Star theory Richard Dyer

Stars as constructions

Richard Dyer claims that artificial images (advertising, films, magazines and music) construct the artists.

He believes that consumers prefer artists to reveal their genuine motions themselves and not be falsely created by the record labels to fit the general stereotypes of the music business.

A "real" artist will use their true image as their unique selling point.

Ed Sheeran

One good example of a genuine artist is Ed Sheeran, who writes his own music. He isn't the stereotypical good looking male singer and so it can be said that people like Ed Sheeran for his music alone. He doesn't seem to dwell on his appearance, and values his music as far more important than any other factor. He puts emotion into his songs and he is a very modest person which many of his fans would respect him for. He is seen as a genuine artist for he creates the music he wants to create, not just for money and fame.

                                              

Richard Dyer also believes that stars are manufactured to make money for their record labels by appealing to target audiences.

As a result of this record labels have to market different artists to appeal to certain target audiences as there are both ‘niche’ and ‘mainstream’ markets. 

Another of Dyers beliefs within his Star Theory is that artists become trendsetters, in which their fans will try and imitate their certain traits, such as hairstyles and clothing sense.

Jack Barakat, a band member from All Time Low, has a famous trait; his skunk hair. Many of the band's fans have dyed their hair to match his, therefore following his trend. 

 

Another band member, Ashton Irwin, from 5 Seconds Of Summer, will always be seen wearing a bandana, which has become a famous trait throughout the fandom. Most of the fans imitate the band's clothing and it has become a trend worldwide; plaid shirts have come back to fashion, which the band had a major part in.

Dyer also believed that the audience may pick up on cultural values and religious beliefs of artists, and claim to have the same views as them. Dan Reynolds from imagine Dragons, Brendon Urie from Panic! At The Disco, and Brandon Flowers from The Killers, are all mormon, and it could be said that a few of their fans claimed to be mormon when they found out about the member's religious beliefs.

Audiences have far greater access to the personal lives of stars, through means of the internet. Almost all artists have their own social media pages, such as Instagram, twitter etc. This presents the stars as real human beings, and the fans can see the true side to the stars. 

As well as having social media pages which helped fans keep in time with Fall Out Boy's movements, the band also created their own game in the design of the popular Flappy Bird.

Some stars support the hegemony/dominant ideology of their generation, and they attempt to get their fans to aim for the best. This presents the stars as just glorified versions of 'us,' who actually achieved the things that the audience wants to achieve. Antonio Gramsci is famous for his theory of cultural hegemony, which describes how states use cultural institutions to maintain power in capitalist societies.  This can be shown in Drake's video, Started From The Bottom. In this music video, he is supporting hegemony for he is reinforcing the american dream, and trying to motivate people to work hard and gain success.

            

Artists within obviously defined categories/music genres, such as rock and rap, are created and promoted by the music industry. These different genres often give out signs and symbols which send out specific messages, relating to race and gender identities. 

                           

This music video reinforces the existing stereotypes of gender and race identities, for Chris Brown sings about 'girls' who aren't trustworthy, and he uses offensive and stereotypical terms, relating to gender and race. This is promoting the use of stereotypes surrounding gender and race, and suggesting that it is okay to believe in them.

Another particular music video which reinforces the existing stereotypes of gender and race identities is Lil Wayne, for in his music video, he sings about 'grinding' against women, and throughout the music video, there is a constant image through the lyrics that girls are only good for sexual purposes. 

Deconstructing Britney Spears

There are many intriguing issues regarding female identity in pop music, and Britney Spears has raised many in her videos. When Britney first became famous, she was initially viewed as a role model for the teen girl market. She is seen to be placed securely within a male-dominated industry, which constructs limited stereotypes of femininity. Because of the lack of females in the male dominated industry, Britney became popular with the teen girl audience, and she became a role model for them. In Britney's early videos, she was surrounded by 'girlie iconography,' which creates the image of dolls, dressing up with friends, make-up and hanging out. 

Her famous trait was teen pigtails., which completes the image of girl iconography. 

Throughout her videos, she used choreographed dance routines, which, for her fans, create the desire to be part of 'her gang.'

"Baby One More Time" was one of Britney's biggest hits. She is surrounded by her girlie iconography and this video exploits her femininity in the male dominated industry. In this video, Britney is wearing some form of school uniform in a school setting, which would create a connection between Britney and her fan-base for her target audience was teenage girls. However, however, an underlying sexuality opposes the innocence of Britney's school girl character in this video for her top is tucked up which shows her stomach, and she wears a sports bra for her next costume. This video is exploitative for the male dominated industry is exploiting Britney's femininity and sexual appeal to gain media attention. 

Britney's songs and video narratives reflect the teen girl identity and the concerns which might surround her teen fan base. One example of this is "From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart." In this video,  Britney is singing about a break-up between her and her first love. The beginning of the video shows Britney packing her belongings, and she packs her doll which could suggest that she is not ready to give up her childhood and become an adult. These are growing concerns surrounding teenage girls, and Britney is showing that she is identifying with them and her fan base will be able to relate to her and feel connected to Britney. 

Another video which illustrates Britney's journey from childish innocence to realities of adult life is "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman." In this video from the film "Crossroads", Britney is constructed as a role model for it shows the tensions of growing up, in which her fans can relate to. This video is also contrasting in the messages of innocence versus sexuality. Whilst the lyrics show her innocence for she is growing into her adulthood, her costume hints at her sexual appeal for the audience, which could suggest that she is trying to mature.

Laura Mulvey's feminist theory relates to pop videos as well as Hollywood Cinema, and it is present in most of Britney's videos. The male gaze recurs throughout Britney's videos. The male gaze is when women are viewed as objects of the males sexual desire. Britney's videos show a patriarchal society for it is primarily men who control her image, and throughout her videos, the audience is forced to identify with the male gaze. One good example of the male gaze present in Britney's videos is "Piece Of Me," in which Britney is wearing very revealing clothes and some lyrics of the song is "They still gon' put pictures of my derrière in the magazine" and Britney actually puts that article of the magazine in the video, which submits to the male gaze. 

However, like most artists, Britney had enough of the media causing negative problems for Britney, and her video for "Overprotected" showed her feelings. Britney's performance is a result of watching a news report on her wearing few clothes, and it is explained through the music video's narrative. Britney is rebelling against the male dominated industry, and she is trying to make a point that she is not longer a little girl, and she shouldnt be controlled and told what to wear. Being half-naked in the video is an empowering act. Also, there is a more confident tone to the choreographed routine, which suggests that Britney feels comfortable doing what she wants and that she has had enough of being controlled. 

When it comes to gender arguments, Britney Spears' music videos are apolysemic texts (texts that has many different meanings.) Her career has evolved from Teen Princess, with images of innocence, girliness with a slight connotation of sexual appeal, to a half naked woman performing for a male audience and trying to break free of her hold in the male dominated industry. 


After maturing in the music industry and trying to prove that Britney has changed, her video "Hold it against me" shows that Britney is rejecting her constructed image. Throughout this video, Britney is shown to be in the Panopticon prison, which was an idea created by Jeremy Bantham, showing that Britney is trapped by her image. She is surrounded by screens which are playing her old music videos, which creates the image of feeling trapped, suggesting she is in the panopticon prison. In the video, Britney is facing the old version of herself, and trying to fight against her old image to overpower it and show everyone that she wants to get rid of her constructed image.