C1 magazines

 What is representation?

Lo. to explore the concept of representation and stereotypes

Representation is the way the media shows something in their own way so it can be bended to fit whatever they want.

This image shows 3 clearly close girls which are friends all looking happy, which shows a positive representation of teenage girlhood.

This image shows 4 friends all looking very happy as a group and getting along with eachother which is positive.

This shows the happiness between the two friends who have been on a nice day out eating ice cream on the bus.

Stereotypical

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

Do Now                                                    Friday 20 September

1. representation is how something is shown by the media in their own way.  

2. When looking at how something is represented you can consider the mise-en-scene.  If it's positive or negative

3. a stereotype is assumptions made based on common opinions and associations. A generalised representation of a person place or thing

4. there are three exams in media.  Two

5. media language, industries, representations, contexts, and audiences.

Stereotypes

Nurse: female, blue clothes

Mechanic: male, dirty, old clothes

Private school boy; hair gelled back and short, beige uniform, fancy house, horses.

Tattoo lover: covered in tattoos, bald, male, big piercing holes, bulky

Stereotypes are negative, students are messy, misbehaving, and loud. And teachers are positively represented as doing their jobs and reinforcing their rules constantly.

Student- messy, loud, disruptive, talkative, not working, these are stereotypes for a teenage student

Teachers- uniform, working, reinforcing, smart looking, these are the stereotypes for a teacher

Lo. to explore representations found in magazines

Magazine- The name of the magazine brand.

Cover lines- Small pieces of text about what's in the magazine around the outside.

Main image- the biggest background image.

Main cover line- the main thing the magazine is about which will be bolder than the other cover lines.

Puff- eye catching image/shapes

Colour palette- the colours used on the cover based on the associations to the theme of magazine.

Direct address- the image looking directly at you and use of word "you".

Star vehicle- the celebrity included in the magazine or model.

Do Now                                                                              Friday 27 September

1. The masthead of a magazine is the name of the magazine brand/title. ✔

2. The cover lines tell you about what the magazine contains. ✔

3. A puff is a shape on the cover that catches the eye. ✔

4. When looking at representations we can think about stereotypes. wether its positive/negative

5. stereotypes are often used in the media and can also be challenged. ✔

Representations in magazines

How is she represented on each cover?

Cover 1: casual, happy, motherly

Cover 2: powerful, confident, famous

Cover 2: Cheerful, colourful, fancy

   

She is represented as rich, model like, and very famous.

Differences between two covers: 

 target audience

 colour palettes

 type of magazine

 gender of cover star

 different company

 different topics

These differences are created in each magazine so that it can appeal to different target audiences.

In cosmo representation:

Wanting to loose weight

loves guys

alcoholic drinks

wanting a relationship

In the Cosmo magazine it represents women as wanting to loose weight because most of these cover lines are to do with eating healthy and weight loss. Its also saying women want relationships and specifically with guys with "guys made easy" or 'the real secret to sex appeal" and the woman model herself, Carrie Underwood, is shown in a slim fit dress and the stereotypical "perfect" body.

In GQ it is representing men by using cover lines that are typically a mans interest. They used the famous footballer David Beckham as the cover star and surrounded by taglines about "the coolest shoes" and talk of "football". 

GQ:

Football

blue and black

liking shoes

Do Now                                                         Friday 4 October

1. The main cover line would look bolder and bigger than others. ✔

2. Direct address is using "you" or the model looking at you. ✔

3. The sticker like shape is the puff. ✔

4. Blue is associated with males. ✔

5. objectification is making a living thing seem inanimate. ✔

Representation task

Do Now                                                    Friday 11 October

1. When analysing representation you can look at stereotypes. ✔ Gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity, disability

2. Sexual objectification is making a person appear more attractive for the opposite genders eye to           create attraction. ✔  (sex object that serves another's pleasure)

3. The main cover line on the rolling stone poster is 'inside game of thrones' ✔

4. The colour pink is associated with females. ✔

5. The common stereotype with teenagers is laziness and inappropriate behaviour. ✔

How do you compare representations?

Compare representation of gender in cosmopolitan and GQ front cover.

