Strippers

Audience:

·      Males 16 and upward: sexualised representation of women, which would appeal to a male audience because they’d find them attractive.

·      Females 18-30 – information use and gratification.

·      Entertainment use and gratification.

·      Preferred reading: male gender.

·      Oppositional reading: young people (under 14) and the older generation (above 60).

·      Negotiated reading: female gender – may watch the show to become more informed about strippers – interested in their life and the job itself. May personally identify with the strippers because they understand themselves what it’s like to need extra money.

·      Socio-economic group: B, however appeals to a wider audience due to the curiosity element of the documentary.

Representation:

·      Gender: females are being represented in a sexualised manner, because although the programme aims to give the audience an insight into the life of a stripper, when the strippers are being interviewed, they’re still in little clothing. This shows that the audience are still being reminded that they’re strippers and it’s come to define a part of who they are.

Beginning of the show:

#strippers – social integration

Extreme long shot – sets the location

Close ups and extreme close ups of their eyes, bums & boobs – sexualising: close up of the eyes – alluring, trying to connect with the audience

Pan up and down the strippers bodies – also sexualising – cuts from one poledancing scene to a lap dance scene, etc.

Further into the show:

The strippers are seen fully dressed in their own homes and their back/life stories are given. It’s showing the audience that although they are sexualised and strip to make extra money, they’re just normal people who live their lives day-to-day.

The aim of the documentary is to open the audience’s eyes to this aspect of the sex industry.

Voice-over: shows it’s a documentary: information gratification. 

Dove 'Deeply Nourishing' TV ad: representation and analysis

http://www.tellyads.com/show_movie.php?filename=TA16783

In this Dove 'Deeply Nourising' advertisement, it goes against controversial representation and stereotypes of women. This is because women are usually seen as either sexualised objects to be lusted over, domestic housewives or weak, co-dependent individuals who need a male figure to be happy.

In this advertisement, the women are seen in dressing gowns embracing their natural beauty. They haven't had any fancy makeup applied to them, nor have they had their hair done especially for the advert. This is showing that they're not being sexualised and instead are being empowered, because they're showing that women don't need to be sexualised and 'done up' to be considered beautiful or attractive. The women in the advert appear comfortable in their own bodies and therefore aren't allowing themselves to be objectified under The Male Gaze which may empower other women and enable them to be comfortable in their own skins, too. This would appeal to a female audience aged 18+ as this is when females would generally become interested in cosmetics and when they'd develop a desire to take care of their bodies more. It'd also appeal to an older audience as the women presented in the advertisement are of an older age and therefore too young an audience would find it harder to personally identify with them.

The preferred reading of Dove 'Deeply Nourishing' is older women aged 21+ because it features women of this age and with the advertisement using regular, everyday women, it provides this particular audience with the need for personal identification. This would ultimately make this target audience feel more confident about themselves as they'd see regular women on television being happy and comfortable with themselves and it'd inspire them to feel good about themselves also.

The oppositional reading is males. Beauty products are primarily seen as an interest for women rather than men, therefore men wouldn't be able to relate to the Dove advertisement; especially as it centres around females throughout.

The negotiated reading is young women 16 and over.

The aim of the advertisement is to show women that with body image being such a big issue in the media and with pressure to conform and adhere to society's body image ideal, that they should be comfortable in their own skin. Dove have done many beauty campaigns to research the influence of media on a woman's perception of beauty and themselves. They found in one of their most recent campaigns that 90% of all women worldwide (15-64) want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance, with body weight ranking the highest. With Dove using everyday women who juxtapose the ideal of slim being perfect, it's showing women that they're beautiful regardless of their body image and it's promoting taking good care of themselves to feel good for themselves and not as a way to appear attractive for anyone else.

NTS: Remember to get statistics for how well Dove products have sold since using everyday women in their advertisements.

http://psucomm473.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/dove-campaign-for-real-beauty-case.html

Strippers Presentation

Young People Representation in the Media

http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/childrens-research-centre/files/crc-pr/file/ecms/web-content/clarke.pdf

In this article, it provides a lot of information for how young people are represented in the media. For example, research into young people representation has found that:

• The majority of media stories involving young people are negative
• The most common stories are predominantly about crime/violence, gangs, education and social exclusion
• The media doesn't always portray true reality
• Many young people believe the media represents them as anti-social and a group to be feared

Research was conducted where newspaper coverage of young people was monitored during a specific week each year, and this research found that the highest percentage of coverage was negative. This would then inflict a negative opinion of young people on the audience who viewed that specific media text and their own belief would be formed around what they're viewing.

