2. Overview
• Richard Dyer’s star theory is the idea that celebrities
and icons are produced by institutions for financial
reasons and are built to target specific audiences or
groups of people. The theory can be broken down into
three categories :
- Audience and institutions
- Constructions
--Hegemony (Culture beliefs)
--Character and Personality
3. Audiences and
Institutions
• Stars are made to make money for that purpose alone.
The institution then modifies the stars image around
the target audience, for example Rihanna. Rihanna is
molded by what trends are being set right now and
her persona’s character and personality rely what
trends are relevant right now.
4. Character and
Personality
• The star starts as a ‘real human then they are
transformed so they can provide an image of
their time and culture. The audience tends to
not read them as entirely fictional rather they
read them as very much of their time and as a
product of a particular generation that shows
them what they meant to be like
5. Constructions
• The star is built for a specific audience and is
not an actual person although it may seem to
be. The star is built specially with their own
unique signature to distinguish them from
other stars. For example Lady is known for her
shocking fashion having worn a bin bag and
actual meat on a red carpet.
6. Hegemony
• This is also referred to as ‘culture’. It is the ideas that we relate to the
star because they possess features that we admire, share with them or
wish we ourselves possessed those features. This is developed from an
admiration, and some fans may attempt to replicate thing that the star
does, wears and their behavior. This is has a negative impact on society
because some stars are known to abuse drugs and alcohol which leads to
people who admire them following them down the same path. For
example Rihanna often posts pictures of herself smoking cannabis on
social media influencing her fans.
7. Moreover
• Stars represent shared cultural norms and values, and
market a certain ideology. Their ‘star quality’ is
enhanced by audience interest which means that the
more of an audience a star has the more of a star they
become. This is done through conveying beliefs, ideas
and opinions outside music performers help create
their star character to their fans. Fashion trends,
hairstyles and clothing are things that a star may start
and their fans copy in order to acquire the stars traits.
Social media helps stars today benefit from cultural
discourse as it gives them the opportunity to establish
their character and values outside from the music
industry.
8. Maintaining Stardom
• Richard Dyer claims that true pop stars have
lasting significances if they make sufficient
sociological or cultural impacts if not they will be
forgotten by all their most passionate fans with in
a few years. In order to maintain stardom stars
engage in activities that help wider society. For
example Rihanna has a charity, The Believe
foundation (founded in 2006) which has had a
huge impact on society. The charity aims to aid
10,000 people in need of bone marrows
transplants.
9. Rihanna is a prime example of
Richard Dyer’s idea of a star
10. Rihanna is a prime example of
Richard Dyer’s idea of a star
• Rihanna is a pop star who is known for her identity
which isn't constructed by her singing career. The
Record Label, Def Jam, transformed Rihanna from
a pop star who had no identity past her career to a
pop star with her own unique identity that many
of her fans adore. She has a celebrity boyfriend,
Chris Brown, she attended many premieres,
celebrity parties, awards shows and appeared in
many popular magazines which led to her being
identifiable outside of her music career. She has
had a huge transformation from the time that she
was introduced to the world in 2006 to now 2014.
