C1 Magazines

Do Now:

1. Representation displaying something from real life and emphasising it the way something is shown to re-present the world to us 

2. Is it good/ positive?

3. A stereotype is an unfair or untrue judgement based on the characteristic of a group or individual.generalised representation of a person place or thing

4. Three? Two

5. Theoretical Framework:

Media language, industries, representations, contexts and audiences

Friday 20th September 2024

Stereotypes

 Tattoo Lover stereotype: Greasy, mean, middle-aged, tattoos that covers most of body, male

Private school boy stereotype: Stuck up, entitled, wealthy family, posh, trust fund

Nurse: Woman, kind, sweet

DOCUMENTARY:

The teachers and students are represented very positively, they make the school look and sound to have a very healthy atmosphere. Of course there is still stereotypes centered around how the students act e.g. a lot of them are made out to seem a lot like troublemakers, energetic and noisy re-enforcing the stereotype. On the other hand the relationship between the teachers and students are made to seem very positive.

Representations in magazines

LO/

to explore the representations found in magazines 

Masthead- establishes visual identity and branding of publication (title)

Cover lines- tells the reader about the other content found inside this issue

Main image- the main visual focus on a magazine

Main cover line- the main story/ content of the magazine

Puff- an eye-catching graphic or text to draw attention

Colour palette- the colours on a magazine ( usually picked out to compliment the theme of the magazine)

Direct address- 'you, your, our ect' is used to include/ draw the reader in

Star vehicle- The 'celebrity' or widely known person, driving the magazine to popularise or profit it 

Do now:

1. The branding of publication- establishes visual identity Y

2. Cover lines Y                                                                             Y= correct

3. A sticker-type graphic to draw attention Y

4. Is it positive or negative Y

5. Stereotypes Y

Friday 27th September 2024

Representations in magazines

LO/

to explore the representations found in magazines 

Carrie Underwood magazine representations:

1. Friendly, motherly "At home with Carrie Underwood!" casual

2. Powerful, cool, diva, confident

3. Royal, energetic, kind " Girl next door"- type person.

They are different covers to interest their different audiences, and to of course fit its genre.

- Friendly

- humble

- mature

Differences:

The two magazines (of Carrie Underwood and David Beckham) both differentiate in colour- Carrie's being bright pink and David's being blue and dark grey; Carrie has been made to look confident, 'desirable' and eye-catching, while Beckham has been made tough, also confident but in a more encouraging or fearful way, and masculine.

It was made this way so:

- it could fit the genre

- appeal to the reader

Women are represented as these guy-obsessed, beautiful, skinny people; as most of the cover lines tell it to be that way: 'Guys made easy', 'The real secret to sex appeal', ' snack so hard and still drop pounds' ect.

Men are represented as tough, sporty and bold- unlike half of Underwood's cover lines, Beckham's front cover is filled with differentiating 'masculine' topics: ' How one day changed football forever', ' Get the coolest shoes on the planet', 'Bear Grylls joins GQ! With his secrets of urban survival'. Of course you can argue this with the hand placement of his wedding ring to value his wife, and the anti-stereotypical approach of men with the thoughts on fashion and jewellery. 

Do Now:

1. The main cover line will be the second biggest and boldest thing next to the masthead

2. 'you, us, we, our ect '  addressing the reader personally

3. A puff

4. Blue

5. Making a person appear to be like an object- de-humanising something or someone

Friday 4th October 2024

Representation Task

LO/

to create magazine covers showing an understanding of representation

Do Now:

1.What are the positives and negatives when analysing representation we look at age, gender, sexuality, disability, ethnicity ect

2. Sexual objectification is when someone is presented, not as a person, but as more of just something to look at (in this case with sexual tendancies)

3. 

Friday 11th October 2024

How do you compare representations?

LO/

to write and structure an effective exam style answer 

Compare the representation of gender in the cosmopolitan front cover and the GQ front cover

[25 marks]

1) List the similarities and differences e.g. they both include their stereotypical gender colour, or one of them contains anti-stereotypical coverlines while the other one is stereotypical.

