Discussion: 'Is film dying?'

    I found a video thread on Youtube of which explored the idea of whether or not film is dying in modern society, with film being a great subject of interest for me this idea is one that may be important to reflect upon. I thought that this video -1 of 3 on the topic- brought up some very interesting and insightful points to consider.






     It is suggested in this video that due to the proliferation in reboots and sequels being made, that it may be the question rather of whether or not it is creativity dying. Whereas the point is also raised that even with such texts you can still get something original even if it is attached to something that audiences are familiar with -for example, at the 2014 Tribeca film festival they screened 5 different short films all made from the same script, highlighting how texts can be interpreted differently by different people.

      The increasing number of sequels, remakes and adaptions being made is also heavily linked to the fact that - fundamentally- the film industry is a business, and therefore will produce a number of texts that they know are going to generate a large amount of income.  Whereas by doing this they can then generate funding for more ambitious projects that may be more risky or specialist - as by targeting a niché audience you may be lessening the chance of receiving a large income of which you might with a big blockbuster sequel from a well established, popular franchise. Furthermore, to ensure that their other films do bring in audiences they need to make good quality films and marketing them in the best way possible, of which would require a decent budget and therefore would need to make these sequels and such that they know are going to be money-spinners in order to fund this budget. It is also important to note that a number of films being made based off what the new or latest 'in' trend is isn't a new concept and has been endlessly utilized in the past, as well as the fact that you can find well-made, interesting texts in other places than mainstream cinemas.

Jackson's 'The Hobbit: Battle of five armies' (2014) -  final instalment of the current

 popular film trilogy adapted from Tolkien's novel 

        This links to an idea raised in another video in this thread, of whether the question is actually referring to 'is cinema dying' rather than the film industry or creators integrity or creativity dying . This would usually raise the issue of piracy and the fact that it could be the reason that cinema tickets have hiked up in the recent years, and therefore made cinema - and subsequently new released films- unavailable to certain audiences from certain socio-economic groups. Whereas in the video it's stated that statistics show that in 2012 from January to November there were over 158,000,000 admissions into UK cinemas, which is an average of 14,500,000 a month - not taking into account the month of December, which saw releases of films such as The Hobbit. As to sustain this income they have generated, they therefore have to produce good quality films that are readily available as well as easily accessible for most audiences, such as The Dark Knight Rises, as good quality films will draw audiences in - once again linking to the idea of subsequently being able to fund more ambitious projects from this income of such films. 

Nolan's 'The Dark Knight Rises' (2012)

         Through this, it could also be suggested that there isn't a fear of there being a lack of good quality films being made, but rather that the film industry has become reliant on churning out squeals and such. Whereas many people enjoy going to see a film where they are familiar with aspects such as the characters, settings and possibly story line. A familiarity with factors such as this are sometimes even utilized and played on by the producers of texts as to create audience pleasures - such as a running 'in' joke in a certain series of films/franchise,similar to the use of intertextual references. 


          Similarly, it is important to remember that many companies producing films also have TV companies, for example DC and Marvel are both making very popular films and TV shows, such as 'Gotham' and 'Agents of Shield'. Some may argue that this is one of the reasons that film is 'dying', especially as many big names in film are moving on to career defining TV roles. TV is also enabling creators to produce more depth in their stories as many series have a large overall time span, and is more accessible to a wider audience as many people have a TV of which they can watch when it suits them in the comfort of their own home.

   

Narrative Theory in Architects 'Alpha Omega'

   'Alpha Omega' is a song by the British metalcore band Architects, taken from their fifth studio album 'Daybreak', released 28th May 2012. Lyrically, the album discusses negative aspects of religion and society - 'Alpha Omega' in particular explores the topic of atheism, with the video being very symbolic.

      The video follows a linear narrative of which portrays a pseudo-religious, Orwellian future world in which test subjects are being conditioned in a big brother-esque style, heavily focusing on ideology and indoctrination of said individuals.

       From the beginning of the video visual binary oppositions are created between the aforementioned test subject and the sensory deprived cardinal type figure over voice, who acts as a type of spokesman for this type of control system the subject has found themselves in. For example, when we're first introduced to the subject it's from a high angle shot taken through a wire fence, with the subject curled up on the floor with little to no coverage of his body - occupying a third of the screen. The use of the fence, as well as the subject left with only the floor to sleep on seems to dehumanise the individual as it portrays them more like an animal - something of which is experimented on and observed.

