Star Theory - Richard Dyer

Star Theory And Pop Videos

There are 3 ways in which music videos work to promote a song;

• Illustrate - the music video matches the lyrics to the song
• Disjunctive - the lyrics/meaning of the song is ignored
• Amplify - the video portrays the artists narrative but there is no clear distinction between the video and the lyrics. Layers of meaning are added.

Richard Dyer believes artists are constructed through artificial images e.g through advertising, films, magazines and music videos. He also suggests that icons and celebrities are manufactured by institutions for financial gain, they do this by appealing to the celebrities/icons target audience. Record labels have to market different artists to cater for certain target audiences. Dyer claims that certain artists can also act as trendsetters, the wider audience and their fans will follow their clothing and hairstyle.

Britney Spears

One example of a pop star who has been constructed is Britney Spears. She was originally viewed and constructed as a role model to teen girls, as she appeared on the disney show 'mickey mouse club' along with another well known singer, Justin Timberlake.

However as she begun her singing career, her innocent image was changed into a more sexualised one. An example of this is in her music video for the song 'womanizer'. 

This video could be related to Laura Mulveys male gaze theory. This is the theory that women are viewed as objects of male erotic desire in media. This is shown through various camera angles, and reflects patriarchal (male dominated) society. An example of this in 'womenizer' could be shown within the first 16 seconds. The camera angle and mise en scene of Britney Spears do little to move the plot forward.