New Zealand musicians, such as Lorde, the Finn Brothers, Devilskin and Saving Grace, represent New Zealand society as a creative and positive community. New Zealand musicians show the rest of New Zealand and the world that New Zealand has commonalities with the rest of the world and we can grow and change. Some show New Zealand's purity and calmness but also our we can do anything mentality. On the other hand, their is some controversy over the way Willie Moon is representing New Zealand on the current popular New Zealand singing competition TV show, X factor.
Lorde (Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor) helps represent New Zealand society in a positive manner and on a big world wide scale. 71.43% of people surveyed said that Lorde is seen through the media in a positive light. Lorde performs all over the globe and has made a large impact on today's popular culture by representing New Zealand in a creative and positive way. She does this by creating her own unique style and not conforming to what fits with current society in terms of popular music. The only problem with Lorde is that she has become more of a International superstar now and belongs more to the globe than to New Zealand because of this international superstar status.
According to Lorde 3Doc, when Royals was played on the Radio for the first time, a lot of texts came through on the text machine. 'She had instantly connected with people straight away.' Also Lorde was shocked when she got her first Grammy as she didn't think she was that fantastic. This shows that New Zealander's are nothing special and have nothing on the rest of the world. The entire world has commonalities. We are not all rich. This documentary also shows how much Lorde has grown and changed with demand and the times. This is shown through the technique of lighting used throughout her performances within the documentary going from dark to bright. The impact of this is that Lorde's audiences see her growth to fame. Lorde has become a symbol to New Zealanders to go out and strive to achieve what they want to achieve just like Lorde has with her music. This relates to a creative and a positive New Zealand community as her impact is positive. People should follow their heart, do what they wish to do with their lives and dream big.
The first three quarters of Lorde's music video for Royals is light, white colours. This includes Lorde's costume, the props, the background and the entire scene. This represents New Zealands apparent quiet, pure and calm culture. This also links to New Zealands 100% pure campaign that was launched in 1999 by Tourism. The 100% Pure Campaign is just a representation of an idea. Advertising is just a representation of an idea. This means that the information in advertising campaigns can be misleading. The message of New Zealand's 100% Pure campaign is "It’s our special combination of activities, landscape, people and culture that makes New Zealand a unique holiday experience. We call that experience 100% Pure New Zealand." This message can relate to Lorde through the fact that she is apart of the people and the wider culture of New Zealand. This video also shows New Zealand's relaxed culture where the man in the video is relaxing on the couch and is not fussed about being perfect and also when he is sitting in the chair next to a TV only displaying static without a care in the world. The lyrics 'I've never seen a diamond in the flesh' enforces the idea that we are not all rich but we don't have to be rich to be happy. It impacts on the community be helping us to relate to lorde. It draws her audience in and makes us want to listen to her more.
The dialogue of both the music video and the documentary both represent New Zealand to be a positive and creative society as it is saying we are not rich, we don't have to be perfect, we are not seen as a great country for music but we do need to get out and go after what we want. This is what Lorde wants her audience to pick up out of her career.
Lorde's Lipstick smear also became a big thing as well. The New Zealand Herald called it 'two warpaint-like stripes'. Lorde did this to show that we can have it all but we don't need it all to be happy. This publicity stunt was to get a positive message across to the community about how we don't have to be perfect. This enforces the 'we are not all rich but we don't have to be, to be happy' mentality.
In the video, Neil Finn (Crowded House) - Fall At Your Feet (Acoustic Live), Neil Finn has quiet a relaxed and humorous attitude at the beginning of the video. This attitude reflects on how he is representing New Zealand to that particular UK crowd. This also enforces the above statement that New Zealander's are represented as being relaxed and calm and not fussed about being perfect because they are laughing and joking around on stage before their song begins. According to The Press, Neil Finn said the performance occasionally felt lifeless but he put that down to end of tour tiredness. "Was it unpatriotic of me to be slightly bored at times?". I think that this article enforces the representation of New Zealand being a relaxed and calm society. This impacts the audience by making them feel more relaxed at the performance therefore making the audience feel more comfortable around the artist and therefore making the audience feel more comfortable around New Zealanders and reflecting a positive society within New Zealand.