         Whereas the cardinal type character is filmed from behind where he is occupying the centre of the shot, as well as being seated on a chair, both of which seem to immediately put him at a higher status that the test subject. This is further reinforced by the fact that the Cardinal type character is fully clothed, surrounded by a rich red curtain and is seen indulging in a cigarette - posing an almost mocking tone as the test subject is seemingly allowed no such indulgences. Similarly, the idea of this character being fully clothed, sat behind a curtain with a mask to his side is a great contrast to the subject who is left unwillingly exposed - possibly showing that the cardinal figure has more power and also creates a sense of anonymity. This shows them as the dominant party in this dystopian society, compared to the test subject who is portrayed as more vulnerable and worn down. By having this use of binary opposition at the beginning of the video -and maintaining a constant conflict throughout the video- helps to build up and drive the narrative, as suggested by Claude Levis Strauss.

           In the 'performance shots', the use of editing has created visuals of which reflect a news-style/broadcasted confession booth. This creates a conceptual conflict as the lyrics reflected through the performance are going against the aims of the cardinal type character to condition test subjects into an adoption and internalisation of their religious beliefs and values. The opposition is evident through the editing of the 'performance' shots whereby the words 'Subject <XII>' and 'Purge' are placed  around the image. The use of the text 'Subject <XII>' being written at the top of the shot helps the audience to identify the performer as of the same ilk as the test subject, whose shown to have 'XI0' inscribed on his inner forearm. By taking away the subjects names and replacing them with numbers helps to create a sense of deindividuation as well as reinforcing their dehumanisation.

      The use of the word 'purge' is significant paired with the image and words of the performer as a purge is the removal of people who are considered undesirable  by those in power from a government, other organisation, or from society as a whole. As previously mentioned, the lyrics -and subsequently the performer- are speaking out against the religious dictatorship the cardinal wishes to impose, thus creating further opposition to drive the narrative forward. 

                                   







            These performance shots are later paralleled by shots of the sensory deprived cardinal type character, where statements such as 'Submission is power' and 'Ignorance is unity' are plastered across the bottom of the shot in a similar fashion, with the red tint added in post-production suggesting a sense of evil and malice to the character, making him seem more menacing. This shows the overpowering force of the figurehead for this dominant religious -and possibly political- ideology, through these propaganda-like images.

 
            The alteration of colour in the edit is utilised to create further opposition as  in the shots of the overbearing cardinal type character there are more vivid, solid colours such as red and black featured. Whereas the shots of the test subject feature more washed down, cold steely tones of blue, which present the character isolation and alienation. This creates a visual sense of binary opposition of which accompanies the conceptual conflict by these two opposing sides.

                  The overpowering control of the cardinal type character's grave contrast to the seemingly helpless test subject is highlighted through the subtle references to lobotomy and mind control through having the dominating character bark orders down screens and chips implanted in the subject's brain. This also links back to the idea of religious and political power through  the use of propaganda, and subsequently the control such symbols would have over their subjects. The literal portrayal of this psychological control being presented makes it easier for audiences to understand the narrative of the music video. As previously mentioned, the lyrics create a contrasting image to that of the dominant ideology being portrayed, for example near the end of the track there are the lines of the lyrics: 'Sun of God, sun in the sky. If you could speak, I'm sure you'd say: "There' more to me than meets the eye."' This could be in reference to the fact that in early civilisation - or even in more isolated contemporary civilisations- people worshipped the sun and stars as a great power, with the sun seen as a giver of life rather than any deity.

                 This could be seen as an open text as there is a fair amount of ambiguity within it that enables the audience to access different interpretations and create their own meaning from the material produced (Barthes' codes). In regards to narrative it is left fairly open as it is left to the audience to decide how and why the test subject is there, as well as the fact that -despite the text having an initial message- the anonymity of the dominant figure could enable different audiences to read it different ways, with the characters symbolising a range of different themes and ideologies for different people reading the text, as suggested by Stuart Hall's Encoding/Decoding model of the relationship between text and audience. 

