RICHARD DYER - STAR

THEORY

1979

A L I CE C

U L H A M

KEY IDEAS OF THE THEORYRichard Dyer’s star theory is the idea that celebrities are manufactured and constructed by institutions in order for financial gain and to target a specific group of people. 1. The star as a construction- Stars are constructed through music videos, magazines, merchandise etc., they are artificial images, they have a USP and they can be copied and/or parodied because of it. 2. Institutions and audience -Dyer says: “Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings.”- Stars are made to appeal to audiences, which will in turn generate revenue for record

companies. Record companies nurture and shape their stars, they manufacture what they think audiences want, hence the similar style of many boy bands.

3. Ideology and culture- Stars will represent certain social groups and shared cultural values and will therefore

promote specific ideologies. - Audience interest in these values enhances their 'star quality’ e.g. a star may initiate a fashion

trend, with fans copying their hairstyle and clothing.- It is through conveying beliefs, ideas and opinions outside of their music that performers help

create their star persona.

(CONTINUED)4. Character and personality- A star begins as a "real" human, but the star transformation process turns them into a

construct.- Stars provide audiences with a focus for ideas of 'what people are supposed to be like'

(e.g. for women, thin/beautiful) - they may support hegemony by conforming to it (thin/beautiful) or providing difference (fat/still lovable).

5. Star image motifs- A running theme for an artist. The aim is to help establish the artist as a brand. Star

image motifs could be recurring icons, images or fonts. 6. Paradox of the star - Dyer suggests that there are two paradoxes, he suggested that there are two contrary representations when it comes to the stars: “a star is both ordinary and extraordinary” (the star needs to be like us and yet posess something special) and “a star is both present and absent” (they exist as part of our lives in the fact that we discuss them socially, may adopt our style from them, construct our identity and they may dictate some of our consumer habits, but they are also absent: out of reach and not actually there)

THE STAR THEORY APPLIED TO TAYLOR SWIFT

I believe that Taylor Swift is a prime example of Dyer’s theory – through her ten years of being in the music industry her image has been constructed. She has also proven that she has a lasting significance, and has "brand awareness“ amongst a wider market over a period of time due to her genre of music changing.

Although Swift does not fit into my chosen hybrid genre of ‘indie rock/pop’ as she is primarily a pop artist, I still think that researching her career and image development will help my understanding of the music industry and research section of this coursework.

The images on the left show a teenage Swift in 2006, when she was a country star however as she has matured so has her music and gradually she altered her style to suit a more ‘pop princess’ genre.

EARLY STAGE IMAGE As I mentioned in the previous slide, when Taylor began her music career in 2006 she was

primarily a country pop artist, with trademark blonde curls and never without her guitar. She was portrayed as an innocent teenager singing about love and heartache. A lot of her early music videos featured a typical fairy-tale scenario which symbolises her adolescence as she is dreaming of her future prince as like many young girls do. For example ‘Love Story’ which was her first major video published in 2008, which secured over 300 million views featured a Romeo and Juliet storyline set in an elegant castle. The video starts off in her high school which would be relatable for her young target audience as they would most likely still be at school.

At the beginning of her career I would have said that her USP was her singing with her guitar because this emphasises her musical talent also the fact that she came across as an ordinary teenage girl just living her dream. However today I would say that she is recognised for her song writing especially when it is based around her ex boyfriends. For instance her song ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ is supposedly about her brief encounter with ladies man John Mayer, but this thread runs through all of her albums and songs, and has therefore, intentionally or not, created a very unique selling point.

STAR IMAGE DEVELOPMENT Previously Taylor was known for wearing pretty white dresses, looking very sweet and innocent.

However this image has steadily changed over time and she is now a style icon with her red lips, styled bob haircut and stylish fashion sense. As you can see in the collage of images below, she is often photographed wearing red lipstick and this visual motif is now associated with her, her makeup could increase her sex appeal which is common for the pop genre. Swift can be related to Dyers point about character and personality which states that “A star begins as a "real" human, but the star transformation process turns them into a construct”. Compared to 2006 Swifts style and appearance has changed and she conforms to be thin and beautiful. The majority of her music videos are narrative based and the storyline is often love and heartache, Swift is portrayed as the narrator of the story and/or the main protagonist. This helps to increase the repeatability of her videos as they are more engaging for fans and the plot could be relevant to current themes in their lives.

