Research and analysis of a star- Dyers theory

The term 'star', according to Dyer, refers to the mythological set of meanings constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a larger and loyal audience.


Some of the common values of stardom are;

• Youthfulness 
• Rebellion 
• Sexual magnetism 
• Originality 
• Creative/talent 
• Aggression 
• Success against the odds
• Disregard for social values such as drugs and sex
• Conspicuous consumption of sex, drugs and material goods

Stars have some features in common.

1. Stars are commodities, not a person. They are constructed out of a range of materials e.g. Advertisements, magazines and films. 
2. These stars/commodities are produced and consumed on the strength of their success as an artist.

Stars depend on a large range of subsidiary media such as magazines, TV, radio and internet to fabricate an image for themselves which can be marketed to audiences. A stars image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to a range of target audiences.

Fundamentally a stars image is incoherent and open. This is based on two key paradoxes;

1. Star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer.

2. Star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer.

Rihanna kick started her successful career 'Music of the sun' which was her debut album. The album consisted of songs such as 'Pon De Replay' reaching number 2 in the UK charts and USA, she also reached number 1 in 3 countries. Her style was largely R&B based, reinforcing her image of an RnB artist and the type of album that she is fabricating. She maintains a natural look with natural and subtle hair accompained with subtle make uo that makes her look ordinary, creating a connection with the audience  in order to market her image to a large audience as she becomes more relatable. Her clothing replicates Goodwins theory of frequent reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. She wears revealing clothing, exposing large segments of her body. This would appeal to her chosen target audience of 16-25 year olds that listen to the R&B genre. 'A music video should demonstrate genre characteristics' is achieved through the mis-en-scene, the location of the video is a club, promoting the concept of 'youthfulness'. This is reinforced as she dances around the club with her friends, conforming to the conventions of the RnB genre. It also portrays her as an artist and conveys her personality as she is enjoying herself and portrays her personality in a good light.

She then fabricated a new album in 2007 when she released 'Good Girl Gone Bad'. The album received positive reviews from critics, who praised its composition and Rihanna's new musical direction; however, the album was criticized in terms of the lyrics and inconsistency of the record. It earned Rihanna seven Grammy Award nominations which included dance tracks such as 'Shut Up and Drive'. Her image evolved in this period of time as she reinvented herself as being a bit more edgy changing her hair, to a short, Gothic style as she dyed it black. 

'Rated R' followed this album and the Rolling Stones went on to say "Rihanna has transformed her sound and made one of the best pop records of the year". The album contained R&B and pop-orientated with Hip Hop and Rock influences. The single 'Rude Boy' was one of the most successful of the album and achieved a number 1 spot. Her image again altered at this point, going for a 'rock chick' look.  She tended to wear heavy makeup (mainly consisting of black) as well as dyeing her hair blonde and shaving it on one side.

Dyer Once Stated

“In these terms it can be argued that stars are representations of persons which reinforce, legitimate or occasionally alter the prevalent preconceptions of what it is to be a human being in this society. There is a good deal at stake in such conceptions. On the one hand, our society stresses what makes them like others in the social group/class/gender to which they belong. This individualising stress involves a separation of the person's "self" from his/her social "roles", and hence poses the individual against society. On the other hand society suggests that certain norms of behaviour are appropriate to given groups of people, which many people in such groups would now wish to contest (eg the struggles over representation of blacks, women and gays in recent years).

Stars are one of the ways in which conceptions of such persons are promulgated.”

Richard Dyer (Stars, BFI, 1981)

He believed that stars have some key features in common:

1. 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 advertising, magazines etc as well as films [music])
2. Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings.
3. The star image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to the target audiences
4. Stars depend upon a range of subsidiary media - magazines, TV, radio, the internet - in which can be marketed to their target audiences.

In the duration of her album 'Rated R' she was labelled as being edgy with a Rock influence. It was believed that Rihanna had transformed into raunchy and that the 'R' stood for 'restricted'. However this was false and actually stood for 'Rihanna'. This therefore made the album more personal as she could connect with the audience on a more accessible level.