                 In regards to the cardinal type character, there is a similarity of aesthetics to The Pale Man from Del Toro's 2006 'Pan's Labyrinth' - the intertextual link of which helps to add an eerie, nightmarish feel to the character; reinforcing the dystopian future world created through such character's imposing, oppressive authoritarian ideologies and ethos. 

Music Video Intertextuality - 'Ophelia' and Elizabeth Siddal (Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood)

 


    It was suggested to me that there was some resemblance between the Dissociate Identity character within my music video to Florence in the Florence + The Machine's video for their track 'Rabbit Heart' as seen below.

        In this video there are inter-textual references to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood as there are shots of which reflect John Everett Millais' notable 1852 painting 'Ophelia' -of which depicts the character of Ophelia from Shakespeare's play 'Hamlet', singing before she drowns in a river in Denmark- whose muse for this piece was Elizabeth Siddal. 

        Elizabeth was an English artist's model, poet and artist. she was married to Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and was drawn and painted extensively by him and other artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood including Walter Deverell, William Holman Hunt and the aforementioned John Everett Millais. 

John Everett Millais' 1852 painting 'Ophelia'

        Whilst posing for Millais in 1852, Siddal floated in a bathtub full of water to represent the drowning Ophelia - Millais painted daily into the winter putting lamps under the tub to warm the water. On one occasion the lamps went out and the water became icy cold, Millais -absorbed by his painting- did not notice and Siddal didn't complain. After this, Elizabeth became very ill with a severe cold or pneumonia. 

           Siddal married Dante Gabriel Rossetti on 23rd May 1860, but in the previous 10 years Rossetti had been engaged to her, he had broke it off last minute several times and was known to have had affairs with other women. Siddal became severely depressed and her long illness gave her access to Laudanum - a tincture of Opium- to which she became addicted. In 1861, Siddal became pregnant - she was overjoyed, but the pregnancy ended with the birth of a stillborn daughter. The death of her child left Siddal with a postpartum depression. 

Dante Gabriel Rossetti completed "Beata Beatrix" a year after Siddal's death.

              Siddal overdosed on laudanum in the early months of 1862, to which Rossetti discovered her unconscious and dying in bed after having dinner with a friend of theirs. After taking Siddal home, Rossetti attended his usual teaching job at the Working Men's College. Once Rossetti returned home and found Siddal he was already unable to revive her and he called for a doctor, who claimed to be unable to save her, upon which Rossetti sent for another three doctors. A stomach pump was used, but to no avail. She died on February 11, 1862 at their home. Although her death was ruled accidental by the coroner, there are suggestions that Rossetti found a suicide note. Consumed with grief and guilt Rossetti went to see Ford Madox Brown who is supposed to have instructed him to burn the note – under the law at the time suicide was both illegal and immoral and would have brought a scandal on the family, and suicide would bar Siddal from a Christian burial.

Hamlet and Ophelia - by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

              This creates a strong inter textual link to my music video as for Some audiences that may be able to associate my character's dissociative identity with Elizabeth Siddal, this link brings with it the visual magnificence of the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites tinged with tragedy of Elizabeth’s death, similarly linking to my overlaying theme of mental illness as well as the idea of Pre-Raphaelite artists linking to the title of my track 'Paint'. A further link to my video is the idea of emotional instability as Siddal was the model for the painting 'Ophelia', the character of which in Shakespeare's play 'Hamlet' goes mad and drowns herself. 

Music Video: Raw Footage

Characters and Costumes

Music Video: Filming Schedule

Music Video Inspirations - Music and Other Videos

La Dispute

    La Dispute are a post-hardcore band from Michigan who formed in 2004, their second studio album 'Wildlife' - released in 2011 on the independent label No Sleep Records- being a particular inspiration for my music video. The album features lyrical themes that focus on personal loss, anger, and despair and, in the vision of the band, is a collection of unpublished "short stories" from a hypothetical author. The tracks on 'Wildlife' address a number of contemporary issues such as mental illness, gang shootings and the effects of a child's death on parents. Although It isn't exploring Dissociative Identity Disorder, 'Edward Benz, 27 Times' tells a fathers story of the effect of schizophrenia on his son - with devastating consequences. This acts as inspiration for my video with the idea of giving more exposure to the issue of mental illness, and the subsequent effects it can have on both the individual suffering and those surrounding them.

