Research and analysis of a star - Dyers theory

Rihanna began her career with her first album 'Music of the sun' containing songs such as 'Pon De Replay' that reached number 2 in the UK and USA as well as becoming number 1 in 3 countries. Her image was largely R&B inspired to reinforce the genre of the album also being R&B and the single specifically which was a pop song but containing R&B beats. She was styled with natural and subtle hair and makeup and paired it with casual clothing to create the image of a normal person in order to be relatable to her target audience. Her choice of clothing follows Goodwins theory of frequent reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body, as she is wearing revealing clothing, exposing a large amount of her body which will attract her chosen target audience of 16-25 year olds that listen to the R&B genre. Goodwins point that a music video should demonstrate genre characteristics is also met through its use of a club setting. It shows her dancing in a club with a large group of people and this is a covention of the R&B genre. It also represents her as an artist as she is enjoying herself and portrays the message that she is fun loving and exciting to the audience which also helps to create this image for herself within the media.

In 2007 Rihanna released her next album 'Good Girl Gone Bad' which contained up-tempo dance tracks such as 'Shut Up and Drive'. Her image changed in this period of time where she rebranded herself as being edgy by cutting her hair short and dyeing it black as well as adapting her clothes to becoming more fashion forward. 

'Rated R' was Rihanna's next album and led the Rolling Stones to describe her as "Rihanna has transformed her sound and made one of the best pop records of the year". The album was R&B and pop-orientated with  Hip Hop and Rock influences. The single 'Rude Boy' was one of the most successful of the album and reached number 1. Her image had seen another change at this point where it was more heavily influenced by the genre of rock. She wore heavy makeup as well as dyeing her hair blonde and shaving it on one side and her fashion also reflected elements of rock. 

Richard Dyer had written extensively about the role of stars in film, TV and music. He stated that: 

“In these terms it can be argued that stars are representations of persons which reinforce, legitimate or occasionally alter the prevalent preconceptions of what it is to be a human being in this society. There is a good deal at stake in such conceptions. On the one hand, our society stresses what makes them like others in the social group/class/gender to which they belong. This individualising stress involves a separation of the person's "self" from his/her social "roles", and hence poses the individual against society. On the other hand society suggests that certain norms of behaviour are appropriate to given groups of people, which many people in such groups would now wish to contest (eg the struggles over representation of blacks, women and gays in recent years).

Stars are one of the ways in which conceptions of such persons are promulgated.”

Richard Dyer (Stars, BFI, 1981) 

He believed that stars have some key features in common: 

• A star is an image, not a real person, that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (eg advertising, magazines etc as well as films [music])
• Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings.
• The star image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to the target audiences 
• Stars depend upon a range of subsidiary media - magazines, TV, radio, the internet - in which can be marketed to their target audiences. 

Dyers theory concludes that the star image is incoherent, that is incomplete and 'open'. Dyers says that this is because it is based upon two key paradoxes:

• The star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer 
• The star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer 

The incoherence of the star image ensures that audiences continually strive to 'complete' or to 'make sense of' of the image by the consumption of the star through their products. The star image can then be used to position the consumer in relation to dominant social values. Depending on the artist, this may mean that the audience are positioned against the mainstream (though only to a limited degree, since they are still consumers within a capitalist system) or within the mainstream, or somewhere in between. 

Rihanna for example during the time period of her album 'Rated R' was promoted as being edgy with a Rock influence and many of her promotions for the new album followed this theme. It was thought by many that Rihanna had transformed into raunch and risque and that the 'R' stood for 'restricted'. This however was not the case and in fact stood for 'Rihanna' and therefore made the album more personal and accessible to the audience. 

To launch her new album Rihanna performed at the O2 academy in Brixton where she performed an intimate 45 minute concert for press, celebrities and competition winners. Her fashion reflected the transformation that her music had also made where she was equipped with an eye mask, studded leather leotard, fishnets and killer heels.