In my analysis I have written about a music magazine called Rolling Stone. I have tried to analyse it through denotation, masthead, character, composition, costume, NVC, lighting, setting, cover lines and target audience.
This magazine shows a bright coloured photograph of a women looking directly at the camera. Her image is in a medium long shot showing her head, shoulders, arms, waist and bum. She is standing and leaning her hands on the balcony. Her bum and a bit of her legs are showing in the shot. The background of the photograph is of the view she sees from the balcony. The background view is blurred which suggests that she is the main image. Behind the females head is the rolling stone masthead, and in front of her are seven separate cover lines in black and red. The females name is in sans serif font in bold black letters. The sans serif font in black letters is repeated through some of the other cover lines. There is no barcode.
Rolling stone’s masthead is very stimulating through the red with white outline and the black drop shadow. The font shown is in a serif font, and after the first letters of each word the rest are in lowercase and they link with each other. The font used is similar to the font of the ‘cars’ film which gives connotations of the American styled life. The word ‘Rolling Stone’ means a person who travels aimlessly which suggests that American style is relaxing and comfortable. Rolling Stone is also a long time running band which also suggests that Rolling Stone magazine has experience and knows how to appeal to its target audience. The name Rolling Stone alerts the audience that this magazine is based on music.
The main photograph is of the famous R&B singer Rihanna. She is seen to be posing by turning her face to the right shoulder and looking at the camera. Her pose, clothing, and body language suggest that she is being flirtatious and seductive.
Rihanna’s top is tight and has holes; her shorts are very small in a ripped style and in a shiny metal material. This costume has been chosen specifically to show a lot of cleavage and to appeal to the target audience of the magazine who are most likely to be males. The clothing she wears is very revealing and relates with the cover line of her ‘striking back’. Her cut up trousers suggest she is going to strike back.
Rihanna’s non-verbal communication is shown to be profoundly attractive. Her mouth is half open displaying her soft pink lips and white teeth while looking directly at the camera. The lighting is in a high key as the photograph is meant to display the morning time. There is a simple setting to show the trees and the morning sky which is therefore keeping with the theme of the morning. She is shown to be leaning on the balcony.
The main cover line that relates to her photograph says “Rihanna strikes back”. This is referring to her past about how she dated bad boys and how she has an attraction to the dark side. This therefore represents the main photograph because of her clothing, when wearing the ripped shorts, it shows her dating bad boys. Her hair colour is bright red which represents the attraction she had to the dark side. The colour red has connotations of danger and power. Her clothing is revealing and tight which also signifies the pain she went through. The quote “Rihanna strikes back” represents that she doesn’t want her past anymore, she wants to change, and this also shows that she wasn’t comfortable before. The quote “pop queen” is used to display that she is powerful in the music industry. The different cover lines tell us that the magazine doesn’t just concentrate on one genre of music but is contrasting on what it chooses to write about. The artists mentioned on the cover lines are Rihanna, Britney Spears, Elizabeth Taylor and Robbie Robertson. These are all American artists which emphasize the American culture. The only person which is mentioned and is not an American artist would be Ricky Gervais who is a British comedian. The cover lines are written in ways that represent other current news e.g. “U.S soldiers in Afghanistan murdered innocent civilians for sport”. All the other cover lines are in sans serif font.
Looking through all these all these points I think the target audience would male and females but mostly males from the ages of 25-55. This age group has a good knowledge of the music industry and knows what’s happening around the world today. They are likely to be interested in the American culture.
In conclusion I think the music magazine has a lot of effort and work done to actually make it a magazines and to make it appeal to its target audience.
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