Abstract
The agenda-setting paradigm has long proved fruitful for the study of political and social phenomena. This thesis employs a mixed-method approach to recontextualize agenda-setting into aesthetic-setting. The quantitative aspect of this study measures the exposure of music videos posted on MTV.com 's " Video Picks " page and correlates them with their commercial success as measured by Billboard's "Hot 100" single chart. Ultimately, only a moderate aesthetic-setting effect was found. But that result raises critical questions regarding why the accessibility of artifacts did not translate into commercial success.
The qualitative, or critical, aspect of this study engages in an aesthetic critique of the artifact exhibiting the greatest aesthetic-setting effect, Rihanna - "Take A Bow". Breaking down and critiquing the constituent parts of the music video gives insight into the applicability of a music video artifact, which may be achieved by utilizing culturally specific aesthetic forms. Those forms are found to be the result, and the genesis, of cultural expression.