How does the music video you have chosen sell its artist to the audience and what image is being presented?
The music video I’ve chosen is ‘Toxic’, by Britney Spears. Britney is seen as a star; she started out as a ‘girl-next-door’, archetypal all-American girl, but has since become rebellious, a sexual magnet, has an anti-authoritarian attitude and conspicuously consumes sex and material goods. She is also youthful and attractive.
The video itself is very provocative. It features Britney wearing different outfits and portraying different women; she wears an air hostess’ outfit, a see-through body suit covered in diamonds and tight black leather. These aspects of the mis-en-scene all help to contribute to the seductive image Britney is portraying. There are also a lot of close-up shots, showing parts of her body and face, such as lips, which are stereotypically a ‘sexy’ image.
Toxic conforms to the stereotype of a pop video in some aspects. Lots of bright lighting is used to highlight the star, Britney is established as a ‘sex symbol’ and special effects such as the lasers and her scaling the wall are used to make the video visually stimulating and exciting to watch. The video tells a story, which is often a very stereotypical convention of pop videos, as opposed to a genre such as rock where the video will mainly be shots of the band playing, with no storyline.
This being said, the story which is being told differs slightly from Britney’s previous videos, such as ‘Lucky’, in which Britney is presented as the victim, or in a sympathetic state. In ‘Toxic’, Britney is powerful and has control over the men in the video, as is supported by the leather outfit and bright red hair. Her appearance is exaggerated throughout the video, to make her stand out, and the light highlights her at all times, showing that she is the most important figure in the video.
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