How does your media product represent particular social groups?

When planning for my magazine I had to think about the social groups that I was aiming my magazine at. It is important to not only think about the individual person, but their persona but their social groups as a whole. I decided that my magazine was going to be aimed at people who make a persona around the people they associate with, the music they listen to and the things that they do all have an input into the person that they desire to be. This is why I chose to make a music lifestyle magazine. The social group I aim my magazine at think of themselves as being independent and fashionable. It is important to them to keep up to date with new brand, what and who is cool and who they aspire to be like.

When thinking of what or who I could have to appear in my magazine, I wanted to see what images and personas are popular. I looked firstly at the Cosmopolitan magazine front covers for idea’s and inspiration. I found that the way the main image was constructed would be perfect for my magazine. Although this magazine does not represent the type of social group I am aiming my product at, it is a well-known and well respected women’s magazine. I thought that if I could mix this type of main image with different aspects of other magazine that represent my social group, then this would appeal and draw in the customers. So I used the Cosmopolitan type mid shot on my front cover. I made Georgia look fairly serious, so as I could achieve a more sexual feeling to the magazine. I asked her to squint her eyes and to look directly into the camera, making the shot feel more intimate, connecting well with the audience. I kept Georgia’s makeup simple so as to emphasise on her bright hair. I asked her to wear her hair up in a tousled bun. This way Georgia is achieving the ‘Beach babe’ kind of look. I wanted her to look as though she is ready to go for a skate in her branded sweatshirt. This way the magazine is connecting with the social group I am aiming at as they can relate to the image rather than feeling that the model on the cover was better than them, it seems down to earth and realistic.

I got the inspiration for my image from this image of katy perry that was front cover of Vanity Fair. When i was researching, i came across this image and i found it striking. I loved how her sholders were slightly bent forwards as if they are pointing towards the audience, so i tried to get my model to do the same. I loved the way she has her hands on her hips, making her look lightly agressive and dominant. It also makes the model look passionate and controlling. The social group that i am targetting are very passionate and assertive, they like things done their way, and i tried to represent and relate to the audience using this perticular image. Also I felt that as my magazine is mainly aimed at young women, the hands on the hip represents 'girl power' making women feel dominant and powerful. The camera shot is a mid shot. I wanted to make sure the the posture was clearly shown in the shot, but making sure that the facial expression was also clearly visible. I wanted my lighting to be bright and elluring, just like the lighting in the picture of Katy Perry. I thought that my image was fairly bright, but now comparing it to my inspiration, my image does not look as bright as i thought it was going to be. I wanted to make the clothes my model is wearing represent my audience. I dressed her in a baggy t shirt, as this was she looks fairly casual, yet still stunning. This is the kind of tshirt that my audience would wear on a daily basis, meaning that the may relate to or feel inspired by this image. I loved the way that Katy Perry's hair came down across the right hand side of her face, covering a part of her eye and making her looking mysterious and sexy. I tried to recreated this with my models hair, although it was not long enough to cover enough of her face, i feel that i get the same kind of feel to the image. Looking into the camera instantly creates intimacy with the audience. I feel that the grumpy, yet sexy looking pose really worked well in this image. I think in the image of Katy Perry, it definatly represents the readers being middle or upper class. As my magazine is aimed at working class people, i thought i would tone it down a bit, making it feel a bit more realistic to my intended social group.

Music magazines often try to 'subvert' conventional stereotypes, in my magazine i have definatly tried to do so. I have taken away any negative stereotypes of skaters, and replaced these with positive stereotypes.

My magazine has a pro-consumerist stance. As my social group i am aiming at is working class, this means that every now and again they will have enough money to treat themselves. This is really good as this means that i can put more advertising and fashion aspects into my magazine. Magazines rely on advertising for a considerable percentage of their income and which is why most of them encourage readers to buy the products they advertise and promote (pro-consumption). This is what i am planning to do.