GENRE & REPRESENTATIONS

FASHION MAGAZINES

The target audience of these three magazines in particular show that the typical buyer and viewer will be mostly female, aged 20+ and will be interested in fashion, beauty and lifestyle articles. They all also include that their readers usually have a “disposable income”, this shows that their readers may read the magazine to see the different items they could then purchase for themselves.

TARGET AUDIENCE - GLAMOUR

TARGET AUDIENCE – MARIE CLAIRE

TARGET AUDIENCE - COSMOPOLITAN

NEGATIVE REPRESENTATIONS

I feel that the negative representations that these magazines could possibly show would be that they are very overcrowded and busy which may show disorganization and a lack for structure for some people. They also speak a lot of about how to look your best by including lines such as, “your guide to gorgeous” and “your body just got hotter! Look fab naked”. Statements of this nature could be found as pressurizing to some people as they are telling their readers all the ways to improve themselves. All these magazines always chose to include a well known model or celebrity on their cover so it is very eye catching to the readers that know these people. Using these models could be seen as a negative as to some people it could become their aspiration even though the majority of the time the models have been airbrushed to create an unrealistic version of beauty and possibly something they could never achieve. It could also be seen as them using these models to get the attention of more potential readers and using them to increate their sales. A lot of their contents also involves sex, which some people may find inappropriate as lots of younger people are able to purchase the magazine and it is available for them to see in shops. The description of the typical reader of these magazines includes possibly a higher class reader and someone with a “high disposable income”, this could be seen as quite arrogant and also closing off the possibility for other people to read it.

From looking at this two page spread we can see that they are advertising spray tans and other ways to tan, this could be very controversial as people may disagree with using tanning beds and other ways to tan as It can cause health problems. This could be seen as promoting tan to some people and this magazine can be seen by young girls which could offend some people. It also shows the quite cluttered and relaxed style of the magazine as it takes up one whole page with an image and then puts some of the images randomly on the other page.

POSITIVE REPRESENTATIONS

I think that these magazines do show many positive representations as they are advertising to their readers way to make money, improve their wardrobe and how to improve relationships. For example they include in all of the magazines different ways and tips to improve their appearance “ amazing body tips”, “bright skin tips” and “fashion steals”. All of these captions are featured on the cover and could show that they are helping their audience as they are giving them tips on how to look their best, they also aren't saying that they need to change which will be seen as a definite positive. The colours that have been used on all these magazines are very bright and would be seen as feminine by many people as they have used lots of pinks and reds. These bright colours could show that the magazine isn't going to be very heavy and factual, it also looks very inviting and gives the impression that it has a friendly, lighthearted feel. This also shows contrast to other magazines as the magazine colour scheme usually links with the genre of the product. For example stereotypically heavy metal magazines would use very dark colours with maybe a few bright colours to highlight key things. However fashion magazines are typically very bright, eye-catching and bold with their striking bright colours. They also include lots of captions involving ‘money as they discuss ways to gain money and how their readers can get their hands on “free beauty treats”. Lines such as “Jessica Alba can make you rich” are very striking and bold, because they have used their cover model as the basis of a caption and an article in highlights her more and also shows a positive light to the magazine as they are helping their readers gain money.

From looking at this two page spread I think this could have many positive representations as it is an interview from Emma Watson who is seen as a role model to many girls. This article could also be seen as very positive as she gives advice and speaks about many different things that people may want to know. This article shows some contrast from other pages as it’s quite organised and has been separated from any other images, it has also been put in to columns which makes it easier to read for the audience.

REPRESENTATIONS OF SOCIAL GROUPS

The social groups of these magazines start fairly young as the youngest age of the average readers is 18 and goes up from there. This shows that the magazines appeal to a wide range of people, therefore they have to ensure that the contents of the magazines have to intrigue many people. All of the models also represent the age that they expect their readers to be as Jessica Alba is 32, Scarlett Johansson is 29 and Kimberly Walsh is 32. This shows that they use their cover models as an example and expectation of the age they want their readers to be, it also shows that the contents will then continue with linking with the age and will include articles and advertisements that would interest this age range. I think the social groups of these magazines also shows a fairly negative representation as from looking at each magazines media pack I have found that they expect their readers to be quite wealthy “intelligent”, “stylish” and “ambitious”. Describing the expectations of their readers could push some people away form purchasing the magazine as it sounds as though you wouldn’t understand the magazine if you didn’t fit these categories. It could also push people away as they may feel that they ‘aren’t good enough’ or feel intimidated by this description. However there are positives to the social groups as I feel that it clearly describes who they are aiming at which means that if you don’t understand what they have included, then the magazine clearly isn't something you are interested in.

