Richard Dyer’s Star Theory applied to “Reckless”

Richard Dyer’s Star Theory is that certain celebrities in society are constructed as “Stars” to their target group to make them appear desirable, and make consumers want to purchase their products. The star is created for financial gain, as the desirable stars are presented in the media the more likely their target audience will buy their products.Dyer’s idea of a “Star” is a social construct that is created by an institution to create profit. He argued that celebrities that demonstrate this theory are fictional, and their celebrity is different from their personal life. For example; when analysing Jay-z’s music video for “Girls, Girls, Girls” I identified a clear representation of his theory. At the end of the music video the singer exits the set where he filmed the music video and the last shot establishes that it is a closed set. The “Star” Jay-z is separate from the real person Shawn Carter. Music industries create a star that it to satisfy the needs of the record label, and often they introduce new products, such as clothes, perfume or other merchandise. They are known for something that other artists do not have.In our fictional band “Reckless” Richard Dyer’s Star Theory can be identified, as all the products created by this fictional duo are to attract our target audience of teenagers. For example; the merchandise that we created is for the purposes of the consumer as having their own clothing line, makes the band look desirable. The fictional names of the duo are “Danielle” and “Nathan” , and this is to create a form of separateness from the people to the “stars.” His theory is broken down into 3 different stages: 1. The star manufactured 2. The star as a commodity 3. The star as an ideology

THE STAR MANUFACTURED;

The construction of a star, is significant as they are created to stand out in the music industry and be different to other stars. Dyer’s theory states that the star has to be iconic and be loved and admired by their target audience.In our duo “Reckless” this stage is clearly identified in the way that they were constructed into a famous dubstep duo. They were just an ordinary duo performing at different clubs trying to begin their music career. Then when they were signed by EMI Records their career took off and they became a famous duo in the industry. They are known for making music that is up-beat and allows people to be “Reckless” for a brief moment of time as their audience listen to their album.There are known for their music in the media and maintain an element of stardom, as they are constantly talked about in the media, and through the use of social networking. Our magazine poster is a great example of their stardom. This shows that they are a construct for theiraudiences and people enjoying seeing them on the cover of magazines.However, Dyer states for a celebrity to maintain their star image they have to “leave alegacy” they have to create something that makes them known and something they will be remembered for. The iconic element to our duo is their merchandise that has various items from clothes to bagsand they were able to do this as this is something that would appeal to their target audience. They have their own unique logo/ trademark that is on all their clothes that people will easily recognise.

THE STAR AS A COMMODITY;

This stage in his theory states that “Stars” are created by the institutions for the purposes of the audience. The aim of the record company is to make money and the manufacture the singers to go along with the latest trends to make their audience want to buy their products.Reckless have a twitter account to communicate more often with their audiences and by doing so their fans find them desirable and wish to continue buying their music. The keep up with the latest trends and they create new ones, as audiences look to them to see what is current. Their merchandise has all the latest clothes and accessories that audiences will buy as they are the latest trend.For example; the clothes worn by the band in the band poster and the digipak will causes many teenagers to want to purchase their closes. Danielle’s clothing and fashion chose is copied by many of their fans, and people admire her because of her creative fashion sense. Dyer said that the star is a product of this generation, therefore, reckless are product of the teenage generation and their fans look to them to see what they should be like.The clothes that they are wearing in the digipak and magazine poster are from their “Reckless”clothing line and when audiences see these advertised many will want to buy them. Also their Institution decided it would be a good idea to have their faces on some of their products as audiences are more likely to then purchase the products.

THE STAR AS AN IDEOLOGY;

The third and final stage to his theory is that audiences admire the “Star” and want to be like them. They become trendsetters and audiences try to imitate them. This is done through the advertisement in magazines, blogs, billboards, adverts that remind the audience of what the star is doing. The star is a social construct to be admired by the audience.Reckless create trends and their behaviour is seen by many audiences and they try to imitate their trends. Danielle is mainly a clear representation of the star as an ideology as her clothes and hairstyles are admired by many teenagers girls who wish to dress and look like her. The duo where their own clothes to promote them and most importantly it gives people the chance to buythem and look like them. Their logo demonstrates that this band is unique and with the albums, clothes, adverts, posters and logo show that the record company have created a brand. This brand is enjoyed and consumed by people in different ways.