HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT

PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

TH IS ALTERNAT IVE LOOK IS MOST COMMONLY SEEN AMONG MEN AND W OMEN AGED 16 – 25 (MY TARGET AUD IENCE RANGE) . I T I S OFTEN A PRESENTED AS A REL AXED LOOK WHICH LOOKS EFF ORTLESS AND QU ITE ‘K ITSCH ’ , YET A S THERE I S SUCH A LOT OF VAR IAT ION I T I S ALSO SEEN AS Q U ITE GRUNGY , W ITH INSP IRAT ION FROM THE 90S .

STEREOTYPICAL REPRESENTATION OF ALTERNATIVE/INDIE FASHION

SOME EXAMPLES…

REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN

WOMEN

In my magazine I have represented women as being fashionable and attractive without being hurtful or discriminative against their gender.

I managed to do this by informing my models to wear make up for their photo shoots – it needed to be natural (so they wouldn’t look orange) but also glamorous because they were pretending to be pop stars. This meant that my models are wearing quite a bit of eye make up

I also asked them to wear clothing which they had bought recently so that they would match current trends, implying that they were fashionable.

Not only this, I also took the photos outside, so that the lighting was as natural as possible

REPRESENTATION OF MEN

MEN In my magazine I only have one male model and as they are pretending to be a music star, I have tried to represent them to be stylish and sophisticated.

To do this, I asked my model to wear their best clothing, taking special care to make sure that their coat and jumper fitted the alternative genre which my magazine relates to.

I did this to show that the celebrity had money to spend on clothing but also to show that the magazine kept with the changing fashion trends and that the genre of the magazine can also be reflected in fashion too.

Both of these images manage to represent men as being both stylish and sophisticated.

The use of a modern ‘look’ helps to achieve this – his coat was bought recently and also helps to fit in with the classic ‘alternative’ image of fashion. Not only this, my magazine presents

men to look as if they are quite cold in their outlook on life – my model isn’t pulling a happy facially expression and this ‘straight-faced’ image could connote the idea that this celebrity does not worry about certain issues and just generally has a relaxed attitude.

The models stance also helps to exemplify his feelings. He is stood with his hands in his pockets, a general association with boredom or relaxation.

REPRESENTATION OF TEENAGERS

TEENAGERS

In my magazine, my double page spread features an interview with a young artist who happens to be a teenager. I have represented this rising star to be excitable and fun loving but also quiet and compassionate.

I have mainly expressed these views through the interview, where you actually hear a spoken response. But for the main picture I have tried to express this “quiet and compassionate” side.

I attempted to do this through her body language more than anything – the way she holds her arm behind her back makes her look shy and quiet, but the fact she has a smirk on her face also implies that she is quite fun loving, like any teen star would be.

I also tried to dress her suited to the music genre of the magazine, wearing clothing which the readers may even wear themselves. I tried to keep this quite relaxed as that seemed to suit her personality too – it wouldn’t look right if she were wearing a tight top and short skirt.

She is wearing a very small amount of make up because I wanted the picture to look as natural as possible. I also made sure to not ‘air-brushed’ this image either, as this could give false impressions as to what women should look like, ie. perfect skin and thinner body

The model is also looking down, although she is a minor celebrity I have still presented her to be shy and insecure. This is a common stereotype of young girls and so I decided to include it in this image. I almost contradicted this view though as the model has a small smile on her face – this gives the reader the impression that she is still an outgoing and fun loving teenager despite her insecurities.The mise-en-scene

of this image could give the reader the impression that the artist is from a poor and ‘rough’ background, yet really this image is just reflecting the 90s grunge style of the alternative genre, conveying the idea that the magazine fits in well with the style and correctly informs the reader of the type of genre.

I asked my model to wear this clothing combination as I felt that it fit in with the stereotypical ‘laid-back’ and ‘relaxed’ look that you sometimes see in the alternative genre.

By putting one arm behind her back, this feeling of insecurity is again emphasised. This shows that even though she is famous she is still ‘down-to-Earth’ as she expresses general human emotions that any girl her age would be feeling. IN doing this, the magazine becomes more relatable to its target audience.

The ‘relaxed’ curls in her hair again help to emphasise the alternative fashion look that I was hoping for in this image – it is also a popular look and would make her seem more relatable to the target audience.