Richard Dyer: Star Image - Analysis of Chris Brown

Chris Brown & his Star Image

From when Chris Brown started out as the 'boy next door' R&B singer with an innocent face and heart-melting songs in 2004 to the more grown up, manly 'Hip Hop Star' fashioned celebrity he is today releasing much more conventional and materialistic music, it's fair to say that Chris has had one of the most dramatic changes throughout his career seen from any star in the music industry which is why I've chose to analyse his image.

SAY GOODBYE 
Released August 2006 

Goodwin's Theory 
In 'Say Goodbye' the lyrics of the song are definitely amplified and illustrated throughout the music video. In general the lyrics are talking about Chris's feelings towards a break-up that he's experienced and the way he's going through a dilemma in how to break up with his girlfriend. Some of the key lyrics in the chorus are:

"There's never a right time to say goodbye, 
But I gotta make the first move because if I don't
you're gonna start hating me.
'Cos I really don't feel the way I once felt about you, 
girl it's not you it's me, I've gotta figure out what 
I need." 

From the lyrics we get that Chris is being very apologetic about the fact that he's breaking up with this girl and isn't finding it easier which steers him away from the "player" image that a lot of R&B male stars like to portray. Stating this, throughout the video close-ups of Chris miming the song show him with a guilty and conscious look on his face which bring out the ideology of Chris contemplating and trying to tell his former girlfriend why he's splitting with her. In addition to this, there are also frames where Chris is sitting in a completely empty studio which could show reflection and the idea of him ready to be single and go solo again hence the lyrics: "gotta figure out what I need". 

Like most R&B music videos, a dance routine is present which yet again like with the lyrics helps the visuals amplify the music. At the beginning of the video Chris is in the studio with what looks like his dance class and they're all dancing to one of his other tracks which has a message that contrasts the one of 'Say Goodbye'. Their dancing is in time to the music and hits the significant beats in the track which makes the music more present and effective, helping it work it harmony with the lyrics and the visuals themselves. Similar to this there's a pat of the video where Chris is dancing with the female actress playing the his girlfriend and the two also dance movements which emphasize the beats in the music. Also, their movements highlight the lyrics as movements they produce reflect the lyrics that Chris is singing on that part of the track, for example when Chris sings "hatin' me", the girl uses a pushing movement against him in the visual dancing routine.

However, while there are female dancers present in the video there is very minimal if any voyeurism which is unconventional of the R&B genre. The main women in the music video isn't objectified and is dressed in revealing clothing, she is also represented as Chris's equal and neither appear more dominant in the visuals which could translate Chris's outlook on women to his target audience which helps maintain his 'good boy next door' image at this point in his career. Keeping on topic conventions, 'Say Goodbye' isn't as conventional to the R&B genre as your regular video from a similar artist. While the video is in a relaxed locations (the studio, outside etc.) as most R&B videos are, nothing about the video is really materialistic and  even though Chris is wearing a chain around his neck, 'Say Goodbye' isn't glamorizing materialistic items half as much as other R&B videos tend to do so. 

The major intertexual reference that I noticed in 'Say Goodbye' is that at the beginning of the video, one of Chris's tracks 'Ain't No Way' is played which is an unreleased song off of the same album as 'Say Goodbye' which could be his managements way of promoting his album and giving his audience a sneak peak of what included tracks sound like off of his album.

Construction of a Star 
Richard Dyer said about star image:
"A star is an image not a real person that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (eg advertising, magazines etc as well as films [music])."

In 'Say Goodbye' Chris's image is clearly constructed so that he appears to be a normal looking boy who could possibly be found in the neighbor hood of his target audience (mostly females but not excluding males ages 13+ who are R&B fans). This is a prime example of how Chris Brown has been constructed to suit this look in order to be more approachable to that audience since he doesn't come across as intimidating or degrading to the point where his audience feel inferior but he also has his USP which is his natural good looks and raw talent. Chris's image isn't anything too flashy or materialistic but judging by the video 'Say Goodbye' his baggy clothing and caps could quickly develop into his trademark in which fans who idolize him could mimic. 

Industry and Audience  
Richard Dyer said:
"Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings."

Following the point of Chris appearing as to be your typical boy from across the street with an extraordinary talent, it is evident that during the era of 'Say Goodbye' in Chris's career it's evident that he was manufactured this way by his record company in order to sell and convince them to buy into his persona - in this case young girls - as he follows all the conventions of a 'heart throb' which typically captures the hearts of high school aged girls in particular.
We can see this image being portrayed throughout "Say Goodbye" as his gentle actions and bright smile as well as other facial expressions are shown all the way through the visuals. In addition to his overall personality coming through in the visuals, he also appeals to the 'heart throb' image and pre-teen and teenage girls because of his: casual clothing, raw talent in dancing and singing, good looks that are eye catching yet natural and his young age which is close to the audience that he's appealing to. 

