Star image: This is what dreams are made of

“stars do not exist outside of such texts [films]”—Richard Dyer

A Star Image, theorized by Richard Dyer, is a precisely manufactured image of an artist to make them more identifiable in the crowd and generate interest beyond their work.

Just like branding any product, in this case, the star is the product being promoted to the audience, so it helps to have a unique selling point to help them stand out from the other individuals in the field. This USP may be Sia’s long bangs and big bows, marshmallows with his marshmallow head or Ava Max with her half-long half short hair. It is anything that sets them apart from the competition so that whoever sees them again goes, “Hey, isn’t that XYZ!”.

The image is slowly and carefully constructed over time through public appearances, news stories, incidents, digipak covers, music videos, articles, blogs, tweets, interviews, Biographies, tabloids, etc.

Let’s evaluate a case study for a star image of Olivia Rodrigo (aka Grace from my childhood movie “Grace Stirs Up Success” - an American girl doll movie).

A little back story: Olivia started her acting career as a child actress in an American girl doll movie. Later on, in 2016, she joined Disney’s show Bizaardwork. Disney, as the popstar manufacturing machine, also cast her for their spinoff show of the high school musical— Highschool Musical: the Musical series, An ideal opportunity for her to showcase her singing abilities to a broader audience. From a young age, Olivia wrote songs, and so the producer allowed her to write a piece for the series called “All I Want” at the age of 16. She went on performing it for its music video, which is also up on the Disney Vevo. In 2020, she signed with Interscope Geffen A&M Records (IGA), releasing her Debut single, Driver’s License, in January of 2021, which launched her into the music industry.

Olivia Rodrigo, leaving an American girl doll store

Sound familiar? Miley Cyrus had also been around her age when she started in the music industry. However, the star was bashed for her explicit behaviour as a role model for younger children. Olivia has taken this transition quite swiftly, learning from her mistakes. She has created a public image of femininity without voyeurism despite talking about explicit topics in her songs and using curse words, just like Miley. She leverages her innocence, relatability ( as a twilight delulu girlie, I understand), and, most of all, her purple aesthetic, which even kids love. She is conscious of herself as a role model for a younger audience, yet you see her being authentic to herself in her music. She talks about parties and getting drunk, etc., but that aspect of her life is kept private from the public eye and keeps her star image innocent.

Miley, 20, In "Wrecking ball" music video

Olivia, 20, in Vampire Music Video

Aside from the controlled image by the label the artist is signed with, the audience also plays a role in the construction of star images. These artists are idolized by their fans and become a vessel for ideologies and cultural values that they might share with their audience, making them a more believable persona. The media uses its power of manipulation to make the audience like the star, a person to look up to and follow. It is standard in star images of women in media since they are seen as a standard for other women to compare themselves against. Olivia's limited edition collaboration with the cosmetic company Glossier is an example of the company using her star image to market their products to her fan base.

A second album syndrome is when an artist cannot keep up with their artificial self over the long term. Thus, calling for a makeover as a pop star’s image can be reassessed and reconstructed to keep them relevant. Olivia has yet to reform her image, as her album GUTS seems to be a huge hit following in the similar pattern as she did with sour.