Star Theory

Dyer believes artists are constructed through artificial images such as advertising, films, magazines and music. He claims that consumers prefer artists to convey their true emotions themselves and not be groomed by record labels who try to create a fake image for them. A “real” artist can use this as their unique selling point. An example is Ed Sheeran his selling point is the emotion in his music and his talent , he creates music he wants to create not music he thinks will sell , he shuns trendy styles and events and opts for a normal image and staying at home. This makes him  very endearing.



 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 cater for certain target audiences as there are both ‘niche’ and ‘mainstream’ markets.

 Ideology And Culture

Another one of Dyers beliefs within his Star Theory is that artists become trendsetter in the sense that audience members will imitate hairstyles and artists clothing styles. Artists may have certain religious beliefs and cultural values that audiences may also pick up on if shared by the artist. The internet has meant audiences now have far greater access to the “personal” lives of stars. For example Arianna Grande has now announced on social media that she is a vegan and is against animal cruelty and manly of her fans are now adopting a vegan life style. 

 Stars support Hegemony 

Stars support hegemony  , this is by playing up to their stereotypes and reinforcing dominant ideology of their time. . Gramsci is best known for his theory of cultural hegemony, which describes how states use cultural institutions to maintain power in capitalist societies.

An example of this is Drakes song 'started from the bottom' it starts with him driving through upper class neighbour hood  in a nice car wearing all white. This is him at the top the best version of himself. The video keeps changing between him at a working at a store an obvious minimum wage job to him surrounded by people at party's and walking along his car.  This is supporting ideas of the american dream of earning money and living comfortably.  

Deconstruction of  Britney Spears

Britney raises interesting issues regarding female identity in pop music. Initially viewed as a role model for the teen girl market. From a gender perspective, Britney’s identity is placed securely within a male-dominated industry that manufactures limited stereotypes of femininity. 

In her early videos Britney was surrounded by ‘girlie iconography’ – bedroom culture, dolls, dressing up with friends, hanging out, applying make-up. Teen pigtails complete the image! Choreographed dance routines create the desire to be part of ‘her gang’.

In her early videos Britney was surrounded by ‘girlie iconography’ – bedroom culture, dolls, dressing up with friends, hanging out, applying make-up. Teen pigtails complete the image! Choreographed dance routines create the desire to be part of ‘her gang’.

However later in her career , in opposition to this innocence is an underlying sexuality. In her song I'm a slave 4 u we can apply Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze.  Throughout the video she is an object of erotic desire. She dances while the males in the room observe her. Even the title of the       song suggests objectification. Because the music industry is male dominated they control her image and therefore turn her into an erotic object in order to boost her popularity. 

In between the time before her video 'I'm a slave 4 u' and 'Sometimes' Britney Spears went through a change. This began with her song 'baby one more time'. This video appears to be innocent but it has very suggestive lyrics , the high school setting makes it even more perverse.

When it comes to gender debates, Britney Spears’s Music Videos are a polysemic text (a text that has multiple meanings). N.B. Her career has evolved from ‘Teen Princess’ with connotations of innocence and girliness to a half naked woman who performs for a male audience in FHM and Loaded.  Both identities are stereotypical visions of femininity as presented in a range of media texts. 

Britney Spears went through a breakdown and since then she made her return with a song 'hold it against me' in which she rejects her constructed image. The video starts with her falling into what appears to be a set with a lot of people taking pictures this shows how fake and constructed the image from the media is. She has restrains on her hands that are wires linked the the images of her old videos on the screens which is her saying how she was bound by her image.  She wears a white dress which could symbolise her innocent image. After she starts to squirt paint onto her images on the screens suggesting  she is attacking her old image. She also fights herself in her video suggesting she is fighting between the real her and the image of her constructed by the media. At the end she breaks free and seems very empowered.