2) Use the list to make my judgement

3) Use structure to make paragraph

structuring a paragraph:

DESCRIBE- the technique/ element/ representation used

EXPLAIN- the connotations/ meanings constructed, support with specific evidence

LINK- to the overall context/ meaning/ question

'In the GQ cover, men are represented as sophisticated and older. The tuxedo has connotations of wealth and elegance; the use of David Beckham as a star vehicle suggests an older audience. This is different to to cosmopolitan cover because...'

How is gender represented on both covers?

cosmopolitan:

- Tackles stereotypes by bringing pink onto a male coverstar

-  Male coverstar on a female magazine

- Feminine clothing

- Anti-stereotypical coverlines

- Still looks physically strong (which tends to be stereotypical)

- Stereotypically feminine topics

GQ:

- Female coverstar on a male magazine

- Sexual objectification

- Representing Medusa ( a mythological figure known for being scary, sexual, deadly ect)

- 'All hail the new new man!'

- 

Similarities:

- Both empowers feminism

- both covers also stereotypes/ objectifies women

Differences:

- GQ cover is a little objectifiing

- GQ makes women look more threatening

HOW WOULD YOU STRUCTURE AN ANSWER TO THIS?:

1. How is gender represented in cosmopolitan:

The cosmopolitan cover represents both genders in this case because of their male star vehicle but still representing the women the magazine is mainly targeted for. Men are represented anti-stereotypically: Tom Daley is wearing pink ( 'feminine colour'); the cover lines surrounding him

Friday 8th November 2024

Industry Research

LO/

to research companies linked to set products

DEFINITIONS: (media)

Circulation:a the count of how many copies of a particular publication are distributed

Advertising revenue: the monetary income that businesses and individuals earn from displaying paid advertisements

Cover price: the standard published price of a magazine

Subscription model: where people pay a recurring fee for a product instead of a one time expense

Multi-platform: the three main types of content: online, offline, and in person ( a product that can be accessed on more than one platform)

Readership: an estimate of how many readers a publication has 

Ideology: a set of shared beliefs and values

Brand identity: describes the externally visible elements of a brand that identify and distinguish the brand in the customers mind

Target audience:  where a magazine is centred around a specific group of people 

VOGUE 

 

when was the magazine launched?

Vogue was launched in 1842

target audience:

Vogue used to be the weekly high-society journal for New Yorks elites, Conde Nast then bought it in 1905, British vogue launched in 1916; Vogue is now heavily targeted at fashion and the female gender (30-45 years old; but since the new editor, they have brought in a more culturally diverse and younger audience)

Has it changed over the years (brand image)?

The company has changed and warped the style and logo over the years (but still keeping their style font)

Who publishes it?

Vogue is published by Conde Nast ( with an accent on the e)

Is it multi platformed?

Yes, vogue is a multi platformed company with digital and physical access to the product

 

Readership= 796000 people

Circulation=155722

Brand image:

The magazine covers topics of fashion, makeup, healthcare, politics, childcare, celebrity gossip, other media, the news and so much more!

Vogue wants to represent a sophisticated lifestyle (ideology), and empower and inform women

Vogues editor:

Edward Enninful, he digitised vogue

GQ

When was GQ launched?

GQ was first introduced in 1931; its popularity in 1961 caused a re-branding

target audience:

It was originally targeted at fashion industry insider; its aimed at men ages 20-44

Circulation= 85080

Readership= 213000

Brand image:

GQ states about themselves; as the flag ship of mens fashion and style in Britain, to be GQ you must be cutting-edge, progressive and forward looking

' The magazine for men with an IQ '

-typically for conservative ( traditional ), older readers

Do Now:

1. Conde Nast publishes Vogue and GQ
2. Sophisticated ABC1 means an audience that is educated, professional and wealthy
3. 30-45 year olds 20-44 age range
4. The masthead/ main cover line
5. the main 1-3 colours used in a media product

Friday 15th November 2024

Case Study 1: Raheem Sterling GQ

LO/

to explore the context and layout design for GQ magazine

Context:

- GQ has a history of objectifying women, promoting chauvinist attitude towards women

- 1990s, magazine went with a streak of only male cover stars to introducing some female actors, models, and music artists

- women on GQ were generally shot less than fully clothed 

- GQ today is far different to how it used to be 

How does GQ target its audience?