Vocaloid

       I used 'Rugrats Theory' - a song inspired by a fan-made Creepypasta theory on the childrens show 'Rugrats' using the Vocaloid software- as an inspiration for my video. The music in the song has a creepy, child-like quality - due to the inspiration for the song itself- which creates a fairly unnerving and nightmarish feel, of which I would like to translate o my own production. It also explores the idea of mental health issues effecting young people and children, much like another track created using the Vocaloid software called 'Calalini' about Jani Schofield, who is a young girl that has been diagnosed with a very severe case of schizophrenia.  She sees over 200 hallucinations and they come from her hallucinated island "Calalini", the song made to promote awareness for Jani's condition. These both link to the use of young people - also both female- suffering with the issue of mental illness, of which I am also portraying in my own music video.

LeATHERMOUTH

      I used LeATHERMOUTH's music video for their track 'Bodysnatchers 4 Ever' as inspiration for my music video due to the use of macabre imagery that helps to create a dark and nightmarish feel, of which is edited in a montage style - and possibly the idea of putting these shots in black and white/dulled colour to help differentiate between fantasy and reality. This is similar for what I want to do with the shots of what the girl in my narrative see's inside her head, and is also quite similar to the opening credits of 'American Horror Story' and 'American Horror Story: Asylum' of which I included as an inspiration for my music video in a previous post.

Music Video: Shot List

Music Video Inspirations - Film/Books

Fight Club

    Fight Club -based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk- is an inspiration for my video as it has a running theme of mental illness, exploring Schizophrenia, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), Insomnia and Depression through a number of the characters featured. The main character (unnamed but sometimes referred to as 'Jack' or The narrator') suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder, with his dissociative identity being the complete opposite and representing everything that he isn't, and the book presents a very idiosyncratic version of DID in which the identity manifests itself either conterminous to the multiple (as an audio-visual hallucination) or as a more realistic version that manifests while the protagonist believes he is sleeping. This inspired my video in the overruling theme of dissociative identity and presenting the binary opposition of the two personalities, as well as the use of flashing contrasting imagery throughout the video.





Chuck Palahniuk's 'Fight Club'
(1996)



                        David Fincher's 'Fight Club' (1999)

Sucker Punch

    Sucker Punch is an inspiration for my music video due to the running idea of an individual creating a different world in their head - in this case as a coping mechanism to deal with the stressful situation the girls in the narrative are dealing with, as made clear at the end of the clip below. The idea of a fabricated world within one's head and trying to differentiate that from actual reality is an idea I wish to carry over  into my own production, and is also set within a mental institution so fits in with my theme of mental illness (DID).



    Zack Snyder's 'Sucker Punch' (2011)

MPD Psycho

    MPD Psycho is an on-going manga series written by Eiji Ōtsuka and illustrated by Shou Tajima, with the first volume published in 1997. The series follows a police detective suffering from - as it was then titled- Multiple Personality Disorder, and the killer whose case he is on identifies him as a 'fellow psychopath'. This text acts as in inspiration for my production as I wanted to add a sense of ambiguity with the stance of the girl in the narrative, in regards to if she herself - aside from her dissociative identity- has dark and malicious intent. With this, I hope to reinforce a dark and eerie mise en scene, creating a sinister and nightmarish feel. 

   

MPD Psycho: Vol. 1



The Bell Jar

     The Bell Jar is a semi-autobiographical -and the only- novel written by Sylvia Plath, originally published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" in 1963.  The protagonist's descent into mental illness parallels Plath's own experiences with what may have been clinical depression, with Plath later committing suicide a month after its first UK publication. I used this text as inspiration as it deals with a young woman suffering from mental illness much like the character in the narrative of my music video, the state of which declining as the novel develops - although it also explores the idea of treatment and progression, this will not be evident within my production. I also used this as an inspiration as it has a strong sense of realism - especially considering the contextual factors and Plath's later suicide- which reinforces the fact that the person in this situation could be anyone, and that mental illness is still a very contemporary and malevolent issue that many people have to struggle with.


