Richard Dyer's star theory argues that music institutions construct pop stars to gain financial benefits from increased publicity. Rihanna exemplifies this theory as her persona has been molded over time from a "good girl" to a "bad girl" through elaborate outfits, dancing, and image changes. The music industry strategically crafts artist personas and stories to keep audiences engaged and spending money on new music and celebrity gossip.

1. Richard Dyer’s Star Theory
and relation to Rihanna

2. Richard Dyer
Richard Dyer is a professor of film studies at King's College London and is a
specialist in the topic of cinema. He was born in Leeds (1945).
Though media terms “pop star” and “pop performers” are different things entirely.
A pop star is the entire persona of someone especially when they are seen a lot
through journalism for things other than their music. Pop performers will often be
moulded into pop stars soon after breaking into the industry by management as
this allows them to gain more media attention. Other subjects that will be watched
will include relationships, attendance of events and disagreements they may have
with other people. Richard Dyer’s threory is the belief that institutions
manufactured pop stars to help with financial gain due to added publicity.

3. Dyer’s theory and relation to Rihanna
Rihanna’s full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty and she was born in 1988 in Saint
Michael, Barbados. She is a singer, songwriter and actress and first signed for Def
Jam records.

4. Stars of Construction
Stars are supposed to be seen as real people however they are mostly superficial
and artificial constructions. Rihanna began her career as a typical ‘good girl’
however through the years she has begun to be defined more and more as a ‘bad
girl’ which can be shown through her different elaborate (‘sexy’) outfits and
different dancing on stage and at shows.

5. Industry and Audience
The music world has a massive audience and therefore they need to be kept
happy with fresh music and artist related stories. This is another way that the
industry forges ‘stars’ as they will create stories involving the stars and spread this
news to a bigger audience in an attempt to attract attention from more fans.
Rihanna is constantly changing appearance, actions and is always collaborating
on tracks with other high profile artists which keeps the fans interested and
spending money. v

6. Ideology and Culture
Many musical artists are seen as role models to younger people and their fan
base, as well as this they will have massive followings on social media sites. This
can mean that they can use these social media sites to spread their own
ideologies and in some cases encourage others to follow the same ideology.
This can also however be done by the industry through artists. This could involve
some artists talking about others to put the spotlight on them as well as sharing
thoughts that the industry has though the artist to help build their persona.

7. Character and Personality
Before becoming a ‘star’ artists are regular people and can be just average people
with everyday views and beliefs. However, once they are seen as stars they are
expected to change themselves to fit the idea of perfection, this can include plastic
surgery and completely changing their own style and fashion. This is highly seen
in models who are all expected to be thin to represent the industry's idea of
perfection. Through the years, rihanna has changed her character drastically and
has taken many different looks in an attempt to look better everytime.