In 'Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents', this represents young people as party animals who are interested in nothing more than alcohol and sex. This portrays a negative view of young people because it's imposing a view that the audience who view it would be generalising to the entire youth population. It means that they wouldn't see young people as having aspirations, dreams and trying to achieve good and do good with their lives, however they'd be more interested in getting drunk and having sex. Whilst the latter is true for some teenagers, referring that to the entire population shines a negative light overall.

Another example of young people representation in the media is 'Kidulthood' as well as 'Adulthood'. 'Adulthood' is the sequel to 'Kidulthood' and both represent gang culture and violence as being a dominant part of the younger generation. It portrays the message that all teenagers and young people participate in violence and this is another negative portrayal of young people.

The Cultivation Theory

http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20Clusters/Media,%20Culture%20and%20Society/Cultivation_Theory-1/Cultivation_Theory-1-1.png

The Cultivation Theory is the idea that a person's perception of the world around them is altered by mass exposure to various forms of media (e.g. television, internet, newspaper). The theory suggests that television and media play a small but significant influence on the attitudes and beliefs of society about society.

An example of this is the fact that due to programs such as Crimewatch, more exposure would influence the viewers who watch it more so and may impact them subconsciously to fear danger if out at night and it's dark. They may anticipate because of what they've seen in the media that they could get mugged, murdered, raped, etc. because this is what they've been cultivated to believe by exposure to this form of media text.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/pictures/636xAny/7/3/5/1115735_skins_050210.jpg

Skins is an example of how young people are cultivated to be perceived as disrespectful drug fiends who do little more than party and have sex. In many of the series, they are also seen engaging in violent behaviour towards each other or to other people, such as drug dealers or aggressive men in pubs/clubs. This is a negative portrayal of young people and an older generation may be cultivated to believe that all of the younger generation are like this, inflicting a negative impression of youth culture in their heads. Not only that, the majority of the attention that the younger generation receive in the media (e.g. newspapers and news reports) is negative. This reinforces the idea of young people being disrespectful, lazy and in some instances, violent.

Male and Female Representation in the Media

Female Representation in the Media

1. Sexualised/objectified female example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C97G0On8OnY

In this advertisement, the main actress who's demonstrating the product is being sexualised because she's seen in the shower and also appears naked in nothing more than a bath of pink water and flower petals. From this the audience get the impression that to be considered attractive and to be wanted by the opposite gender, a female must appear in this way and present herself in a sexual way for that to be achieved. At the end of the advertisement, it's clear that her partner is suddenly more interested because he finds her more attractive, reinforcing this point of to be found attractive, a woman must be sexualised. This meets Laura Mulvey's theory that was proposed in 1975 of Sexual Objectification and the Male Gaze because the actress in this advertisement is there solely for display purposes and is appealing to 'the male gaze'. The actress, however, isn't trying to fight this sexuality, she instead adorns it.

2. Domestic woman:

 Cinderella is an example of a domestic woman because she's constantly dressed in ragged clothing and caters to the ugly step-sisters and evil step-mother's needs. She is always pictured cleaning, cooking, doing washing, etc. This shows she's domesticated because these are stereotypes of a domestic woman. Cinderella initially isn't considered to be beautiful, however after she transforms for the ball, she is fawned over by a prince. This reinforces the idea of The Male Gaze because when Cinderella is considered attractive, she is suddenly wanted by a male, whereas she never received that type of appreciation when she was merely cleaning. This representation shows women as not only there to satisfy other people but also there as an object to be looked at.

Another example of a domestic woman is Marge Simpson. The purpose of  Marge in The Simpsons is the play the role of the housewife, meaning she cooks, cleans and caters to Homer's needs. This is a prime example of a domestic woman, with Marge not working and staying home, taking care of the children and keeping the house intact.

