Dyers star theory research

The concept of a star is an image. The star persona is constructed in line with the ideologies of the institution and is intended to appeal to the audience. This image often has little relation to the reality of the star. Richard Dyer has identified key codes and conventions of the star persona:

• A star is a constructed image, constructed across a range of media and mediums.
• Stars are commodities produced by institutions.
• Stars represent particular ideologies for us and are available for us to explore these ideologies- for example, through articles in newspapers or latest gossip.
• Stardom, and star worship in general is a cultural value in itself, often related to both materialism and ideologies of beauty and sexuality,
• Stars support hegemony by conforming to it (thin/beautiful) or providing difference (fat/still lovable). Much of the discussion of stars in celebrity magazines is about how stars compare to the hegemonic ideal, and how we compare to the stars.
• Film stars are represented primarily through their roles- constructed by screenwriters. The screenwriters create the personality and characteristics for them, and their overall image is constructed from many fragmented parts, which may or may not contradict each other.
• Stars are generally inspirational for an audience- hence why their hairstyles or clothes can be so successful. We feel that if we buy into their culture materially we will somehow also be perceived in the same way.

I thought that this theory was appropriate to look to develop our product for how the star (the artist) is constructed to appeal to the audience.