Taylor also has her own product line of perfume. Celebrities see perfume as a large source of revenue without a lot of responsibility. I believe that the success of a celebrity scent is based around the stars involvement, fan base, and lastly, whether the perfume actually has an appealing smell.

(CONTINUED)Swift also has her own online store dedicated to her merchandise http://www.taylorswiftstore.co.uk/, a range of products are sold from beach towels to phone cases and there is a section for each of her albums with goods significant to that specific album. Due to music now often being free through streaming sites such as Spotify and YouTube, the sales of CD’s have dropped and artists are required to use merchandise to push their brand identity.

By offering fans all of this merchandise it extends the stars brand image and supports Dyer’s theory that celebrities are manufactured by institutions for financial gain. According to him artists are made for money purposes only, and increasing their brand identity by selling merchandise will increase their record sales and popularity. The products have also been cleverly created to target her young female target audience e.g. a perfume for girls and selling handbags.

HOW ARE THEY SOLD? As you can see from the many images below, close up shots are frequent throughout Swift’s music videos from the

beginning of her career to the most recent video. Her image is almost always different in each of her music videos, this change is created through hair colour and style, clothing and props used. For example she has gone from videos of her singing with her guitar to performing choreographed dance routines. This follows Dyer’s theory that a pop star’s persona needs constant nurturing, and they need to adapt their persona to keep fans interested, this is applied to Swift as in each of her videos she is playing a different character (as her videos are typically narrative based).

By the use of these recurring close up shots, the viewers will familiarise her image with her songs which will consequently increase her brand identity as the products with her face on such as posters and calendars will sell.

Compared to her teenager image which had connotations of innocence due to her wearing pretty dresses, natural makeup and her curly blonde hair, Taylor is now constructed very differently due to her maturation. I think this is the most evident in her recent music video for ‘Bad Blood’, which has Taylor and many of her famous friends in tight, black lycra which would increase voyeurism and could give the video a wider market as it is likely to appeal to men due to her sexual attraction. This may have been too controversial for her image to be like this a few years ago but now that she is older, it can be seen as the natural development to keep fans engaged. Furthermore Swift is constructed through using a range of materials and methods such as magazine articles and being featured in films such as ‘Valentines day’, this supports Dyer’s theory that stars are constructed for financial gain.

HOW DO CAMERA AND EDITING REINFORCE THE IMAGE?

Focusing on Taylor Swift’s video for ‘Blank Space’ I think that the camera and editing have reinforced her image, once again we see the star with her timeless style consisting of her blonde hair and striking red lips. As with the majority of her videos the style is narrative and she is the main protagonist and narrator of the story, she is always involved which increases the repeatability of the video and star image of Swift. The star is dominant in screen time compared to her partner in the video Sean O’pry who is a popular American model and audiences may admire him. At the beginning of the video we think that the pair are the perfect couple until further on when Sean destroys this through giving the impression that he is cheating. This reinforces the stereotype or idea that men are always the ones that cheat, and therefore portrays Swift in a positive light by her being the heartbroken character which she plays in many of her videos, the audience will sympathise with her.

The camera has been used effectively to display Taylor as a powerful women for example in the middle image below the camera has been positioned at a low angle and the audience are looking up at her, which shows the dominance of the female. Also the fact that her arms are spread out besides her suggests that she owns the mansion and is therefore very wealthy. In terms of editing, there are simple transitions but it mainly consists of straight cuts, so that the audiences attention stays on her rather than the technical aspects of the video for example there is not any special effects.

WIDER CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE Dyer states that stars represent shared cultural values and attitudes, and will promote

a certain ideology. It is through conveying beliefs, ideas and opinions outside of their music that performers help create their star persona.

For example Swift is involved in many charities and has even set up her own education centre for teaching children about the history and culture of country music which Is very close to her heart. She has also recently donated $1 million to help four charities in flood-hit Louisiana. By giving her money to people In aid or who are less fortunate portrays her as a kind and loving person who is not money obsessed, this would make the star popular.

Her popularity is shown through her 20million YouTube subscribers, so she is therefore known worldwide for her music. This supports Dyer’s ‘Paradox of the star theory’ that states the star is both ‘present and absent’, for example Swift is regularly posting on her social media sites, this enables fans to connect with the star but she is also out of reach and not actually there.