You must include:

• The choices the producers have made about how to represent gender.
• How far the representation of gender is similar in the two front covers.
• How far representation of gender is different in the two covers.

1. List similarities and differences.

2. Use list to make judgement.

3. Use my structure to write essay. Make sure/include judgement.

Try using DEL to help structure ideas:

Describe- the technique/element/representation used.

Explain- the connotations/meanings constructed, support with specific evidence.

Link- to the overall context/meaning/question.

Example: In the GQ cover men are represented as older and sophisticated. The tuxedo has connotations of wealth and elegance and the use of David Beckham as a star vehicle suggests an older audience. This is different to the cosmo cover where...

Cosmo: Anti sterotypical, Wearing pink, against stereotypes, Black and white colour pallet

GQ: monster, fearless, sexual objectification, medusa, direct address, sexual pose, cover lines about men.

"100 man moments"

Similarities: Sterotypical and anti stereotypical cover lines, both use opposite genders to target audience.

Differences: The Cosmo one goes against gender stereotypes with the male model in colourful clothes, GQ goes with the sexual objectification of women.

More different.

 -Introductory sentence giving overall comparison

1. How gender is represented in magazine one

2. How gender is represented in GQ

3. How far the representation is similar

4. How far the representation is different

Gender is represented differently in the two magazines. This can be seen as different because on cosmopolitan the star vehicle is male and wearing the colours pink and yellow which goes against stereotypes of males, he is also wearing a top that is shorter and would be classed as "feminine" that shows his stomach. The magazine is aimed at women so by using the opposite gender which is also dressed against stereotypes it goes against gender representation. Whereas in comparison, GQ uses Rihanna as the star vehicle and she is naked with snakes on her. This is sexual objectification of her and the use of snakes making her look like medusa which was a "cursed" woman. This is going towards the stereotypical gender representation because its a male cover and the use of a naked woman in the background would be used to 'appeal to the male gaze'.

                                                                  Friday 8 November

Industry Research

Lo. to research companies linked to set products

Magazine definitions:

Circulation- a count of how many copies are distributed

Advertising revenue- the money that magazine publishers earn from advertisers who place ads in their publications

Cover price- the price at which a single copy of a magazine is sold

Subscription model- a business model where customers pay a recurring fee to receive a product on a regular basis

Multi platform- creating and distributing content for a magazine across multiple platforms

Readership- the number of people who regularly read a magazine

Ideology- the set of values and beliefs that are embedded in a magazine's content, and how these shape how readers interpret societal issues

Brand identity- the image the company creates for itself

Target audience- the specific group of people that the magazine is intended to reach

Vogue

When was it launched? 1892, its British launch was in 1916

What was the original target audience? the New York upper class by "recounting their habits, their leisure activities, their social gatherings, the places they frequented, and the clothing they wore

Has it changed or rebranded? Nast changed it to a women's magazine. Edward Enninful became the new editor in 2017 and made important changes and digital subscriptions.

Who publishes it? Condé Nast

Is it print or multi platform? Yes, Vogue is a multi-platform brand that uses a variety of media to share content with its audience

What is its average circulation and readership? circulation of 190,000 and 796,000 readership

Who is the target audience? ABC1 fashion and style conscious females who are educated sophisticated and wealthy. They previously were targeting 30-45 year olds but since has been changed to focus on a younger reader too.

Summarise the brand image: elegant, luxury, fashion, style, inclusivity, high quality, artistic, lifestyle, empowering. They call themselves the fashion bible, and are culturally diverse, as well as also focusing on lifestyle as well as fashion.

GQ

When was it launched? 1931

What was the original target audience? fashion industry insiders

Has it changed or rebranded? Gentlemen's Quarterly was re-branded as GQ in 1967, because of its popularity, which was. then opened to more people. They got a new editor who lead them towards more of an online status.

Who publishes it? Condé Nast

Is it print or multi platform? Each issue is published in print and digitally; it has its own acclaimed website and apps

What is its average circulation and readership? the average circulation per issue in the UK is 85,000 and readership of 213,000. But it has over 2 million monthly users and 2 million on social media.

Who is the target audience? ABC1 men aged 20–44 from upper-class backgrounds.

