Analysis of music videos using Laura Mulvey’s theory and Richard Dyer's Star Theory

1. ANALYSIS OF MUSIC VIDEOS USING LAURA
MULVEY’S THEORY AND RICHARD DYER’S STAR
THEORY

2. RICHARD DYER’S STAR THEORY
• According to Richard Dyer, the star theory if the idea that icons and
celebrities are constructed by an institution for financial reasons and
are built to fit a specific audience. This, perhaps, suggests that the
celebrity is not their own person and forms a ‘persona’, becoming a
product of their record company. Dyer states that “A star is an image
not a real person that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is)
out of a range of materials (e.g advertising, magazine, etc as well as
films and music) in 1970.
• The concept can be broken down into three sections:
 Audience and institutions
 Constructions
 Hegemony

3. AUDIENCES AND INSTITUTIONS
• This section states that stars are made solely for financial purposes and because of this,
stars are made specifically to target an audience group. An example of this can be seen
through punk/rock bands. They are made to have black, massive hair with black/red
leather clothing and large, metallic instruments which attract them to the right
audience. A punk/rock band would struggle to attract a hip hop audience as they have
very different constructions. Audiences want to consume what they see as the ideal, so,
therefore, it is the artists obligation to give the audience that ideal. (Can be seen through
the constant use of flashy cars/houses/sexy girls used in hip hop videos) The audience
will then consume this, view it as the ideal, and the institutions will make money of the
‘product’ they have constructed.
• Another example is through Nicki Minaj. Although
she was skinnier, and lacked the figure she has now,
upon entering the rap industry, she modified her
appearance. This was done through plastic surgery
and it made her conform to the ‘ideal’ of the music
industry. By doing this, she became a product of her
record label and was able to give the audience their
‘ideal’ and make money off it. This all helps to prove
Dyer’s theory of stars.

4. CONSTRUCTIONS
• Stars are constructions made by institutions to appeal to a certain audience.
Examples of this, besides Nicki Minaj, are Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Drake and
more. This makes each star different from each other as they strive to target a
different target audience. This helps the audience differentiate between them,
identify which belongs to which genre. Following up on the examples, Lady
Gaga dresses abstractly, sometimes wearing food, and her make-up is big and
bold. This is a construction that attracts the right target audience for her music.
There is a difference between what she wears in her videos/on stage to real
life, denoting that she has a ‘persona’ and is a product of her record
label/company. Much like other artists (Amy Winehouse’s hair, Nicki’s wigs), it
allows her to stand out against others.
• Artists that don’t conform to a construction tend
to be forgotten or don’t even make it big in the
business. This is because they’re not attracting a
certain target group, but yet, trying to please
everyone, meaning they lack the products that
people consider ‘ideal’, ultimately, failing too.

5. HEGEMONY
• An audience can relate to a star/artists if they have things in common
or to admire. This can lead to idolisation and the star ends up getting
power/dominance over the fans which they have gained. As the star is
the leader, they create names for their fan bases – Arianators, Belibers,
Directioners, Navy, Behive, etc. This can be seen as a negative thing as
sometimes stars are good role models. For example, Snoop Dogg, Wiz
Khalifa, and more, that consistently smokes weed can influence their
fans to start smoking weed, or demonstrate that, perhaps, it’s the
‘norm’.
• Furthermore, artists such as Nicki Minaj, Amber Rose or Kylie Jenner
who promote butt implants, breast lip implants can influence people
to do the same too, thinking that they are going to get the ideal body.
Also, it can cause girls who don’t posses these things to start feeling
insecure about their body.

6. IDEOLOGY AND CULTURE & CHARACTER
AND PERSONALITY
• Stars have an influence on our cultural beliefs and have the power to
shape society. For example, Demi Lovato’s LGBT support has caused
most of her fans to start supporting the movement also in order to
follow her. Also, by a star wearing certain designer clothing, their fans
will start to wear it too. This then promotes the concept of brands
sending free items of clothing/shoes for the star to wear, constructing
them to a certain item of clothing. This can also be seen in a negative
light, through the constant use of weed by some stars, turning
something which was considered dangerous into a fashion statement
or a normality. For this reason, stars need to adapt and form a positive
influence for their fans.
• For stars, having a hegemony/dominant ideology is good and this can
be seen through the name they’re given by their fans. This tells the star
that they have a large group of fans that, essentially, worship them and
depend on them for everything. The stars are presented as human
beings but they are a construction, made to attract the audience.

7. LAURA MULVEY’S THEORY:
THE MALE GAZE
• According to Mulvey, she proposes that women are fetishized in music
videos and this sexualises them for the benefit of males. She believes
that Hollywood “guilty of objectifying women” and makes it acceptable
for men to stare at women in a particular way. Here, she refers to the
male gaze and states that instead of them being viewed as human
beings, they’re seen as objects. Her theory is that males in the cinema
get to voyeuristically objectify and look at a woman in a way that is
socially acceptable.

8. LINKING THE THEORIES TOGETHER
• Overall, Dyer’s theory tells us that stars are constructions created by
the companies they are signed to, as apposed to human beings. They
are used for the intention of making money through the audience
seeing them as the ideal. This links to Laura Mulvey’s theory of male
gaze as women in music videos, or in magazines, are used to entice
sexual attractions. For example, Nicki Minaj’s song, “Anaconda” the
constant use of women’s bodies are apparent. They show off their
butts, boobs and figures throughout the video. She appeals to the
ideology of women being in provocative poses, camera shots and more
for the pleasures of men. Here, two theories combine demonstrate the
nature behind music videos. Dyer shoes that stars are constructed for
the target audience and Mulvey’s theory shows that women are
exploited as sexual beings for pleasure in music videos.