Vogue Flashcards
Industry context
- Huge number of international versions of Vogue that reflect it’s success, but it also reflects Hesmondhalgh’s idea that powerful companies often replicate successful formats in order to maximise profits.
- Conde Nast created and published Vogue.
- Conde Nast does take risk though to stand out from other magazines - e.g they were one of the first magazines to start using colour photography, which was very expensive in the 1930s but their target audience could afford it.
- In the 60s, Advanced Publications purchased Conde Nast and encouraged for modernity and risk taking. They were one of the first magazines to have a black woman not he front cover, which create the idea of Vogue being cutting-edge and pushing boundaries.
- They also try to boost sales by using celebrities. Having artists like Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali create their own front covers. Collabs with famous people adds an element of exclusivity.
How did Vogue cultivate different brand images?
- Featuring people that weren’t exactly famous beforehand like photographer Cecil Beaton and lot’s of writers that went onto be very successful like Virginia Wolf and Sadie Smith. Creating an image that vogue was a magazine and discovered and nurtured amazing new talent.
- Exclusive photos and articles about people apart of the Royal Family like Princess Diana and the Duchess of Cambridge etc, which draws in a global audience and makes vogue seem luxurious.
- One full page advert in Vogue costs £36,000. Lots of readers now see-through advertisements and find themselves being “put-off” from a magazine, but actually in Vogue, readers often embrace the adverts in the magazine as they see Vogue as an opinion leader giving them ideas of what they should buy to have a certain lifestyle.
How does Vogue attract audiences?
- Anna Winter began a trend of using more celebrities on the covers, rather than just models. She introduced Teens Vogue, Mens Vogue in order to expand the brand and attract a much larger audience.
- Vogue also made Fashion Fund which started in the mid-2000s and was all about helping new fashion designers financially. Sounds selfless but ultimately adds to the reputation of Vogue being the forefront of fashion and finding new talent.
-Vogue has now moved into a lot of digital media- there’s a digital version of the magazine. They have a strong social media presence, recognising many people are online now. Conde Nast have admitted that they think they will be using a lot more modern technology in Vogue in order to target audiences.
What are some examples of representation (with evidence from set products) in Vogue?
Sophia Loren front cover
- Famous actress in the 60s.
- Front cover is a close up that makes her seem powerful, important, exotic and like a role model (through visual codes like clothing, accessories and makeup as well as direct address)
- Exotic nature of her image may reflect Stuart Hall’s ideas about the use of Middle Eastern Stereotypes, representing ethnic minorities as ‘other,’.
Sheila Black
- Featuring a working female expert on finance would be unconventional in the 60s.
- She talks about women being financially independent and wanting to invest money - unusual as women didn’t have power over finance in that time. (ties into bell hooks theory of the patriarchy) This started after an influx of second-wave feminism.
- Representing women in positions of high education, giving financial advice, can create a sense of empowerment and shows progression from traditional gender roles and expectations.
-The choice to represent women as having financial power might reflect the class and wealth of the typical Vogue reader (AB socioeconomic groups). The inclusion of an article that gives basic definitions of financial terms might suggest that women don’t understand economics and investments, this may represent the new changes in the 60s of women gaining a little independence from their husbands and fathers, but not completely- the article copy suggests that women still are reliant on their husbands in many ways and unable to keep finances secret.
What are some conventional representations in Vogue?
A lot of the other pages offer conventional representations of women for the 60s, often showing them as domestic or sexualised.
- Cutex advert denotes a woman with bare shoulders suggesting nudity, along with ‘bare essentials’, ‘barely decent’. The shade names have connotations of nudity, suggesting that showing flesh and being sexualised in important for women. ‘Are you woman enough to wear them?’ rhetorical question suggests femininity is linked to nakedness and sexual appeal (van zoonen) also creating a pressure to conform by generalising the word women.
- The revlon advert gives similar representations, calling women alluring and beguiling - the idea that a woman’s role is to attract others visually.
- the imperial Leather advert clearly reflects the stereotype that women are maternal and domestic. Her body language and expression show women as emotional, caring and loving.
-The picnic articles and fashion pages show women holding children, nurturing them passively. The passivity go women in many articles fails to reflect the growing power of some women in the 60s such as feminists. You could argue that this was because feminism was still considered a new and alternative idea whereas Vogue was aimed at a mainstream market. Also reflects the fact richer women were under less financial pressure to go out and work, so many of them did lead more traditional lives.