I think Chris Brown's record label chose to make him fit the 'Heart throb' image because although there are many stars that're fulfilling that role (i.e. The Jonas Brothers, McFly, Zac Efron etc.), he is one of the first, young stars to fulfill that role in the R&B genre, as many stars singing similar music to him decide to take the conventional route and be more about voyeurism and materialism which normally ends up making them appeal to an older audience - therefore Chris Brown is appealing to a different audience and filling a gap in the industry which ends up generating profit for his label. Plus, the benefits of appealing to teenage girls is the fact that they're likely to come more hung up and obsessional with a star like Chris which makes it easier to persuade them to buy into his persona by downloading and purchasing their music and merchandise. 

Ideology and Culture
In 'Say Goodbye' the main beliefs and ideology that's shown from Chris Brown is his wholesomeness which again helps him to be a good role model for younger R&B fans as most of the music is more explicit. Also, it allows parents of younger fans to accept Chris Brown as a good model since he's showing his respect towards girls and their emotions which will typically capture the hearts of the pre-teen/teenage girl and also help parents who are more than likely monitoring the music mediums their children take in feel as though Chris is teaching them a good set of values and morals. 

However, even while Chris Brown's "Say Goodbye" is blatantly a break-up song, he's also showing a degree of faithfulness in the way he's lyrics have been wrote in order to 'address' the subject of the song. For example: 

"And I don't want to see you cry,
but I don't want to be the one to tell you a lie" 

That line shows how Chris's ideology and culture is all about staying faithful through relationships and even if it comes to breaking up, being sensitive (which again usually appeals to younger girls) and allows for his younger fans to be influenced by the message of the song. It teaches girls the right way to be treated for future reference and hopefully demonstrates to his male fans the right way to behave in a relationship as oppose to other influential male R&B stars who usually conform to the persona of being "players". 

Character & Personality 

Dyer says:

"In these terms it can be argued that stars are representations of persons which reinforce, legitimate or occasionally alter the prevalent preconceptions of what it is to be a human being in this society.There is a good deal at stake in such conceptions. On the one hand, our society stresses what makes them like others in the social group/class/gender to which they belong. This individualising stress involves a separation of the person's "self" from his/her social "roles", and hence poses the individual against society. On the other hand society suggests that certain norms of behaviour are appropriate to given groups of people, which many people in such groups would now wish to contest (eg the struggles over representation of blacks, women and gays in recent years).Stars are one of the ways in which conceptions of such persons are promulgated." 

In 'Say Goodbye' Chris's personality and character could be arguably said to differentiating from societies normal view of young, black males in the R&B genre. While a lot of artists around this period like Bow-Wow and Omarion with their hit single "Let Me Hold You" were big on objectifying women, acting dominant in their videos and trying to get across the alpha-male persona whilst glamorous parties and the high life, Chris strips this back and very much just focuses on the 'realness' of his lyrics. This differs from the general stereo-type of young male stars in general which once again provokes that idea of  him being a 'boy next door' with good morals and a raw talent to come to his audiences and music fans attention which acts as his USP in order to persuade them to buy into his material and into his image. 

Messages and Values of the Video and of the time 

All in all, I feel the message and the purpose of this video was for Chris as a semi-new to the music scene artist to reach out to his audience and show them his sensitive side and project the 'Heart Throb' image that his record are hoping them to buy into by targeting younger girls with his sensitive lyrics and a video to match in order accomplish this. 

STRIP
Released November 18, 2011
 

Goodwins Theory
In the music video 'Strip' the visuals once again amplify the lyrics as the words Chris Brown's singing about very much talk about women undressing and celebrating the beauty of their bodies more in the objectifying way rather than the flattering way. The video contains many close ups of the female extras in their underwear while Chris stands on a higher level above all of them connoting ownership. Some of the key lyrics in 'Strip' taken from the chorus are:

"Girl, I just want to see you strip
right now 'cos it's late,
Girl I just want to see you strip,
Girl, take your time with it,
Girl I just want to see you strip,
God damn you sexy" 

From the lyrics of the chorus it is much more apparent that Chris's more recent song has conformed to the R&B convention of objectifying women and glamorizing the ideology of girls being okay with that and bearing themselves to men. Also, the lyrics are written from Chris Brown's perspective which works with the visuals as a series of jump cuts helps the viewer follow him around what looks like a party in the mountains with three settings: out in the mountains, outside the house in the snow and in the house party.
Just like with the lyrics, the visuals compliment and amplify the music perfectly as the quick cutting rate matches the fast paced beats which give the song a Dance/R&B crossover sound. However, when it hits the chorus which is a lot slower tempo, the visuals jump to frames of usually Chris at a chilled party with the girls in their bathing suits/little clothing which illustrates the intimate feel of the R&B beat on the chorus. 

