Richard dyer - Star Image

 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