Richard Dyer - Star theory
Richard Dyers star theory is the idea that icons and celebrities are manufactured by institutions for financial gain. He believes that stars are constructed to represent 'real people' experiencing real emotions. Stars are manufactured by the music industry to serve a purpose; to make money out of audience, who respond to various elements of a star’s personality by buying records and becoming fans.
His theory can be split into 3 areas : 1). The star as a consruction
2). The star as a commodity
3). The star as an ideology
1. The star as a construction
- Richard Dyer states that the star is a construction and not a real person
- He thinks that the star is constructed through music videos , magazines , advertisisng and some others
A good example would be miley Cyrus , as she became really famous for her twerking and riding on a wrecking ball naked , however she wouldn't do any of this stuff in the privacy of her own home meaning that the person Miley Cyrus and the star are two different people .
2). The star as a commodity
- Stars are produced to create a profit off of related merchandise e.g. T-shirts , posters et.
- Record labels will create imilat stars as they know certain patterns and trends will work to generate them money
- This is why we get so many boy bands who are very similar e.g. One direction and The wanted
One direction
3). The star as an ideology
- Stars will represent certain social groups and views and will therefore create certain ideologies
- As a result fans of the star will often copy their style and share the same vieews as them .
many fans of Beyonce for example will share her view on women and how they are independent and shouldn't be controlled by men .
He also thinks that there is a paradox of the 'star' . the paradox is as follows .
The star must be both ordinary and extraordinary . This part of the theory means that the star needs to be ordinary to allow the audience to relate to the audience but posses an extraordinary talent or quality which will make them be idolised by the general public . So , that for example Adele is an ordinary woman from London who speaks and acts like most people , however she has an amazing voice which people will idolise . This allows her to be the star that she is .
The star must be both present and absent . The second half of the theory explains that the star must be present in our lives whether it is through their merchendise , social media or involved in chat between friends but also absent in the fact that they are not actually there or are 'ou of reach' . This is known by Harry Styles , he is a key part to most teenage and young girls lives , they may have his poster or other merchendise however he is not obtainable to them allowing him to be present and absent at the same time .
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