'Strip' has all the generics of the R&B convention as it shows Chris Brown in chilled community locations, voyeurism of himself and the featured women in the video and promoting materialistic items such as designer clothes, the high lifestyle and huge homes. This suggests that Chris has constructed himself into a much more R&B type star as oppose to what he was in 2006 during the release of 'Say Goodbye'. Also there is a lot of intertextual reference of the fashion front by showing Chris wearing distinctive clothing and a flat cap with a wing on it, clearly promoting a certain brand of clothing.

Construction of a Star 

Richard Dyer said:
"A star is an image not a real person that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (eg advertising, magazines etc as well as films [music]).

In the music video 'Strip' Chris Brown has taken upon an entirely different image than the one that he had in "Say Goodbye" back at the beginning of his career and has taken on constructing himself into a typical R&B star with his good looks becoming more elite and commercialized, no longer looking as though he could just blend into a normal neighbor hood of his target audience and instead his persona fully shows that he's of star status. Chris has more of a fashionable, urban look ditching his baggy clothes for more fitting, stylish and up-to-date clothes which are seen as in fashion for the generation his appealing to (now possibly 18+ rather than high school aged girls).
However, although his completely changed in looks, he still has some defining characteristics which could be seen as trademarks such as his: blonde hair which differentiates him from R&B stars similar to him as blonde isn't really a natural hair colour that black males have and his geek-chic look (i.e. the wide framed glasses, knitted jumper and hat) which contrast to a usual R&B stars branded clothing with stacks upon stacks of gold chains and accessories. 

Industry and Audience 

Dyers says:
"Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings."

What's interesting about Chris Brown in 'Strip' is that his image has been completely changed and manipulated into the complete opposite of how he appeared in "Say Goodbye". His now taken on a young, R&B star that's matured from his earlier days of being the 'Heart Throb' and seems a lot more manly than he did in 2006. Initially, the Media criticized this and accused Chris and his label of being a bad influence on his young, female fans and his young male fans that're all still in their high school years which is understandable as messages conveyed in songs such as "Strip" aren't exactly deemed to have good morals for children of that age. 
However, going back to Dyer's point of their label and the music industry designing the star to be a product which target market are buying into I think that Chris Browns labelled urged him to change star image to suit the changing needs of his regular fans. For instance, back in 2006 when he came onto the scene as an R&B heart throb that's what his typical high school girl consumer wanted. However, as the years in music have moved on and adapted newer and more current stars have begun to start competing in the heart-throb category such as Justin Bieber, a popular R&B/Pop crossover artist and the younger generations of 2010-2012 find him a lot more appealing as his younger and more fresh.
 Since Chris Brown is older, I believe his record label has noted that his "high school girl" audience that he once appealed to have also grown up and demand different things, hence Chris taking a much older approach to his image and music to appeal to the same audience he appealed to back in 2006. 

Ideology and Culture 

In 'Strip' it's clear that Chris Brown has taken upon a more rebellious, bad boy image ditching the cutesy ways he had in 2006 to match his almost "normal guy" image. In this video it's more apparent that Chris is more accustomed to the celebrity lifestyle and culture as 'Strip's' visuals are consistently showing the high life and promoting riches that Chris clearly possess after his amazing success in the industry. In addition to his change in image, there was also controversy about Chris Brown in the Media and his relationship issues with his love interest that changed the public's reception on him.

 This could also have some effect on the cultural ideas that his modern image gives to his audience and the ideology. In 2006 his ideologies and morals were more box standard and perfect such as: "respect women, be faithful, etc." but in the light of his new reputation and his new image on a whole, the morals he gives off now are more along the lines of "everybody makes mistakes" and "nobody's perfect" which reflect that 2006 'ordinary person' image that he had, possibly making him more relatable to his audience of now young adults who're in their real learning process of life, conquering different social situations each day.

Character & Personality 

Dyer said:

"In these terms it can be argued that stars are representations of persons which reinforce, legitimate or occasionally alter the prevalent preconceptions of what it is to be a human being in this society.There is a good deal at stake in such conceptions. On the one hand, our society stresses what makes them like others in the social group/class/gender to which they belong. This individualising stress involves a separation of the person's "self" from his/her social "roles", and hence poses the individual against society. On the other hand society suggests that certain norms of behaviour are appropriate to given groups of people, which many people in such groups would now wish to contest (eg the struggles over representation of blacks, women and gays in recent years).Stars are one of the ways in which conceptions of such persons are promulgated."