Sylvia Plath's 'The Bell Jar'



 

Music Video: Storyboards

Music Video Inspirations - TV

Criminal Minds

    One inspiration for my ideas for my music video is 'Criminal Minds' in which quite a few episodes revolve around mental illness, including ones specifically focusing on Dissociative identity disorder. One of these is an episode called 'Revelations' (S2,Ep15) where one of the profilers are kidnapped by religious fanatic serial killer Tobias Hankle. The team learns Tobias was systematically abused by his Bible-obsessed father Charles, killed the fiend but developed a split personality, including his father's abusive one as Raphael, an angel of violent 'divine' vengeance. Similar to Psycho's Norman Bates, Tobias developed dissociative identity disorder due to mistreatment and subsequent murder of a parent.

Criminal Minds 'Revelations' (S2 Ep15)

      Another example is seen in the episode 'Conflicted' (S4,Ep20) with the character of Adam Jackson. Adam's mother, Rosemary, died when he was five, causing Adam's stepfather, Mark Harrison, who had been abusive towards Rosemary, to begin channelling his aggression towards Adam. Mark would beat Adam, force him to wear girl's clothes, and possibly molested him. To cope with the abuse, Adam developed Dissociative identity disorder, creating an alternate female personality that referred to itself as Amanda, and took the abuse for Adam. Years later, Adam -as his alternate personality 'Amanda'-begins killing and raping males who he sees as substitutes for his step-dad.

Criminal Minds 'Conflicted' (S4 Ep20)

Teen Wolf

    In the second half of season 3 (3b) of 'Teen Wolf', the primary antagonist is a nogitsune who possesses one of the main protagonist characters in the series. The Nogitsune is developed from the Japanese mythology of the Kitsune - Fox spirits who are depicted in stories as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others—as foxes in folklore often do—other stories portray them as faithful guardians. In the series, the nogitsune is a very vengeful creature who uses the character of Stiles to conceal himself, and during the series there are shots where we see what is going on inside Stile's head and see him conversing with the spirit in its actual form. Not only did this inspire me in the idea of having the character in my narrative trapped in her own head and her physical body being used by her dissociative identity, but also the fact that once Stiles is freed from the possession the nogitsune takes his form inspired the idea of having the visuals of both of my characters in the forest making the theme clear and creating parallelisms.

 

Nogitsune Stiles and Stiles Clip From 'Teen Wolf'

  American Horror Story

'American Horror Story' is a horror anthology series with each series focusing on a different story. Not only did the content of the first and second series inspire the idea to use creepy imagery as insert shots for what the girl sees in her own head to create a nightmarish and sinister feel, but the opening credits of both 'American Horror Story' and 'American Horror Story: Asylum' inspired the idea to have these clips edited as almost a montage running along side the narrative and exterior shots in my video, and the use of flicking between one image to another - possibly to be used for when the audience sees the girl and her dissociative identity.

'American Horror Story' Opening Credits

   

'American Horror Story: Asylum' Opening Credits

Music Video Locations

Forest

I chose this location as it's similar to the setting of the French horror film 'Ils', which has a large amount of the scenes where the 'victims' are being chased/'hunted down' by the aggressors taken place in a isolated forest in a secluded part of the town, reinforcing the predatory feel. As in my narrative I am having the girl preyed on by her dissociative identity, I thought this would be a very fitting location. also much like within the forest scene in the film 'The Piano', the forest acts like a web, snaring and entrapping the girl, acting as almost a character in itself as it can take on different moods and can appear - in this case- very menacing. This creates a great contrast -reflecting Claude Levi-Strauss' theory of binary opposition driving the narrative- to the interior location of a darkened room/house, acting as an extension of the girls mind in which she is trapped. This also links to the Brothers Grimm's 19th-century fairytales, such as Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood of which utilize the forest setting, thus reinforcing the sense of despair and anxiety felt by the character in my narrative, also possibly acting as a catalyst for the surreal feel i wish to create in my video through the edit. I also chose this location as it is fairly local and therefore would be easy to access and enables convenient re-shoots if necessary.

