Dyer has written extensively about the role of stars in film, TV and music.
irrespective of the medium, stars have some key features in common:
- 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. videos, art work, performances, media appearances
- stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of there meanings
stars and stardom
- in order to understand the relationship between the music industry and its audiences, it is important to consider the roles of music stars.
- the term '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.
- stars depend of a range of subsidiary media - magazines, TV, radio, the internet - in order to construct an image for themselves which can be marketed to their target audiences
- the star image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to the target audience depending on the artist
e.g. youth - one direction to rebellion - one direction, image changes with the audience
good common values of music stardom
youth, rebellion, sexual magnetism, 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, success against the odds
- fundamentally the star image is incoherent , that is incomplete and 'open', Dyer says that this is because it is based upon two key paradoxes.
paradox 1
- the star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraoreinary to the customer
paradox 2
- the star must be simultaneously present and absent for the customer
the star image
- the incoherence of the star image ensures that audiences continually strive to complete of to make sense of the image
- this is achieved by continued consumption of the star through his or her product
- in the music industry, performance seems to promise the completion of the image, but it is always ultimatly unsatisfying
- this means that fans will go away eager to keep consuming
Miley Cyrus
I have chosen to apply Richard dyers theory to Miley Cyrus as she is a prime example of how a young star transitions from her values of being a child star to being watched by an adult audience.
Hannah Montana and child stardom
Miley Cyrus debut her career on the Disney channel show Hannah Montana playing the character Miley Stewart who led a double life as a teenage girl and a pop star phenomenon. this show made Cyrus one of the most well known house hold names amongst young girls. she was seen as a role modal to them and had many synergies of products centred around her for young girls such as wigs, clothes and dolls targeted towards a young audience. Disney created this image to be applicable to young girls as they have them a pretty blonde girl who wore sparkly outfits and sang on a stage.
break up style
Miley Cyrus first started to emerge into her more adult image in 2007 after her break up with fellow Disney star Nick Jonas. she released the iconic teen breakup song titled 7 things. along with her song 15 year old Miley made one of her first major image changes. in her first rebellion to her image she went from her golden highlights to dying her hair black in an attempt to not look pretty anymore and to rebel against her former beauty image.
'cant be tamed' music video
a few months after her film the last song premiered Miley Cyrus released 'cant be tamed' an album which marked to her audience her transition away from her child stardom and wholesome child image to her adult self. the music video for one of her albums songs consisted Miley dressed up as a bird dancing in a cage whilst a mob of people surrounded and photographed her. this was to send a message to her fans and viewers that she was breaking our of the child image Disney created for her.
provocative performance at the 2013 VMAs
in what started a massive online controversy and confirmed to viewers that Miley Cyrus was no longer a child anymore she performed her infamous nude twerking performance on Robin Thicke at the 2013 MTV video music awards. her twerking performance stirred massive controversy online but she was becoming known as the singer who sung the song 'we can't stop' instead of the girl who was in Hannah Montana amongst viewers.
her twirling performance helped her grow her adult audience and made the audience see her potential amongst the greater public. a quote from Miley says...
"Not only was culture changed, but my life and career were changed forever," she told the outlet. "It inspired me to use my platform for something much bigger. If the world is going to focus on me and what I am doing, then what I am doing should be impactful and it should be great."
with the help of this song Miley Cyrus quite literally and metaphorically destroyed her child star image. her music video shows her swinging fully naked on a wrecking ball crashing through walls as a symbolism of her breaking through into her new identity and wrecking the child image that was created of her to apply to an older audience. the music video became one of the most iconic videos of all time and widely discussed amongst audiences about how great her physical and social image change has been in her transition from Disney to now.
looks as host of the 2015 VMAs
another widely spoke about moment was when the spotlight was shining on her risqué and provocative outfits during her host time at the 2015 VMAs. the singer debuted her new over the top provocative performance style by wearing blonde dreads and dressed in a silver harness that covered only the centre of her boobs with a skirt that dripped down like such of a chandelier.
in march 2016 now 23 year old miley Cyrus announced she was going to be one of the judges on the voice as a judge who aids and coached her group of selected singers into the final. her step into the voice on television showed her portraying more tame tidy looks with slick black dresses and long hair pushed back into a post tale. this marked an end to her rebellion era and showed audiences her growing into an adult image instead f a rebellious teen image.
younger now era
in 2017 miley Cyrus released her album titles younger now which saw the star going down a different path for herself and embracing her Nashville roots.
the star gave the quote...
'Malibu' and 'younger now' are obviously two very different visuals in a way, but what binds them together is that they are both me. Now, I think I have more of an open mind."
"dead petz isn't a record for everyone"
her grammy award performance showed audiences her shift to Hollywood glamour when she performed in a duet with Elton John performing his song tiny dancer. the fact miley was performing with a well respected artist and one of his most famous sounds reinforced to audiences how the star had grown up and was stepping into her glam era.
Miley at the met gala
miley at the met gala was the final moment where audience saw past her Disney days and saw her as the glamorous world wide star she was who had grown through the years being seen by different audiences from child star to rebel to high end a list star. she showed off her new sophisticated style at the 2018 met gala and was praised by viewers for her beauty but mostly for the change she depicted of her self which audiences fed into as they saw her go from being perceived in a negative light to a positive light.
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