strength. I will integrate these colours into the music video through the mise-en-scene of costume, to anchor the idea that women can proudly display their confidence, alike how they wear clothes.

I will also use genre hybridity, merging horror with success. The inclusion of the horror genre will help my music video appeal to an audience between the ages of 18-34, as horror is typically consumed by an late-teen/young adult demographic. Many horror productions use a conventional structure, where the women are presented as afraid, and the men are the villains and therefore the one to be afraid of. I wish to position props such as knives and fake-blood on the female actress, to position her as the villain and thus the one to be afraid of, subverting both genre and gender conventions. By combining horror with success, the idea that powerful women are to be feared will be created, alike my intentions, as it subverts the stereotype that women are weak and incapable of achieving success without a male counterpart.

I aim to create a confident mode of address to the audience, which will be achieved by maintaining a smug expression and direct stare at the camera, to show the female is not afraid. I will use eye-level shots to show the audience that the actress is on the same level as them, and her power can be easily achieved and matched. Although my video is targeted towards a female audience with the aim of empowering them, this also works for a male audience, as it introduces the theme of equality. The ideological perspective being created, is not that women are better but simply to not underestimate them, as the result of doing so can be scary as exampled through the horror conventions. I further aim to introduce the theme of equality by using stereotypically masculine sets such as cars, and props such as bikes, binary opposed with a female to show how we can all achieve the same things.

For my magazine, I aim to create something bold, without losing a feminine identity, showing that you can be powerful whilst also being a female. I will use a large dominant image on the cover page, to express confidence as the focalisation will be the artists identity and appearance. I will use the colour pallet of black and red to ensure continuity between the music video and magazine, maintaining a clear brand identity and image. I will ensure the artists social media platforms are clearly displayed within the magazine, as this is an important aspect of modern fan culture, as it allows people to connect with the artists they idolise.