Huck - Ocalan's Angels analysis Flashcards
OCALAN’S ANGELS - Positioning of headline, standfirst, pull quotes/sidebars, columns, images
The headline is positioned at the top of the page so that you know what the article actually is. The positioning of the captions next to the photos reinforces the meaning that the images are trying to put forward.
OCALAN’S ANGELS - Font size, type, colour etc.
Headline is in black bold modern font spread over a double page, made to stand out against the background like the women are standing out against the world. This shows that this group of women from Kurdistan are different from other people and want to make a point about how women are treated in middle eastern countries. Contrasts against the font used in the title of the magazine, magazine font is curvy and is made to look old whereas the font style used in the Ӧcalan’s angels is blocky and made to look modern , could mean that the contrast is that these women are not afraid to be different.All colours in the article are muted and mainly black fonts. Huck magazine do this to make the article look basic but the detail is actually in the article itself, focusses the audience’s attention on the article rather than the detail around it.
OCALAN’S ANGELS - Images/photographs (shot type, angle, focus)
Dark, low key lighting in most of the images. In most photos, the girls look focused and ready to fight, but in one they look happy and smiling - suggestive of how even though they are fighting in a war, they are still jubilant, perhaps because they are hopeful of a better future. The close up of the scarf, which is lit low key, puts the war into perspective, and is symbolic of the fact that there could have been another girl there, fighting alongside them. The fact that it has low key lighting, reinforces that these women are dying, while fighting for freedom from the oppression. The image of one of the YPJ girls, inspecting a red car at one of their checkpoints, defies the norm, due it us associating military control to men, and not only denying women of this in developing countries, but also in western countries, where women are said to have many privileges and freedom . The fact that the magazine is only sold in western countries is reflective of society still stereotype the army to specifically males, but this being against the norm in society as such as ours, is reflective of how there is still gender bias amongst us, and middle eastern women are now rising up against this oppression they have suffered for hundreds of years.
OCALAN’S ANGELS - Anchorage of images and text
The first interpretation of the picture and the title ‘Ocalan’s Angels’ reminds the reader of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ where he sends out women fighters, who are referred to as angels as they are fighting for freedom. The connotations of angels are freedom and heaven, which also puts forward the view that the women in the images below are fighting for freedom. In the image the women looks determined and ready to fight for what she believes in. The text reinforces these views as it emphasises the determination of the women and the sense of self fulfillment and being proud when killing the isis fighters. In the captions it secures the extra level of precise detail as the images and the text are closely related and give a clear view, the captions support the view that being a freedom fighter for YPJ is really important for the women.
OCALAN’S ANGELS - Mode of address (direct/indirect; formal/informal)
The article is written as if an knowledgeable outsider is retelling the events and story so far to us. The quotes that are used are spoken in first person from the fighters and they are speaking directly to us as the readers.
The language in the article is formal, which implies that the subject of the article is to be taken seriously, and so are the female fighters. The indirect mode of address reflects that the article was written to inform the audience rather than speak directly to them, and keeps the attention solely on the female fighters and their bravery and strength. Direct, quite formal but also conversational - telling the story of the women fighting on the frontline as a personal recollection. Possibly makes it more personal for the reader and puts across that ISIS is an issue that concerns everyone, not just those in the warzone.
OCALAN’S ANGELS - Specific devices e.g. emotive language, rhetorical questions, hyperbole, use of fact/statistics
FACTS: ‘PPK has waged a war for Kurdish independence against Turkey since 1984’. ‘Ocalan has been in Turkish maximum security prison since 1999’. The use of facts towards the beginning of the article gives the audience context about the rest of the article. The use of facts also makes the audience more willing to believe the article is true
. EMOTIVE LANGUAGE: “I wanted to let them all know that their worst nightmare had come true”. The worst nightmare is referencing to an Islamic extremist being killed by a woman
. “Before joining the movement and turning into warriors” - word “warrior” says that the women are more than just fighters, as they’re going against the norm, making them people that women should look up to.
OCALAN’S ANGELS - Narrative established
The text, images and pull quotes creates the narrative that women are standing up against being oppressed by men (by fighting forces dominated by men) (Pull quote = “I wanted to let them all know that their worst nightmare had come true: their friend had been killed by a woman”)
It creates the narrative of defiance linking to the theme of the magazine and people who go against ideologies/values in society. This is because the article is about people who are not afraid to break the rules and go against convention.
It is about people going against gender norms in society.
Levi Strauss - This creates the binary opposite of men vs women as the whole article is mainly about the women fighting against oppression as they were expected to work on farms or look after the children because of gender stereotypes
