Richard Dyer's star theory argues that celebrities are constructed by media institutions for financial gain by representing real emotions to target specific audiences. Institutions choose aspects of stars' images to increase sales and brand identity. For example, Lady Gaga's fashion was meant to make her relatable. Eminem became one of the biggest rap artists through representing his story of overcoming drug and alcohol abuse, which increased his fanbase. Though now sober, some argue his lyrics still include inappropriate content for younger fans.

1. Alex Harris

2.  Richard Dyers start theory is the idea that
icons and celebrities are constructed by
institutions for financial gain and to target
one specific group of people. He believes
that celebrities are constructed to represent
‘real people’ experiencing real emotions.
Stars are created by the music industry to
serve a purpose which is to make money out
of the audience because fans idolise these
stars and buy their music and products.

3.  Audiences and Institutions - Stars are made for money
purposes . Increasing the brand identity benefits the
institution as they become a household name increasing
sales in all of the different aspects of media. The
institution then models the artist around the target
audience they choose. For example Lady Gaga’s fashion
was seen to be chosen so that the audience can relate to
her as a person and also her music.
 Constitutions - This is more or less the same as the
audience and institution part of his theory.
 Hegemony- This is also know as 'culture'. It is the idea that
the audience relates to the star because they have a
feature they the share or admire with the star. Some fans
may attempt to replicate the star in their behaviour, what
they and what they do. But this could also be a negative
impact as some stars often are heavy drinkers and drug
abusers. For example in the 60’s and 70’s there was an
increase in cannabis sales due to The Beatles being open
about using it.

5.  Rap artist Eminem is a well known artist who
is listen to by millions worldwide with a huge
fan base. His identity isn’t necessarily
defined from his music but his story. He
began his career as the Slim Shady and was a
user and alcoholic. The film 8 Mile,
represents the story of Eminem of his rise to
stardom. With 27 top 10s, Eminem has
debatably become the biggest rap artists of
his time. When he made his transition from
Slim Shady to Eminem he ditched the drugs
and drink and with the backing of his fan
base is now doing bigger and better things.

6.  Richard Dyer insists that true pop stars have a
long lasting legacy if they make sufficient
cultural or sociological impacts, if not they will
not be remembered by their fans.
 Marshall Mathers (Eminem) has started his own
charity called the Marshall Mathers Foundation.
Eminem's charity helps disadvantaged youth in
his home state of Michigan. It has made
donations to food banks and youth groups and
participates in fundraisers with organisations
such as Eight Mile Boulevard Association. He
once presented $10,000 on behalf of the
Marshall Mathers Foundation to the family of a 6
year old boy who had received a kidney
transplant.

7.  Dyers theory suggests that stars are made
from money and that purpose alone. Stars
are often transformed to provide an image of
their time and culture. They start as a ‘real’
human and then are change. For example,
Eminem used a to be a drugged up rap artist
but fans have seen him get through this
tough stage of his life and recently went on a
World Tour playing in stadiums such as
Wembley Stadium and the Stade De France.

8.  Although Eminem has come out of the
alcoholic stage of his life, and many see this
as something to look up too, there are many
who don’t see it as plainly.
 People believe that eventhough Eminem
overcame a difficult stage in his life, his
lyrics still refer to violence and curse words.
Admittedly, rap is on the whole a rather
mature genre but some of his younger fans
are age around 12 and parents believe that
his music is not suitable for this age group.