Richard Dyer Star Theory and Pop Videos

Richard Dyer's theory on pop videos distinguishes different videos in their relation to their music. According to Dyer, there are three different uses of a video to their music: 'Illustrate', 'Amplify' and 'Disjuncture'. If a video 'illustrates' the music, then the video's job is to visually show the audience the message that the audio attempts to show. This generally is the most popular type of music video to do, as it is easier to create a link between what the audience sees and hears, as well as it is generally easier to make from a creators point of view. However, these types of music videos can rarely become borderline boring due to a lack of interesting visuals as would be shown in other types of music videos. Therefore, if they work with a gimmick or style of directing to create the music video, trough attempting to portray the message the gimmick an become boring or repetitive. A music video that 'Amplifies' the audio has less to do with the story or  message of the music, but more shows hidden meanings that has to do with the artists in question. This could include their past, their fears or their aspirations for their career. While these types of music videos are rare and need some sort of knowledge on the artist at hand, they can be rewarding and emotionally touching if done correctly to the right audience. However, if the member of the audience isn't aware of the significance of the style or reflection that the video shows then it could be deemed boring in certain circumstances. A music video that is 'Disjunctive' to the song does not have relevance to the song or the artist, and is usually there to entertain the audience through bright colours or nice effects. While not many of these are made due to the massive amounts of creativity or budget they require, they are undoubtedly entertaining and can be followed by practically anyone watching.
Richard Dyer believes that artists are manufactured for financial gains. They are constructed through advertising, films, magazines and music videos to represent 'real people' in order to sell their brand. These artificial images are used to show the artist experiencing emotions so that the audience can relate. This gives the artists a unique selling point to make money for their record labels. Dyer claims that record labels manufacture artists to cater for different audiences knowing that they will become trend setters which leads to more financial gain.

 An example of a star is Britney Spears, who changed her image in order to be more successful in both popularity and her musical career. Her original image was an innocent girly girl, sporting pigtails and a large amount of pink. An example of this innocent persona appears in " Baby One More Time", where she appears as a schoolgirl, enhancing the idea of innocence and purity. This look was given to suit the record label she was signed with.

However, she later changed her image to be a more sexualised singer, which was in order to please the record label and to enhance her image, supporting Richard Dyer's Star Theory.  An example of this sexualised version of Britney was "Oops!... I Did It Again", where she wore a full body suit of Red Spandex. This was a much more mature version of Britney, which was created in order to please the record label and to conform to Richard Dyer's Star Theory.