Summarise the brand image: fashion, manhood, elegance, upper-class, "look sharp, live smart", GQ is also lifestyle, progressive

Do Now                                                 Friday 15 November

1. Conde Nast publishes both magazines. ✔

2. ABC1 audience. ✔

3. Young adults from 20 to 45 is target audience for both. ✔

4. A magazine title is a masthead. ✔

5. Colour palette is the few colours and theme used on a media product. ✔

Case Study 1

Lo. to explore the context & layout design for GQ magazine

Its catchphrase is "the magazine for men with an IQ"

GQ has a history of objectifying women, which promotes a chauvinist attitude towards women.

In the beginning of 1990's the magazine went from being men only on the cover to introducing women which would be dressed in a lot less clothes.

Some women not only on the cover that would be nude.

The website had an entire section dedicated to women (but aimed at men) and a yearly list of 'sexiest women', in contrast to how men appear with 'men of the year'.

• GQ targets its male audience with the use of either sophisticated men to attract their more ABC1 audience, or the use of objectified women to please the male gaze. 
• GQ represents gender by showing men as sophisticated and smart, and women as less modest and more as objects.

Cover Analysis- Media language

typography- how the text looks

• Block capitals
• White/grey colour theme
• Bold
• Sans serif font

Colour Palette

• grey
• white
• dark
• accent colour of pink is anti stereotypical

Layout

• Z pattern layout 

Anchorage text- any text that gives you the meaning of the image

• "The relentless Jeremy Strong"
• Famous actor, people know him
• Powerful 'relentless'
• Strong, powerful, been in a fight, the intense look

Do Now                                              Friday 22 November

1. Anchorage is words that accompany an image and give it a specific meaning

2. When analysing typography we can look at the serif, font colour, font size. ✔

3. The lines on a magazine are cover lines. ✔

4. The text is Sans serif

5. Magazine shots often use a mid shot. ✔

Raheem Sterling

When I was two, my father died from being gunned down to death," he wrote in a message shared on Instagram. "I made a promise to myself [that] I would never touch a gun in my lifetime. I shoot with my right foot, so it has a deeper meaning.

• From Jamaica
• His mum was an athlete
• Net worth of $45 mil
• In 2019 he was the nations most expensive player
• He had racist chants from Chelsea fans in 2018
• 5th youngest player in 2012 to play for England

Raheem sterling moved to London when he was 5 and was sold to Manchester City to play football for $45 million. In 2018 while playing a match, he received racist chants from Chelsea which inspired him to speak up about racism in football.

Image- Wings (inspired by Travis Scott) connotations of angel, wide stance for power, head tilted shows power and confidence

Lexis- word choice of "guardian angel" 

Do Now                                           Friday 29 November

1. Raheem Stirling is a footballer ✔

2. The font, the colour and the size when analysing typography ✔

3. Raheem Stirling was standing up against racism ✔

4. Serif ✔

5. The text that shows the meaning of the image is anchorage text ✔

Raheem Sterling

GQ: Sans serif font, modern, block capitals=masculinity, gold=money (wealthy)

Cover lines- "why its finally ok to own a belt bag" subverting stereotypes of bags being for women, now men can own them too.

Anchorage text- guardian angel, he's a winger in football, protects other black players from further racial incidents, he was seen as an evil person by the press but in reality seems to be a good person.

Image- the long shot thats low is taken with him positioned with a wide stance showing power and confidence, the tilted head while looking into the camera is showing more swagger and confidence in his position. The top being off is showing his power with fighting against the press and peoples opinions on his tattoos, presenting him as a confident and powerful role model.

The anchorage text is representing Raheem Stirling as a powerful person. This is shown by referring to him as a "guardian angel" and "saved football from itself". This is showing him as a powerful person because he is protecting the other black football players from further racist incidents. He could also be presented as a guardian angel because the dark colour resembles evil, yet the form of being an angel is presenting him as good.

The main image is presenting him as a masculine and confident person. This can be seen because of the low down long shot taken of him in a wide stance which represents confidence and power, its also quite a masculine stance. He also has his shirt off showing his tattoos which has connotations of masculinity and also because the press didn't like his tattoos so he is fighting against their expectations showing his confidence further.

