UNIT01 AO4 Judith Butler's ­ Performativity Performativity as “…that reiterative power of discourse to produce the phenomena that it regulates and constrains” (Butler 1993). Identity is a performance (that includes the daily behaviour of individuals) which is based on social norms or habits. We can clearly see this in terms of gender of the cover stars of Total Film as they presents dominant representations of gender. Basically, we learn to be men and we learn to be women, we are shaped by the icons and people around us as we grow older.

From the images above, we see the actors exactly how they want us to see them.The props are often guns; classic manly symbols that represent power and danger which appears to the reader as aggression and a strong sense of control. The clothes they are wearing are smart and conservative yet stylish and very expensive. The composition is mainly a mid shot and focuses on their expression. Facial expressions are serious, hold direct eye contact and present confident body language. The representation of masculinity is successful, powerful and dominant and it highlights a possession of material wealth. All male figures appear in control of their emotions as well as confident and strong, mentally. The colours are always dark, a lot of blue is shown in two out of four of these magazines. The titles also appear very precise around the person's stomach, this helps by not covering any extremely detailed part of the actors body. They teach us what it is to be a man, we have to be strong, look cool and have strong cheek bones. They all have good hair, build bodies and pose confidently, looking directly into the buyer.

Both Men & Women

Men are always posing in a serious way, Matt Damon is pulling a rather focused face, showing that he knows at least where to look, whilst the woman holds his hand, following behind, whilst maintaining a beautiful red dress cliche. Matt Damon is also the center of attention, this could mean that he is a higher grossing actor and sells the magazine better, we know this because she is dressed well whereas women that are featured on the Total Film carry the reputation of needing to dress provocatively in order to sell the magazine. The representation of masculinity is successful, powerful and dominant and it highlights a possession of material wealth. All of the male figures appear in control of their emotions as well as confident.

There is a clear Representation of genders:

Men are strong, women need protecting.

Men are leaders, women follow.

Women

The image of Megan Fox depends entirely of her provocative appearance. She is posing seductively with her body in shot, revealing her legs and toned stomach. The Salt Cover works the same as the men’s because the actual film was intended to star a male protagonist before making the decision of altering the script to suit Angelina. In this front cover, she is taking the classic pose of a heroine , well centered, powerful but the cover uses all the imagery and miss­en­scene associated with men. This has more of a unique style, and although the cover is dark, the brightest colour is a warm amber, opposed to a cold blue or saturated green from the mens magazines. Total Film covers reinforce established ideas of gender which means if we used Judith Butler theory, the audience is given ideals of gender to conform and aspire to.