Dyer is a media theorise
- He is a writer who has written extensively about the role of stars in films, tv and music generally, any kind of star
- In order to get the relationship between music and the audiences, you need to understand the roles of the stars in media
What is a star?: 'Star refers to the semi-mythological set of meanings constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a large and loyal audience' (paraphrased quote)
In other words, stars are an image, stars themselves as
people don't exist, everything is a created image,
it's created by the industry (record labels, companies)
Irrespective of the medium, Dyer theorised that stars have some key features in common:
- A star is an image created out of a range of materials (artwork, videos, live performances, interviews, media appearances, etc.), all carefully orchestrated
- Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings
Therefore:
Stars depend on a range of subsidiary media, such as TV, radio,
presenter shows, magazines, interviews, to construct an image for them
to be marketed to their target audiences to keep up
their appearances (many people are involved in one person if they
are massively popular)
Common values of music stardom:
- Youthfulness
- Rebellion
- Sexual magnetism
- An anti-authoritarian attitude
- Originality
- Creativity/talent
- Aggression/anger
- A disregard for social values relating to drugs, sex and polite behaviour
- Conspicuous consumption of sex, drugs and material goods
- Difference/individualism/confidence
- Success against the odds
According to Richard Dyer, the "star image" is incoherent (incomplete) and' open", Dyer says this is based upon two key paradoxes
PARADOX 1 - Star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer (eg. wearing expensive, money clothes looking unearthly and god/goddess like vs. their usual day to day clothes/in their day to day life)
PARADOX 2 - The star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer (eg. being at stage door with their fans, signing things, fan meet and greets vs. not actually being friends with them, being far away from the person in concert, but still seeing them up close and feeling so close to them)
The STAR IMAGE
- Incoherence ensures audiences to continually watch more to 'complete' this image of them, so they feel they know more or to 'make sense of' the image
- Performance always seems to promise the completion of the image, but is unsatisfying, such as people meeting their heroes and not getting their full image
- Therefore fans will go out of their way to try and get that satisfaction by going to more meet and greets and seeing more concerts of theirs
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