The lexis is used to engage the reader with the methods of writing in the cover lines. Such as "Westminster has become a living nightmare" which is a metaphor referring to a more political statement. Beneath that it says "Manchester masterplan" which is an alliteration which is more likely to create more attention to what their reading.

The typography is using a clear colour scheme and using different fonts. This can be seen when they use brighter colours (in this case its orange) to highlight the more important phrases to draw attention from the reader. The things below them then use non bold text to explain it slightly. The quote on the cover line is in a serif font compared to all the other cover lines which creates more attention and awareness to the fact that its a quote from somebody.

Do Now                                             Friday 13 December

1. Coverlines tell us about the things in the magazine. ✔

2. A magazine cover is the front of a magazine. Get the attention of the potential reader

3. Raheem Stirling was standing up against racism. ✔

4. A low angle shot is at the floor. ✔ Below the subject looking up

Assessment Improvement

 

Do Now                                         Friday 20 December

1. Another word for connotes is shows ✔

2. Connotations of wings is angels, graceful, magical ✔

3. GQ target audience is ABC1 men ✔

4. A magazine cover appeals to the potential buyer ✔

GQ representation

Gender:

1. The cover is showing masculinity as being strong and confident

2. The top is off, you can see the tattoos, wide stance

3. Presenting him being a guardian angel

4. strong, abs, tattoos, top off, men have to be hyper masculine stereotype

5. Wearing jewellery challenging stereotypes its for women, wings

Ethnicity:

1. Standing up to racism

2. being shown as strong and muscular, unusual for black men to be on the front cover

3. Stereotype of black men being strong, dark clothing

Do Now

1. Vogue magazine is fashion genre. ✔ and lifestyle

2. Vogue target audience is females ABC1. ✔ 20-44 educated, sophisticated, wealthy

3. Vogue is published by Conde Nast. ✔

4. A magazine cover tells the potential buyer what the magazines about. ✔

5. A stereotypical cover star for a women's fashion magazine is a skinny female celebrity. ✔

Friday 10 January 2025

Case study 2 Vogue 

In the past vogue didn't include diversity within their magazine covers. The newer covers show more diversity and inclusivity towards gender and race.

Harry styles is male and is presented in a dress showing he likes fashion, as a man which goes against stereotypes.

Rihanna is presented for race and is shown as darker where as usually photographers make her appear whiter.

This tells us that vogues newer covers are trying to be more diverse between gender and race.

Malala Yousafzai

Shot at the age of 15

Female pakistan education activist 

Human rights advocate for women and children to have an education

On 9 October 2012, while on a bus in Swat District after taking an exam, Yousafzai and two other girls were shot by a Taliban gunman in an assassination attempt targeting her for her activism; the gunman fled the scene. 

Malala is famous because she got shot at the age of 15 for standing up for women's education and is a women's education activist. I think vogue used her as a cover star because she has became an inspiration and is a widely known female activist and became a nobel prize winner at the age of 17. 

Do Now

1. Malala is known for getting shot in the head ✔

2. in June 2021 the Uk and US troops were preparing to leave Afghanistan

3. the vogue target audience is ABC1 females ✔ 20-44 aged

4. vogue was known historically to not be inclusive ✔

5. Malala for a cover star is not stereotypical for a women's fashion magazine ✔

Friday 17 January 2025

Media Language Analysis

Masthead

• Serif font
• Connotations of sophistication, wealth, maturity, classy
• Vogue means the prevailing fashion or style at a particular time.
• Block capitals connote power, authority

The masthead is over her head to gain attention to the brand for using a cover star they wouldn't typically choose.

The silver colour connotes wealth, winning, elegance, power, wisdom, vogue is second place

The colour is used for the main cover line because it shows her as a role model

Anchorage text

• the brightest text is Malala to show her significance to her name
• connotations of 'survivor, activist, legend' is power, high achieving, strong
• the main cover line is emphasising her importance and powerful

Layout

• z shape
• follows traditional design 
• focus on the eyes seems slightly high for rule of thirds making her the centre of attention

Cover lines

• Black main title, white about the black words
• black in uppercase and serif font and white lower case italics underneath
• Serif font to link to power, elegance and class
• triplet of adjectives with clothes, imperatives, alliteration 'love after lockdown'
• emphasises topic and grab attention

