C1 Magazines

 What is Representation?

L.O: To explore the concept of representation and stereotypes

What is meant by the term 'Representation'?

• The media offers the audience an interpretation of the world.
• It is  RE PRESENTAtION of the events, people and laces.

Picture One: Spiderman / Peter Parker - A lot of people wouldn't think a teenager would be capable of being a superhero.

Do Now

1. Representation is how someone or something is portrayed ✔
2.  The first thing to consider when looking at ow something is represented is to look at whether it is positive or negative.
3. A stereotype is a something you would expect of someone, for example, teenagers always have messy bedrooms. ✔
4. There are 2 exams in Media
5. Audiences

Stereotype

A stereotype is a generalised representation of a person, place, or thing. They are limited and often offensive and used for comedy.

Grandmother: Knitting, Sitting around all day, garden centre

Private School Boy: Smart, Posh, Arrogant, Strong British accent

Cornish Man: Pasties, Fishing, feed seagulls

• The teacher at the end challenged the stereotype that teachers are always strict.
• The students seemed closer to their teachers than a lot of people would expect.
• "Its just banterrrr" - Reinforces stereotypes
• "Tuck your shirt in" - Reinforces stereotypes

Representations in Magazines

Masthead -- The magazine's name, usually at the top

Cover Lines -- What other articles will be about

Main Image -- An image of the focus of the magazine

Main Cover Line -- What most of the magazine is about

Puff -- A sticker-like thing to make a piece of information stand out

Colour Palette -- The colour scheme of the cover

Direct Address -- Making the magazine aimed at YOU / looking at the camera

Star Vehicle -- When the magazine is specifically made around someone famous in particular

Tuesday 15th October 2024

Do Now

1. When analysing representation, you could look at stereotypes ✅ Whether they are represented in a positive or negative way // Gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity and disability.

2. Sexual Objectification is the process of representing or treating a person like a sex object, one that serves to another's sexual pleasure.

3. The main cover line is "Inside GAME of THRONES" ✅

4. Pink is stereotypically associated with females ✅

5. A common stereotype associated with teenagers is laziness and messy rooms ✅

How do you Compare Representations?

L/O: To write and structure an effective exam style answer

• One mark per minute
• 5 minutes planning - list similarities and differences -> Judgement
• Use Structure to write it 
  

EXAMPLE

In the GQ cover, David Beckham is represented as sophisticated. He is wearing a tuxedo which has connotations of wealth and elegance. This contrasts with the Cosmopolitan cover where Carrie Underwood is represented as fun and sexy.

Cosmopolitan:

• Challenged stereotypes
• Stereotypically feminine style clothing
• Positive representation - fun - happy
• Muscles - masculinity

GQ:

• Challenged stereotypes
• Stereotypically masculine colours
• Positive representation - mythical - snake hair (Medusa) - powerful - scary
• Sexual Objectification - no clothes - Provocative facial expression.

They have presented genders as very different.

Structure:

Introductory sentence, giving overall comparison.

• How gender is represented in Cosmopolitan
• How gender is represented in GQ
• How far the representation is similar in the two magazines
• How far the representation is different in the two magazines.

In the Cosmopolitan cover, Tom Daley is represented in a more feminine way. This is seen in multiple ways, including the bright colours, such as pink, being a stereotypically feminine colour, with connotations of love and empathy. However, there are still elements that show him in a masculine way, through him showing his muscles.

In the GQ cover, Rihanna is represented as scary and powerful. This is seen by the snakes in her hair, portraying Medusa, a mythological figure who could turn people to stone by looking at them. The low angle makes her look powerful, as she is physically higher than the camera. 

