In class today, we studied the theory of stardom by Richard Dyer. Here is my summarised understanding of the theory.
Dyer says that celebrities are constructed by companies to target a demographic. By representing themselves as 'real people' , they are able to attract audience and sell products such as films or music.
REEL persona : curated version of a star, designed to fit expectations of audiences (shown through performances, music video, social media)
REAL persona : authentic personality of the individual (shown through interviews, documentaries, behind-the-scenes footage)
Celebrities are appealing to audience for 5 reasons:
- Love : fascination with the love lives of stars, or because we feel romantic affiliation with them
- Ordinariness : fascination with them doing routine things, living normal lives
- Success : fascination with the idea of overnight success, failure before success that appeals to our sense of fair play
- Consumption : fascination with huge material wealth brought by media success
- Downfall : fascination with the exploitation of their misery
Here are my classroom notes about a celebrity me and my team had chosen (Beabadoobee) to analyse their reel and real personalities according to the theory.