                                                                     Clip from 'The Piano'



House/cellar

      I want to use images of a large, haunting house and it's cellar to represent what the character sees in her own head. I want to use this location as to invoking a sense of unease with the audience as the cellar would be a claustrophobic dark space, with claustrophobia being a common fear amongst people - therefore eliciting a personal,emotional response from the audience. This is because they maybe able to identify with the character and feel sympathetic towards her. This may be similar to the setting of My Chemical Romance's 'Vampires will never hurt you'. 

Music Video Pitch

Music Video Pitch

Lyrics to 'Paint' by Cast of Lions

'What lies ahead of me, all good things go bad
Strip naked energy, that this used to have
I painted you by numbers, then watched the colour dry
Hated how easy I could tear you apart and hardly try
Artist inside of me don’t you turn to dust
You must of lied to me to make me believe i was good enough
Got your head in a pimblic sheen
All the wholes like starry stream
Safe and sound in a world you made
Not a song in the world could say how
I painted you by numbers, then watched the colour dry
Hated how easy I could tear you apart and hardly try
When I feel whole
All the colours change
Like an open stone
Couldn’t feel further from same
within your force field
All the seasons change
Like an open stone
There’s always someone else to blame
Taste like it feels
Watch when they heal
Got your head in a pimblic sheen
All the wholes like starry stream
Safe and sound in a world you made
Not a song in the world could say
I painted you by numbers, then watched the colour dry
Hated how easy I could tear you apart and hardly try'

    In 'Paint' it alludes to the idea of a transition or change, which could be visually represented with my exterior location of a forest, highlighted by the line 'seasons change' as nature constantly changes throughout the year. The idea of a change, along with lines such as 'hated how easy I could tear you apart and hardly try' ', 'Safe and sound in a world you made' and 'There’s always someone else to blame' have a link to my running theme of mental illness and Dissociative Identity Disorder as I decided for my video I would interpret the lyrics as being directed to another part of ones self rather than being directed to another person entirely. This reflects Stuart Hall's Encoding/Decoding model of the relationship between text and audience- the text is encoded by those who produced it and is then decoded by the reader, arising the possibility of major differences between one person's reading/interpretation of the same text as another individual's. I think having themes such as these would make for very interesting visuals, and would enable me to follow aspects of Goodwin's theory such as portraying a strong link between the lyrics and the visuals on screen. 

Music in Different Cultures: Asian Music Pop Culture

J-pop

    J-pop is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in traditional Japanese music, but significantly in 1960s pop and rock music. The term was coined by the Japanese media to distinguish Japanese music from foreign music, and now refers to most Japanese popular music. The musical genre has been immensely influential in many other music styles, and hence those of neighboring regions, where the style has been copied by neighboring Asian regions, who have also borrowed the name to form their own musical identities.

J-pop artist 'Kyary Pamyu Pamyu'

K-pop

    K-pop is a musical genre originating in South Korea that is characterized by a wide variety of audiovisual elements. Although it comprises all genres of "popular music" within South Korea, the term is more often used in a narrower sense to describe a modern form of South Korean pop music covering mostly dance-pop, pop ballad, electronic, etc. By tapping into social networking services and the video sharing platform YouTube, the K-pop industry's ability to secure a sizable overseas audience has facilitated a noticeable rise in the global proliferation of the genre. Since the mid-2000s, the K-pop music market has experienced double digit growth rates. In the first half of 2012, it grossed nearly US$3.4 billion, and was recognized by Time magazine as "South Korea's Greatest Export".

K-pop group 'Secret' 

 Japanese Rock

In the 1960s, Japanese rock music bands imitated Western rock musicians such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones, along with other Appalachian folk music, psychedelic rock, mod and similar genres. Japanese rock has a vibrant underground rock scene,best known internationally for noise rock bands and alternative acts. More conventional indie rock artists such as have found some success in Japan, but little recognition outside of their home country.

Japanese rock band 'One Ok Rock'

Representation and Comparison  

        In Japanes artist Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's 'Ponponpon' video we see a display of the popular Kawaii fashion, which can be characterised by almost child-like imagery and bright colours, appearing hyper-feminine and 'girly' (although the trend isn't gender specific and is commonly embraced by males as well)  - with some similarities to the well-known Japanese Lolita fashion. This could be seen as representing such artists and individuals following the fashion as fairly child-like and hyper-feminised, possibly leading them to be almost transformed into visual spectacle -especially with artists or 'idols', in which they have been manufactured to appeal and draw attention- which could possibly attract a hypersexualised and voyeuristic allure. 