Devilskin's (Jenny, Paul, Nail and Nik) Lyrics to there song Start a Revolution, suggest that New Zealand has an attitude that they can change things easily which links closely to the Kiwi ingenuity mentality of We can do anything. "I'll start a revolution when I get up in the morning". I think this is helped with the official music video where it flicks between a white mental hospital scene to a black rock band scene showing the change that they have made. This is literally shown in the music video where Jenny is stuck in a mental hospital and then she has changed into being free in a rock band, the complete opposite of the white mental hospital cell. This impacts the audience by showing us that we don't have to be stuck in the same cycle, you can change your life. This is how Devilskin represents New Zealand as a positive and creative society.
Saving Grace (Nicholas, Vasely, George, Mike and Shaun) also represents New Zealand positively in their song Unbreakable, this song is about their band as a family which also relates to the New Zealand community as a whole. "...I'll stand strong by your side, unified we'll stand our ground....united we stand....." This is shown by the lyrics/dialogue showing New Zealand as a united country, that we will stand up for one and other. This represents a positive community as it is representing a supportive community. This impacts the audience by making them feel they can trust New Zealanders. Trust is an important aspect to a positive and creative community.
To completely contradict all I have said about New Zealand musicians, Willy Moon (William George Sinclair) is the complete opposite representation of New Zealand society. Willy Moon is one of the Judges on the current popular New Zealand singing competition TV show, Xfactor. In X factor, he comes off as rude, abrupt and unpleasant. When he speaks to some of the not so great Xfactor contestants, he is impolite in telling them that "you were absolutely, unconditionally the most awful singing act i have heard in my life". The response to Willy Moon has not always been that positive. 53.85% of people surveyed, saw Willy Moon in a negative light. Youtube comments show some of peoples views on Willy Moon. "Someone with a bit more experience and knowledge would be better (to judge on X factor) - not a has-been who has only 1 studio album, 1 extended album, and a low peak chart position...' (GoneBadKiwi). According to Simon Sweetman from Stuff.co.nz, Willy Moon was going to be the 'bad-guy judge'. According to the article, 'Willy Moon released the worst album of 2013'. A quote of Willy Moon that has seem to stuck with him and not help him represent New Zealand positively is "There are no excuses for being that bad". Willy Moon creates a negative representation of New Zealand by his dialogue to X factor contestants. This impacts on the New Zealand community badly as it influences the New Zealand public by making them think it is ok to act like this to people that can't do things. It also represents New Zealand badly as it shows New Zealanders as bullies .
Willy Moon may be negative in how he represents New Zealand to the world and he goes against everything I have said about Lorde, Neil Finn, Devilskin and Saving Grace, but he has unified most of New Zealand through a hate for Willy Moon to try and get him and his wife Natalia Kills off the judging panel for X factor.
Lorde (Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor) helps represent New Zealand society in a positive manner and on a big world wide scale. 71.43% of people surveyed said that Lorde is seen through the media in a positive light. Lorde performs all over the globe and has made a large impact on today's popular culture by representing New Zealand in a creative and positive way. She does this by creating her own unique style and not conforming to what fits with current society in terms of popular music. The only problem with Lorde is that she has become more of a International superstar now and belongs more to the globe than to New Zealand because of this international superstar status.
According to Lorde 3Doc, when Royals was played on the Radio for the first time, a lot of texts came through on the text machine. 'She had instantly connected with people straight away.' Also Lorde was shocked when she got her first Grammy as she didn't think she was that fantastic. This shows that New Zealander's are nothing special and have nothing on the rest of the world. The entire world has commonalities. We are not all rich. This documentary also shows how much Lorde has grown and changed with demand and the times. This is shown through the technique of lighting used throughout her performances within the documentary going from dark to bright. The impact of this is that Lorde's audiences see her growth to fame. Lorde has become a symbol to New Zealanders to go out and strive to achieve what they want to achieve just like Lorde has with her music. This relates to a creative and a positive New Zealand community as her impact is positive. People should follow their heart, do what they wish to do with their lives and dream big.
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| This shot is here to show the dark start to Lorde's performances. Photo from Lorde 3doc documentary |
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| This shot shows the light, white colours of the music video. Photo from Lorde's music video, Royals |
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| This Shot shows a man relaxing on the couch to music Photo from Lorde's music video, Royals |
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| This shows Lordes costume and background Photo from Lorde's music video, Royals |
The dialogue of both the music video and the documentary both represent New Zealand to be a positive and creative society as it is saying we are not rich, we don't have to be perfect, we are not seen as a great country for music but we do need to get out and go after what we want. This is what Lorde wants her audience to pick up out of her career.