Tuesday 5th November 2024 

Magazine Industry Definitions 

Circulation – The amount of magazines currently available for customers. ✅ 

Advertising Revenue – The amount of money gained from adverts. ✅ 

Cover Price – The cost of the magazine, as shown on the cover. ✅ 

Subscription Model – Subscribing to the magazine to receive routinely issues. ✅ 

Multi-Platform – Publishing the magazine in different forms, such as digitally or physically. ✅ 

Readership – The people who read the magazine. ✅ Estimated readers 

Ideology – What the magazine wants to accomplish. Set of values, attitudes and beliefs. 

Brand Identity – Making magazines relate to the brand. The image a company creates for itself through marketing tools, such as logos and slogans, as well as ideology. 

Target Audience – The demographics that the magazine is aimed at, for example this could include things like age or gender. ✅ 

Magazine	GQ	Vogue
When was it Launched?	1931	1892
Original Genre/ target audience	Funk, R&B, Soul Music, Disco	Dance Music
Has it changed/ rebranded?	Yes- used to be called ‘Gentleman’s Quarterly’ before rebranding to ‘GQ’, and focusing on Fashion.	Yes – It has become more about Fashion and Lifestyle.
Who publishes it?	Condé Nast and Advance Publications	Condé Nast
Print only or multi-platform?	Multi-Platform – released both digitally, and in print.	Multi-Platform – released both digitally, and in print.
Average circulation and readership	89,000 circulation (as of 2021)  212,000 Readership	2,250,000 Circulation (as of 2023)  2,700,000 Readership
Who is the target audience?	Men aged between 20 and 44 ABC1	Female 17-29 year olds. 30-45 year olds. ABC1 *
Summarise brand image	-"The Magazine for men with in IQ" / "Look sharp, live smart" -Traditional ideas of masculinity. -Serious minded / Older readers. -Lifestyle / Fashion -Diversity / Gender equality / sustainability and mental health.	-"Before it's in fashion, it's in vogue." -Sophisticated lifestyle / fashion / exclusivity / higher class / beauty -Superior design / Innovative spirit / dedication to precision and a quest to perfection.

These GQ covers show the brand image, as they are all shown in a masculine way, from the use of stereotypically male colours. They show their focus on fashion and lifestyle, by having the cover star dressed smartly, and the cover lines relate to lifestyle. for example, in David Beckham's cover, he is dressed up smartly in a suit, and one of the cover lines on Ryan Gosling's says "Purge your closet, get in shape, renew your life"

* ABC1 - educated, wealthy, professional

Tuesday 12th November 2024

Case Study One: Raheem Sterling - GQ

L/O: to explore the context and layout design for GQ Magazine

GQ targets its audience of men by making male cover stars look admirable, to seem like role models. They also sexualise women to make them seem 'desirable' .

GQ represents Gender very differently. They make men seem like role models, and people to look up to. However, they sexualise women, and act as if they are made to be looked at. This can be seen in the Jennifer Lopez cover, where it shows her with no clothes, only a bed sheet, and a cover line says "More proof that God is a man", as if Men made her to be looked at.

Raheem Sterling

- Raheem Sterling is an English Football player, born in Jamaica.

- He has played for Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal.

- He won the Men's PFA Player of the year award.

Tuesday 19th November 2024

Do Now

1. Conde Nast publishes GQ and Vogue. ✅

2. An educated, professional and wealthy audience is an ABC1.  ✅

3. GQ and Vogue are targeted at 20-44 year olds. ✅

4. The proper term for the title of a magazine is the Masthead. ✅

5. A colour pallette is the colours used in something. ✅ Main 2 or 3 colours used in the design

Case Study #1 - Raheem Sterling - GQ

Media Language:

• Cover Star - Who is it? - Connotations
• Masthead - What does it tell us about the Magazine? What does it stand for?
• Cover Lines
• Anchorage Text - Text used to anchor / explain an image
• Lexis - The words used - Why particular word choices?
• Typography - How words look (size, serif, sans-serif, colour?)
• Brand Identity
• Image
• Colour Pallette

Typography

What can we look for when it comes to Typography?

Serif Font or Sans Serif font.