3. Post-feminism:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBmMU_iwe6U

Run The World by Beyonce represents post-feminism because the song is about women ruling the world, showing how they aim to surpass men in every aspect and become more dominant than the male species. This is a key characteristic of the post-feminism movement. During the video, Beyonce appears in minimal clothing occasionally and also provocative, however classy clothing; this shows that the singer is asserting her right to be sexually attractive and not be objectified for that. She is showing that just because a woman appears to be sexually attractive, it doesn't mean that that should be glorified to the extent of objectifying, and that there are much more to women than their appearance. This is the message Beyonce is trying to portray, however I believe that equal rights should be empowering for every individual who feels oppressed, not just women in particular. I believe that in order for Beyonce to better educate her audience, they must become more aware of the situation and whilst Beyonce is trying to assert her power as a woman in this video, the way it's portrayed lacks the education the audience needs.

Male Representation in the Media:

1. Dominant/aggressive male

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we9jeU76Y9E

In this music video by Chase and Status, it represents the view that males are dominant and aggressive. It holds the stereotype that they're physically superior than women and they hold more control and power over them than women do over men. This is portrayed in 'Time' because the man is seen to be slapping his wife, showing how he holds disrespect for her but also holds himself in a higher regard due to overpowering her. The woman is seen to be weaker than the man, and cowers down to him. At the end of the video, he is seen to be pushing the woman down the stairs, further emphasising the fact that men are more dominant, controlling and aggressive - a stereotype that is widely recognised in today's society.

2. Male stereotype, such as: geek, jock, action hero, joker (tv show/film)

In Superbad, there are many stereotypes that are represented. In conjunction to the dominant/aggressive male, there is also the stereotype of boys being geeks/jocks; both stereotypes of which appear in this movie. The geeks are seen to be of lower social standard than the jocks, who are held in a higher regard. This is usually due to them being considered more attractive and having a bigger hold over other people due to this. The geeks in Superbad try and build a reputation that deems them to be 'cool', by buying alcohol for people they're attending a party with, and buying a fake I.D.

The jocks in the movie are the ones who are seen to be constantly consumed with female attention, whilst the geeks are trying to figure out how to attract them. This shows the difference in the social classes of geeks and jocks, and that a lot can be determined or pre-judged by a person due to the stereotype they're categorised them into.

3. Metrosexual/new man

On this magazine cover, it's photographed Will Smith and his son, Jaden Smith, together. This represents the stereotype of the 'new man' because it's showing that Will is taking an active part in raising Jaden whereas it was considered many years ago that it was always the woman's role to rear their children. This was because there was the stereotype of the man being the breadwinner, who went out to work and provided for the family whilst the mother stayed home, looked after the children, cleaned and cooked. The 'new man' is showing a detachment from this stereotype and many images of Will Smith feature his son with him. This represents Will as a father figure, showing that men are taking a bigger stance in their role as father and encouraging other men to, too.

It's also showing a detachment from the stereotype of the 'domestic woman', because men are now portraying a more active role.

Old People Stereotype in the Media: Challenged

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2550800/Record-number-pensioners-seeking-help-drug-additions.html

In this article, the stereotype of younger people being drug fiends is challenged as it's showing that older people are suffering more and more from substance abuse and drug addiction.

Drugs are usually associated with a younger population and the fact that it's relating it to an older population juxtaposes with the stereotype of young people.

Old People Representation in the Media

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2550670/Over-50s-unhappy-sex-life-34-underwhelmed-bedroom-half-dont-want-discuss-problems.html

In this article, it represents the stereotype that old people either stop or begin having less regular sex. It's portrayed in the media that old people lose interest as they get older and are less likely to maintain a sex life past their 50s. According to this article, 4% of the people surveyed believed that having sex was of "paramount importance" reinforcing the stereotype because it is evidence of older people losing interest. Many of the people surveyed believed that being affectionate and loving towards their partner constituted for sex and it became of less importance.

Exam: How To Improve

Audience Question

• Be more confident with the use of theories.
• Expand on the point I'm trying to make and ensure I've justified each point I've made.
• Deepen understanding and knowledge of visual codes and how to apply them so I can better analyse media text.
• Case studies.

Representation Question

• Be more confident with the use of theories and include them in my work.
• Widen knowledge of how the various representations of men and women differ and how they apply to certain people.
• Include stereotypes in my representation answers and be specific with who they apply to and how.
• Give own detailed examples and research case studies.

Revision and Study

• Make a revision and study guide so that I do enough hours of revision a week.
• Find a way to revise effectively (e.g. visual mnemonics, hierarchy, etc.)

Coursework

• Always work to the best of my ability.
• Collect draft and receive feedback on it.

Sexual Attractiveness Representation of Men in the Media

This magazine represents the man on the front with sexual attractiveness. This is because he has a muscular physique and is emerging from the water with it dripping down his body.