GQ targets a stereotypical male audience with dominating ideas and subjects.

How does GQ represent gender?

Again, gender is represented pretty stereotypically. Men are shown as sophisticated, conservative, mature; women are demonstrated as young, skinny, objects ( with little to no clothing on .

MEDIA LANGUAGE AND REPRESENTATIONS

Cover Analysis: media language

Typography: Typography is how the text looks e.g. font, style, size, capitals etc 

• The font is a sand serif font, connoting a more modern, masculine ideas
• The masthead is the only thing in block capitals connoting that its domineering 
• The only term not in a type of sand serif is the main cover line - Rock'n' Roll Star - connoting that its the main subject of the magazine + holds more traditional value to the rest of the topics in the magazine ( '99'(ways to look cool this autumn) is also in a more traditional font connoting 'older' clothing ideas)
• the colour palette on the magazine is beige and white ( with a little black as an accent)- this connotes sophistication and maturity, giving us the idea of who the magazine is targeted at
• the layout is in a Z shape ( judging by how we read from left to right)

Anchorage text is any text that gives you the meaning of the image, producers will try to direct the audiences interpretation to a preferfed reading of a media text by using anchorage

• the anchorage text in the magazine is ' Rock'n' Roll Star 72 hours with Liam Gallagher', i think, also linking it to the connotations of the colours, its 

Do Now:

1. Anchorage is any text that gives you the meaning of the image, producers will direct the audiences interpretation to a prefered reading of the media text
2. The font, colour, layout, capitals, size etc
3. the cover lines
4. sans serif
5. medium cover shot medium close up

Friday 22nd November 2024

Research: Raheem Sterling

Raheem sterling- facts

• Sterling is an MBE professional footballer
• plays as a winger for Premier League club Arsenal, on loan from Chelsea, and the England national team. 
• His father was murdered in Jamaica when Sterling was two years old.
• born in Jamaica, moved to London at five years old
• In December 2018, he was subjected to racist taunts from Chelsea fans 
• represented the fight against racism in football
• was the most expensive player in 2015 when he was bought by manchester
• His mother was one of Jamaicas national athletes

Racism in Football:

Under the Public Order Act of 1986, a person found guilty of intensionally using abusive, insulting, or threatening you could be imprisoned or fined

Cover was inspired by e

- The masthead is in its usual form, but to match the title, is gold to connote wealth or bold-ness (SANS SERIF FONT)

- Cover-lines- this is in a Z layout; accent colour = orange

- Anchorage text- "Guardian Angel" is made one of the biggest texts on the magazine connoting that empowerment

-Lexis ( specific word use) : saved; angel; guardian

This magazine was posted by GQ in 2019 as a way to empower Sterlings message across the media. This was a little after he spoke out about the racism and abuse he was subjected to by Chelsea fans and articles, painting him in a bad light. 

Do Now:

1. Raheem Sterling is an MBE professional footballer
2.  Colour, font, caps, Block caps, layout
3. Sterling was standing up against racism in football in 2019
4. Serif
5. the text that shows meaning of an image is called an anchorage text

Friday 29th November 2024

Analysing our case study text

The masthead is in a bold and large sans serif font, the colour is in deep gold, connoting wealth, but also religion in context of the rest of the cover. The contrast of black and gold implies binary opposites in this cover.

Guardian Angel connotations-

1.  he is a winger in football, playing on the sides of the wings
2. he protects other black players from further racial incidents through his campaigning
3. he was seen as 'evil' person, but in reality seems on the whole to be a good one 

List of people( Gwendoline Christie, Ricky Gervais, Adwoa Aboah & Michael Wolff)- coverlines - suggest male prefrenced.