BLOCK CAPITALS / lower case

Colour

Italics / Bold

Serif - More feminine / intellectual / sophisticated / old fashioned

Sans Serif - Modern / Masculine / up to date

Cover Analysis:

• Mostly lowercase - Sophisticated
• Mixture of Serif and Sans serif font - Some Serious topics, some more lighthearted topics.
• Modern masthead (Bold, Sans serif) - Up to date magazine / topics, masculine
• Some Gold text - the best? (1st Place)

Colour Pallette

The colour Pallette comes from the outfit that Liam Gallagher is wearing. He is wearing a black jacket with gold buttons. This is reflected in the text, as most of it is white, which has connotations of being modern, and sophisticated, and contrasts the black. 

Layout

The layout of the magazine follows conventions having cover lines around the outside of the image, not going over it.

Anchorage Text

The main cover line anchors the main image, by using an Oasis song title, referring to Liam Gallagher. Also above the cover line, it says 'icon', which tells people that he is extremely popular, and easily recognised.

Image

The image, shows a medium close up of Liam Gallagher wearing a black jacket with gold buttons, and black glasses with gold frames. This connotes that he is of high class, and a symbol of his status. The image shows direct address, as he is looking directly at the camera. His serious facial expression shows that he wants to be taken seriously.

Cover Lines and Lexis

One of the cover lines, says "Dele Alli The future of English Football" The fat that they have used a football related cover line, links to GQ's target audience as football is stereotypically watched and played by men, much more than women.

Tuesday 26th November 2024

Do Now

1. Anchorage is text that goes with the main image to explain it. ✅

2. When analysing typography, we can look at the text size, colour and whether it is serif or sans serif. ✅

3. Cover Lines ✅

4. Sans Serif ✅

5. Mid shot or medium long shot. Medium close up

Raheem Sterling:

• He was born on the 8th December 1994
• He is an English football player, born in Jamaica
• He won PFA player of the year award
• He scored 131 goals in 339 games for Manchester City
• His dad was killed when he was a child
• His mum was an athlete
• He fought heavily against racism

Raheem starling is a football player, who plays for England, and currently Arsenal. At the beginning of his career, he played for Liverpool, where he was always respected, and liked by the fans. He eventually moved to Manchester City, and became the most expensive player in England. At Manchester City, he received lots of hate, especially in one game against Chelsea in December 2018. This urged him to speak out about racism in football, and he said that the media was not helping it. This is why he is the cover star of the GQ magazine, as he is standing up to racism in football, and speaking out on the issue.

Masthead:

Gold - Special? Expensive - ABC1 audience - contrasts with the black wings / background. 

bold / large / sans serif

Coverlines:

Main Coverline - Serif font - Sophisticated - Taken seriously - Standing up too racism

Anchorage Text:

Explains what he is protecting as the 'Guardian Angel'

Puts a good image in people's heads.

Layout:

Image:

Long Shot - Powerful Pose? Standing up (to racism?) / Head held high

Shirtless - Power / Shameless?

Black Wings - Black

Lexis:

Angel - From heaven - Religious figure?

Guardian - Protection

Saved - Guardian - Football goalkeeper?

Semantic Field - Brutal / Dictatorship / Westminster? / Guardian - Power

Typography:

Serif - Masculine / Sophisticated / ABC1 Audience / Serious

Gold - Expensive/special - ABC1 Audience / Contrasts with black

Large Text - Stands out

Tuesday, 10th December 2024

Do Now

1. Cover lines show what kind of topics are in the magazine. ✅

2. The purpose of a magazine cover is to appeal to an audience to make them initially pick it up. ✅

3. In 2019, Raheem Sterling was standing up against racism in football. ✅

4. In a low angle shot, the camera would be below the subject ✅

5. A convention is something that recurs in a theme. The way in which something is usually done.

Assessment Improvement 

Non-Verbal Codes - Mise en Scene

Written codes - Anything written

Gesture Codes - body language

Symbolic codes - Colours that symbolise something

Cover Conventions:

One main image

Z Layout

Cover lines around the main image

Large masthead top left

Colour pallette of 3 or 4 colours

The main image shows Sterling standing in a confidant stance, with a large pair of black wings, which represent angels, and connotations of protection. He is looking at the camera with a serious face which shows that he wants to be taken seriously.

