GQ Front Cover - Representation

Question 1

African Americans have had a long and complex
history in the motion picture industry. At the
start of the 20th century, many films depicted
black characters that supported the dominant
stereotype of the time: incompetent, hypersexualised and/or criminals. It wasn’t until the
growing momentum of the Civil Rights Movement
that there was a push against this status quo
and there evidently there is still a way to go.

Answer 1

In 2015 April Reign, the Broadway Black managing
editor, created the hashtag #OscarSoWhite to
bring attention to the Academy’s tendency to
overlook performances and achievements by nonwhite professionals. By 2016, little had changed
and so many actors and actresses boycotted the
2016 Oscars, branding it ‘racist’ and ‘too white’.

Question 2

Using a hugely successful black cover star
(Dwayne Johnson is half Samoan and half
African American) as their dominant image,
GQ is presenting a role model for its readers,
someone to aspire to be like. Although
Johnson’s Hollywood success might be outside
of most reader’s possibilities, his work ethic
and desire to want to better himself isn’t.

Answer 2

Johnson’s success as a wrestling character
allowed him to cross over into more mainstream
culture, most importantly an actor. Black actors
have, historically, always been paid less than
their white counterparts and so for Johnson
to be considered one of the most bankable
Hollywood stars is an achievement and his
success is even greater than one first realises.

Question 3

The use of Johnson’s iconic bicep with
its Brahma bull tattoo reinforces the
stereotype of men as having to be hyper
masculine, strong and muscular

Answer 3

For modern men, there is a societal expectation
that they have to ‘have it all’: health, wealth and
strength and the image of Johnson supports this as he epitomizes all three. Also, just like
their female counterparts, the very essence
of men’s lifestyle magazines is consumerism
and so the images and cover lines will
always seek to support this, informing men
of what they supposedly need, “the essential
wellness gadgets” and also showing them
thing to covet, “your ideal beach watch”.