Theory of Stardom

 

Theory of Stardom : Richard Dyer

In this blogpost, it will present a brief summary of what we learn on Stardom Theory as well as our works as a group of investigating this theory on real life stars.

Most of this was done by Haresha

STARDOM THEORY

Richard Dyer’s Stardom Theory suggested that celebrities are developed and presented by the media industry to the public eye or the audience as an idol (their "ideal" type of person they dreamed of), which often represent a specific persona that are engaging and appealing to the targeted demographic. The purpose of doing this is to sell media company's products and/or just generating popularity in general.

Persona can be divided into two types:

1. REAL persona
   A curated version of themselves, designed to fit the expectations of an audience; to REEL or to attract the audience.
   Eg. Performances, Music videos, social media
2. REAL persona
   The authentic personality of the star— it means how they really behave (they're real personality as an individual) in their personal life, behind the stages, and away from camera
   Eg. Interviews, documentaries, behind-the-scenes footage
   
   

Why are celebrities appealing? 

1. Love: We are fascinated with the love lives of the stars, can also feel a romantic affiliation with them
   
2. Ordinariness: We like to see them doing routine things, living normal lives just like our own
   
3. Success: We like the idea of overnight success, and failure before success. This appeals to our
   sense of fair play. (Why we like reality TV so much)
4. Consumption: We are fascinated by the huge material wealth brought by media success. Not just
   luxury homes and cars, but also strict dietary regimes set by expensive nutritionists, holidays etc.
5. Dream turned sour (downfall): fascination with the exploitation of their misery
   

Here is my group's notes and a star we investigate for the stardom theory case studies

Self Reflection

I think that the theory of stardom can be useful since our project involves creating a star for our Final Promotional Package. This will also be useful on referencing a theorist and theory for my Critical Self Reflection. I find this theory to be pretty relevant in todays era since most of people persona are displayed through their social media platforms. With this theory, we can think twice on our opinion on celebrities, since they could have a hidden agenda in their private life.