The Factory-Fluorescent Adolescent

Star Image and Richard Dyer’s theories

A star is an image, not a real person that is constructed for the artist by marketing and advertising. Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings. Stars depend upon a range of subsidiary media such as 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 make the artist attractive to the target audience. Richard Dyer states that fundamentally, the star image is incoherent, that is incomplete and ‘open’ this is because it is based upon two key paradoxes:

• The star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer

• The star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer

The target audience for our band is 16-25 year olds, specifically those that listen to the ‘indie/alternative genre.’ The common values of this genre (and how they conform to stereotypes) that ‘The Factory’ show are…

YouthfulnessVisually they are young, this is highlighted in the music video, and we see this by how they have just moved into their first bed sit together ultimately to work on becoming successful. The build up of mess also represents a youthful feel as teenagers a notorious for being messy. This theme is continued through the digipak as a tea stain is consitently used as well as the pile of shoes on the front cover. This therefore makes them ordinary and relatable to their target audience as they appear to be behaving as people of a similar age. This follows Richard Dyer’s theories.

Rebellion and Anti-Authoritarian Attitude

Teenaged rebellion is shown in the video by the build up of mess and clutter. This relatable for any young person who has a messy bedroom (a common stereotype of teenagers) making the band seem ordinary to their target audience. The aspects of alcohol in the video also further this idea but also through the video give the band a slight ‘rock star’ (sex, drugs, rock and roll) a similar image depicted by other bands within a similar genre such as The Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines. A beer bottle and can is depicted on the back cover of the digipak which furthers this star image and also provides another aspect of mess.

Sexual MagnetismDeliberately we chose members for the band that would seem attractive to a female audience, although they are not being sold as ‘sex symbols’ the fact that they are musicians and are attractive helps to target part of their audience and also gives them the absent and extraordinary feel. The girls present in the video also suggest that the band receive female attention, although they do not appear to thrive on this as they pay little attention to the girls ultimately making the band seem more ‘hard to get’ and absent for a female audience. An image of the band is used on the left panel of the digipak which has the effect of making the band not appearing vain as they are not on the cover but still as present as they are depicted within the digipak, the lead singer is attractive and he is the focal point of the left panel image provides a sexual magnetism aspect to the band’s star image.

OriginalityBy following the indie/alternative genre of the music, the band is dressed in a certain way and has a certain look to appeal to the target audience. Their clothes are similar to what the audience would wear as well as being influences to an audience ultimately presenting the band as ordinary. The ordinary image for the band is depicted through the promotion poster which depicts a mug of tea, something domestic and everyday that makes the band relatable to the audience. We wanted to promote the band as original and ‘all about the music’ rather than their specific image therefore the carefree attitude is emphasized in the video by for example, the lead singer lying on the floor, the mess etc. This is relatable for an audience and fundamentally attracts them. The bands musical influences are depicted within the video and on the left panel showing their interest in music and their originality.

Creativity/TalentThe performance element runs throughout the video highlighting that the band care mainly for their music marketing them as creative young individuals that are likely to have dropped out of school to focus on music. This makes them seem ordinary as well as extraordinary (at the end of the video when they are successful).