Dyer - Star Theory Media Studies Coursework

1. • Richard Dyer (born 1945) is an English
academic who is currently a professor in the
Department of Film Studies at King's College
London.
• Dyer is well known for his first book called
‘Stars’ during 1979. In it, he developed the
idea that the viewers observation of a film is
heavily influenced by the perception of its
stars. Thus he states that a star is an image
and a façade, not a real person that is formed
through their work and effort. He also goes on
to state that publicity materials, such as
magazines, newspapers, and reviews
determine the way that audiences knowledge
the film or production. Soon after,Dyer went
on to analysed critics writing, magazines, and
advertising to explore the significance of
stardom in today’s society.
Richard Dyer

2. Star Theory
Richard Dyer’s Star Theory is therefore the idea that icons and celebrities are
constructed by organizations for financial profit and gain and target one specific
audience.
His theory is spilt into three sections;
1) Audiences and Organisations – he believes
that all these ‘stars’ today are created for
money purposes . This is because it increases
the brands identity, which benefits them as
the organisation becomes the tending and
popular name, which then results to increased
sales in all of the different aspects of media,
such as magazines, newspapers etc. The
organisation then models the artist around the
target audience they choose to maintain the
high attention that they are receiving. This
applies to the music industry, such as Nicki
Minaj, as her fashion has to been chosen so
that the audience can relate to her as a person
and also her music.

3. 2) Constitutions - This is similar to the ‘audience and organization’ part of his theory;
as he is saying that the star is built solely for an audience, not for themselves. Rihanna
was constructed by Def. Jam Roc Nation(her record label)with fashions and make-up
that would differ from others in the industry already. So the star itself accepts what is
being done, due to wanting to become someone successful and noticed by the
audiences. (example below of her changes throughout the years)

4. 3) Hegemony (Culture)- this idea by Dyer is that the audience relates to the star because
they have a feature they the share or admire with the star through their findings within
media. In addition to this, many fans will then try to attempt to replicate the star in their
behaviour, what they and what they do, in order to become and fell like them. As well as
a positive impact such as giving people confidence and self-assurance, and follow the
correct footsteps into becoming someone like them, it also could be a negative impact as
some stars often are heavy drinkers and drug abusers, and lead to the audience doing
the same.
Negative impact: Positive impact:

5. Star Theory Applied To My Own Star
I will be included Dyer’s Star Theory into my own star, by applying the three sections. My
star will relate mostly towards the audiences, which means that the audience will be
taken into consideration as well as the trends of todays society, so that my star fits into
the culture. My star is someone who stands out within the music genre I've chosen ( Hip-
Hop/R&B) and so they will be notice and acknowledged immediately, rather than
gradually, therefore they will be targeted to a broader audience instead of a niche one. In
addition, though my star people will be able to share to issues, problems and find ways to
over come it as well as other benefits. This will effect the organization as an instantaneous
recognition means that more people are staring to recognise my star, which results to
benefits, such as becoming popular.