Task 3 - Media Language and Representation
Introduction
In this post, I intend on analysing how language and representation are used by magazine institutions to convey meaning to the audiences and appeal to their target demographic. In doing so, I will be able to apply such knowledge to my own magazine creation in order to appeal to the 16-25 year old middle to upmarket audience while also appealing to their social awareness and interests that come with such.
Task
A magazine that appeals to middle-upmarket audiences of age 16-25.
- This clearly appeals to upmarket audience due to the connotations of the colour scheme, both grey and white having connotations of sophistication.
- The sans-serif font that dominates the page in conjunction with the bold font makes it stand out and, with the colour scheme, starkly contrasts the background, which would catch the attention of possible readers who see it. In addition, the bright red in the middle has the same effect.
- The use of representation in the woman allows intended audiences, most likely female, to view themselves as part of the cover, enticing them to buy the magazine. The pose of the raised hand equally suggests sophistication, so an upmarket female would most likely relate even more.
- Use of polysyllabic vocabulary such as 'liberty', 'absolutely' and 'Chiswick' are uncommon words, unlikely to be in lower market audience's vernacular. This, combined with the occasional serif font allows upmarket audiences to be enticed by the connoted refinement
- The layout is minimal and not demanding of the reader, thus will entice a younger audience with typically shorter attention spans.
A magazine about current affairs.
- Media language is used through the depiction of Theresa May as a inhuman figure, with skeletal arms and looks and an abnormally large nose to dehumanise her and construct a representation as inhumane and gross, clearly setting the tone of reproach against her.
- The metaphor of Scotland and the EU's flag crushing in on Theresa May represents her as under pressure from these two issues with no escape. The fact her purse is falling in conjunction with this presents her as incapable of handling these issues, while the hyper-feminine traits of high heels, a purse and wide hips could suggest this is an ideology they are trying to push against all women. This
appeals to conservative ideas of womanhood.
- The idea of her being incapable is compounded by the rhetorical question presenting an ultimatum of either Brussels or Scotland, which presents a contrast, asking the reader the question will she choose British territory in Brussels over another country in Scotland. This calls into question her patriotism and how pro-Britain she is.
- The use of dominating, bold font immediately dominate the page in conjunction with the stark red, will instantly capture audience attention while connoting ideas of anger, which may be the institution encoding an agenda to direct the anger towards Theresa May.
Website - https://www.currentaffairs.org/
- Predominantly black colour is used with white accent to create an impression of sophistication and maturity
- The use of a meme - baby yoda - is used in order to appeal to the younger demographic of the newspaper who would be familiar with such meme. This, juxtaposed with the topic of 'guillotine' creates a humorous contrast which would garner a positive response from the audience.
- Bold, serif font immediately grabs the readers attention and draws attention to the titles of the various stories
- Hyperlinks are displayed at the top of the website for ease of access for the various parts of the website. The hyperlink to 'subscribe' is centred in order to highlight its importance. This would appeal to upmarket audiences who have the money to subscribe.
Conclusion
Overall, I am going to use language to create a positive representation of the readership and, due to their awareness of current affairs, paint positive representations of others. This can be done through the use of connotations of image and language, effectively encoding into the magazine what would appeal to the audience specifically, namely sophisticated vocabulary which they would understand due to the stereotypical high education of a mid to upmarket auience.
In this post, I intend on analysing how language and representation are used by magazine institutions to convey meaning to the audiences and appeal to their target demographic. In doing so, I will be able to apply such knowledge to my own magazine creation in order to appeal to the 16-25 year old middle to upmarket audience while also appealing to their social awareness and interests that come with such.
Task
A magazine that appeals to middle-upmarket audiences of age 16-25.
- This clearly appeals to upmarket audience due to the connotations of the colour scheme, both grey and white having connotations of sophistication.
- The sans-serif font that dominates the page in conjunction with the bold font makes it stand out and, with the colour scheme, starkly contrasts the background, which would catch the attention of possible readers who see it. In addition, the bright red in the middle has the same effect.
- The use of representation in the woman allows intended audiences, most likely female, to view themselves as part of the cover, enticing them to buy the magazine. The pose of the raised hand equally suggests sophistication, so an upmarket female would most likely relate even more.
- Use of polysyllabic vocabulary such as 'liberty', 'absolutely' and 'Chiswick' are uncommon words, unlikely to be in lower market audience's vernacular. This, combined with the occasional serif font allows upmarket audiences to be enticed by the connoted refinement
- The layout is minimal and not demanding of the reader, thus will entice a younger audience with typically shorter attention spans.
A magazine about current affairs.
- Media language is used through the depiction of Theresa May as a inhuman figure, with skeletal arms and looks and an abnormally large nose to dehumanise her and construct a representation as inhumane and gross, clearly setting the tone of reproach against her.
- The metaphor of Scotland and the EU's flag crushing in on Theresa May represents her as under pressure from these two issues with no escape. The fact her purse is falling in conjunction with this presents her as incapable of handling these issues, while the hyper-feminine traits of high heels, a purse and wide hips could suggest this is an ideology they are trying to push against all women. This
appeals to conservative ideas of womanhood.
- The idea of her being incapable is compounded by the rhetorical question presenting an ultimatum of either Brussels or Scotland, which presents a contrast, asking the reader the question will she choose British territory in Brussels over another country in Scotland. This calls into question her patriotism and how pro-Britain she is.
- The use of dominating, bold font immediately dominate the page in conjunction with the stark red, will instantly capture audience attention while connoting ideas of anger, which may be the institution encoding an agenda to direct the anger towards Theresa May.
Website - https://www.currentaffairs.org/
- Predominantly black colour is used with white accent to create an impression of sophistication and maturity
- The use of a meme - baby yoda - is used in order to appeal to the younger demographic of the newspaper who would be familiar with such meme. This, juxtaposed with the topic of 'guillotine' creates a humorous contrast which would garner a positive response from the audience.
- Bold, serif font immediately grabs the readers attention and draws attention to the titles of the various stories
- Hyperlinks are displayed at the top of the website for ease of access for the various parts of the website. The hyperlink to 'subscribe' is centred in order to highlight its importance. This would appeal to upmarket audiences who have the money to subscribe.
Conclusion
Overall, I am going to use language to create a positive representation of the readership and, due to their awareness of current affairs, paint positive representations of others. This can be done through the use of connotations of image and language, effectively encoding into the magazine what would appeal to the audience specifically, namely sophisticated vocabulary which they would understand due to the stereotypical high education of a mid to upmarket auience.
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