The document discusses how the media product represents different social groups. It notes that white males are the largest represented group in the magazine, reflecting stereotypes in the media industry. Young white females are also prominently featured, conforming to stereotypes of the "English rose." Working class backgrounds are emphasized for credibility within the indie music genre. Some efforts are made to represent other ethnicities beyond white artists, but overall stereotypes from music magazines are reproduced in terms of lifestyle depictions.
1. HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA
PRODUCT REPRESENT
DIFFERENT SOCIAL
GROUPS?
-
QUESTION 2
2. INDIE & ALTERNATIVE
GENRE
THROUGH RESEARCHING MY AUDIENCE IN SURVEYS AND
QUESTIONNAIRES, I DEICDED THAT MY GENRE SHOULD BE
INDIE. IN ORDER TO REPRESENT THIS AREA, I EXTENSIVELY
RESEARCHED ARTICLES, ARTISTS AND MAGAZINES THAT WOULD
FIT INTO THIS CATEGORY IN ORDER TO FIND IDEAS THAT
WOULD INSPIRE MY WORK.
I FEEL LIKE MY FINAL PRODUCT REPRESENTED THE INDIE
GENRE IN A SUCCESSFUL WAY THAT IF IT WERE TO BE
PUBLISHED IT WOULD GENUINELY ATTRACT THE AUDIENCE I
WANTED. IT WAS REPRESENTED THROUGH MY CHOICE OF
ARTISTS, STYLING AND GENERAL CONSTRUCTION WHICH I DID
PURPOSELY IN A WAY THAT I FEEL FIT IN WITH THE
RESEARCH I HAD GATHERED.
3. WHITE MALES
WHITE MALES ARE LARGEST AREA OF REPRESENTED PEOPLE IN MY
PRODUCT. THIS IS STEREOTYPICALLY SEEN THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE
MEDIA INDUSTRY WHICH REINFORCES THE TYPICAL IDEOLOGY THAT
WHITE PEOPLE HAVE THE MOST POWER WITHIN SOCIETY AND
HISTORICALLY HAVE DONE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
UNINTENTIONALLY, MOST OF MY CHOSEN MALE BANDS/ARTISTS WERE
WHITE WHICH SHOWS THAT I MYSELF HAVE HAD THIS IDEA FORCED
UPON ME BY THE MUSIC MAGAZINES I READ SUCH AS CLASH WHICH
HAS A MAJORITY OF ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON WHITE MALE.
BOTH YOUNG AND OLDER MALES HAVE BEEN REPRESENTED HERE. I
HAVE TWO IMAGES OF MALE BANDS ON MY CONTENTS PAGE WHICH ARE
JAWS AND SPECTOR, BOTH ALL WHITE MALE BANDS.
4. YOUNG WHITE FEMALES –
GENDER AND AGE
WHITE FEMALES ARE THE SECOND LARGEST GROUP
REPRESENTED THROUGHTOUT MY MAGAZINE. THE ARTIST
ON THE COVER AND DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD IS A WHITE
TEENAGER ANDF CONFORMS TO THE STEREOTYPE OF THE
TYPICAL ‘ENGLISH ROSE’ THAT IS OFTEN DEPICTED
AS BEING THE STEREOTYPICAL BRITISH CITIZEN.
THIS IS IN THE SENSE THAT SHE IS FRESH FACES,
HAS BLUE EYES AND HAS BLONDE/BROWN HAIR.
BECAUSE OF HER AGE,I DECIDED TO DRESS HER QUITE
CONSERVATIVELY IN A TURTLE NECK JUMPER IN ORDER
TO NOT OVER SEXUALISE MY MODEL. THIS WAS TO
APPEAL TO MY AUDIENCE WHO WHEN I DID MY SURVEY,
TURNED OUT TO BE MORE FEMALE THAN MALE. I
DECIDED TO NOT USE HEAVY MAKEUP ON THE MODEL
ALSO AS FEMALE INDIE ARTISTS I HAVE RESEARCHED
MAINLY GO FOR A NATURAL LOOK FOR EXAMPLE
ARTISTS SUCH AS HAIM AND WARPAINT WHO HAVE A
FRESH FACED FEEL.
