Vogue - Media Language Flashcards
What is Vogue?
A historical, mainstream magazine
When was the set edition of Vogue released?
July 1965
Who is the star on the front cover of Vogue?
Sophia Loren
What is a periodical publication?
A publication issued at regular intervals
How often is Vogue published?
Once a month
What ideologies are most prevalent in Vogue?
Consumerism, capitalism, materialism
What does a magazine cover need to include?
Indicate who the magazine is intended for, drawing the attention of the target audience.
Indicate the type of magazine it is (the relevant genre or sub-genre should be clearly signalled to the reader).
Help the magazine stand out from its competitors by conveying a clear sense of brand identity.
Persuade potential readers to buy the magazine by creating audience interest and appeal.
Why is it important that the front cover of magazines look appealing to their target audience?
To ensure they sell on the news stand
What is a repeat purchase?
When someone buys the same brand or product that they have done previously
What is a house style?
The distinctive ‘look’, aesthetic or visual style of the magazine, which helps to convey a sense of its brand identity
How does the inclusion of the ‘Money’ article in Vogue suggest the 1960s is an era of change and why might women’s expectations be changing at this time?
As a result of post war-prosperity and consumer boom, women grew a desire to become more financially independent, as a result of the growing women’s rights movements, as it was no longer illegal to work after marriage
What are the connotations of the font styles used?
The font styles convey a sophisticated aesthetic, using a vintage yet classy typeface. This conforms to the house style of the magazine and emphasises the aristocratic culture of the institution.
What type of typography is used?
A serif font is used and is in fact Times New Roman, which have short decorative lines, called serifs, added to the letters. The style projects a traditional look.
What does the colour scheme of the magazine cover connote?
The colour palette utilises soft blues and aquatic greens, which symbolise the idea of the ocean, which again carries cultural connotations of exotic travel.
The masthead is washed in a green hue, which is symbolic of the sophisticated, high-end nature of the magazine.
What is significant about the positioning of the different elements on the cover?
Sophia Loren is captured in a medium close-up shot and is positioned in the centre of the frame.
The actress is bathed in high-key light drawing attention to her natural beauty whilst promoting the theme of ‘summer madness’.
How does the use of alliteration impact the reader?
The lexis in the bottom right third of the front cover is designed to promote the stories within the set edition.
Alliteration is used “sand, swim, sea, sun, sheiks and Sophia” to entice the audience to purchase the magazine and consume the themes of summer.
Is there an imperative or can we argue that the imperative is more subtle to the reader?
The imperative addresses the audience directly with ‘how to scintillate almost everywhere’.
The imperative sensationalises body image, a desirable consumption of identity the target audience desired.
How is the reader addressed?
Loren engages the audience with a direct mode of address, which creates an alignment with the intended audience.
Loren’s costume has connotations of wealth and success as well as being exotic.
Her head dress is covered in expensive jewels creating connotations of royalty, wealth and sophistication.
Her iconic reputation as an Italian/Hollywood actress is captured through flawless make-up and a dazzling costume.
What is a syntagm
A combination of signs that are linked together in a particular way to convey the same or similar meaning
What is a paradigm
A set of related signs that the encoder can choose from - the set of font style the magazine producer may choose
Analyse the Cutex Advertisement and discuss how the colour scheme combines signs to convey meaning to the reader.
The poster uses media language to construct a feminine identity of youth, beauty and sexuality. This is achieved via the copy and the central image.
A medium close up shot is used to frame the female model dominantly to the left.
The sell line “bare essentials” anchors the image due to the lack of costume, this connotes that being bare is both liberating for women, and desirable for heterosexual men.
Analyse the Cutex Advertisement and discuss how the language and colour scheme combines signs to convey meaning to the reader.
Attention is drawn to the female characters lips and nails through the soft, feminine colour palette, and the high-key light.
This is designed to entice the readers, encouraging them to project their own self image onto the female model, this will encourage them to buy the product.
Headings, subheadings and slogans are written in sans-serif font, connoting an informal mode of address, this is further reinforced through the use of colloquial language, ‘newest, you-est’.
Outline Barthes theory of Semiotics
- the idea that texts communicate their meanings through a process of signification
- the idea that signs can function at the level of denotation, which involves the ‘literal’ or
common-sense meaning of the sign, and at the level of connotation, which involves the
meanings associated with or suggested by the sign - the idea that constructed meanings can come to seem self-evident, achieving the status
of myth through a process of naturalisation.
Outline Levi Strauss’ theory of binary oppositions
- the idea that texts can best be understood through an examination of their underlying
structure - the idea that meaning is dependent upon (and produced through) pairs of oppositions
- the idea that the way in which these binary oppositions are resolved can have particular
ideological significance.
What examples of binary oppositions are in the Vogue magazine?
Modern v Tradition
Luxury v Accessibility
Masculinity v Femininity
Youth v Maturity
