2. The Theory
• Dyers theory states that in order to be a star you have to conform to certain
ideologies.
• Icons and celebrities are constructed by institutions for financial reasons and
are built to target a specific audience so that they can make money.
• This is the artists job.
• The idea is…To be a leader and make people follow you. (audiences)
3. What he states…
• “Stars are commodities that are produced by institutions”
• “A star is a constructed image, represented across a range of media
mediums”
• “Stars represent and embody certain ideology”
• “They are given themselves a persona to appeal to the public”
4. Breaking up the theory
The Theory can be broken up into 3 sections…
• Audience and Institution
• Construction
• Hegemony (cultural beliefs)
5. Audience and Institution
• Stars are made to make money.
• Audiences want to consume what they think/are made to believe are the
ideal.
• The institution then modify the stars image around the target audience.
For example: X-Factor contestants are made to; -lose weight, get nicer teeth,
better hair and skin, and are basically transformed into the audiences ‘ideal’.
• X-Factor want the full package – The personality, performance and the looks
– as this makes a star.
6. Construction
• The star is built for an audience and is not an actual person, a
persona is created for the audience to identify with.
• This is so that they can differentiate between other stars.
Lady GaGa puts on
a persona and
separates herself
from the rest by
wearing wacky
outfits like this.
7. Hegemony (Leadership/dominance)
• We relate to the celebrity because they have a feature that we admire or share
with them – this develops from admiration or idolisation.
• Some audiences attempt to replicate what they like about the star. For
example: the perfect figure or fashion sense.
• To be a star they have to be this all the time.
• They are to be looked up to, for us to follow and for us to understand life in
the sense that this is what we should be.
• They usually have a USP. (Unique Selling Point)
8. Richard Dyer
“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 (eg. Magazines, music, films)”
-1979
