Here's the commercial for Avril Lavigne's new perfume:
Her comments on the video raise certain issues:
Consequently, even Avril's being is mediated through capitalism, she captures an essence of herself through the belief that such an essence can be captured by capitalism. Which is to say that the simple point - that it is obviously impossible to capture one's own individuality through the mass-produced style of someone else - is made more complex. If even the originator of this style can only be herself through the mirror of the capturing of her essence in the market, what hope for the rest of us?
Of course the main point is that even Avril doesn't get to "be herself" through her own mass-produced clothes. To refer to the first 2 albums in which she played out the struggle of (the always impossible) "being oneself" vs "being for someone else", "selling out" - authenticity vs advert. What we see is the utter victory of the advert - her self is no longer something inside, but wholly alien to herself, it is in the clothing line, in the perfume. And this is what we see in the advert for "Black Star", Avril Lavigne wanders in, sees the black star that represents her, grabs it, holds it for a moment, before throwing it on to us - Now it is available to everyone, but from the first the essence was outside.
Her comments on the video raise certain issues:
“I think the TV commercial captured the edginess and fun of Black Star and made the commercial something I am really proud to share with everyone,” the Canadian pop star told fans on her official site. “I wore pink and black with studded accessories. I think wearing my own stuff and staying true to my style is a huge part of what makes me who I am.”On the one hand the advert tells us "Be your own star", by wearing Avril's perfume, the belief that one can buy individuality on the mass market; on the other hand Avril points out the ridiculousness of this idea - by wearing her own clothing range (I'm assuming this is what she meant), she gets to be who she is, not by wearing the mass-produced clothes of another star, but by wearing the mass-produced clothes under her own star.
Consequently, even Avril's being is mediated through capitalism, she captures an essence of herself through the belief that such an essence can be captured by capitalism. Which is to say that the simple point - that it is obviously impossible to capture one's own individuality through the mass-produced style of someone else - is made more complex. If even the originator of this style can only be herself through the mirror of the capturing of her essence in the market, what hope for the rest of us?
Of course the main point is that even Avril doesn't get to "be herself" through her own mass-produced clothes. To refer to the first 2 albums in which she played out the struggle of (the always impossible) "being oneself" vs "being for someone else", "selling out" - authenticity vs advert. What we see is the utter victory of the advert - her self is no longer something inside, but wholly alien to herself, it is in the clothing line, in the perfume. And this is what we see in the advert for "Black Star", Avril Lavigne wanders in, sees the black star that represents her, grabs it, holds it for a moment, before throwing it on to us - Now it is available to everyone, but from the first the essence was outside.
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