This two page spread features “glamour party tricks”, I feel that this shows that the type of people and the social groups that they would expect to read their magazine would be sociable, stylish and wealthy women and this page shows this as it’s telling them what they should buy for the events that they go to. I think this shows that their audience would have a disposable income as they wouldn’t mind spending hundreds of pounds on a dress for one of the events or parties they have planned.

REPRESENTATIONS OF SOCIAL ISSUES

I feel that these three magazines do show some social issues as they don’t fit in with the perception of a ‘normal’ life and to many people the kind of lifestyle these people have would be seen as impossible for them as they are celebrities. These magazines also may be seen as a social issue as they are targeted at a specific group of people that will be mainly wealthy females, this will be unrealistic to some people as they may not be in a position where they earn a lot of money. However this magazine to some people will be their monthly choice and will be purchased as they see themselves as equal with the expected readers and live the life of the people in the magazines. In these type of magazines there aren’t many social issues involved in the articles as they focus mainly on fashion and beauty, this could show that they try and stay away from the more controversial subjects and just stick with the more neutral subjects and things that will entertain and interest their target audience. However some magazines including and similar to these three can involve articles that could be found as a social issue as they can sometimes speak about whether it’s ok to wear fur, or if the models they use should be airbrushed or not. This would make the magazine and their articles have more controversial and social issues as many people would have opinions on it and discuss whether they think it’s right or wrong.

This article featured inside the magazine could potentially be seen as a social issue as they discuss and advertise tanning. Many people would disagree with this and would argue that the magazine is advertising something that is potentially dangerous and could be giving people health problems as they talk about sunbathing and using tanning beds and products. This is much like many other topics that can be discussed in magazines such as whether people should wear real leather.

STEREOTYPING

There is a lot of stereotyping that is made regarding all magazines as they all have a typical audience and style of writing that gives them a look and ‘stereotype’ that people think of when they are mentioned. The stereotype for these three magazines and the people that read it would be ‘rich women’, ‘business women’, ‘fashionable’ and possibly ‘snobby’ or ‘arrogant’. All of these stereotypes catergorise the people who would read it and the actual magazine itself, they generalize and allow people to cast broad statements about people even if they aren’t factual. People would automatically stereotype these magazines as ‘for women’ as they are pink which is typically a feminine colour and the contents includes fashion, beauty and lifestyle which are topics that people would link with women. The stereotype of the models used on the cover may be “rich” and “powerful”, people would place the models in these sort of catergorise as they are celebrities and may also be seen as role models and someone to aspire to be like. This whole magazine will have the stereotype as being for ‘rich people’ and for being ‘non factual’ and only including ‘fashion and beauty’, although some of these stereotypes will be accurate as they are aimed at wealth women and are writing about fashion, some can be incorrect and inaccurate as people will assume with all magazines from just looking at the cover.

This kind of article could be seen as very stereotypical of this genre of magazine as they have done an interview with a well know actress. This would be seen as stereotypical as it’s a celebrity interview being carried out in a fashion magazine, she is also advertising clothes which further proves the stereotype of it not really being very factual or informative and only including fashion. This could also be seen as a stereotype as they are using a celebrity that many girls and women will look up to which this type of magazine will commonly do.

PRESENCE & ABSENCE

These three magazines all include the presence of famous celebrities that can be easily recognized by their readers and will interest and appeal to them directly. The use of these models also represents that the magazine is going to include articles regarding celebrities and could relate to the fashion and beauty aspect of the magazine also. However there are also groups that are missing such as, men and the elderly. This represents that this magazine is very direct in it’s target audience as they are aiming at mostly women, men would also rather prefer to read a magazine more suited to them that would stereotypically involve some sort of sport. Also the more elderly generation wouldn’t be in the target audience for these magazines as they include topics that wouldn’t usually appeal to the older generation, this age range may prefer a magazine that is based more on facts and includes a lot more detailed articles instead of the fashion photography that it commonly used in these three magazines. I feel that the absence of these groups highlights that these magazines are for young and middle aged women who’s prime interest is fashion and beauty. These magazines show this by including lots of bright, feminine colours, a cluttered layout and lots of captions involving ‘style’.

From looking at this two page spread I can see that the groups elderly and men wouldn’t be interested by this article and it wouldn’t be aimed at them either as this is an interview and article on Leighton Meester who is an actress and is on the TV series Gossip Girl. This wouldn’t be aimed at these two groups as the programme is also aimed at young girls and women and the number of men and elderly people that would watch it is very low.