This would appeal to men because men who read "Men's Health" would be people who are interested in getting fit and becoming muscular, maybe like the man in the main image. Men may aspire to be like him and also think that women will find them more attractive if they looked like he does and had the same sort of physique, however the man on the main image himself represents independence. 

He is portraying himself as a confident individual who is contented to be by himself, so this magazine and this image also appeals to those men who want to get fit and healthy for themselves rather than someone else. 

In terms of sexual attractiveness, the man in the main image emerging from the water the way he is has sexual connotations, because he's half-naked and the water would emphasise his body and the producer of this magazine has captured that in the lighting, making him look more chiselled and strong. This would appeal to men because it may make them believe that if they have the same sort of body and become to be fit/healthy, they'll be seen as more sexually attractive, too.

Sexual Representation of Women in the Media

This NME cover is of Lady Gaga portrayed in a sexual way. I know this because of how she is dressed and her stance. The stereotype of a picture like is that women are sexualised and women are sex objects. A picture like this doesn't help the portray of women.

A magazine cover like this wouldn't apply to women but more to mean because it looks like she is an easy target by what she wearing and where her hands are placed. People who are Lady Gaga fans who are women would buy this but if there didn't know who she was they would think something different as like i have said what she is wearing. 

The language that is used is colloquial language. The headline ' I am not full of sh*t are you?' This just shows what type of women she is. A sexual figure and not a good role model for the younger generation. 

Even though this photo is portrayed as a sexual women it does not show she is fragile in anyway and her beauty is distorted with what the outfit she is dressed in. Also the make up that she is wearing is bold and not natural which hides her beauty. This shows that she does not want to be known as herself but something she is made to be. Her facial expression is blank which portrays her more as a sex object than an actual women. 

The outfit she is wearing reflects the headline because of how bold the headline is the outfit matches. This shows what type of person she is but yet again her stance could of been different to make her look so much as a stereotypical sexualised women.

The picture itself could of been shot different to be portrayed in a different light.

Representation of Women in the Media

Prima magazine is aimed at an older audience and we can tell this because there's the subtitles 'food', 'home' and 'money'/'savings', which show that it's aimed towards an older target audience as they would be the age group that dealt with things like that.

The representation of the woman on the front of the magazine is a normal representation, however there's also an element of the domestic stereotype that's attached to females. The audience can tell this because the magazine boasts about how to "feed your family for £5" and also how to "grow your own veg". Stereotypically, it would be the woman who stayed at home, cooked for the family and cleaned the house, so in this being involved in the magazine it shows that they're transferring that stereotype across as these cover-lines wouldn't appear on a men's magazine.

It appeals to women because although there is this stereotypical element to the magazine cover, it would appeal to women because of how it provides tips and tricks for "cheap & chic fashion" and "budget beauty tips" and a woman who is of older age would maybe be enticed to buy the magazine so that they could continue to look good. The main image of the woman on the front cover is that she just looks like an average, domestic housewife, with natural makeup and normal clothes.

The cover-lines on the magazine are centralised around emotional rather than intellectual dealings which is a typical stereotype of a woman's magazine and the gender itself. This is because women are seen to be more emotional and emotionally insecure than men which is why magazines such as Prima emphasises how to look good and keep the reader's body in shape.

One thing about the magazine is that it doesn't hold the stereotype of women being fragile and dependent on a man or a partner, as there's no cover-lines or anything on the magazine that suggests this - it all points more towards independence and the woman looking good for herself rather than for a man. It shows that the woman has freedom and is handling the home and her money by herself, which conventionally goes against this specific stereotype.

CD Cover Pre-Production: Roses

CD Cover Draft: Roses

The idea for this album cover was to give it an indie/alternative vibe to represent the genre of music I was going for. I used dark colours and low key lighting to show the depth of the album and also used a double exposure technique to add in the element of nature. I left the background simple as to not distract from the main image and kept both the font and the album title simplistic to demonstrate the genre of the album. I added a grainy effect on top of the image just so it all blended in better together and looked more complex rather than a smooth finish to the photograph.






I used a darker picture for the background as a connotation of the peaceful yet chilling ambience of the music. I used the double exposure technique again to tie in with the original image on the front cover and bring the two images together. I included spaces in between each letter of the song titles to show that the album is about space, nature and time. This is also represented in the song titles themselves as they all interlink with the elements, darkness and ambience. I wanted to give the album a surreal yet euphoric vibe and wanted to portray that that's how the audience would feel listening to the album.

