How does your media product represent particular

social groups?

Clara Schjødt

Gender

Even though the audience research showed that the majority of my readers are females, I have chosen to feature many photos of boys in the magazine (this will attract boys to read my magazine as well). The mise-en-scene of the boy in my main article is suggesting that males are masculine and though, because the boy is wearing a caps and has a tattoo on his right arm. He is also sitting in a urban outdoor area, suggesting that males are casual and relaxed, this is being reinforced by his non-formal clothes. The guitar is implying that the young men in the charts today are able to play their own instruments and write their own songs, something to aspire to. The few images of females are portraying them quite stereotypically – wearing skirts and makeup. This suggests that girls cares about their looks and highlights the view that women should work hard to look perfect in society. The context of the second image on the contents page (fig. 3) is reinforcing the idea of women only caring about makeup, fashion and society’s expectations of femininity. Also, one of the posters on the cover page is showing a female sitting in a bathtub wearing nothing but a black dress (fig. 2). This can be seen as quite a provocative pose and reflects the way many women are being represented as a subject of the male gaze; Laura Mulvey’s Theory.

Age

The ages of the subjects photographed ranges from 16-18, which appeals to the audience for my magazine who are at about the same age. They reflect the artists featured in the chart magazines; solo singers and bands that became famous at a young age.

The location in the photo in the main article is quite a urban area, mirroring the streets outside and suggesting that young people/youths often hang outside on the streets – society’s vision of youths. As for the girls, they are all wearing fashionable clothes which suggests that teenagers and young adults care about their appearance and fashion style.

Ethnicity

All of the people used in my magazine is white, British/Norwegian people. This is reflecting the genre of the magazine; rock pop, where the majority of the artists in the charts today are white. I don’t have any friends in York with a multicultural background either, so I couldn’t take any photos of them. The ethnicity of the people used also appeals to the majority of citizens in the UK, because 5 out of 6 people is White-British (source: Office for National Statistics).

Class

The genre of my music magazine – rock pop – is usually associated with working class, and so my magazine is reflecting that vision of the genre by representing the artists featured, in urban areas instead of in fancy studios or hotels. The clothes are also very casual and non-formal, suggesting that the artists don’t have the most of money or do not care about it. This will appeal to the audience who doesn’t have that much extra to spare, like most unemployed teenagers or those with a half-time job.

The price of my magazine (£3.50 a month) is appealing to an audience who doesn’t have all the money in the world, and the price is reflecting the artists being represented in the magazine.