Star TheoryRICHARD DYER(1979)

Dyer believes that icons and celebrities are constructed by institutions for fi nancial reasons and are built to target a specifi c audience or group.

They have USP (Unique Selling Point) to make them diff erent from other stars.

The star theory can be broken down into three sections:• Audience and Institutions• Constructions• Hegemony (Cultural Beliefs)

‘A STAR IS AN IMAGE NOT A REAL PERSON THAT IS CONSTRUCTED ( AS ANY OTHER ASPECT OF F ICTION IS) OUT OF A RANGE OF MATERIALS (E .G. ADVERTISING MAGAZINES, F ILMS,

MUSIC) . ’

Stars are only made to make money. Audiences want to consume what they think is the ideal. Institution then modifi es a star’s image around the target

audience- e.g. the makeover of the performers on X-Factor. Institutions makes the celebrity meet the needs of the consumer.

AUDIENCE AND INSTITUTIONS

‘ S TA R S A R E C O M M O D I T I E S T H AT A R E P R O D U C E D BY I N S T I T U T I O N S . ’

Depending on the audience, the star’s image is altered to please the audience because the ideology of how the star should look differs with different audiences.

The star is built for an audience and is not an actual person – a persona is created which the audience can identify with.

A star is built specifi cally with someone’s signature to them that diff erentiates them from other stars.

CONSTRUCTIONS

‘A S TA R I S A C O N S T R U C T E D I M A G E , R E P R E S E N T E D A C R O SS A R A N G E O F M E D I A A N D M E D I U M S . ’

Jessie J is an example of a pop star who has created a stage name, thus creating a separate identity. She has a different style of character when performing on stage to when she is being interviewed.

Celebrities are there for the audience to follow-• The audience have a feature that they admire or share a

celebrity and some attempt to replicate them. To be a pop star you have to conform to one ideology- it is their

job to create ideology, making money.

HEGEMONY

‘ STARS REPRESENT AND EMBODY CERTAIN IDEOLOGIES . ’

Beyoncé's ideology is to be confident, dominant and ‘sexy’. This is shown through her alter ego Sasha Fierce, something a lot of the female teenage audience will aspire to be like. Since the rise of feminism, this has become a more common characteristic.