Star Image

Yousef El-Badri

Summary of Richard Dyer’s theory

• Constructed, artificial images - advertising, magazines, films and music. Good if they have a Unique Selling Point which makes them different.

• Record companies groom starts (artificial constructions) - we have more respect for them if they groom themselves.

• We want to believe that stars convey their real emotions to us.• Stars - manufactured to make money from audience for record labels.• Forms of media dedicated to celebrity gossip where fans can catch up with the lives

of favourite stars.• Stars are representations of the contradictions/reinforced ideas of the music

industry.• Pop stars can be seen as actors - images are constantly changed to match ideologies

of the time - getting publicity (whether negative or positive) enables them to remain in the spotlight

Miley Cyrus

• A prime example of the Star Image theory is Miley Cyrus.

2007 2014

Stars as Constructions• Richard Dyer believes that ‘Pop stars’ are constructed, artificial images -

advertising, magazines, films and music. Good if they have a Unique Selling Point which makes them different. So they are seen more as an image rather than a person.

• Miley Cyrus portrays a sex appeal to her audiences which may draw jealous females too her and it will inevitably draw males to her bringing her into the limelight more. However, this backs up Dyer’s theory because she will be seen as more of an object rather than a human being.

• This image was represented of her at the VMA’s in September 2013 when she was ‘Twerking’ on stage with Robin Thicke. This act from Miley gave her more of a Unique Selling Point so in a way it made her more of a ‘pop star’

Industry and Audiences• It could be argued that Hollywood Records changed Miley’s appearance to fit her

audience. Miley first signed with Hollywood Records in 2007 when the second season of Hannah Montana was released, this was also a big time for Miley because her song ‘The Best Of Both Worlds’ was released as well. So it could be argued that Hollywood Records had an influence on the way Miley dressed and looked because as she was increasingly becoming a star the Industries wanted to use her USP for their own gain, so you could say that Hollywood Records influence on her gave us the impression of a young, sweet and innocent Miley Cyrus.

• When Miley signed for RCA records in January 2013 it could be argued that this had the biggest influence on her appearance, later on in the year she released her single ‘Wrecking Ball’, in this video she is shown to be a more wild with her new hair style and revealing dress choice. It could be argued that RCA records changed her appearance to make her seem more adult like but still a party animal at the same time. This was a drastic change from her sweet innocent look under Hollywood Records.

Ideology, Culture and Personality

• Miley Cyrus constantly tweets about her adopting dogs, she encourages her followers to follow in her footsteps and save homeless dogs and give them homes. She is a big advocate for homeless dogs and promotes adoption by plastering twitter with pictures of herself and her adopted pets; this is creating a star persona for Miley.

• Miley is also an avid Gay Rights activist, she often takes to Twitter to tweet about Gay Rights, she also has a Gay Rights tattoo which she defends.

• Miley has been shaped and developed her image throughout her life and every change is due to the fact that times are changing and she needs to fit in with what the audience expects and what they want to see. Her personality has changed from being a sweet, innocent Miley who led a double life as Hannah Montana, to being this sex symbol and a teenage rebellion then ending up becoming a punk idol who creates trends and keeps up with the latest fashion. Although she has changed her appearance and her personality, she has always been the stereotypically pop star which is thin and beautiful, this has allowed her to keep audiences interested in her.