Blog 8: Star Theory Richard Dyer

Richard Dyer says that artists are made through artificial images such as advertising, films, magazines and music. Claiming that consumers prefer artists to portray their true emotions and not be be made into an fake image by their record labels. Record labels have to market their artists into the different target audiences that suits them all individually.


Dyers main theory is that artist are trendsetters, who get their audience to copy their images. From their hair style to the way they dress. Cultural and religious beliefs can also gain the artist more audiences, if they are shared.  Personal lives of the artist, which has been made easier to access by the media, shows them as real people which makes them easier to be related to their audiences. 

Kanye West is an example of this, as back in 2008 he brought shutter shades into trend, which everyone knew him for. These shades were the highlight of his Glow in the Dark tour. Everyone was wearing these shades in different colours. Although Kanye West got his influence from Sho'Nuff, Kanye was the one who made it mainstream at least for 6 months straight.

Stars then support hegemony and the dominant ideology of society. Gramsci who is known for his cultural hegemony theory, says how the different states use their mainstream cultural institutions to control their power in a capitalist society. 

The music industry makes and promotes different artists in different genres to act according to the genre stereotype, this could also relate to their gender and race. 



The female identity issues are raised when it comes to Britney Spears, in pop music. As she was viewed a a role model for teenage girls. Britney's identity as a female was automatically placed in the male dominated industry, which showed her as a stereotype of femininity. 'Girle iconography' surrounded Britney when she was first known in the pop industry. With stereotypical female things such as make-up, dolls and hanging out, the teenage pigtails added to the innocent school girl image. her choreographed dance routines made you want to be a part of her gang.

However it can be argued that the innocence being shown is being manipulated into sexuality. Meaning she is being actually being exploited, and it isn’t empowering but degrading. 

Laura Mulvey's theory on the male gaze criticises that women are sexualised by males through the male gaze. Men are active while females are oppressed and seen as passive. The audience are forced to identify with the male gaze, which leads on to the triple gaze. 

Britney Spears overprotected, represents how she feels with the music industry. She feels overprotected in the sense that she doesn't have the freedom to do what she wants. As in what actually happens in her music career. This song was made in way to express that she is grown now and not naive anymore. She is aware of things, although still blames the music industry for the reason that she has been sheltered, it can be seen as empowering. From a gender perspective, Britney’s identity has been placed within a male-dominated industry that manufactures limited stereotypes of femininity. 

Constructed as role model in “I’m not a girl, not yet a woman”from film “Crossroads”. Rites of passage story explores tensions of growing up and passage journey from childish innocence to realities of adult life. This again shows how much she has grown up from the innocent girl the audience knew her as, to the almost woman she has become. 

This song is an example of innocence versus sexuality. The messages in this video isn't confused, as it states that again Britney isn't a young innocent girl any more. As she is doing what she wants, which is breaking a guys heart and shes having fun with it. She is warning everyone, especially men to be careful around her and not to be deceived by her past.  This is all shown through her lyrics that state 'i'm not that innocent'.  She is both being exploited and exploiting, as through her lyrics you can see that she uses her girlie cuteness to trap and hurt her lovers, she is exploiting her power over men in a bad way although it does benefit her and her sexuality. Although she is being exploited, again, through the use of the male gaze. As she is using her sexuality and body to grab the males attention. To spread her message across. When it comes to gender debates, Britney Spears’s Music Videos are a polysemic text that can be read in a number of different ways with multiple meanings. Her career has evolved from ‘Teen Princess’ with connotations of innocence and girliness to a half-naked woman who performs for a patriarchal male audience. Both identities are stereotypical visions of femininity as presented in a range of media texts.