Question 2: How does your media product present particular social groups?

1. Question 2: How does your media product present particular social groups?

2. Representation : Front cover The model I have used is very natural looking, she is wearing minimal make-up and her hair is not dyed or heat styled. This gives a very obtainable look which the reader could recreate. I did this as my target audience is mainly teenage girls, who are stereotypically impressionable. Therefore by making the model as ‘normal’ looking as possible it will be much easier for the audience to relate, encouraging them to read the magazine. I continued this by putting the model in casual, non designer clothes. As well as this the model is around the same age as the target audience would be, this further allows them to relate to her. Finally although the model looks casual she also looks very nice and is clearly the main focus on the page. This challenges the idea created my some magazines that you need to be ‘done up’ and dressed fancily in order to be attractive and noticed.

3. Comparison: Front cover

4. Comparison : Front cover • The representation given off by these two magazine covers is quite different. On billboards cover the model is wearing revealing clothes and has heavy make-up on. Although she does look very nice it is a fairly un obtainable look for the average reader. Also the colours used both on her and in the back ground are all relatively pale, presenting her as very delicate and stereotypically ‘pretty’. However the model for my magazine challenges this representation although it is from the same genre. For example there is no use of obvious stereotypes to represent the ‘ideal woman’ as the colours and clothes used are fairly unisex. • Although the two covers are for the same sort of target audience and follow a similar genre the representation given off by them would attract different types of people. For example Billboard’s cover looks slightly higher end, (this does vary between covers as I have seen others when researching and they were particularly cheap looking*) this is achieved by the professional looking make up, hair style and clothing which is naturally associated with higher classed people, therefore I think this would attract people in the A, B, C1 and C2 demographic which would include people who could relate to the model, as well as those who would like to be like her. The cover for current is slightly lower end as it is much more simple, for example the background is white and the font remains pretty similar throughout the whole cover, I did this because it was a safer option however I don’t think it looks as effective as the text on billboards cover. Saying that I do think the font I have used carries on the simple look of the whole cover and would therefore be more relatable than the luxurious celebrity look presented on billboards cover. Therefore I think this magazine would attract the B,C1,C2,D demographic, which is still a wide range. *cheaper looking cover

5. Comparison: Front cover • The types of people who would buy each of the magazine might have slight differences in behavior and may belong to different social groups. For example Billboards cover would attract ‘girly girls’ as it is largely pink and the entire thing is very feminine. They have created this look by using an attractive female model and thin sans serif font, this gives a representation of class and beauty which stereotypically all girls desire to have. The audience this magazine would attract would therefore be girls aged between 16-25 and at this age would have fairly disposable income as they would be either in education or at work but would probably not have too many big expenses that would prevent them from buying luxuries. Where as Current magazine has a slightly looser more ‘indie’ look . This is created by the colour scheme, all font is black and the background is white. This is very simple and therefore draws most of the attention to the image, which is the only colour on the page. This basic look would attract the audience who are more interested in the music rather than the celebrities themselves. I think the audience would be of a similar age to those who would buy billboard but definitely not younger as the look of the magazine would not attract the younger readers, as it has a slightly more intelligent look. Suggesting that it would attract a reader more interested in the articles than a billboard reader would be. • Conclusion: Overall I think that Current challenges the stereotypical chart music magazine. This is because it is much less extravagant and targets a slightly different audience. This means that it would be less mainstream than a magazine like billboard and its audience would be smaller. This is because its representation would attract a slightly more specific audience who may want something a little more enriching than the other ‘chart music’ magazines already available.