K.H. - Parov Stelar - Analysis of metanarrative

Dyer's Star Image

• Parov Stelar's star image is no longer tied to his appearance, his metanarrative is defined by the stylistic elements of his videos and this is most evident in his video "Jimmy's Gang"(directed by Drushba Pankow, 2012) from his album The Princess
• The hand-drawn style of the video is so unique it subverts live-action conventions that are typical of the genre and in this sense Stelar displays Dyer's star quality of creativity
• The paradox of presence and absence isn't directly applicable to Stelar as he is not actually seen in his videos which immediately prevents the audience from completing his image but his place in the video is still apparent in a more abstract sense from the animated style and psychedelic tone consistent with his other videos
• Similarly, the simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary quality of the star is created through the art style of the video. The rough and sketchy look of each image represents the ordinary, but the smoothness of the actual animation and the fantastical, psychedelic visuals tie into the extraordinary quality of the artist
• The use of recurring colours and images such as the white cheetah and its prints (which re-appear on the top of the dancing girl) help create a sense of familiarity within the track that builds para-social with the artist, while the use of filters, which helps add variety to the images, and the fast cutting rate, which manages the clarity of the images and ensures the viewer struggles to get a clear grasp of what they are seeing, both incentivise repeat viewings of the video that equally promote the artist by encouraging the viewer to listen to the song several times

Goodwin's Genre Conventions

• According to Goodwin's theory, the video is typical of the genre in a number of ways, and is especially common of the electronic component of the genre hybrid
• There are a number of visual motifs present that are associated with the swing music, particularly the recurring appearance of brass instruments, from both the trumpeter and the beating heart
• The relationship between the music and the visuals is incredibly tight, with either a cut on each beat, a loop in the animation, a zoom or the introduction of a new filter, which is all especially applicable to electronic music
• The 20s period setting featured in many ectro-swing videos is present here, through the costume that can be seen in some of images, such as the pink high heels and the suspenders and hat the trumpeter wears
• The use of animated text and kinetic typography is also common in elctro-swing and electronic music as it ties well into the fast pace of the song

Album Cover - The Princess

• This album cover is not what would typically be expected from Stelar as it relies on colder, more muted colours, but this is a way to display the variety in his work and his dynamism by subverting what his audience might be expecting of him, which could be considered a star quality
• However, the art style of the image does have something very obvious in common with Stelar's music videos and that is the rough, hand-drawn style. The imperfections are particularly noticeable in the background of the image
• The album cover can be considered voyeristic, but it cannot be considered fetishistic, as the female character is not sexualised despite being the focus of the image. This is a way to make the character more enigmatic as very little is seen of her and also promotes Stelar's ideology of style over sexual magnetism. Through this he avoids potentially regressive representational trappings that could come from the period setting associated with the genre
• In a way, the female character could be considered an abstract sort of stand in for Stelar as she breaks the fourth wall by making eye contact with the viewer, making her ordinary, while her cold enigmatic pose and demeanor make her seem extraordinary. In this case the character is turned into a commodity rather than Stelar, but this still builds a sense of para-social intimacy with the artist as his ideology and star qualities are, at least partially, embodied within her