Stars As Constructions
Stars are constructed, artificial images, even if they are represented as being "real people", experiencing real emotions etc. It helps if their image contains a USP - they can be copied and/or parodied because of it. Their representation may be metonymic - Madonna's conical bra in the early 1990s, Britney Spear's belly and Justin Bieber's bangs. Pop stars have the advantage over film stars in that their constructed image may be much more consistent over a period of time, and is not dependent on the creative input of others.
Dyer noted that "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 (e.g.. advertising, magazines etc as well as films). Yet that construction process is neither automatic nor fully understood. Record companies think they know about it, but witness the numb roy failures on their books. TV Programmes such as The X Factor show us the supposed construction process, how an ordinary person is groomed, styled and coached into fulfilling a set of record company and market expectations. This is not true stardom, which must happen through a combination of factors.
An example of this is Rylan Clark from X Factor, in his audition he was already a 'wacky' but warm loving character. He clearly was not known globally and nobody was aware of his talent. He was not groomed and some could say he came on stage looking like a 'weirdo'.
However, his audition began his new life from X Factor, he did not win the competition though he has gained a lot of fans from the programme. He starred on Celebrity Big Brother and hosts Big Brother's Bit on The Side. Rylan now gets styled in a way his fans will love him, people from Essex are a huge fan due to his blinding white teeth, fake tans and quiffs.
His fan base is varied to a lot of people, the fact he acts feminine can attract gay men and can also help bring out their confidence within their sexuality as he is now a successful man and some may say with no actual talent.
As a record buying public, they believe in stars who are their own and our constructions rather than a transparent offering designed explicitly to appeal to our blander tastebuds served up by a record company interested only in our wallets. Star construction has provided innovative construction solutions for a variety of businesses.
In society today, the construction of a personal identity can be seen to be somewhat problematic and difficult. Young people are surronded by influential imagery, especially that of popular media. it is no longer possible for an identity to be constructed merely in a small community and only be influenced by family. Nowadays, arguably everything concerning our lives is seen to be 'media-saturated'. Therefore, it is obvious that in constructing an identity young people would make use of imagery derived from th epopular media. For example, it is becoming increasingly common for young children to have their own television and music systems in their bedroom now due to young artists music video's showing big music setup's in their bedrooms.
At the beginning of X Factor, Cher was a young quiet girl with her own type of 'swag'. The public warmed to her personality as you was able to relate to her easily. X Factor was able to build her up now to an upcoming pop star.
Now she is signed to a label, they have changed her complete look, for example shaving off the side of her head making her look like a rock chick; this can change the type of audience she appeals to. Judge Cheryl Cole, warmed to her instantly due to the similarities of them both. During X Factor, Cher had her own style and look, and already many girls were mimicking her style, her audition went global within the first few weeks and already gave her a lot of popularity. Before X Factor, she was a general girl living in South London, people liked her as she was just the same girl you would see down the street.
In the video, at 0:12 seconds, Cher said "i;m just nervous" at her audition backstage, this showed how general she is, although she's on TV, she;s still a young girl with the same feelings as any other girl would have if their just about to go on stage to over a thousand people.
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