To what extent does Beyoncé fulfill Dyer’s Star Theory?

‘Beyoncé’s Formation review – a rallying cry that couldn’t be more timely’ The Guardian

Formation is not a conventional pop song with ‘declarations of identity’ with carefully chosen lyrics with ‘political weight’. The song has been described as the perfect way to follow her shock album drop of three years ago as she has created a ‘black consciousness masterpiece’.  A time of strained race relations from Police brutality to the failings with Hurricane Katrina, is reflected in the underlying anger of the song. ‘Formation’ is a ‘rallying cry’ which couldn’t be ‘more timely’.

• Pitchfork named the song ‘Best New Track’ and Rolling Stone called the song ‘downright necessary’.
• ‘Formation’ was ranked Number 1 in the Village voice’s mass critic poll of the best music of the year.
• It is Beyoncé’s highest-debuting single of her career, surpassing ‘Drunk in Love’ in 2014.
• The song was nominated for the Grammy award’s ‘Record of the Year’, ‘Song of the year’ and won the award for ‘Best music Video’.

Beyoncé has been in many films such as ‘Dreamgirls’, ‘The Pink Panther’ and ‘Austin Powers in Goldmember’.

• ‘Dreamgirls’ won two Academy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.
• It received mainly positive ratings with a 78% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
• It earned $154 million at the international Box Office from an $80 million budget and was the the most expensive film to feature an all African-American cast in American Cinema history.

Beyoncé has her own clothing line: Ivy Park. She released an activewear collection in partnership with Topshop in 2016.

• For the launch, Beyoncé featured on two covers of ELLE magazine and had an in-depth interview where she revealed that she wanted the brand to ‘inspire women’.
• She released the promotional video, ‘Where is your park?’, which gave viewers glimpses of her workout routine.
• In April 2016, a 200-piece line was made available in shops such as Topshop, Nordstrom and Selfridges.

Beyoncé is a well publicised celebrity and often features on the cover and inside of magazines as well as on the news and other gossip outlets.

• Beyoncé has been on more magazine covers than any other black female artist with over 300 front cover appearances.
• She has graced the covers of magazines like Vogue, GQ, Marie Claire, ELLE, Time and many more.

Overall, Beyoncé largely conforms to Dyer’s star theory as she fulfils the criteria of: Movies and music videos, promotion, publicity and criticism and social commentary. She is an artist placed between the ordinary and extraordinary as though many can identify with her on subjects like her past struggles or independence, she is also a person that many aspire to be like due to her confidence, talent and sex-appeal.