CD Cover Draft: Fox Track

This is an example of one of my CD cover drafts. The genre for this CD cover is primarily indie with a folk vibe. I looked at various different indie/folk CD covers before putting this piece together and found that the majority of them have simplistic fonts and nonchalant images - this represents the type of music because it's relaxed with a chilled ambience backing. The image I used relates to the album name because it's of a boy hugging a fox and the title is 'Fox Track'. I named the CD 'The Boy With Blood in His Lungs' because as it's an indie cover, the majority come up with a bizarre and original name for their CD's and this gives it more of an indie feel. I decided to use a simple typeface to tie in with the simple song choices and simple colour scheme.

For the CD back cover, I decided to use another simple image of a fox so that both the front and back linked together. I used simple track names that don't particularly have any relevance in conjunction with each other and was inspired by this idea from Foster the People's album, Torches. The beginning letter of every song spells out 'Fox Track' so that the album name is both on the front and back so the audience knows who's album it is from either cover. I used this specific background colour because it linked in with the colour of the image of the fox and overall, goes with the colour scheme of the album. I used the same typeface as the album name because it all ties in together with the whole album, the song titles and the colours.

This is the original image I used for the album cover. I cropped it to fit and colour picked the background colour to fill the rest of the background with the same colour. It wasn't exact so I had to blur around the edges of it. I used the eraser tool and set the opacity to 23% at 0% hardness and blurred it until the edges were no longer visible and it fit nicely in the corner of the album. For the text, I colour picked from the colours on the fox and darkened it a little bit to make it less vibrant. The text layers were two different layers and I scrolled through various texts before settling for the ones I finally did, and I moved the composition around a lot. Originally, I was planning on having the album title The Boy With Blood in His Lungs more towards the left and the album title Fox Track beside it but in bold so the audience could differentiate between the title and the artist, however when I put them side-by-side, I didn't particularly like it. I messed around with moving the text up and down and settled for it centred, with Fox Track above the album name. I finally decided to keep it like this because I thought it made the album cover and looked a lot neater and tidier than with the album name and artist name next to each other.

This is the original image I used for the back cover as it showed the fox in more detail and linked nicely in with the idea I was going for with the covers. I liked how there was a wooden effect and the fact that the fox was framed as it accentuated the image. To get this blurred like on the image on the back cover, I used the eraser tool again, set at the same opacity and hardness as I was using previously and removed all of the background around the oval ensuring I didn't erase the feather. I then centred it in the middle of the back cover and set the opacity to 67% so that it was blurred and moved the text over the image. I added a shadow to the text to make sure it was visible and made the first initial of every song title italic, so that whoever was viewing the album could see that it spelt Fox Track down the side. I used the colour picker tool to select the colour of the background again so that it blended in nicely with the image once I'd added various effects to it. I tried to make both the back and the front as simple as possible because upon researching indie/folk covers, I found that most were and I tried to reciprocate this with my covers.

CD Questionnaire
Please click the link above and complete my questionnaire for my media work, thank you.

CD Cover: Inspiration

This picture by Jon Deunas inspires me for my CD cover because I like the double exposure effect. I think it adds more depth to the picture and rather than just being one image, there's two so there's a sense of storytelling within it. With a double exposure photograph, I like how there's two lots of detail and there's more than just one thing that captures the audience's attention.

  I'd use this style and this effect for my album cover to create depth within it and allow the audience to be captured by it which would represent the music genre I was trying to portray.

One idea I have using the double exposure effect is of a girl in a pure white dress stood in the middle of a field with a forest behind her holding two lanterns with candles burning brightly in them. The double exposure would come afterwards where I'd take a picture of a forest and blend it over the top of the image of the girl and blur it slightly, adding a fog effect similar to the one on the photograph above.

This picture also gives me an idea of doing a close-up shot of the girl's (who is modelling for me) face, then a long shot with her holding the lanterns and so you can see her white dress portraying a sense of innocence, and then the forest and the trees in the background. The song names I decide to put on the album will relate to the nature of the photographs, purity and isolation.

CD Cover Analysis: Indie/Alternative

Rubik are an indie pop/rock band from Finland. Their CD cover shows this because it has an authentic vintage effect and the clothing the models are wearing within it are also relating to the vintage era.

