1) Richard Dyer's star theory argues that celebrities, or stars, are constructed images meant to appeal to target audiences for financial gain, not real people. 2) Stars are crafted with a signature personality or traits to differentiate them and types of roles they play. 3) Audiences relate to and idolize stars that share features with or that they admire, finding pleasure and enjoyment from watching certain star personas. 4) The case study asks students to analyze how Will Smith launched his career, appealed to a variety of demographics across media, and maintained his star status over time while expanding his brand to include his family.

1. STAR
PERSONA
LO: TO UNDERSTAND HOW STARS ARE CREATED
AND USED AS A MARKETING COMMODITY

2. RICHARD DYER'S STAR THEORY
Richard Dyers Star theory is the idea that icons and
celebrities are constructed by institutions for financial
gain and are constructed to target a specific audience or
group of people.

3. Dyer says: "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”

4. KEY POINTS
Stars are made to make money alone
The star is built for the audience
The stars’ images are modeled around
the target audience

5. STAR SIGNATURE
The star is built with a signature which
differentiates them from other stars
(for example Danny Dyer has been constructed as a cockney
hard man and therefore is typecast for these kind of roles)

6. AUDIENCE IDENTIFICATION
Audiences often relate to the star as they
have a feature which they admire or share
with them, this often develops from an
admiration to an idolization.
Who would relate to the following stars?

7. JULIA ROBERTS

8. JASON STATHAM

9. KRISTEN STEWART

10. AUDIENCE GRATIFICATIONS
Key term: Gratification
This refers to the pleasures/enjoyment which
audience members get from watching different star
personas.
What pleasure would audiences get from
watching these stars?

11. ARNIE
(ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER)

12. ANGELINA JOLIE

13. BRAD PITT

14. STAR PERSONA CASE
STUDY: WILL SMITH
You are going to carry out a case study into Will Smith over
the next lesson.
Using these prompts, create a PP analysis of how he has
created and maintained a star persona which appeals to a
mass demographic:
• How he launched his career
• How he movie across different media platforms
• How he appeals to a variety of demographics
• How he has maintained his star status
• How he has added his family to the Will Smith brand
You should find screen shots from audio visual clips and
examples of media texts to use as evidence for your points

15. HOMEWORK
Explain in your own words how important having a star is for
the success of a new film. Include the following terms in your
response:
• Star persona
• Audience Appeal
• Audience Gratifications
• (Multi) Demographic
Also refer to specific case studies of star personas and
examples of media texts to support your points.