Star theory: Richard Dyer
Who do you think are the biggest stars in the music industry?
- Beyonce
- Justin Bieber
- Eminem
-Taylor Swift
-Rhianna
-Kanye West
What do they have in common?
-The number of fans they have
- They are advertised to the maximum
-Very rich
-They are all popular
-All young and good looking
-Talent
-Sing in English predominantly
-Rebellion
The idea of a star goes way back to the beginning of human existence, the idea of a star is quite mythological. It's related to worship so it has started way back with Gods.
Richard Dyer's theory does not apply to music, he mainly focused on TV and movies stars. However the patter is similar.
Different platforms are used to create and sell an image of a star for example: radio, TV, magazines, internet and etc. The star is usually created for a specific audience with a range of different meanings and messages.
Richard Dyer's theory is made out of two main features: 1. A star is an image, not a real person, someone that is purposely created to be sold to a large number of people, 2. Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings.
1.A star is a construction.
The person that we see on stage or the image we see in general is not the same person when they go home. That applies to all of the stars. A perfect example of that is Miley Cyrus who was a 9 year old girl that worked for Disney as a secret pop star and overall was a very sweet charterer. But that image got boring and childish as she grew up. Then some "bigger power" that owns Miley (could be a record label), to gain back her popularity changed her character completely and made her into this rebelion girl which is the exact opposite of the character she started with. That obviously gained all the popularity back and she went up in the ranks.
2. Star as a commodity.
The fact that the record label can manipulate people's lives in any way the want, just to get lots of money from it. Stars are produced to create a profit off of related merchandise, for example: t shirts, posters, stickers and many more. There are certain patterns that the record label use on music stars that work in a circle, so for example: pure and sweet into rebellious and sometimes crazy. It gains easy popularity and press since it's such an unexpected change in any person, it's very extreme.
The more band members the merrier (more cash).
3. Star as an ideology
This depends on what the artist/s represent and believe in. for example a lot of female artist show a figure of a strong feminist, or some of them are all about friendship, some of them are all about love. It creates a perfect influence. The result is - fans take their style and share the same views as them.
- Beyonce
- Justin Bieber
- Eminem
-Taylor Swift
-Rhianna
-Kanye West
What do they have in common?
-The number of fans they have
- They are advertised to the maximum
-Very rich
-They are all popular
-All young and good looking
-Talent
-Sing in English predominantly
-Rebellion
The idea of a star goes way back to the beginning of human existence, the idea of a star is quite mythological. It's related to worship so it has started way back with Gods.
Richard Dyer's theory does not apply to music, he mainly focused on TV and movies stars. However the patter is similar.
Different platforms are used to create and sell an image of a star for example: radio, TV, magazines, internet and etc. The star is usually created for a specific audience with a range of different meanings and messages.
Richard Dyer's theory is made out of two main features: 1. A star is an image, not a real person, someone that is purposely created to be sold to a large number of people, 2. Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings.
1.A star is a construction.
The person that we see on stage or the image we see in general is not the same person when they go home. That applies to all of the stars. A perfect example of that is Miley Cyrus who was a 9 year old girl that worked for Disney as a secret pop star and overall was a very sweet charterer. But that image got boring and childish as she grew up. Then some "bigger power" that owns Miley (could be a record label), to gain back her popularity changed her character completely and made her into this rebelion girl which is the exact opposite of the character she started with. That obviously gained all the popularity back and she went up in the ranks.
2. Star as a commodity.
The fact that the record label can manipulate people's lives in any way the want, just to get lots of money from it. Stars are produced to create a profit off of related merchandise, for example: t shirts, posters, stickers and many more. There are certain patterns that the record label use on music stars that work in a circle, so for example: pure and sweet into rebellious and sometimes crazy. It gains easy popularity and press since it's such an unexpected change in any person, it's very extreme.
The more band members the merrier (more cash).
3. Star as an ideology
This depends on what the artist/s represent and believe in. for example a lot of female artist show a figure of a strong feminist, or some of them are all about friendship, some of them are all about love. It creates a perfect influence. The result is - fans take their style and share the same views as them.
Paradox 1:
The
star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the
consumer. For example we see the amazing Beyonce performance and also
photos of just her without make up walking to a cafe.
Paradox 2:
The
star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer. We
want you to feel close to the artist but not too close, so the obsession
stays.
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