CONTENT

The content of these three magazines is all about fashion, beauty and lifestyle. This shows that fashion magazines always have the same general idea of what content to include in each issue, they all have the same typical content due to the audiences being nearly all the same, the only difference being that in one of these three they have their youngest age as 18 and in the others their average age starts from 25. The images are also all very similar as they include lots of images of models, runways and beauty products to show the reader what they are discussing and also to advertise the product and show where they can purchase it from. Having similar images shows that the readers will all have the same interests and the same kind of things will appeal to them. These magazines also do ‘specials’ which is when they can make that issue specialized to one specific topic, for example “big beauty issue” has been the main focus point of ‘Marie Claire’ magazine. In two of these magazines in particular (glamour and cosmopolitan) they have done a big feature on “fashion” or “style steals” that will involve lots of fashion items that can be bought at a cheaper price than you would think, this will draw in more readers as many people will want designer items but at half the price. Inside Glamour magazine we see that they have used photography that covers both the pages, this draws attention to the clothes which is the main focus of this page, they have also put a small amount of text due to people purchasing this magazine because of the fashion and not for the lengthy writing and they have also put the prices and where you can purchase the items in the corners of the images. Glamour have also included several pages featuring the model they has used on the cover, in this article they have shown their relaxed style and feel towards the magazine and have also

shown a difference in the magazine as they have written a big article including lots of text instead of their usual photography.

STYLE

All magazines have a particular style, these three are all about fashion, beauty and lifestyle meaning they have a very feminine theme running throughout. GLAMOUR magazine shows a very girly and feminine look and style as they have used the typical colours of pink and red, this shows that the magazine would not be stereotypically be classed for a man and also from the captions being placed in a disorganized fashion they have also shown that the magazine isn’t going to be overly structured and will be relaxed for the audience to read. MARIE CLAIRE have shown quite a lot of sophistication by the front cover as they have made it quite cluttered however by not choosing really bright colours it gives it a more classy and perhaps more high-end look which shows what type of audience it is aimed at. They also haven't used lots of different fonts for the front cover which shows consistency and that it may be slightly more structured inside than the others. COSMOPOLITAN magazine has used very bright coloured fonts for the cover and have varied the font styles, this shows it’s going to be written in an informal style and have a relaxed feel to it also. By dressing the model in a black dress it shows that this magazine isn’t as childlike as you would maybe guess by the bright pinks as it adds a classy edge to the magazine and shows that the magazine is aimed at women. Overall these three magazines have shown many similarities as they have all got the same sort of colour scheme and fonts used on their covers, this shows that this genre of ‘fashion magazines’ shares many similarities and are done in the same sort of style and fit in to the majority of stereotypes given to them.

As you can see from this two page spread they have continued with the ‘pink’ theme and kept it looking very bright and bold throughout. They have also used a bold title including the words ‘get happy’ which will automatically draw attention from the reader and make them want to read it. They have also kept the theme of fashion and beauty linked in with the lifestyle article and speak about ‘smiley eyes’. The fonts and the layout of the page shows that they have a really relaxed attitude and style to the magazine whilst still keeping it sophisticated looking.

SYMBOLS Fashion magazines use symbolism as a main focus point for the reader as it makes it

easier to understand who the product is aimed at, fashion is an easy way to show everyone what kind of magazine they are. GLAMOUR magazine have used a famous actress on their cover showing power and wealth, they have also styled her in a long red dress also showing wealth and ‘glamour’ which links to their whole magazine. I feel that using this dress links with the magazine perfectly and also shows what kind of people should be reading it as it shows that in order to purchase the clothes featured in the magazine you have to have ‘disposable income’. MARIE CLAIRE have also used a red dress which I feel gives a really sophisticated look to the magazine and shows just from the cover that the magazine symbolizes power and wealth much like many other fashion magazines. The colour red is also very bold, yet the lace dress makes it a lot more feminine and links with their target audience as they are reaching out to women. COSMOPOLITAN have also used a celebrity as this symbolizes power and also that the magazine is mainly aimed at women, she has been styled in a black dress which is a difference from the stereotypical ‘pink’ look that is commonly used in magazines. This dress could also symbolize that the contents is going to be focusing purely on fashion and beauty as they have purposely used a dress that their readers would like and maybe want to purchase. This shows contrast to other magazines using fashion as a symbol to represent something, for example a rock music magazine’s stereotypical outfit of choice would include leather and dark colours to show rebellion and power.