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| Photo from The New Zealand Herald, Lorde's lipstick smear is already a legend |
Lorde's Lipstick smear also became a big thing as well. The New Zealand Herald called it 'two warpaint-like stripes'. Lorde did this to show that we can have it all but we don't need it all to be happy. This publicity stunt was to get a positive message across to the community about how we don't have to be perfect. This enforces the 'we are not all rich but we don't have to be, to be happy' mentality.
In the video, Neil Finn (Crowded House) - Fall At Your Feet (Acoustic Live), Neil Finn has quiet a relaxed and humorous attitude at the beginning of the video. This attitude reflects on how he is representing New Zealand to that particular UK crowd. This also enforces the above statement that New Zealander's are represented as being relaxed and calm and not fussed about being perfect because they are laughing and joking around on stage before their song begins. According to The Press, Neil Finn said the performance occasionally felt lifeless but he put that down to end of tour tiredness. "Was it unpatriotic of me to be slightly bored at times?". I think that this article enforces the representation of New Zealand being a relaxed and calm society. This impacts the audience by making them feel more relaxed at the performance therefore making the audience feel more comfortable around the artist and therefore making the audience feel more comfortable around New Zealanders and reflecting a positive society within New Zealand.
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| Photo from Neil Finn's video, Neil Finn (Crowded House) - Fall At Your Feet (Acoustic Live) |
Devilskin's (Jenny, Paul, Nail and Nik) Lyrics to there song Start a Revolution, suggest that New Zealand has an attitude that they can change things easily which links closely to the Kiwi ingenuity mentality of We can do anything. "I'll start a revolution when I get up in the morning". I think this is helped with the official music video where it flicks between a white mental hospital scene to a black rock band scene showing the change that they have made. This is literally shown in the music video where Jenny is stuck in a mental hospital and then she has changed into being free in a rock band, the complete opposite of the white mental hospital cell. This impacts the audience by showing us that we don't have to be stuck in the same cycle, you can change your life. This is how Devilskin represents New Zealand as a positive and creative society.
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| Jenny lies alone in a white mental hospital Photo from Devilskin's music video, Start a Revolution |
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| Jenny along with the rest of the band in a black rock scene, Photo from Devilskin's music video, Start a Revolution |
Saving Grace (Nicholas, Vasely, George, Mike and Shaun) also represents New Zealand positively in their song Unbreakable, this song is about their band as a family which also relates to the New Zealand community as a whole. "...I'll stand strong by your side, unified we'll stand our ground....united we stand....." This is shown by the lyrics/dialogue showing New Zealand as a united country, that we will stand up for one and other. This represents a positive community as it is representing a supportive community. This impacts the audience by making them feel they can trust New Zealanders. Trust is an important aspect to a positive and creative community.
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| Photo from the popular TV show, The XFactor |
To completely contradict all I have said about New Zealand musicians, Willy Moon (William George Sinclair) is the complete opposite representation of New Zealand society. Willy Moon is one of the Judges on the current popular New Zealand singing competition TV show, Xfactor. In X factor, he comes off as rude, abrupt and unpleasant. When he speaks to some of the not so great Xfactor contestants, he is impolite in telling them that "you were absolutely, unconditionally the most awful singing act i have heard in my life". The response to Willy Moon has not always been that positive. 53.85% of people surveyed, saw Willy Moon in a negative light. Youtube comments show some of peoples views on Willy Moon. "Someone with a bit more experience and knowledge would be better (to judge on X factor) - not a has-been who has only 1 studio album, 1 extended album, and a low peak chart position...' (GoneBadKiwi). According to Simon Sweetman from Stuff.co.nz, Willy Moon was going to be the 'bad-guy judge'. According to the article, 'Willy Moon released the worst album of 2013'. A quote of Willy Moon that has seem to stuck with him and not help him represent New Zealand positively is "There are no excuses for being that bad". Willy Moon creates a negative representation of New Zealand by his dialogue to X factor contestants. This impacts on the New Zealand community badly as it influences the New Zealand public by making them think it is ok to act like this to people that can't do things. It also represents New Zealand badly as it shows New Zealanders as bullies .
Willy Moon may be negative in how he represents New Zealand to the world and he goes against everything I have said about Lorde, Neil Finn, Devilskin and Saving Grace, but he has unified most of New Zealand through a hate for Willy Moon to try and get him and his wife Natalia Kills off the judging panel for X factor.