Image

• Used medium closeup to focus her femininity, sees the hijab
• connotations of formal, modest, hijab connotes religion and identity, silk is expensive and feminine
• she comes across as feminine and gentle
• level angle to gain attention to her face
• the connotations of red is power, royalty, focus on her face because the background and clothes are the same

Do Now

1. z shape layout ✔

2. Anthony Joshua is my husband. ✔ Boxer

3. mid shot shows head and body down to elbows Medium close up

4. direct adress ✔

5. connotations of the colour red is power, royalty ✔ Courage, passion, love

Friday 24th January

Cover Analysis

Analyse the cover for how media language has been used to create different meanings.

You could mention:

• main image
• anchorage
• cover lines
• layout

The main image has been used to show femininity. The medium close up is used to gain attention to her facial expression which is soft and gentle, as well as her hand being on her face in a feminine way. They also do this to show the hijab she is wearing to display religion and identity. Malala is wearing red which has connotations for power and high status to get across the meaning of her being an empowered woman.

The anchorage text is referring to her as 'survivor, activist, legend' which is done to show empowerment. The use of this triplet of adjectives is also done to emphasise the importance and role, as well as high status. The brightest text is Malala, to highlight her name to show her significance. The San serif font is used for her name with connotations of class and matches the font of Vogue to show her as high importance, however her name is brighter than the masthead so they have presented her with a higher status and power than the magazine itself.

The cover lines have black font in serif font and uppercase and underneath have white lower case italics. The serif font has connotations of elegance and class. Theres a triplet of adjectives referring to clothing which is done to entice the target audience of ABC1 females. The alliteration 'love after lockdown' is done to make it more appealing and stand out to the potential buyer. They use the language to emphasise the topic and grab the attention of the buyer. 

Lastly, the layout is stereotypical and follows the magazine cover conventions of following a Z-shape layout. It takes the readers eyes to a cover line about beauty and then to Malalas name. This attracts the target audience of fashion interested ABC1 females.

Do Now

1. Representation is how something is shown for a certain meaning. By the media

2. When looking at representation we think about stereotypes. ✔ Positive or negative

3. Malala is muslim. ✔

4. Malala is not a stereotypical cover star for a fashion magazine. ✔

5. Connotations of the colour red is royal, high status, love, courage and passion. ✔

Friday 31st January 2025

Representation

In the past muslims have been represented as violent people or terrorists in the media. They are rarely seen as anything but being perpetrators, people lacking humour, and being violent and members of extreme groups.

In terms of ethnicity the vogue cover shows diversity because the cover star is muslim as well as in the coverlines both named famous people are black.

Explain how both ethnicity and gender has been represented on the vogue cover.

Ethnicity is represented in an anti-stereotypical way. For example the main image shows the cover star of Malala who is a muslim woman. Muslim people are not typically shown in the media in a positive way and stereotypically represents them as violent or terrorists. This links to the Vogue audience because they are known as not being inclusive in the past and are now showing a diverse cover star. Another example would be in the cover lines where both Jourdan Dann and Anthony Joshua are mentioned and both of those peoples ethnicity is black. This is showing diversity because on the front cover no mentioned people are white which is linking into Vogues determination on reaching a more diverse audience.

Gender is represented in a stereotypical way. This for example is shown in the way the cover star, Malala, looks. She is wearing a silk material hijab which is usually associated with femininity, as well as her hand placement in front of her face. This is positioned to make her look gentle and look more feminine and soft. This links to the target audience of Vogue being women of the ABC1 class and would stereotypically be feminine and elegant as well as Vogue being a fashion magazine and meeting the conventions of femininity.

Gender is also represented however as anti-stereotypical. This can be seen in the main cover line where Malala is represented as 'survivor, activist, legend' which are all strong adjectives for describing a Muslim female. They represent her as strong and brave which wouldn't typically be the case due to her gender and ethnicity. In the main image she is also wearing red which has connotations of bravery, courage, and passion which also is anti-stereotypical for being a woman to be presented in a brave way that makes her stand out. This links to the female audience because they are being represented as more than just a gentle and empowered person and shows that the text can be more empowering than the image itself.

