Lady Gaga in relation to Dyers Theory

How does Lady Gaga conform to Dyer’s Star Theory?

It is clear that Lady Gaga conforms to Dyer theory in many different ways, from the way she dresses to her persona.

The theory is initially established within her name, Lady Gaga. Being her stage name Lady Gaga (or to her close friends and family Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) has created a stage persona in which she has created her own star qualities . She chooses to represent herself an unique individual who is spontaneous yet slightly crazy but uses this as her unique selling point. Her unique selling point enables her to generate profit, as with her being controversial she generates media attention, however this is still making her and the institutions profit as the audience still choose to consume her as an artist. She has create a persona that is desirable to her audience, however is not a real representation of herself. It is a constructed identity in order to make society consume her. She has constructed two different ideologies in which she presents herself, the ideology that she demonstrates when she is on stage, and also the ideology that she has when she is around her family. Another feature that she uses in order to demonstrate her star qualities is how she uses her social media sites. Gaga likes to be able to identify with her audiences and her social media account is a great example of how she uses her ‘normal’ lifestyle in order to be able to relate with her audiences. She posts everyday pictures, on nights out with her friends, in her bed, with no makeup on while also posting images of her red carpet appearances and various shoots. This shows how she is trying to connect with her audience by relating to her ‘normal’ lifestyle where she shows she engages in the everyday activities that her audiences do, whilst also having the qualities that make her a star such as red carpet appearances and her lavish houses and holidays. She also uses her personality in order to generate her star persona, in interviews she remains fully in character as she wants her audience to perceive her Lady Gaga ideology as her dominant one as that is the ideology that gives her the money and the fame she needs. Her behaviour is constantly the media attentions, such as when she released her single ‘Judas’. She hit a nerve with many Christians who were outraged with the fact she had released a single siding with the man who betrayed Jesus. Also when she was seen wearing an outfit made entirely out of raw beef, shows how her controversy and desire for media attention is reflected within her star persona.

How does Lady Gaga’s songs link with Dyers theory?

Within her songs it is clear to see that Lady Gaga creates a star persona with the use of her lyrics and costumes. A good example would be in her lyrics of ‘Born This Way’ she uses the line ‘we’re all born superstars’ which gives direct dentations that she is referring to herself as a star and therefore reminding her audiences. She knows full-well of her star persona and qualities; so reflects them in more depth within her videos in order to make the audience consume her as an artists and to reflect the persona she has generated in order to make the institution profit. Another clear example of this is the use of the title The Fame, an album released in 2008, in which the titling song was The Fame. This song clearly addresses the benefits of being famous, which again is addressing the star ideologies that she has created.

Within her Born This Way video Lady Gaga is seen to be appealing to both her heterosexual and homosexual audiences. She is pictured intimately with a group of girls which reinforces the fact that she has created two separate ideologies, as in reality Lady Gaga is currently engaged to her male fiancé Taylor Kinney. This shows that she has split her ideologies as Lady Gaga expresses different sexual orientations. She has done this in order to appeal to a wide audience and therefore gain a larger fan base. Having a larger fan base she is generating more revenue for herself as an artist and also the institution itself.