Star Image Task - 50 Cent.

I shall be using the artist 50 cent for this aspect of my coursework. 50 Cent or Curtis Jackson, is a rapper from the United States. A star-image has been created which reflects his personality to be one of a cruel and almost ‘gangster’ like nature. This has been achieved through the design of album artwork, production of songs and music videos and other such marketing techniques and campaigns. One example of this is his music video for the track ‘Many men’. In which various aspects of mise en scene contribute to create such a star image. Below is a screenshot from the video which shows the artist wearing what appears to be body armour. This indicates that he is a man of high importance.

This Screen shot also shows us the artist wearing a rather large necklace. The amount of jewellery and diamonds shown throughout this video could lead the audience to associate the artist with a factor of wealth. Moving on from this particular video, and onto 50 Cents acting career; ‘Get Rich or Die Trying’ was released in 2005, and is supposedly an account of 50 Cents life. However, on the 8th of november 2005, during a chat-show on American television, the artist said that the film was "about 75 % accurate". This demonstrates that the producers and directors of the film probably worked with the artists record label and management to portray a false and desired image. Therefore also contributing to the overall 'star-image' of the artist.

An advertising poster, shown above, features an image of 50 Cent holding a baby, this shows the audience an example of the artist being a 'father-figure'. By including this within the advertisment the audience may choose to hold positive connotations of the artist, potentially leading to a larger fan-base and definitely leading to a further and more mature star-image. Another aspect of mise en scene which is very noticeable is the constant visual reference to guns and fire-arms. This hold connotations to a ‘gangster’ lifestyle. In addition to this is the shot at 3:50, shown below. At this point, 50 cent appears to be holding a ‘meeting’ with an associate who is drinking expensive champagne. This could be a reference once again to the wealth of 50 cent as an individual.

The next screenshot, shows the audience a ‘police type’ scenario. Which shows newspaper pictures and articles of 50 cent and his gang pinned onto a board. This leads onto giving the audience the idea that 50 cent is involved with criminality, and the police feel the need to investigate him as a criminal and gang member. This combined with such factors as the mise en scene and the way he has been conveyed within the film; Get Rich or Die Trying, all produce a ‘Star Image’ of the artist. The audience of such a product may choose to further their association of 50 Cent and 'Gangster' life style after seeing such a shot.