I WROTE THAT MY ARTIST WAS 22 IN MY DOUBLE PAGE
SPREAD ARTICLE, IT ALLOWED ME TO INCLUDE PAST
EXPERIENCES WITH DRUGS AND LIFESTYLE. THE
ARTIST CONFORMS TO THE STEREOTYPE THAT ALL
YOUND PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN ACOHOL AND DRUGS
FOR EXAMPLE WHEN I WROTE ‘THE WHOLE ALBUMS
BASICALLY ABOUT DRUGS’ ON THE COVER.
5. WORKING CLASS
IN THE INDIE MUSIC MAGAZINE INDUSTRY, WORKING CLASS IS OFTEN
THE FAVOURED CLASS TO INCORPORATE INTO THE MAGAZINE. THIS IS
BECAUSE WORKING CLASS PEOPLE ARE STEREOTYPICALLY FUN, KNOW
HOW TO HAVE FUN AND DOWN TO EARTH. THIS IS SEEN THROUGHOUT
MY MAGAZINE AS MY MAIN ARTISTS WORKING CLASS BACKGROUND IS
EMPHASISED MANY TIMES THROUGOUT THE DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
INTERVIEW. FOR EXAMPLE, IT MENTIONS HER EARLY LIFE IN
HACKNEY WHICH IS A POORER AREA OF LONDON. IT ALSO TALKS
ABOUT HER TEENS YEARS IN WHICH SHE TALKS ABOUT ‘RUNNING
ROUND IN PARKS’ IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. THIS REINFORCES
THE IDEA THAT WORKING CLASS PEOPLE ARE MORE FUN AND
SPONTANEOUS THAT MIDDLE AND UPPER CLASS PEOPLE.
THE ARTSIST I CHOSE TO INCLUDE IN MY MAGAZINE SUCH AS JAWS
AND THE 1975 WHO FORMED IN BIRMINGHAM AND MANCHESTER WHICH
ARE MAJORITY WORKING CLASS CITIES.
6. OTHER ETHNICITIES
OTHER ETHNICITIES ARE UNDER REPRESENTED AREAS WITHIN THE
GENERAL MEDIA. I THEREFORE WANTED TO INCORPORATE BLACK
ARTISTS INTO MY WORK TO MAKE ETHNICITY MORE VARIED SUCH
AS A$AP ROCKY.
ON MY CONTENTS PAGE I ALSO USED AN IMAGE OF MY FRIEND
MAYA WHO HAS AN INDIAN BACKGROUND AND HERITAGE. I DID
THIS AS I DID NOT WANT MY ENTIRE MAGAZINE TO SHOW JUST
WHITE ARTISTS BUT TO REPRESENT AND APPEAL TO A WIDER
AUDIENCE. THIS WOULD HOPEFULLY INCREASE THE SALES OF MY
MAGAZINE IF IT WERE TO BE REALLY PUBLISHED BY A COMPANY
SUCH AS TIME INC.
7. STEREOTYPES
MY MAGAZINE CONFORMS TO THE
STEREOTYPE THAT MUSIC MAGAZINES
OFTEN SHOW THEIR ARTISTS TO ALSO
CORFORM TO. THIS STEREOTYPE IS
HAVING A SORT OF ‘DEVIL-MAY-CARE’
ATTITUDE TO LIFE. FOR EXAMPLE THE
ARTICLE TITLES OFTEN FEATURE OR
MENTION DRUGS, SEX OR ALCOHOL, A
LIFESTYLE THAT PROBABLY NOT THE
EVERYDAY READER HAS. THIS IS SHOWN
IN THE EXAMPLES SEEN T0 THERIGHT
IN WHICH I HAVE GATHERED EVIDENCE
OF THIS STEREOTYPE FROM MY
RESEARCHED MAGAZINES.
MY
MAGAZINE
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