Dyer Essay - To what extent does a pop stars image influence their audience.

Dyer’s star theory suggests that pop stars are created and manipulated by their managers and are a construction of what is believed to be a ‘pop star’. Pop stars are not ‘real’ people. They are based upon an idea that is generated by society and then they are moulded into this idea.

Managers make a pop star unique to appeal to their audience. Certain characteristics or personalities are connected with the pop star which then makes them an icon. There are many examples which support the unique style of a pop star, both past and modern. Madonna is a very well-known and popular artist. She was particularly prevalent during the late eighties and nineties. Through these eras her appearance changed many times and even now there is a definite difference in her appearance and personality.  Madonna is remembered for wearing a golden cone shape bra. People who support Madonna would have seen this item of clothing as iconic and may have even bought or made one for themselves.  When she was switching through phases, particularly for different songs, her audience may have copied her looks to feel more connected with her.

Without a unique aspect, Dyer said that the individual would not be a successful music artist. This is because they have nothing about themselves to stand out so a development of a connection between the audience and the artist becomes very difficult to construct. It is difficult to relate to a person who has no appeal and so their popularity will begin to decrease.

This demonstrates that having a unique image is important for being successful and that it has a major impact on the audience. If there is no appeal, the audience are not interested. This suggests that the audience want something to imitate or to work towards to become like a person and so an image of some kind is imperative.

Dyer identified the concept of fandom and the idea that people could be more than just a ‘fan’ of an artist or group. Fandom relates to obsession with artists whereby the love for the music and idolising the artist is developed to extremes. Fandom can be seen, in some ways, as stalking. It is a lengthened obsession where the fans want to be just like the artists. They attend every gig and wait for hours before and after shows to see them, even if the chances are slim. They adopt features of the artist which make them feel closer on a personal level. However, these features may not even be real; they may be purposely manipulated onto the artist as they know it will make an appeal to the audience.

This shows that the image of a pop star is incredibly influential upon the audience. If there is an aspect of an artist that is abstract or no one has seen it before, their audience is more likely to pick up on it and want to incorporate it into their own image.

Overall the image of a pop star is highly influential upon their audience. An image is needed for success as this attracts audience attention. Sometimes, attention can be negative however; attention is still being given which still therefore promotes the artist. An image is an icon and people look up to their icons. A unique image provides this iconic factor which helps the audience to relate and feel as a part of the group.