-The use of images of young women as mothers reflects the historical context as women in the 60s were typically expected to marry young and start families. Modern women’s magazines aimed at those age 20-35 often choose not to feature content about children, as many women now are able to have careers first, and have children in their 30s or later.
What are some representations of class and ethnicity in Vogue?
- Complex language used as it’s targeted towards middle to upper classes with an assumed advanced lexis, for example the Sheila Black article mentions financial topics like dividends and taxes that lower class women may be less familiar with. The costumes on the picnic spread is very formal. In the copy they talk about lords and ladies, famous artworks etc representing upper class cultured women.
- These upper class people are featured as utopia, idealised and being aspirational role models. This may represent that the readers of vogue tend to aspire to this or be part of that group.
- White models are often pictured in jewels and expensive clothing, representing them as high status. the lack of minority models and makeup aimed at darker skinned readers reflects the less inclusive nature of Britain in the 60s.
- There are representations for black Egyptian men int he fashion pages but they’re positioned to be marginalised therein the background of shots, out of focus and are seen as working and doing deals, whereas the white woman is dancing and enjoying leisure time, this idea that black people are poorer.
- This marginalisation of ethnic minorities creates a post colonialism view of ethnicity, with them being seen as staff or less important then the white models. The white mans suit, tie watch and writing suggests wealth ,status and a westernised view of professionalism,
Annotations of the Vogue set product front cover
Barthes Semiotics
- Main image, direct address - connotes star status, sense of mystery.
- Embodies the mythic notion of femininity that is aspirational, potentially a sense of the desire self that a reader wishes to become.
-Colour pallette connotes, glamour, luxury, wealth, emphasised bye the accessories. Reinforces affluent target audience.
How can Neale’s genre theory be applied?
Theme of the magazine is fashion and beauty, this is shown through connotations in the articles and the advertisement. Revlon ad - makeup connotes beauty.
How can Stuart Hall be applied?
- imperial leather advert idealises the image of a woman in the home as a motherly nurturing figure.
- Stereotypical notions of female beauty - blonde and slender. Repeated use of ‘soft’ ‘gently’ reinforced stereotypes of women as weaker/dependent.
- In revlon advert - the image made the makeup aspects bolder creating the idea that women may automatically be attracted by the makeup and read further, representing them as narrow minded and imply a sense of desire to look attractive.
how can Van zoonen and bell hooks be applied?
- The underlying frame of reference is that women belong to the daily and domestic life and that femininity is about care, nurturance and compassion. Vogue supports this through the codes and conventions portrayed in adverts such as Imperial Leather.
- Given the social and historical contexts of vogue we can understand why these representations have been constructed in such a stereotypical way.
How can Gauntlett be applied?
Vogue is offering straightforward messages about the ideal female ‘type’, being fashion conscious and aspirational
- Sophia Loren, the models in the fashion shoots and to some extent the women featured in the adverts, could be seen as acting as ‘role models’ for the audience, while the female journalists highlighted on the
Contents Page and the Sheila Black article might offer an alternative path in career and aspirational contexts.
How can Blumler&Katz be applied?
- The reader may use the magazine for a variety of purposes and needs. These may include ‘surveillance’ for an understanding of the worlds of fashion, money and travel; ‘identity’ in allowing the reader to perhaps aspire to be like the cover star or the featured models. ‘relationship’ through purchasing a copy every month to keep up with the lifestyle choices and ‘entertainment’ for the pleasure of reading a quality publication featuring the lives of the glamourous.
How can Gerbner’s theory be applied?
- Reported exposure to attractive and glamorous models and luxury beauty products may cultivate the idea that women should always look presentable and beautiful.
- Repetitive adverts for luxury products persuade the aspirational reader to purchase these to achieve the luxurious lifestyle they aim to live, using the models as a role model.
How can Stuart Hall’s reception theory be applied?
Preferred reading - More traditional women, who take on domestic roles and conform to social norms.
Negotiated reading - Women who might aspire to this life, but are aware of their own limitations due to location, finance and social status.
Oppositional reading - Women gaining more feminist views, especially those part of the second wave of feminism.
How can Curran and Seaton be applied?
Major publishers like Conde Nast build power by margining with over rival publishing companies (horizontal integration).
This reduces competition, as power is concentrated in the hands of fewer companies.
- This form of media concentration of ownership not only limits variety, creativity and quality, but also reduces choice for the audience. This may result in companies taking less risks with regards to new titles being published, while minimising costs and maximising financial profits.
