Richard Dyer speaks of 'stars' as a 'phenomenon of consumption' and splits star image into four categories. The first is emotional affinity. For a band to gain fans they have to create a bond or connection, primarily it could be assumed that the song itself, and lyrics, would help to create this. A recognisable style or a certain rhythm could contribute or lyrics that can be related to the audience. This connection could also be formed due to the age of band. The majority of successful bands today create music that is aimed at the age group they are currently in; therefore having band members of a similar age makes them more accessible to audiences. For our band I think this is something we have achieved. The song and actual artist of the band are of similar age to the band members we have decided on. The simple story in the video would also be relatable to the audience as relationships could be classed as a relevant part of life. As we see in many television programmes, videos and songs 'love' is often a topic, this is clearly something that is successful with most audiences and will connect and create an emotional connection between the band and audience.
This idea of connection links into Dyer's second point of self identification. The band is recognisable as people and the audience can see themselves in the same situation. The genre we have chosen allows us to gain this more than most as although the indie genre looks for the 'unique' aspect of bands, the popular style for genre currently revolves around simpler ideas. Clothes are styled but not over the top costumes and there is a basic feel to most videos. If we were to create a rock band and video for example we would be looking more to create a rebellious image for the band as this is what identifies with that audience. Or a pop video would involve creating a more expensive high fashion look.
Imitation is the third point and probably focuses most on why these elements create a star. Although the image needs to be relatable to the audience and create a bond the stars need to be idolised; someone we aspire to be like. A lot of this would come from the bands style and attitude. The style of clothes has to be the right balance between achievable and desirable. We want the audience to relate to clothes as they would wear them themselves, yet the 'cool' style of how the clothes are worn or put together would be the desirable element. An attitude is also something we should consider giving the band, although the genre consists of both rebellious and good images we wanted to create a band that are pretty relaxed, and with the mix of girls and boys I think the right balance would be a band with a good reputation who have a tendency to break the rules occasionally. This makes them likable yet interesting as a band. If we had gone for a more controversial artist there is the risk of cutting out a part of the audience we are targeting.
The fourth point made refers to projection. This furthers the imitation and takes it to the next level. As this is quite an extreme part of the theory it is something I would say doesn't apply to our genre. There is a strong sense in the indie genre of being quite relaxed, so projection is not something we would expect to occur.
Richard Griffith’s theories on star image are similar to that of Dyer. He speaks of stars being ambiguous, 'both ordinary and special' this is what we will be aiming to achieve with our band, a sense of normality of them coming from there background and the personalities, however there music and style is something we desire to copy. The lead singer is key to this as he is the main representative for the band so his styling and attitude will be key to creating the image, with the girls just replicating it.
effective use of theory. well done.
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