Representation of...
 Stars 
Stars & Stardom
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‘Sometimes I just wish I could put
records out anonymously’ – Lou Reed
Think about Stardom
Meta-Narrative
Super Star
Commodity
Myth
Star
Qualities
Create a Pop Star’s Life Story
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Where were they born
What sort of life did they
have before stardom
What sort of life have they
had since stardom?
How were they
discovered?
How is their life event
reflected in their music?
How are their personal
values and beliefs
expressed in their music?
Synergise the Star
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How can you use the
star image in other
media products?
How can you use the
music in other media
products
What benefit may be
gained by exploiting
the star in this way?
The Myth of Stardom
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In our society what
do we believe about:
•
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Who can become a
star?
How do they get
discovered?
What sort of life to
they lead?
Qualities of Stardom
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What sort of people
are stars?
What attitudes and
beliefs do they hold?
What do they do?
How are they
allowed to behave?
Retaining Stardom
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Why do some stars
seem to go on and
on and on….
Why do some stars
seem to be around
for the briefest time?
What does a star
have to do to stay
around?
How do media texts contribute to the representation of a...
...STAR IMAGE?
Task - Using a range of
materials...
..describe the star image
 Your evidence comes from:
• The style / design of promotional materials
Album Art
Video
Website(s)
Task - Using a range of
materials...
..describe the representation of the star
image
 Your evidence comes from:
• The style / design of promotional materials
• The content of those material
• Material in other media texts about the star(s)
(Metanarrative)
Stars & Stardom
Some Star Theory 
Richard Dyer
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Dyer has written extensively about the role of
stars in film, TV and music.
Irrespective of the medium, stars have some
key features in common:
• A star is an image, not a real person, that is
constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out
of a range of materials (eg advertising,
magazines etc as well as films [music])
• Stars are commodities produced and consumed
on the strength of their meanings.
Richard Dyer
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Stars depend upon a range of subsidiary
media (magazines, TV, radio, the web) in order to
construct an image which can be marketed to
their target audiences.
The star image as commodity is valuable and
can be positively attached to other products
Music can be consumed in many different
ways and appear in a variety of different media
Richard Dyer - Meta-narrative
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Stardom is a meta-narrative and can be
described as ‘mythical’
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Meta-narratives are something we will be studying in
G325 Postmodernism and is something you need to
learn.
Stars & Stardom
Some Superstar Theory…
Richard Dyer
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Fundamentally, the star image is
incoherent, that is at once ‘incomplete’
and ‘open’. Dyer says that this is
because it is based upon two key
paradoxes.
Paradox 1
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The star must be simultaneously
ordinary and extraordinary for the
consumer
Paradox 2
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The star must be simultaneously
present and absent for the consumer
Fulfilling the promise of
stardom…
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The incoherence of the star image ensures that
audiences continually strive to ‘complete’ or to ‘make
sense of’ of the image
Completion is thought to be achieved by continued
consumption of the star through his or her products
In the music industry, performance seems to promise
the completion of the image, but it is always
ultimately unsatisfying
This means that fans will go away determined to
continue consuming the star in order to carry on
attempting to complete their image
Hegemony
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Finally, it can be argued that the star image
can be used to position the consumer in
relation to dominant social values, this is
called ‘hegemony’
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Depending upon the artist, this may mean that the
audience are positioned against the mainstream
(though only to a limited degree, since we are still
consumers within a capitalist system) or within the
mainstream, or somewhere in between.