In this two page spread you can see that they have tried to represent and symbolise a strong and powerful woman making it in Manhattan, New York. It also brings fashion and ‘glamour’ in to the article and talks about the clothes that you should wear to symbolise power. The background is showing the location of new York by the iconic yellow cabs and the model shows power by walking over the word ‘Manhattan’ and by including ‘glamour takes’ shows that she is very strong in her work and fashion.

CULTURAL

Culture can be essential at some times as some magazines require you to have a good knowledge of many different cultures as they may include different symbols and signs that would only make sense if the culture is understood by the reader. However fashion magazines don’t usually include too many signs or symbols that wouldn’t be understood as the are so popular and are bought all over the world. GLAMOUR is published in 14 different countries, MARIE CLAIRE is published in 36 countries and COSMOPOLITAN is published in nearly 100 different countries.

Printing the magazine in all of these countries means that the language is translated so everyone can understand everything that it said. However some of the language can’t be translated leaving it in English which may result in people struggling to understand what is being said as they are English terms that only people from in certain countries would actually understand. With fashion magazines there isn’t too many cultural issues as in many of them they include lots of photography and not too much writing that could get easily confused by people. However these type of magazines can sometimes include articles that discuss things that may not even exist in other countries or if they are discussing a product that you can’t actually buy in other countries.

TECHNICAL Fashion magazines include a lot of technical conventions as they have to decide how they

want the magazine to look, what size and what to include. All of these things are extremely important as the reader has to like the way a magazine is and looks otherwise they will no longer purchase it. All three of these magazines in particular print two different sized copies as one of them is the average size and the other is a much smaller edition to make it easier to take out with you. Printing two different sizes opens up a bigger market as it allows people to easily grab the magazines on the go and put it in their bag, it also shows efficiency with the magazine. Glamour, Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan magazine all have 200 pages + in their issues which shows that because they don’t print a weekly issue they do have a lot of content in each of their issues which adds up to a month. The number of pages can also show a lot about a magazine as this shows that a lot of effort and content is included within so you are getting a lot from them.

GLAMOUR magazine uses a lot of photography throughout the product, however they don’t balance it out with the same amount of text as they will put an image across the whole page and sometimes not even cover half of a page with text. This shows that their readers are more interested in the fashion and photography side to the magazine rather than the articles.

COSMOPOLITAN magazine is fairly similar to glamour as it has around the same kind of ratio. They make sure to use lots of images of the products they’re describing to avoid confusion. They also add small boxes describing what the product is and big parts of text speaking more in depth.

MARIE CLAIRE magazine varies the ratio of text and image as they have used large and detailed photography, however they also include lots of text to describe what they are saying in more depth. However in other pages they can use a lot more imagery rather than making it equal to ensure that the reader can clearly see the products they are talking about.

CHANGES OVER TIME

CHANGES OVER TIME

From looking at the three magazines and seeing what they looked like when they were first published I can see that..MARIE CLAIRE – this magazine started off as not very colourful or eye catching as even though they have styled the model in bright clothing the quality of the magazine wasn’t good enough to show the bright and vivid colours. However they have still kept the huge picture taking up the page as they have done a really zoomed in picture of a model that was possibly well known at that time, this shows consistency as they still take up lots of space with the images and they regularly zoom in on the models. A major change they have made would be that they only had a few captions on the cover meaning that you didn’t know everything that was going to be said inside, whereas now they cover the page in captions making it really busy and exciting and also meaning that the audience knows exactly what they are going to be reading.GLAMOUR – this magazine has shown even more of a change throughout the years as it has developed and first started with a very animated looking image of a model, it also looks like it’s been painted or done by hand as it’s not very developed. As we see the more recent issues you can see that the colour is much brighter and bolder as they have experimented with more colour showing their knowledge with fashion and beauty. Now the images of the models are very developed and even airbrushed to enhance and correct imperfections, this shows the advances they have had when it comes to technology. We can also see the increase in the number of captions used as they started with only a few and have gradually added more, this makes it easier for the reader as they can see the contents without having to look thought the magazine before. COSMOPOLITAN – this magazine has had the most change between the three of them in my opinion as it started as the image looking very hand drawn and animated and had started in 1886 which shows the changes they have had. On the first issue you can see that there was no captions and only a little section of text at the bottom of the page, this is a major change from the many captions that are used on the cover now. We then see that the image gets more and more developed over time as it becomes more life like as technology has changed and improved. We can also see that on the first few issues they used a lot of close ups of the models and as they have progressed we can now see more zoomed out, full body shots revealing the new and latest fashions.