Star Theory- Richard Dyer

Star Theory- Richard Dyer

About Richard Dyer:

Born in Leeds in 1954. He's and English academic who holds a professorship in the department of Film Studies. Since 2006 he has been a professor of Film studies at Kin's College London.

Dyer's first full-length book was Stars (1979). Within the book he developed his ideas about viewers perception of a film being influenced by the stars that are within the film.
"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 (e.g. advertising, magazines etc. as well as films [music])- Dyer 1979


The theory that celebrities are constructed by institutions for financial reasons. They are built to target a specific audience or group of people. 

The theory can be broken down into 3 sections:

• Audience and Institution
• Constructions
• Hegemony

Audience and Institution

Stars only purpose is to make money. The institution modifies the artist round the target audience so that they appeal. E.g Rihanna


Construction
The stars built for an audience and isn't actually a person. The often have something signature that makes them different from other stars and helps them to stand out. E.g Lady Gaga's outrageous fashion and Katy Perry's Bright coloured hair.

Hegemony
The audience relates to the stars as they have features  that the audience admires. We can relate to that or we share that feature with them. some people may replicate what hey like about the star to be more like them. this might not always be a positive thing e.g. some abuse hard drugs and alcohol as they have seen their favourite stars doing so.
Dyer says that 'stars' are "constructed out of a range of materials", even though they are represented as being real people. Pop stars have the advantage over film stars in that their constructed image us much more consistent over a period of time, in comparison to film stars who are dependent on films they choose to star in.
 Stars can represent shared cultural values and attitudes, and promote ideology. Audiences interest in their values helps to enhance their 'star quality'. The performer creates their star persona outside of music through their beliefs, ideas and opinions.