My magazine represents the social groups of hip hop and rap artists and their fans. In the photos, the model is dressed in stereotypical hip hop styles like chains and dark colors to portray that vibe. While focusing on hip hop, the color scheme is also light to appeal to other music genres. Most photos feature young males aged 17-25, the primary demographic for rap music. The language uses informal terms like slang to connect with readers. Poses and facial expressions aim to depict the model as thinking deeply to inspire youth.
1. Evaluation Question 2 How doesyour mediaproduct representparticular social groups?
Matteo Rimini
In many of my images featured in my magazine my model is acting in a certain way that
helps portray a rap/hip hop vibe. I made sure that even though my images relate to hip hop,
my colour of my magazine will not be as harsh and can relate to other genres of music. An
example of this in my cover page will be the red and black font colours but also the light
peach background which comes across as “un-violent”. I used high key lighting from one
source of light. For my cover page. This gave the effect that he has a shadow behind him
which can be used to tell a story about he’s past. The majority of stereotyped rappers have
come from a dark past therefore I found this lighting technique most relevant. My contents
page however uses side lighting. Half he’s face is well lit whereas the other half is in slight
darkness. I wanted to make sure that some parts of him were still dark.. This is also shown in
my photography with the use of colour and clothing. While taking my photos I made sure
that the people featured in the photos were dressed dark as this was to represent the
stereotypical dress sense of hip hop artists. During my research I discovered that hip hop
artists where many accessories such as rings, chains and sometime s hats. Therefore, I
included a golden chain to add colour.
His facial expressions are powerful, especially his eyes. In every image I try and make him
look like he is thinking hard about something.
My magazine is representing particular social groups by the language I used in my text. As
my genre is hip hop/ rap I thought I’d using informal language such as slang to connect with
the reader. An example that I included in my magazine is “The hardest in hip hop”. I also
used explanation marks which gives the same effect as slang as it isn’t formal when used. I
used both these throughout my magazine especially the double page spread as it included
an “interview with the artist”.
Another way in which my magazine represents particular social groups is that the majority
of my photos feature young males mostly aged at around 17-25 which is seen as a
stereotypical age for someone to read my magazine. Statistics show that the majority of
people who listen to rap music are males aged 15 – 18 years olds therefore that is the age
group that my magazine is aimed for.
As well as this the costume of the model portrays a certain social group as in the contents
page and cover page he is wearing a large gold chain across his neck which suggests that he
is tough which refers to rap and hip hop. I have also represented my social group through
the use of mise en scene. This social groups cares about their appearance and how everyone
sees them therefore I wanted to have a model/artist that can connect with the audience so
that it is clear who he magazine is aimed at. His clothes are very similar to what they would
wear for example: On the cover page the artist is layering his clothes which is the current
fashion trend.
As my model is an inspiration to some of the youth I decided to have the artist stare straight
into the camera for every image therefore the audience feels connected with them.