Dyer's Star Theory

Dyer's Star Theory

Richard Dyer believed that stars within the spotlight are actually manufactured to boost their financial income. He believes that they are changed to be thought of as real people who experience things their target audience may, so that they are more relatable and therefore gain more fans and more money, he believes that they are not really how they are portrayed to be.

Linking this to an artist in the pop genre 'Justin Bieber' who has changed in the eye of the media and his fans through out the years. 

His theory can be split into four sections:

1. Star Image Construction
2. Audience and Institutions
3. Hegemony (Ideology and Culture)
4. Character and Personality

Star Image Construction

Using Dyer's star theory it is believed that the pop star Justin Bieber is not a real person he is constructed through different elements such as music, music videos, magazines, social network and his record label. His image is built for an audience. Justin Bieber is a famous Canadian pop star who also dances and acts. The image of Justin Bieber was popular for his hairstyle, where the hairstyle gets really popular that we see it as a trend. He also changed his style through various way and fans tend to copy his style.  Many guys copied Justin Bieber's style and haircut as they believed it was a trend and could also possible attract females as majority of Justin Bieber's fanbase is female.

His star image is also constructed negatively. Justin Bieber is often surrounded by controversy where his negative actions may be replicated by others. He is sometimes shown as a negative role model in the media.

Audience and Institutions

His first image and appearance instantly attracted many girls. His image was soon modified so that more girls will pay for his merchandise and his concerts. Over the years Justin Bieber has become a world wide sensation gaining him a global fan base known as 'beliebers' and over 40 million followers on twitter, the spread of 'beiber fever' has an impact on institutions because his image has been constructed successfully whether he is portrayed positively or negatively, his record company will make huge amount of money out of the amount of audiences and fans. 

To gain more attention from the media he shortened his hairstyle as the company would like to change his style for the audience purpose and he needed to maintain popularity by doing something unexpected. Soon his short hair had also become a trend.

Hegemony (Ideology and Culture)

Justin Bieber has used his social media sites to share his cultural values and attitudes to the audience such as showing his fans his new hairstyle and fashion style, or even to share his lifestyle. This establishes a connection between Justin and his fans creating a unique persona for himself and making him seem more relatable in the eyes of the media and his audience. Justin Bieber mainly used his social media to portray his positive image for example on he has posted images of him taking part in several charities and volunteering with different organisations.

Character and Personality

The character and personality of Justin Bieber has gradually changed over the years. He started out a young, humble teenage boy who had a passion for music and sang songs about girls. It has shown his typically teenage boy characteristics and attitudes this has attracted a large audience, mainly girls as the fan girls believe he is a nice character.

However, the behaviour and attitude of Justin Bieber has changed recently as he's portrayed negatively in the media. Has has been caught smoking weed and has recently been convicted with a DUI.