The lighting used is quite lowkey lighting so the audience gets the impression that it's set around dawn - the sun hasn't risen yet, however you can tell it's still warm as they're both wearing shorts and this relates to the album name 'Solar'. Solar means "of, relating to, or determined by the sun"; this image used relates to the sun because not only is it nature, but it gives the impression that they're waiting for the sun to rise. The elements within the image (e.g. the trees in the background, the lake, the cloud covering the woman's face) they pertain to nature and the word 'Solar'. This shows how the type of sound they might be trying to get across to the audience: chilled out and relaxed.

The camera angle used is an extreme long shot and this is used to establish the location and let the audience get an idea of what sort of sound the album has.
The cloud covering their faces gives a sense of anonymity and one song on their album is called "storm in a glass of water", therefore the cloud could be representative of that specific song. The majority of the songs on the album also affiliate with the image used, for example 'World Around You' and 'Sun's Eyes'. The song 'Sun's Eyes' combined with the album title 'Solar' overall gives the album a naturistic and tranquil vibe.

Foster the People are an American indie-pop band. The album artwork was designed by Japayork who's style is represented through the cover and indicates to the audience that it's an indie album. The audience gets this impression because many album covers that are more-so indie than pop, alternative, etc. have some sort of hand drawn artwork on them (for example 'Antidotes' by 'Foals') and this differentiates from the usual photographic image typically displayed.

The figures that have been drawn are smiling and cheerful and this gives the audience the idea that that's the vibe of the album and that the songs produced within it are happy and upbeat.

The colouring of the title 'Torches' is significant to the colour used on the torches held by the figures as everything else is in black and white. This would make the colour pop and as soon as the audience saw it they'd be able to recognise it because all of the torches are coloured and that's also the name of the album.
  The typeface of the title used is very modern and bold so it captures the audience's attention and they know exactly who's album it is.
  It's a very bright and simplistic album cover which shows the sort of music they produce, which is upbeat and bright itself. There isn't a direct link between the song titles on the album and the artwork itself which shows that there's no real structure to the production as there was with Rubik's 'Solar' album, which shows a more laidback approach and fun attitude towards the music.

Snakadaktal, like both Foster the People and Rubik is an indie pop band, originating from Australia. Their album cover has the same feel as Rubik's in the sense that the effect used on it gives it a vintage aura.

The lighting used on this one is highkey lighting because the audience can tell it was shot whilst the sun was shining due to the illumination of the clouds and the added effect of the sun's glare across the sky. The blue effect would've been added afterwards.
Like Rubik's album 'Solar', there's a lake and the image of nature as the main focus.
  This is a representation of the songs included on the album, for example 'Deep'; 'Air'; 'Isolate'; 'The Sun I'; 'Feel the Ocean Hold Me Under', etc. They're all to do with the elements and the photograph used on the cover demonstrates this - for example, there's the lake used and two songs pertaining to water.

The camera angle used is an extreme long shot so it establishes the setting and maybe sets the whole tone for the album. The leaves floating above the hill like kites is something original and unique on the album, therefore reinforcing the indie genre because the majority of them tend to typically include something that the audience wouldn't naturally see.
The title typeface used is very simple however is spread out across the top section of the album which takes up the majority of the space. This makes it wide and big enough for the audience to see however doesn't detract from the main image.

Magazine Analysis: ELLE

'ELLE' magazine's target audience is females, generally 18-35. We can tell this because Megan Fox is around that age and she's focused on the front cover as the main image and it's also evident from the cover lines. For example, the cover line "we've tried everything; surgery, injections, lasers, creams, what really works, what doesn't" targets an older audience because those who are younger would be more youthful and wouldn't be worrying about things such as those at their age. "The secret to looking 15 years younger" also emphasizes this point. Another point is that the magazine cover isn't incredibly busy, this is another way we can tell it's aimed at an older audience because they're only advertising the key things involved within the magazine and aren't overloading it as a children's or teenage magazine might.

'ELLE' is a well-known magazine and the audience can tell this because there's a lot covering the masthead and it's the "25th anniversary edition" therefore as it's been around for 25 years, it shows it must be a popular magazine.

