How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My magazine predominantly involves the social group of teenage girls which I needed to represent in my magazine. There are many ways in which the social group can be represented through the magazine depending on things such as the genre. For example, my magazine is aimed at the pop music genre so the magazine needs to appeal to predominatly teenage females who are interested in this genre of music. On my front cover the model is wearing fashionable clothes which represents teenage girls as they are interested in fashion and can relate to it. However the clothes aren't too dressy and over the top so the readers can relate to it more. The models clothes are very feminine and pretty which will appeal to the target audience as this look is stereotypical of my genre of popular artists. I have represented the model looking happy and quite confident which gives teenage girls a role model type figure. This will then make teenage girls feel more confident about themselves. I chose to do a long shot of the model so the audience can see the whole outfit she is wearing and therefore looks more appealing. The model is wearing black and white so the page doesn't become too busy with many colours. The coverlines on the spread are in bright colours which makes them stand out the most against the image. I feel that this image chosen to be on the front cover is very stereotypical of a pop music magazine. I know this because I previously researched into similar products to give me an idea of how to create my magazine. From this research of similar magazine covers focusing on this specific genre I found that having a female on the cover was most common. Also, the female model usually looks very feminine and made up. This includes having make up and hair done nicely and wearing girly clothes. This makes the cover look as professional as possible. The representation I have used for a teenage girl are very stereotypical. Taking all of these factors into consideration I feel my product meets expectations of a pop music magazine and represents older teenage girls well.
Again, the photo I chose to use on my double page spread is a typical representation of young females for the same reasons as for the contents picture. Teenage girls will be able to relate to the photo and will be more likely to read the article. This is because the image would catch my specific target audiences eye.
I compared my magazine photos to Vibes which is a very similar product to mine. This allowed me to get a typical representation, which I could compare to mine, from a real magazine.
The images used on both front covers feature a female both around the age range of my specific target audience. The photos are similar in that they both feature a female on the front cover attracting the audience. Also, they are very feminine and fashionable which would appeal to the interests of older teenagers. However, the photo used on the cover of Vibe represents the artist to be much more mature and confident which would possible attract a slightly different audience of more grown up females. Both magazines show the models to be wearing lots of makeup and they both look quite made up which is associated with teenage girls as they care about their appearance.
Overall I think the photos I used throughout my magazine represent teenage females in a stereotypical way. However my target audience will be able to relate to the photos meaning they will be more interested in my magazine and more likely to read it.
Language
Throughout the entire magazine I used language that would be suitable for my target audience meaning they will be more appealed to my product. As my target audience is predominantly 16-21 year old females, I used suitable language for them. For example, I used young, fresh and feminine language and quite a lot of slang. I used this language as this is what you would associate with my particular audience suggesting that they will be more appealed to my product.
For example in the interview I created for my magazine I used many slang terms to make it seem more realistic. Such as 'I know right, it has been pretty crazy!' and 'Hey Katy!'. These examples are typical representations of how teenagers talk meaning they will be able to relate to the article. This will mean that my target audience will be more likely to be interested in, read and buy my magazine.
Also, I used short, snappy cover lines and titles throughout my magazine which would appeal to my specific target audience as the product is simple and easy to follow. These aspects are very appealing as they make the magazine appear really interesting.
Again, I compared the language used in my magazine to other similar real life products. I did this to show that my magazine was realistic and that it would appeal to my target audience. The magazines I looked at did use stereotypical young language such as words like 'nah' and 'yeah' which are everyday slang words. This is typical of what people expect young people to talk like as slang is used in their everyday speech. However, whilst using much slang in my magazine I kept the interview chatty and mature as this would also appeal to my audience as it makes the interview more realistic.
Overall, I feel that I have represented my target audience as realistically and typically as possible. The language in my magazine represents teenage females to be quite feminine and young in their speech. I did this by using many slang terms and words which would appeal to my audience. This created a quite relaxed and casual conversation in my interview making it sound more realistic.
No comments:
Post a Comment