Star Theory

Stars in terms of media text shows the distinction made between those classed as a star performer (star who’s performing) or those classed as being a star; whether their pop stars, R&B stars or even Rock stars. Each star has been constructed and has been given an image that is not restricted to music. Courtesy of a stars management or label, they are promoted to this status by well-planned stories (that is usually hype built from gossip), appearances at premieres, shows and promotions through vertical integrations; which involves marketing and advertising through the labels owner, which would be a conglomerate, for example; Time Warner owns Warner Bros, who own Warner Bros Music Group, which is then the owner, or financial share holder of numerous labels. But Warner also own Time Inc. so this is an example of how the companies make profit for the business as well as creating and promoting a star; this is an example of synergy.

Stars are constructed not true, or real personalities of a star, although they show realism, a sense of being “real people”, they are just an image constructed so there’s a USP (Unique Selling Point). This means that a star can be copied because of it; the stars representation is or can be metonymic, for example, a star could be seen as one person, but have the persona of something entirely different, a.k.a. the alter-ego, stars that show this are spread across the entire music genre; Eminem and ‘Slim Shady’, Beyoncè and ‘Sasha Fierce’, Christina Aguilera and ‘Xtina’, Courtney Love and ‘Cherry KooKoo’, or even, Miley Cyrus and ‘Hannah Montana’.

The main reason for creating a star is so the music industry can make money out of the audience the star, represents or appeals to. The elements of the stars persona allow an audience to respond in different ways, from buying records to becoming fans. The labels tend to construct their stars into what they think the public would want to see. Richard Dyer – The Stars (BFI Education 1979) quoted that ‘stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings’.

Stars also impact the Cultures and Ideology of the public; stars share and represent cultural values and attitudes that will promote a certain ideology. The audience’s interest in these values will benefit the label and star as it enhances their ‘star quality’. The beliefs and opinions outside of music help the performer create their star persona. Ideology & Culture play their part in the promotion of stars, because, as mentioned, a star is a construction they are given to an audience in different ways, this can lead to a fashion trend, with fans copying the stars look i.e. their hair style. One example of this can be seen from a fashion icon, and R&B Singer, songwriter Rihanna. Rihanna portrays herself with a style that suites her, she always changes her appearance; through the years she went from being a tomboy to displaying herself a sexy icon. She dressed quite boyish but became one of the greatest stars of the 21^st Century, dressing in very exotic and she even dyes her hair very often, most recently displaying long red hair. Stars will initiate or benefit from the cultural discourse created; they create a critical commentary, using devoted star support from institutions like radio, TV shows and magazines. The star will start, ‘word of mouth’, giving them notice and gives credit and profit to the record company.

The Star Theory of Marshall Mathers III a.k.a. Eminem a.k.a. Slim Shady

In the 1990s, Mathers born his alter ego Eminem, he joined record label producer Dr. Dre under Aftermath Entertainment and started work on his major label debut album or EP/LP, The Slim Shady. And thus the Slim Shady era was born. It era didn’t die out and continued to make appearance’s in other albums by Mathers. The star theory behind Slim Shady is a representation of Mathers personal life; it’s also a representation of the life of people who are brought up in an unstable environment. The appearance of Slim Shady in the music videos consists of a pure white, baggy t-shirt and dark blue baggy jeans. This shows the struggle of his desire of rising to fame, making money, and his struggles as a family member. You can see that he hasn’t got bucket loads of money, and that will a family to feed, he’s barely getting by. As mentioned the concept of Shady is to portray the life and struggles of Mathers, so the background has to be somewhat extreme, violent, aggressive, and emotional; so the reason for Shady, is to show this. This would be conceived through music videos visuals, by considering the mise-en-scene, editing, and camera movements. For example in the videos ‘My Name Is’, ‘The real Slim Shady’, and ‘Just Lose It’, there are lots of close ups of Shady, suggesting that he’s in your face, his body movement and gestures also show his aggression and emotion, throwing himself around, putting his hands at the cameras, etc.