Japanese 'Kawaii' Fashion

Japanese 'Lolita' Fashion

         

        Whereas with the Korean group Secret's 'Shy Boy'  video, although there is still an evident feminine quality it hasn't been harnessed and as exaggerated and overt in the visuals as with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - yet is still visible in their costumes and actions. This could be due to different cultural views and trends, or to do with the marketing and image of the artists themselves, and the demographic that they are trying to target as their primary audience. 

J-pop artist 'Kyary Pamyu Pamyu'

K-pop group 'Secret'

          On the other hand, evidently there is a stark contrast between both Japanese artists One Ok Rock and  Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. As previously mentioned Kyary Pamyu Pamyu endorses the Kawaii fashion and is presented in her video 'Ponponpon' as hyper-feminine and childlike, however the Japanese rock band One Ok Rock are presented in a very different way. In their video 'Deeper Deeper', One Ok Rock are presented as fairly masculine -highlighted by the dark colour scheme and eerie, almost mechanical theme and visuals seen. It could also be suggested that the genre of the band itself could be seen as reinforcing masculinity as stereotypically rock and metal music is associated with aggression and a male audience, where as pop music is stereotypically targeted primarily at a younger female audience where it could gain commercial success and achieve the greatest proliferation of profit possible.

Japanese rock band 'One Ok Rock'

J-pop artist 'Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

Contextual Study: Dissociative Identity Disorder

    'Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a severe condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual. The person also experiences memory loss that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness. DID is a disorder characterized by identity fragmentation rather than a proliferation of separate personalities. The disturbance is not due to the direct psychological effects of a substance or of a general medical condition, yet as this once rarely reported disorder has become more common, the diagnosis has become controversial.

    DID reflects a failure to integrate various aspects of identity, memory and consciousness in a single multidimensional self. Usually, a primary identity carries the individual's given name and is passive, dependent, guilty and depressed. When in control, each personality state, or alter, may be experienced as if it has a distinct history, self-image and identity. The alters' characteristics—including name, reported age and gender, vocabulary, general knowledge, and predominant mood—contrast with those of the primary identity. Certain circumstances or stressors can cause a particular alter to emerge. The various identities may deny knowledge of one another, be critical of one another or appear to be in open conflict.'

(source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder )


    Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-5 (300.14)
criteria for Dissociative Identity Disorder

• Disruption of identity characterized by two or more distinct personality parts. This disruption may be observed by others, or reported by the patient. • Amnesia between parts of the personality. • The disturbance is not a normal part of broadly accepted cultural, religious practice, or part of the normal fantasy play of children. The last two points are commonly stressed with any mental illness. • Causes clinically significant distress and impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. • The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance.

(Source: http://www.dissociative-identity-disorder.org/DSM-5.html )



     Due to more free expression and a wider understanding in modern culture, the issue of mental illness has been explored in a number of different media texts and pop culture. One of the most well known examples of DID is Robert Lewis Stevenson's 'Stange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde', with a popular modern variation in Marvel comics' Bruce Banner/Hulk.
















        Norman Bates is a famous character created by Robert Bloch - inspired by American murderer Ed Gein- in his 1959 novel 'Psycho', of which was later adapted into a film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock in 1960. After Bates' father dies, Bates and his mother lived alone together until Bates reached adolescence, when his mother met another man. Driven over the edge with jealousy, Bates murdered both of them with rat poison. After committing the murders, Bates forged a suicide note to make it look as if Norma had killed her lover and then herself. After a brief hospitalization for shock, he developed dissociative identity disorder, assuming his mother's personality to repress his awareness of her death and to escape the feelings of guilt for murdering her.

     A more contemporary example of this is in the murder mystery visual novel and anime series 'Danganronpa' character Toko Fukawa. Due to her severe persecution complex that originated from the bullying that she had to live through early in life, Toko is highly suspicious of other people, frequently accusing them of thinking bad things about her. Her unusually quick tendencies to self-victimize quickly characterized her interactions with most of Class 78. We later discover that she suffers from dissociative identity disorder, Genocider Syo being the name of her murderous and sadistic alternate personality.