Applying Theory To My Magazine

The main character on our front cover will be a celebrity figure that we have created. We have decided to use a woman as the main image. The clothing, props and costumes have been carefully decided in order to create the desired representations. The image will both challenge and conform to gender representation because although the artist will be prone to the male gaze, they will not be represented as the typical feminine woman as her clothing will not be provocative as it will be oriented around the rock genre. The artist will be fitting of the typical representation of age as they will be presented as young, fresh and vibrant to the readers. This is important when considering the demographics of our audience, which are young people who enjoy music.

I have chosen to apply Stuart Halls theory of encoding, decoding, audience reception theory to my magazine. The theory of audience reception suggests that TV and other media audiences are presented with messages that are decoded, or interpreted in different ways depending on an individual's cultural background, economic standing, and personal experiences. This would apply to my magazine due to the circulation part of the theory, which implies that people view things differently in written form in comparison to visually. This is relevant to my magazine as I will be using a variety of images as well as written texts.

Also, the even though the target audience for my magazine are young people that like music, it would be open to many people of different cultural backgrounds, which means that it could be received in a variety of ways.

In comparison, the Male Gaze by Laura Mulvey is another relevant theory; however, there are aspects of it that does not apply directly to my music magazine. The Male Gaze can be broken down into three areas; How men look at women, How women look at other women and How women look at themselves. The main part of the theory revolves around how women are sexualised, especially within the media industry, to appear to a specific audience more. For my music magazine, there will be a female artist on the front page. However, her outfit will not be very provocative. The mise-en-scene will be used to create a rock feel rather than to sexualise her as the readers would see the artist as more of a musical inspiration rather than a sexual object.