Pop Rock Research

Dreaming

Dreaming by Blondie can be considered a mixture of rock and pop, both of which have many conventions. Some of the conventions of rock include:

• Dark/black outfits that are usually scruffy - heavy eyeliner can be worn by males and females within a band
• Rock artists are usually within a band, with each member playing an instrument
• Photoshoots are often done with the singer in the front and guitarist, drummer etc. at the back
• Music videos often have a story to them, following some sort of rebellious tone 
• Is an extremely popular genre, with Kerrang being a rock genre magazine

The Bangle's Walk Like an Egyptian is a great example of a rock music video, featuring women. They're overly sexualised in tiny dresses, complying to Goodwin's theory, but still generally being a lot more covered up than modern day female artists. The music video on stage is also very reflective of the genre, where many rock music videos are often recordings of the artist/band on stage. Shots of the audience and artists "rocking out" are common to make an audience feel involved with the video.

Whilst not all of this doesn't relate to Blondie, they are still seen as important stereotypes. Blondie follows more pop conventions:

• Outfits and lyrics are very mainstream
• Mood generally is happy and content, showing off their happiness
• Songs and lyrics are often based around love or relationships
• The target audience tends to be teens
• It has very bold colours within the music video, and is very bright. Attracts people very quickly with how bright it is
• Songs are usually 3-5 minutes, with a consistent and well structured beat.
• Dance routines are common within videos
• Female artists are usually very sexualised, makeup and outfits now are extremely sexy and appeal to male teens
• Videos rely on technology (i.e. heavily edited)

Many pop videos follow Goodwin theory, with the skin-tight or bare skin outfits being prominent. Female and male artists often lip sync in their songs, which also relates to the Goodwin theory, relating to the lyrics and making the viewer feel more involved. Singers within pop are also often the only person in the music video, and within rock videos the singer spends most of the time on screen. Now that they are the main focus, the audience can relate to who the lead singer/artist is and connect who is the main "star" within the band or the artist alone.

An artist that shows Goodwin theory well is Beyonce in the 7/11 video. Beyonce throughout the video is wearing minimal clothing with often revealing parts, i.e. her at the start of the video, she is wearing a jumper and only in her underwear. These also link to the Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze' theory well, as this outfit could be inferred as her sexuality being frivolous or the male eye. There are lots of other moments throughout the video that will appeal to male gaze, with lots of girls at once and Beyonce doing suggestive movements (i.e. slapping girls)