Do Now

1. The vogue cover shows diversity. ✔

2. The cover line about boxing is anti stereotypical for a women's magazine. ✔

3. Malala has been represented in the image as gentle and feminine. ✔

4. Malala has been represented in the anchorage as powerful and a survivor. ✔

5. Muslims in the past have been represented as violent or to do with aggressive groups. 

Friday 7th February 2025

Malala Yousafzai Comparing

Similarities:

• Red clothing (powerful, sophisticated, feminine)
• Both of different ethnicities
• Both making direct address (confidence)
• Glamorous clothing
• Women are highlighted
• Both anchorage texts use their first name (connotes their status)

Differences:

• Long shot and medium close up
• Lizzo presented more powerful whereas Malala is gentle
• Lizzo is in front of the Vogue masthead
• Cover lines about politics in Lizzo cover

This is similar to the Malala cover because it is going against the stereotypes of white people being represented on magazines and instead it is about ethnicity and for people of colour.

This is different to the Sterling cover because he is dressed more feminine instead of masculine stereotypes.

Do Now

1. Compare asks you to look at two images similarities and differences. ✔

2. A how far question asks you to explain how much you agree or disagree with something. ✔

3. Aim for 5 paragraphs for 25 marks. ✔

4. The 25 mark question will ask you to compare an unseen cover with a set cover. ✔

5. The 25 mark question will ask you to compare media language or representation

Friday 14 February 2025

25 Mark Question 👿

Similarities:

• Stereotypical cover lines
• Confidence

Differences:

• clothing, anti stereotypical
• feminine, gentle, confident vs sexy, confident
• colour palette
• stereotypical vs anti-stereotypical
• main coverline

More differences.

The representations of gender in the Elle and vogue magazine are more different than similar.

Gender in the vogue magazine is represented as anti stereotypical with clothing. This is because Malala is wearing a silk hijab that covers her body in the shot and and only leaves her hands and face as visible skin. She is also posed with just her hands by her face in a medium close up shot. In comparison, in the Elle cover Kim is wearing a short dress that buttons up where you can see all the way up her legs and the top half is buttoned down. She also has a belt to snatch her waist in too to present her body more. This is stereotypical for a women to be represented and follows the typical magazine conventions for a women's magazine.The medium long shot allows for people and the male gaze to be able to see her body.

The representation of gender in the Vogue magazine is presented as gentle and feminine. This is done by Malala being posed with her hands by her face and a gentle smile with the direct address which creates the connotations of being gentle and feminine. Whereas, the representation of gender in the Elle magazine is presented as sexy and confident and follows the magazine conventions you would stereotypically find on a women's magazine. This is done with the way she is posed with her leaning onto her leg which has the connotations of being sexy. They have also gave her the effect of having wind in her hair which is done to give the connotations of confidence.

The representation of gender in Elle and Vogue is also shown to be different using the main coverline. In the Elle magazine the main coverline is "the confidence issue" which is very stereotypical for a women's magazine in it being about a stereotypical topic where its about women appearance or "issues"that they need to fix. Whereas on the Vogue cover the main cover line is about the cover star and in bold at the bottom in the centre. They use her name which shows the power of her status and the expectation to know who she is because of it. They describe her in a triplet of powerful adjectives "survivor, activist, legend" to emphasise her power. This is anti-stereotypical for women's magazine conventions and is also a very different representation compared to Elle.

However the representation of gender in Elle and Vogue both have mostly stereotypical cover lines. The Elle cover lines are stereotypical for a women's magazine cover with them all being about beauty and clothing such as "how to wear winters coolest trend". The Vogue magazine is mostly stereotypical with the cover lines talking about clothing beauty and love such as "Vogues guide to summer beauty". These are typically the stereotypes and conventions to find in a magazine aimed at women that they are interested in looks and romance which is being supported in both covers.

To conclude, the representations of gender are very different in both covers. However some aspects can be viewed as similar in the supporting of stereotypes towards gender.

25 MARK COMPARISON Q: 19/25 Excellent!
WWW: you’ve clearly identified differences and analysed them with examples to support.
EBI: try linking your ideas to the magazine conventions
TARGET 2: Link to magazine conventions
DIRT: Add in reference to magazine conventions to each paragraph.