MAIN IMAGE=

• Black wings link back to the Guardian Angel idea of him protecting other back people in football
• Colour palette of lots of black and dark colours maybe a connotation of him being proud of his race and him standing up to football ; the wings are not completely black suggesting equity/ equality
• The posture expression is quite laidback
• low angle wide shot connoting power
• the way his legs are positioned is pretty masculine and domineering 
• the head tilt feels like he is questioning something ( in this case it is a question to whether or not the people who come after him will really face him)
• the shirtless-ness empowers his skin-tone + the tattoos that the press came after him for ( they alleged that he was supporting gun culture, but in reality it was a memorial to his dad) he is now showing off 
• jewellery connoting wealth
• he is positioned in the middle, connoting he wants people to listen to him

Analysis:

The cover shown was published by GQ in 2019, cover star featuring MBE professional footballer Raheem Sterling- who at the time was speaking up about the ignored racism in football. 

The masthead on the magazine- GQ- is in block capitals, san serif- connoting masculinity in favour of its audience-  as it is usually in its publishing, the colour is a deep gold connoting wealth ( but also religion in context of the rest of the cover); this links to Sterling himself, that he wont be ridiculed by the press for showing his success.

 The anchorage text ' Guardian Angel', the lexis, is a serif font in the same deep gold as the masthead; the font connotes religion and it being old fashioned, as guardian angel is usually ; the actual text itself is a connotation for him protecting other black people in football, and that he is not the 'evil' 'devil' person the press makes him out to be.

The cover line, the list of people specifically, targets GQ's audience 'sophisticated' male ( in other terms ABC1). It is in a sans serif font connoting masculinity and modern; the text itself, ' GQ's Hero's', is set to appeal to the male audience, for example; Gwendoline Christie who starred in a set of fairly "masculine" shows . This links back to GQ's history of appealing to their male audience.

The main image itself stars Raheem Sterling standing laidback, posture high with black angel wings sprouting tall from his back 

Do Now:

1. Cover-lines are the other topics surrounding the audience in the magazine tell the reader whats in the magazine
2. What is the purpose of a magazine cover? interest and appeal a certain audience
3. Racism in football
4. at the bottom facing upwards
5. What is a convention? : The way in which something is usually done

Friday 13th December 2024

Assessment Improvement

Terminology:

• connotations
• MES
• camera angles ect

TARGET

Use magazine cover conventions to help explain ideas

e.g. this Z layout followed a typical magazine convention

Media language

Connotation

Denotation

Representation

Mise-en-scene

Camera shots/ angles

Style of writing

The main image presents Sterling in a low-angle shot standing widely with a questioning face as a gesture-code. 

He looks serious and directly addresses his audience.

the main image shows a low angle shot of Sterling standing in a confident stance connoting authority and dominance; he has large black angel wings empowering his skin-tone and connoting him as angelic or protective.

- 5 markers should be focused on analysis rather than context

The main image shows a low angle-shot of Sterling standing in a confident stance 

Re-write: Language:

The language on the cover, consists of the main cover line ( the anchorage text) and other cover lines. The main cover line, 'Guardian Angel', is a metaphor used for Sterling connoting religion and protection linking to the idea that he saves and protects people from the ignorant racism in football. The other cover lines are mainly to interest and broaden their male audience. For example, 'Picture exclusive! Gwendoline Christie, Ricky Gervais ' etc, this list has been selected by GQ to appeal to their male audience; on the other hand, the top cover line ' Why it's finally OK to own a beltbag ' counteracts their masculine representation by presenting a more feminine idea ( because bags are typically a more female interest).

Do Now:

1. denotes; suggests; shows; implies; is associated with
2. angel; free; birds; flying
3. older, male (ABC1 ), educated, professional
4. see the message being represented; to catch the readers attention
5.  helps explain an idea/ a convention is the way in which something is normally done

Friday 20th December 2024

GQ: representation

LO/ 

To explore the representation of the case study cover

  Gender:

• it broadens their male audience but is also anti-stereotypical due to the feminine cover lines
• masculinity is broadened in the main image: the no shirt on and the wide stance (manspreading )is pretty dominant connoting masculinity(hyper-masculine) but it is also contradicted with his jewellery connoting femininity  (but also reinforces a capitalist society-wealth, status etc)
•  cover-lines: most cover lines are featured around a male targeted audience
• stereotypes: man= mucles

Ethnicity:

• reinforces the sexulisation stereotype of black people with his shirt off
• how Sterling saved football from himself
• diverse range of people from cover-lines