2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

By Kyle Gordon

By Kyle Gordon

Preliminary task – Student magazine

The purpose of most student magazines is to inform students about new ways to study and enhance their social life. We did this by suggesting that there are many different ways inside in which we offer financial support, have noted down some revision techniques and have some interesting clubs and events to recommend. These are all features that, according to our target audience, students expect to find inside a student magazine. Having a range of different recommended clubs and events suggests that students are interested in finding different ways to socialise and have fun.

We wanted to show that our student magazineis suitable for...

...both male...

...and female students.

So we took a photograph of a female student and placed it on the front cover...

...and took a picture of a male student and placed it on the contents page.

The female student represented artistic students with an interest in fashion and make-up as she has her hair was tied up and she wore fashionable clothing that female students often wear.

The male student on the contents page represented male students with an interest in the culinary arts, as he has dressed up in a chef’s uniform.

Main task – Music magazine

The purpose of music magazines is to entertain readers and promote a specific genre.

Both men and women have been exposed to the R&B and Hip-Hop culture. Although a lot of music magazine institutions target their products at both genders, I decided to sway more towards the idea of promoting my music magazine to a male audience, but still ensure that it is suitable for women to read and enjoy too. I did this by placing a photograph of a male model on the front cover, contents and double page spread of my music magazine. I also used quite masculine colours such as black and dark red.

R&B and Hip-Hop artists tend to wear clothes which loosely fit their bodies. This can range from tracksuit bottoms, oversized T-Shirts and branded hoodies and jumpers. Bling such as gold chains and other types of jewellery are also common. They are used as statements to represent...

...power, success and most importantly, wealth.

At the preproduction stage of the main task, I picked a model that did not initially look like a Hop-Hop artist. Nevertheless, the Hoodie and Nike T-Shirts that he put on transformed him into an artist-like figure. One that could rise up to the standards of the music industry. This style of clothing also suggests that I have represented my social group: adolescence who follow the dress code of the Hip-Hop culture.

My music magazine model

Hip-Hop artist, Drake

You have reached...

The end of question 2