Representation, Theory 2: Richard Dyer

Star Theory

Dyer developed the idea that the viewers perception of its stars and that publicity materials and reviews determine the way that audiences experience a media text. With this idea in mind, Dyer analysed critics writing, magazines, advertising and the films themselves to explore the significance of stardom.

A star is an image and not a real person. They are constructed, as any other aspect of fiction is. Advertising, magazines and featuring in films and music products. He states that icons and celebrities are constructed by institutions for financial gain and target one specific audience/group of people to make profit.

Stars create a persona that is desirable to a target audience but is not actually a true representation of themselves. It is a constructed identity and ideology to make society want to consume them. Richard Dyer's Star Theory is the idea that icons and celebrities are constructed by institutions for financial reasons and are built to target a specific audience.

1. Stars are constructions

Even if they are represented as "real people", experiencing real emotions etc. It helps if their image contains a USP so that they can be copied and/or parodied because of it.

                   Their representation may be metonymic (image associated). Madonna's conical bra in the early 1990's or Michael Jackson's glove. Pop stars have an advantage over film stars in their constructed image may be much more consistent over a period of time, and is not dependent on the creative input of others.

2. Audience and industry

Stars are manufactured by the music industry to serve a purpose - to make money out of audiences, who respond to various elements of a star person by buying records and becoming fans. Record companies nurture and shape their stars as the TV talent shows processes have shown us they tend to manufacture what they think audiences want.

Hegemony

Stars represent shared cultural values and attitudes to promote a certain ideology and this is also what makes them a 'star' by having such a powerful influence on an audience. By making an audience want to mimic stars qualities and conform to their ideologies and promote their attitude.

3. Ideology and culture

Stars represent shared cultural values and attitudes that promotes a certain ideology about themselves as an artist and what they believe in. By having dominant desirable ideologies it allows the audience to see their star qualities and make them more desirable. Conveying their beliefs and opinions outside music and film helps a celebrity create a star persona.

4. Character and personality

Dyer says stars provide audiences with 'ideas of what people are supposed to be like' and because of this audiences feel the need to conform to these constructions. A star creates a character based on themselves and what they feel the audience want to consume, they promote an image what they feel is desirable for an audience.

Star images and motifs

For stars to be an established artist or brand and to make an audience want to carry on consuming them, a tactic used by institutions is to create an image or motif that is reoccurring. For example, creating an iconic image, as previously discussed or having fonts, imagery, or motifs that become consumed.

(Motif = something carried out across a variety of products)