Richard Dyer is a British media theorist who has come up with a theory called the 'Star Theory' which discusses how stars have a special place in the audiences lives. His theory is split up into 3 different areas including; audience and institution, constitutions and hegemony.
He argued that the star image is manufactured; meaning that it is produced or invented, and that individual stars have their own USP in order to be able to grab their audience's attention. e.g KPOP stars with their unique hairstyles and music videos. the highly seen expectation are the following examples such as boy band being good looking and confident whereas girl group's expectations are bubbly, cute, stylish and so on.
Stars as Constructions
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| KPOP |
Stars as Personalities
A star is built with the help of someone's signature to them in order to differentiate them from other stars. An example of this is Lady Gaga's outrageous fashion when she wore an outfit that was made out of meat and wearing ridiculously long high heels. A persona is created for the audience to identify with and so that the audience can differentiate different stars and decide whether they like them or not. Stars also construct "characters" to create an identity to appeal to their audience. Some of the characters may become icons and it enables the star to be known.
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| Sia |
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| Taylor Swift |
For example, most of the audience will recognize the singer Taylor Swift as she is known for writing songs about her ex boyfriends which is very iconic. Therefore, many of the talk shows and hosts would refer back to Taylor Swift as the "song writer for ex's". Another example of this is the singer Sia; she is often known for her outstanding wigs that disguises her face in public as well as while she is being broadcasted. The reason why she has kept it this way is because she is trying to have some control over her image. She also mentions, according to Nightline, that she does not want to be recognizable. Sia does not want to be criticized about the way she looks on the internet. he also jokingly mentions that the reason why she has the wigs on is that she could go to her local Target to purchase things without having any paparazzi to take photos of her. "I was at Target the other day buying a hose and nobody recognized me and my song was on the radio. And I thought 'okay this experiment is working.'." quoted by Sia.
Stars as Ideologies and Embodiment's of Cultures
Stars represents cultural values and attitudes which promotes a certain idea to the audience. It is the idea where the audience would want to relate to the stars because they have a feature that they can share or admire. Some fans may attempt to replicate the star in their behavior, with what they wear or what they do. Audience interest in these values which enhances their star quality and it is through conveying belief ideas; stars initiate or benefit from cultural discourse (e.g. their Twitter feed), and create an ongoing critical commentary. Now more than ever before, social networks give pop stars the opportunity to establish their own values outside their music.
Often, stars also provide us with a focal point for our own cultural thinking - particularly to do with Youth and Sexuality. Ideology tends to have a positive side and its negative side; an example of this is the rapper Wiz Khalifa is very open about Marijuana despite the fact that he has been arrested on drug charges. He says that he is Marijuana should be legalized and the world will be at a better place. Lil Wayne is also open about his love for pot; he openly smokes weed in concerts and in public events. He recently discovered that his Miami home was not selling because the buyers were put off with the smell of weed. Rapper Snoop Dogg has been rapping for several years about weed and he has never hid his feelings for the herb even through tough times. This clearly shows us that it could be a huge impact on the audience's perspective on weed and marijuana; younger audiences may most likely be influenced by this so therefore, ideology may need to be in control as it affects audiences especially when they are shown the negative side of the idols.
However, there is a positive side ideology according to Dyer's theory. An example of this is when Lady Gaga frequently tweets about LGBT issues, and she expects her Little Monsters to engage with that discourse just as much as she expects them to listen to her music. This allows her fans to be able to share awareness about the LGBT in a positive way as possible. A star begins as a "real" human, possessing gender and race characteristics, and existing against a socio-historic background.
Stars provide the audiences with a focus for ideas of "what we are supposed to look like" (e.g. for women we tend to look beautiful and skinny) - they may support hegemony by conforming to it or providing difference. In the KPOP industry, one in South Korean idols had some form of plastic surgery. A very common cosmetic procedure that is colloquially known as the "V line" surgery. This involves breaking and shaving the jawline to create a V shaped face. This surgery is common amongst young Korean pop stars who have their face re shaped to give them elfin, anime like appearance. KPOP culture and its look have spread across East Asia and into the Asian community in the US. This popularity and the value placed on the surgery behind the stars has meant that South Korea is now synonymous with medical tourism and has established itself as an epicenter for all sorts of cosmetic surgery. KPOP girl groups, often members, have had plastic surgery.
This shows a huge influence on the audience who look up to the girl group. The audience feel the need to do plastic surgery to feel pretty like their idol. This could be a negative impact on the audience as it lowers their esteem and the way the media portrays women idols nowadays are unrealistic. A big industry ensures they stay that way. Everything, from their vocals to their face shape, is manufactured by their management companies. Cosmetic surgery is a large part of creating the KPOP image. Many of the KPOP idols even act as spokespeople for surgical companies.
