Magazine research- Analysis of the Q magazine
The Q magazine attracts their demographic by having Lily Allen in the front cover as she is very famous and is well known , also because she suits the targeted demographic of the Q magazine as the genre of her music is common in the Q magazine. This works well as people who read Q are older teens. They would like to see Lily Allen in the front cover.
Uses and gratification says that media gives you information, social interaction, personal identification and entertainment. This magazine shows its entertainment through the use of buzzwords such as “Exclusive” and “masterpiece”. Having this in the front cover makes the targeted audience want to buy this magazine as they would be excited to know what is so exclusive. It will give them pleasure as entertaining information is meant to give the readers pleasure. Information is given out as it says “OASIS The 55-pint interview” This will give the audience information about their favourite music bands or singers. The tagline that says “Her WICKED WICKED ways”. This also creates excitement. “WICKED WICKED” is in the colour of red. This is done so it grabs the reader’s attention. Social interaction is when you see something in the media and you come and talk to your friends and family in a way of interaction. In this magazine front cover it says “The 55 pint interview”. The targeted demographic can go and talk to their friends about this interview by making it a subject of conversation. Personal identification can attract audience to this magazine as Lily Allen is in the front cover. They can relate their lives to her. It can be the way she looks, she is one of your favourite singers…etc.
A main reason that the Q magazine attracts its audience is by making the cover story about Lily Allen and by having her as the main focus of the magazine. This will make the audience aspire to be her as Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs states to survive humans need things. Therefore Maslow came up with a pyramid. On the bottom of the pyramid are the main needs for survival. It starts of by food, shelter….and on top he said humans need self-actualization which are hopes and dreams. This links with the magazine cover as people would aspire to be Lily Allen, to have her life style and her sexual attractiveness. So when they buy the magazine they would feel as if they bought something that gets them closer to Lily Allen’s lifestyle.
This Q magazine also attracts its audience through Mode of address as it is a way of speaking to the targeted demographic in their way. For example if the demographic are teenagers the text and graphics should suit it’s demographic. In this magazine the words such as “Sexy beast” is used this means they are sexually attractive but they have said it in a way that suits the demographic. You could say that appropriate language is being used according to the demographic.
The Male gaze state that women are often posed bending down this is called the “cant” it is often combined with the putting your finger in mouth. This is done to make them look childish. It is said that looking is an active male role. This immediately suggests that being looked at is a passive feminine characteristic. These poses of women lying down, looking helpless shows that they are submissive, recumbent and subordinate. This links with ideology as men control society in that ideology men are seen as aggressive, dominant and the female is seen weak and submissive. Ideology links with hegemony because although we know these things as a society we sign up to these ideal structures and we let ourselves be controlled by a set of ideals that may not be our own ideals. However some women thinks being submissive is something that makes you a better and a successful woman. They aspire to be submissive. As most of the girls in those poses are directly looking towards you this suggests that she knows you are looking at her. She wants to be looked at her. She is in control of your gaze. What she is doing is strategic in order to control your gaze. This shows a sign of power. Therefore some people aspire to be submissive. This links with the magazine as Lily Allen is a famous celebrity who follows with the male gaze as she is looking childish with her finger in mouth. However she is seen in the powerful way as she is controlling your gaze. This makes some audience want to be like her. So they would aspire to be submissive as they want to control men’s gaze.
The audience would be attracted to this magazine through semiotics as that is when a signifier and something signified makes a sign. In this magazine front cover as Lily Allen is posed in a sexual attractive way the signifier can be the lips and the signified can be sexual attractiveness. It is when the reader takes two things and makes something out of it. This would attract some audience as they would find Lily Allen sexually attractive and would want to see her.
Mise en scene is a French meaning of “everything in there” it says that everything in the media is there for a reason. For example the black panthers are there for a reason. They are there as panthers have connotations of being wild. This relates to the subheading “& her Wicked Wicked ways”. It suggests it’s something wild. Also the panthers have connotations of being powerful, feisty. This links to Lily Allen as the male gaze suggested that controlling people’s gaze is a sign of power. Another connotation of the panthers is fearless which suits Lily Allen as she is fearless.
The brand identity also attracts the audience to this magazine because having a brand identity in a magazine means when you see the pages of the magazine you would know which magazines it is from. There should be some kind of banner going through out every page or there will be a use of three colours that you could see throughout the pages. Having three main colours throughout the magazine creates a brand identity and is also a convention of a magazine. A convention is a rule that can be broken. This will attract audience to this magazine as they recognise the magazine as they know the format of it.
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