POP MUSIC : MIXED MEDIA : ** 1/2 MARIAH CAREY : “The First Vision” : <i> SMV Enterprises ($19.98)</i>

The point of view of this 42-minute package--which includes video clips, live sessions and interviews--is inconsistent. Part of the program focuses on the demure, likable young singer who just won a Grammy as best new artist of 1990 and whose debut album has sold 4 million copies. Elsewhere, however, the camera leers at her face and figure as if this were a Playboy production.

Sexpot or girl-next-door? You never really find out about the real Carey, but this program does allow her room to flex her formidable vocal muscles, particularly on the dazzling live clips.

The weakest part is the interview footage, which offers no in-depth answers to basic questions, such as how she learned to sing those glass-shattering high notes, or how Carey, who is white, acquired such strong black-gospel roots and why she comes across so vividly as a product of the black culture. Fans curious about these questions or other significant aspects of Carey’s life had better look elsewhere. This program is strictly fan-magazine stuff.

Videocassettes are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to three (good) to five (a classic).