Star Image

The theory of ‘Star Image’ was created by Ricard Dyer. In this theory he proposes that celebrities and icons are constructed out of a range of materials by institutions for financial gain. Dyer has split his theory up into different sub-sections, these are; Constructions, Hegemony (Cultural Beliefs) as well as  Audience and Institution.

Constructions: 
Dyer believes that celebrities are built for an audience instead of being a real person; for example, stars are sometimes built to be different to create originality and likeablility. This construction is then emphasised through magazines, music videos and advertisements. Record companies are usually responsible for the construction of a “star”.
Audience and Institution: 
Dyer believes that celebrities are built only to make money. Therefore every “star” is constructed to met the interest a specific target audience to generate revenue for record companies. The “stars’ are constructed to be what the record companies believe audiences want.
Hegemony (Cultural Beliefs): 
Dyer believes that celebrities are constructed to have certain beliefs, values and attitudes. Therefore audiences relate to them because they have features/ideas that they share or admire. This results in audiences seeing “stars” as role models and aspiring to be them.

There are many examples of bands/artists for all genres of music which posses a star image, some of them are; The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Rhianna, Lana Del Rey and One Direction.

The Red Hot Chilli Peppers: 

The Red Hot Chilli Peppers are an alternative band from Los Angeles who formed in 1983. The band has an easily recognisable logo which is a star. This logo appears through out all of their work; on album covers, merchandise as well as in their music video for their song ‘Californication’ . This helps to successfully sell the band because the audience will become familiar with the logo which will help the record company to make money. 

The Red Hot Chilli Peppers are portrayed to have a ‘don’t care’ attitude which denotes the idea that they are cool. This attitude will attract a specific type of audience, if the band lost this attitude it is likely that they will suffer a lack of sales. 

This research on star image suggests that artists/bands must posses a star image in order for them to be successful and popular within the current culture. Therefore I am going to create a star image for the individual on the main image that appears on the magazine front cover, contents page and double page in order for my magazine to sell successfully.