Star image

Lady Gaga

1. How do you become a pop star

• Well placed news stories: “Lady Gaga might be a hermaphrodite”

• Famous boyfriend/girlfriend: Taylor Kinney - Actor

• Attendance at premieres and parties: “Lady Gaga at ‘The Great Gatsby’ premiere”

• Features in magazines: Vogue

• As Richard Dyer says, “A true pop star does have a lasting significance, and has “brand awareness” amongst a wider market over a period of time.” As Lady Gaga does have a lasting significance and brand awareness, she fits Dyer’s star theory.

2. Stars As Constructions

• Constructed artificial image• Unique Selling Point/Iconic Representation:

sense of fashion/style

Lady Gaga wears ‘meat dress’ to MTV Music Video Awards

• Richard Dyer says, “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]).” As Lady Gaga is an image and most definitely not a real person, she fits Dyer’s star theory.

3. Industry and Audience

• Product of their record company/manager.• E.g. Lady Gaga before and after she became

famous.

Before After

• Richard Dyer says, “Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings.” As Lady Gaga was made to produce a physical embodiment pop-culture, she fits Dyer’s star theory exactly.

4. Ideology and Culture

• Lady Gaga has a unique fashion sense that is almost impossible to copy. This makes her difficult to idealise. It is however because of her fashion sense and image she portrays that has created her fan base.

• As Richard Dyer’s theory suggests that a star’s fashion must start a trend that fans can copy and Lady Gaga does not do this, it may fail in this part. However as her fashion still sparks a fan base, Lady Gaga meets Dyer’s theory.

5. Character and Personality

• Similarly to industry and audience, Lady Gaga was created. Before her name was Stephanie Germanotta but her stage name ‘Lady Gaga’ has become the persona that everyone chooses to call her by. She is made to be presented as a ‘wild child’ someone to idolise as the inner workings of a woman’s mind rather than what women represent in the physical sense.

• Richard Dyer says, “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.” As Lady Gaga does this she fits Richard Dyer’s star theory.