How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I think the magazine is mainly representing the younger audience who have some interest in music but don't completely indulge themselves in it; I believe this due to the high levels of teens in the images it made it easier for them to relate to the images. I also think the language in the magazine isn't as complex as I hoped this may be due to my lack of knowledge and the little amount of music magazine I read. However I feel that the language was rather intellectual maybe appealing to the younger audience who are possibly in further education.

The artist on the front cover is represented as being quite intense, rebellious and this could possibly misconstrued as angry or unhappy, I think this due to the fact the image uses direct address adds more intensity to the image making her seem more serious. The miser-en-scene of the image consist of the setting which may be hard to make out but is a graffiti tank, this setting is rather strange and unconventional this in my opinion fits with the genre of the music and also the use of the tank could be representing the artist as being rather powerful. The artist costume is rather stereotypical of an indie fan/artist usually the females wear larger clothes so that the clothes they are wearing are baggier, this could represent the artist as being insecure or scared. However the artist is wearing red which is quite bold and draws the reader’s attention possibly a connotation of teens and the idea of how they want attention from those around them. The artist hair is also bright red even though covered by the hat you are still able to see the hair this is another connotation of indie artists such as Paramore’s lead singer (Hayley Williams) . 


The jacket could be seen as the artist being quite informal or “street” a typical stereotype of teens, I have chosen to stick to this stereotype as I think that it may appeal to the audience more as they may feel they can relate to the image more. Another part of the artist costume is the oversized beanie again I think this piece of clothing is very indie and reinstates the fact that the artist is meant to be indie. In the background there is a large amount of graffiti this again makes the artist seems more “street” and due to the fact that there is so much graffiti and due to the fact it’s rather hectic it could represent the artist as being rather hectic.  The shot type I used was a long shot this enabled the reader to see my artist costume, setting and her positioning which is rather aggressive due to the fact her hands are folded may show how she wants to be alone and the way in which her back is slumped may show she is comfortable being alone, linking nicely with the artist main story and cover line.

In my opinion the artist does conform to certain stereotypes this is mainly due to the costume I have chosen, the shot type and the use of direct address. I think the use of all of these factors have made the artist seem “street” and follows the conventions of a typical teen. For example her costume is the biggest factor that reinstates the stereotype due to the fact that she is wearing jeans , a beanie and a jacket which is rather baggie conforms to the teen stereotype but more so in my opinion an indie stereotype. The shot type makes the artist seem rather angry or careless, in the news teens are constantly shown to be angry or reckless; her facial expression, posture or position could represent those emotions.

I have chosen to represent the artist in this way as I think that it may appeal to the target audience more, due to the fact my target audience is teens I think that conforming to these stereotypes could mean the audience is able to relate to the image more therefore the magazine. I also think that it is easier to conform to a stereotype. However I feel that I didn’t conform to one stereotype and that was the female stereotype of being quite sexual, provocative and submissive. I think there are numerous ways to achieve this stereotype such as the positioning, lighting, facial expression, mise en scene and in my opinion the main way the stereotype is achieved is through the use of costume. I think that overall I didn’t conform to the stereotype of women being sexual however in certain images I may have conformed to the idea of women being submissive; I think the main way I achieved this is through positioning, certain images the model had her face covered or she was looking down towards the ground. I think doing this made the model seem more unconventional and more natural in my opinion. I think the main reason I chose not to conform to this stereotype is that I think that being unconventional makes my magazine stands out from the mass marketed magazines. I also think that certain females within the genre don’t rely on being sexual to sell their records or to promote themselves within the industry, for example  

Hayley Williams or Florence from Florence and the Machine.  

Unlike the front cover the artist isn’t represented as being so “street” or rebellious this may due to the fact that on the front cover there are various bold and bright colours used to draws the reader’s attention however on the contents page the use of black and white imagery makes the artists seem more mature and creates more of a sophisticated page. There are numerous pictures of the artist on the page, on the contents page these are grouped into three small sections on the page. The first three images represent the artist as being alone. This is achieved through the use of an extreme long shot, this shot enables the audience to see little features of the artist such as her costume or facial expression but more so of the mise en scene which mainly consist of the background as there is nothing in the background it reinstates the point I made earlier about the artist feeling/being alone. The setting which are steps, this could be used as some sort of representation of a hierarchy within her life or in the music industry. Even though you are unable to see the artist facial expression you may be able to presume she is unhappy due to her body language and positioning, as her head is down and her arms are folded her it makes her seem somewhat upset.

The second image is similar to the previous three however the shot type has changed from an extreme long shot to a long shot even though the shot type has changed as had the setting there is little difference in representation of the artist, keeping with the representation that the artist is shy, alone or upset.

The final image is different from the previous images and any previous image I had chosen as in this image you are able to clearly see the artist face, I think this is important as this makes the artist seem new and almost changed. I think the order in which I have placed my photos allows the audience to clearly see the transition making the link between the text and the images seem more important.    The use of a medium close up in this image enables the audience to see the artist facial expression and certain aspects of her costume. The artist has chosen not to use direct address in this image I think that doing so has made the image seem more natural and represent as being rather shy or timid; but at the same time rather proud as in the other photos she is hiding the majority of her face unlike this one making this image more important.

I have chosen to represent the artist in this way as I feel that representing the artist as being a new/different person from the use of different shots and different colour schemes. Doing this allowed the front cover stand out more and makes the front cover have more of an impact on the audience. The artist on the front cover seemed to targeting a specific target audience, I think the audience may be teens who may feel they are quite rebellious and would possibly class themselves as being quite urban or street. On the other hand I feel that the contents page targets a different target audience, I think due to the fact that the contents page was so different visually compared to the front cover it seems to have focused on more of a sophisticated and simplistic audience.