Following the idea of Chris being relatable for his audience, 'Strip' shows a clear indication that he's matured and found his sound in the music industry which is mainstream R&B with more elements of Pop than some of his earlier music which was more just pure R&B. The notions of looking that the audience are placed in during this video and Chris's voyeurism with his confident facial expressions suggest that Chris is much more confident and sure of himself as oppose to how he was in 2006. He also shows signs of having the persona and ego (nobody knows how false/real it is) of many rap/R&B stars in the industry today such as Big Sean, Kanye West, Swizz Beats, Wiz Khalifa and Lil Wayne. However, while conforming to the R&B stereotype gets rid of his old USP, he can still rely on the ideology that some of his truest and oldest fans have grown up with his music and followed his journey which is rare as not many aspiring musicians enter the industry at such an early age and are such big successes.

Also, conforming to the R&B stereo-type isn't always a bad thing as mainstream R&B is considered one of the most popular mainstream genres, producing artists like Rihanna, Beyonce and Ne-Yo. Overall, "Strip" gives Chris brown the character of a young adult socialite who's enjoying his fame and the materialistic elements that come with it, which probably keep his audience guessing where he'll be taken next so carry on buying in to his image in order to find out more.

Messages and Values of the video at the time

While this song has very little moral value, I think "Strip" was definitely a commercial way of announcing Chris's maturity and testing to see where his audience would stand with the new sound and image as it's very safe in the sense that Chris Brown has conformed to all of the R&B conventions so at least there'll be some sort of market for it but at the same time he's changed a lot from his original image in songs such as "Say Goodbye".

CHRIS BROWN AND DYER'S PARADOX'S 

• The star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer 
  On a whole Chris Brown as demonstrated and supported this paradox throughout his career to date. Looking back at the analysis of his image during "Say Goodbye" Chris had an ordinary and somewhat familiar look to him that was easily accessible to any fan willing to adopt his look but had the extraordinary element or raw talent which kept his audience fascinated by him - while he appeared ordinary from the outside, his vocals, dance moves and all round star quality suggested different. 
  Fast forwarding to the era of "Strip" and Chris Brown still pursues this paradox, this time he's showing his ordinary side through making mistakes in his own life and admitting them, putting them behind him which is a valuable moral for everybody who considers themselves a "fan" of his. However, this time the extraordinary thing about him is his image, he's developed much into an established star with a recognizable image and sound. He's commercially attractive and still has that confident star persona that makes him so desirable to his female audience.
• Simultaneously present and absent for the consumer
  Chris Brown has had one shift in image and sound that are recognizable by his fan base and audience. His initial heart-throb stage where songs and music videos such as 'With You', 'Say Goodbye' and 'Excuse Me Miss' were released. His consumers got comfortable with this sound but his whole image also got too common as the majority of his videos consisted of the same dancing and sets time and time again, not really pushing the boundaries or changing things up. (I.e. One example being With You and Excuse Me Miss both consisting of targeting a special girl and expressing love/attraction to them supported by an entourage whom he carries out dance routines with).
  As Chris along with his audience grew slightly, Chris Brown became more absent and rarely had any releases, gigs or new material compared to what he originally started out with. While it'd be logical to assume that this caused his fans to lose interest in him, it actually made them anticipate him more as they'd been deprived of any news or updates on the "image" they were buying in to. However, what his audience hadn't recognized is that behind his absence (due to working on new projects and the Rihanna situation) Chris's label had reacted quickly knowing that the recent social issue wouldn't suit his old image and almost re-branded him into more of a 'good boy gone bad' introducing him back to the music scene with songs such as "Strip", "Champion", "Look at Me Now", "Don't Judge Me" and most recently "Every Birthday". Despite whether they approved of the change, Chris's audience brought into his new product because of curiosity and to feel as though they've got a mental reasoning for their idols absence. 

Overview 
All in all, I feel although Chris Brown has appeared in two extreme states in "Say Goodbye" and "Strip", he's been the prime example of how a star has adapted through his years of being in the limelight to carry on being relevant in the industry. More often than not we see the disappearance of teen stars who start of in the music industry (i.e. Jojo, Lil Chris and Hillary Duff) as their audience grow up before they do which leaves them left behind, too old to appeal to the next generation as a newer, fresher star has arrived on the scene. "Say Goodbye" and "Strip" are the perfect example and representation of how Chris and his label have worked to prevent this and make sure they have a constant appeal to the Chris's fans who've been buying into him since 2006 as they're the ones who have displayed most interest throughout the years which suggests they are going to be the ones who stay loyal to his image no matter how much it changes which all in all makes Chris Brown's change a good thing for his career.
Some may argue that his new image gives him bad coverage from the media but if you look at the bigger picture it all works to create that sense of uncertainty and fulfills the paradox of being "both absent and present for his consumer".