Question 2

HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS? ALICE SOPHIE TURRELL

The genre of my magazine, Dirt, is 90’s Rock. Therefore, my target audience are fans of 90’s rock and the rock genre in general. When I decided to do a magazine for 90s rock, I thought of the unique edgy style that the genre has. This includes dark clothes, rough hair, and eyeliner. These are quite stereotypical ideas of the rock genre and those who are part of it.

My initial thoughts for this genre are rough, edgy, dark, energetic, independent, and people that have their own view on things and don’t follow any trends or ideas. This is what I kept in mind throughout the whole process to create a magazine that appeals to the target audience and represents them in a positive way. This genre could have been looked at from an different angle, focusing on the negative way people see it, including alcohol, drugs and violence. But this would therefore add to the negative image given to the genre, so I decided to stay away from those ideas and stick to the ideas of independence and what the audience stand for.

FRONT COVERI chose to style the artist with these ideas as it would attract the target audience who are fans of this genre. This is due to the fact that the image on the cover will be the first thing that they would see other than the coverlines and logo. As it would be the first thing that people see, they would make a connection with the magazine if they can relate to the artist and see that he is from that genre. I wanted to put the style of the rock genre into the whole design of the front cover, especially the logo, as it would be what the readers recognise the magazine for generally. That is why I made it in a graffiti style to represent the grungy ideas of rock music in the early 90’s.

FRONT COVER CONTINUEDThe way I have designed the cover in order to appeal to and speak for people interested in the rock genre relates to Branston G and Stafford R, The Media Students Book (2010) stating that (in relation to stereotyping) certain areas of the group are emphasised more than others in order to show certain ideas. This relates to my cover as the way this has been designed showing the bold and edgy side of the rock genre in order to appeal to fans of this, and at the same time repel others who are not interested. This then also links into Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory (1954) stating that that media products are used to fulfil needs, including belonging. This theory relates to my magazine as it is a link for people with the same interests.

ABRAHAM MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS 1954

CONTENTS PAGEThis represents particular social groups by appealing to them through the artists featured. These artists are who the target audience admire and look up too, and therefore they are effectively the spokesmen for the genre. These artists featured will have to appeal to the reader and show audience group in a positive way. The features listed show the successes and positive areas of the social group who would be interested in the magazine, therefore attracting them.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREADThe feature on the double page spread focuses on the success and independence of the artist, showing him to be a role model and someone positive for the readers to look up to. This will then show the people who are interested in and part of the rock genre in a positive way, showing them to be determined and work hard. This then relates to Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory (1975) as the artist is being represented as someone for the audience to aspire to be like and admire.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD CONTINUEDFor this page, I decided to focus more on the feature to represent and appeal to the audience as when they read it they can relate to and learn from the artist, this links into Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1954), stating that there are five stages of what people need. This feature relates to the stage focusing on self actualisation as when reading this the audience can learn more about the artist, learning from them and develop themselves.