The main image shows a low angle shot of Sterling standing in a confidant stance, with a large pair of black wings. He looks serious and directly addresses the audience.

The main image shows a low angle shot of Sterling standing in a confidant stance, Emphasising his power with a large pair of black wings that represent angels and protection of other black football players. He looks serious, which shows that he wants to be taken seriously and directly addresses the audience to appear as if he is talking to the audience. This shows how GQ wants to cover serious topics to appeal to a wealthy and professional ABC1 audience

1C) Layout and Design:

This GQ cover shows many magazine cover conventions. For example, the Z shape layout makes the magazine flow where the eye naturally goes, which is common in magazine covers, to make them more accessible. It also has one main image, which gives a basic outline of what the magazine will contain. The cover lines around the outside link to other topics, to bring in a larger audience. The colour pallette of black, gold and white has a sophisticated look, which appeals to their typical audience of an ABC 1 male. 

Tuesday, 17th December 2024

Do Now

1. Another word for 'Connotes' is denotes? ❌ Suggests, implies, shows, is associated with.

2. Connotations of wings are angels, protection, flight. ✅ Birds, freedom

3. The GQ target audience is ABC1 males aged 20 - 44. ✅

4. The purpose of a magazine cover is to encourage someone to pick the magazine up. ✅

5. A media convention is how something is usually done. ✅

GQ Representation

Gender

• Strong - Shirtless
• Powerful
• Violent words in the cover lines: 'Insane', 'wild', 'brutal', 'totally nuts' - Men are typically violent
• Topless with tattoos - Hyper-masculinity
• Wings - Supernatural - Reflect football skills
• Thick silver jewellery - Status / wealth
• Cover lines - everyone on the cover is seen as successful
• Men 'have it all' - Health, Wealth and Strength.

Ethnicity

• Tattoo - Rebellious - gangs/crime
• Violent words - stereotypical gang violence
• Challenges the stereotype of incompetence - Protection
• Not typical for a black person to be on a cover
• Stereotypically physically strong
• Angel - Challenges violent stereotypes

Tuesday, 7th January 2024

Do Now

1. Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine. ✅

2. The target audience is ABC1 Females aged between 20 and 44. ✅

3. Conde Naste publishes Vogue. ✅

4. The purpose of a magazine cover is to initially make people pick it up. ✅

5. A stereotypical cover star for a women's fashion magazine is one who is tall, slim ✅ Young, white, attractive 

Case Study Two: Vogue Magazine

These two covers show Vogue's new approach towards diversity, by one model being Harry Styles, a white male and the other being Rihanna, a black female. In the past, vogue has only used slim, attractive, white females as cover stars, but now they have a large range of people. In other magazines, black models, including Rihanna have been whitewashed to have lighter skin, or sexually objectified but Vogue doesn't do this. It has also changed to challenge masculine stereotypes, by having Harry Styles wearing a dress, which men are often frowned upon for doing.

Malala Yousafzai

- She has won a Nobel peace Prize in 2014

- In 2012 she was shot by the Taliban 

- She wrote an autobiography called 'I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban'.

- She fought for Girl's education

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist who was shot in the head when she was a child, after creating a famous blog about life under Taliban rule, under a fake name. She survived, and was taken to England, where she began to fight for Girls having the same education rights as boys around the world, doing speeches for the UN an winning a Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. I think Vogue has used her as a cover star as she has a very unique story, fighting against a terrorist organisation and surviving being shot in the head, and she was speaking up more again, around the time of the magazine being published, as in June 2021 the Taliban was beginning to take over Afghanistan, so she wanted to raise awareness for this.