Richard Dyer's Star Theory

This theory is split into 3 areas:

1. The star as a construction
2. The star as a commodity
3. The star as an ideology 

Construction:

In this section, Dyer states that the star is just a construction and not a real person. The ways in which a star is constructed can be through methods such as music videos, magazines and advertising.

An example is Miley Cyrus, who is famous for acts such as twerking and her famous music videos such as Wrecking Ball. However, it can be said that this is all just for show as the star wouldn't incorporate any of this into her private life, as it is just a construction of acts to appeal to the audience.

Commodity:

The stars here are produced to create a profit off of merchandise such as posters and shirts. In order to be successful and generate large amounts of money, these record labels will create similar stars, making them follow certain trends or patterns in order to obtain this profit. This can explain why so many boy/girl bands are similar, for example, One Direction or Little Mix. It is these type of artists that follow the similar trends as they have been known to have a large following, especially One Direction. The audience for them is also similar, consisting of teenage girls whom can be encouraged to be fans of both of these bands due to having similar features to suit their interests.

Ideology:

The star can represent social groups and views, which in turn create ideologies/ The fans as a result then copy their style and want to be like them and share these views that they have. Referring back to Little Mix, they all have unique styles which the fans may want to copy. They can also relate to one band member in particular and focus on their style, meaning that there is a variety in which a large and varied audience can be generated. 

In terms of views Little Mix is all about power within females and not being dependent on men, but being your own person, which can be inspirational and passed onto their fans.

The Paradox of the Star:

Dyer explains an additional point to his theory in which there is a paradox of the star due to:

1. The star must be both ordinary and extraordinary
2. The star must be both present and absent

Ordinary + Extraordinary:

This means that the star should be ordinary in a way that they can relate to the audience and have a connection with them, but also extraordinary, such as their amazing talent that they possess, which can result in them being idolised by the audience/public.

Present + Absent:

This part shows that the star should be present in the lives of the fans via factors such as merchandise, social media, chats between friends, etc. However, they are also absent due to not actually being there for the fans to 'reach'. An example is One Direction, in which posters up in fans' rooms mean they are somewhat present, as well as being a topic of conversation with friends due to a large fan base that they had accumulated. But in reality, they are not actually present for the fans to talk to or interact with.

Example:

Below is a music video of one of my example bands, Little Mix. In this video they all have their own character that follows are short narrative, and appear as school girls, their target audience.

I will be applying this theory to my video as I will be constructing an artist and their style and merchandise, creating a role model for their fans to follow and look up to, part of the ideology and commodity section of this theory.