Megan Fox has been selected as the main image and this is because she's an idolised woman within the film industry and many women see her as a role model and aspire to be like her. From the way that Megan's been clothed, we can see that 'ELLE' is a fashion magazine. She's dressed in quite a high quality dress and the audience receives the impression that a high-end designer may have designed the dress and Megan Fox looks glamorous, furthering the idea that it's a fashion magazine - the cover lines add to this as there's "Fall fashion!"; "The top 5 hair & makeup styles ever" and a cover line about the latest items of clothing and accessories available.

As it's a "special issue" this might entice the audience further into buying the magazine because it involves people such as Elle Macpherson, Amanda Seyfried and Lauren Conrad. These are all people that women look up to and may aspire to be like. This meets Katz and Blumler's use of the need for personal identity. The audience may not identify with Megan Fox yet as she looks glamorous but with the new "chic coats, killer boats, must-own bags", it's enforcing this idea that if they're fashionable, they'll be glamorous too and this meets that specific need. It also meets the information use because the audience are being informed about the latest fashion and how to keep up-to-date with specific styles.

  There's also a cover line referring to "love, sex, money, power" which are all things women would be interested in and that's another way the magazine and the magazine producers pull the audience in. The cover lines typically tend to cover the main image, however on this cover in particular, they've included the puffs right at the side so the audience can see the whole of Megan Fox and the dress she's wearing. This is a way for them to advertise the dress fully.

The dateline is "October 2010" and the thematic structure of the magazine coincides with this. This is because there's a lot of red and black used and at the end of October we have Halloween, which is a tradition that's known to be scary and a time of horror. A connotation of red is typically danger and a connotation of black is darkness, so with them choosing this colour scheme specifically, it ties in with the October month and the Halloween holiday. Another reason is ties in is because the cover line "Fall fashion!" shows that autumn is coming and the leaves are falling off the trees within this month in preparation for winter, and the colour of the dress Megan Fox is wearing ties in with the autumn season.

The magazine is priced at $3.99, this is £2.48 in GBP; this means that the magazine is aimed at middle-class women (such as teachers, nurses, etc.) as it's not priced too high so that they can afford it. The magazine producer has included "elle.com" underneath the date and the cost and has enlarged the font. This allows the audience to become involved socially and look at their website which would include more fashion buys and style/beauty tips for those who were interested in it.

Magazine Analysis: Men's Health

The magazine "Men's Health" target audience is primarily men. We can tell this because there's always men centred on the front cover and the magazine is all about a man developing his self-image and gaining confidence by eating the right foods, joining the gym, working out, etc.

The masthead is iconic and the audience know it's Men's Health because it's always in the same typeface and the same colour and this makes the magazine recognisable. It's also a bold text and uses a bright red which makes it eye-catching to those who aren't regular readers and this may coerce them into reading the magazine.

The colour of the masthead ties in with the colours used throughout the issue - there's a lot of red used alongside the masthead and also greys and blues. This also shows the target audience because they're quite masculine colours as opposed to pinks and yellows for a more feminine woman's magazine.

The main image on the front cover is of a man and a half-naked woman and this compliments "The Vice Issue" because the nature of the main image could suggest that it's a sexual vice. The cover line "one month to a body she can't resist" is aiming at those men who care about their appearance and also care about how women perceive their appearance and they want to look attractive for them. That cover line in particular may entice them into buying or reading the magazine because in addition to the main image, they may think that getting fit and healthy will make them attractive and irresistible to maybe the woman they're with or the woman they like.

This is one of Katz and Blumer's use and gratifications, because it meets their need for personal identity. They may not personally identify with the man on the cover just yet but they may aspire to be like him and this is another way they'd pull the reader in, by giving the impression that if they buy the magazine and begin to become healthy and fit, that they can look like him. Another cover line that coincides with "The Vice Issue" is "Beat colds, cancer and old age... with sex!" because it's showing that a portion of the magazine is sexually orientated and further enforces the idea of a sexual vice.

  One of the gratifications of this is that the audience may read the magazine and it may make them feel pleasure from reading it at the thought of wanting to be like that and being given information on how to become healthy. It may inspire them and this may make them motivated and determined.

The dateline on this magazine is underneath the masthead and is in a smaller font compared to the masthead and the cover lines (puffs). It's priced at £3.95 which shows the magazine is aimed mostly at a middle-class audience (i.e. teachers, business men). A reason why the dateline is so small could be that everything else on the magazine has enticed the reader firstly, and that although the magazine is £3.95 and they might not be willing to pay that, they would because everything on the magazine has gained intrigue and makes them want to buy it and read it.