NRS social grade - Wikipedia
Source D features Hillary Clinton, Theresa May, Taylor Swift and Serena Williams – four women making news for their extraordinary political, business and sporting achievements – as an alternative team of ‘Ghostbusters’, representing sisterhood. This is an intertextual reference to the all-female remake of the movie Ghostbusters with the (female) social group presented as fixers of a crisis – hence the tagline: ‘Who You Gonna Call? The New Female Frontline’. In the background of the image are icons of political establishments: The White House, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. The image of a green ghost floating in the air has the face of Donald Trump embedded within it.
Analyse why The Big Issue magazine has used an intertextual approach on its front cover in Source D.
In your answer you must:
- Analyse the use of intertextuality to create meaning in the source
- Make judgements and reach a conclusion about the advantages of this use of intertextuality to The Big Issue magazine. [15]
:
QUESTION2:
LEVEL 2: 6 - 10
An adequate response to the set question.
LEVEL 1: 1 - 5
A minimal response to the set question.
LEVEL 2: 6 - 10
An adequate response to the set question.
LEVEL 1: 1 - 5
A minimal response to the set question.
Analyse how individuals and social groups are represented through processes of selection and combination of text and image in Source D.
In your answer you must:
• analyse how media representations are constructed in Source D through the selection and combination of text and image
• make judgements and draw conclusions on the effectiveness of the representation of gender and identity through the media form. [15]
MARK SCHEME - Q1
LEVEL 3: 11 - 15
A comprehensive response to the set question.
- Comprehensive application of knowledge and understanding of the media theoretical framework to analyse Source D.
- Convincing, perceptive and accurate analysis of why The Big Issue magazine has used an intertextual approach to the referendum which consistently provides logical connections and a good line of reasoning.
- Highly developed and accomplished judgements and conclusions regarding why The Big Issue magazine has used an intertextual approach.
An adequate response to the set question.
- Adequate and generally accurate application of knowledge and understanding of the media theoretical framework to analyse Source D.
- Adequate and generally successful analysis of why The Big Issue magazine has used an intertextual approach which provides some logical connections and lines of reasoning, although may be descriptive in parts.
- Adequate and generally well-reasoned judgements and conclusions regarding why The Big Issue magazine has used an intertextual approach.
LEVEL 1: 1 - 5
A minimal response to the set question.
- Minimal application of knowledge and understanding of the media theoretical framework to analyse Source D.
- Analysis of why The Big Issue magazine has used an intertextual approach, if present, is minimal and/or largely descriptive and may not be relevant.
- Judgements and conclusions, if present, are minimal with limited support.
MARK SCHEME Q - 2
LEVEL 3: 11 - 15
A comprehensive response to the set question.
- Comprehensive application of knowledge and understanding of the media theoretical framework to analyse Source D.
- Convincing, perceptive and accurate analysis of how media representations are constructed which consistently provides logical connections and a good line of reasoning.
- Highly developed and accomplished judgements and conclusions regarding the effectiveness of the representation of gender and identity through the media form.
An adequate response to the set question.
- Adequate and generally accurate application of knowledge and understanding of the media theoretical framework to analyse Source D.
- Adequate and generally successful analysis of how media representations are constructed which provides some logical connections and lines of reasoning, although may be descriptive in parts.
- Adequate and generally well-reasoned judgements and conclusions regarding the effectiveness of the representation of gender and identity through the media form.
LEVEL 1: 1 - 5
A minimal response to the set question.
- Minimal application of knowledge and understanding of the media theoretical framework to analyse Source D.
- Analysis of how media representations are constructed is minimal and/or largely descriptive and may not be relevant.
- Judgements and conclusions regarding the effectiveness of media representations, if present, are minimal with limited support.
There is a positive message of feminity and this dominates the page and is used in opposition to the male dominance in politics with Trump used as an intertextual element of a ghost in ghostbusters. With the Big issue being a British publication Theresa May is framed at the front of the four women to reinforce the UK politic female empowerment. The Mise-en-scene is carefully constructed, using a very different facial expression than the women as he is clearly against these women, the women’s facial expression are chosen to look like a united group trying to destruct the ghost which is Donald Trump. The anchoring text of “The New Female Frontline” gives connotations of solidarity and almost like an army who will defeat the enemy of male dominance within society. The narrative of the piece is an example of Levi-Strauss binary opposition, the women are a clear opposite to the male character of Donald Trump but there are also oppositions within the group of females with two of them being high profile political people, elite people, whereas the other two are both celebrity. This is a very pluralistic piece clearly aligning us with the feminism ideology trying to rise against the strong dominance of the hegemonic world we live in. The typography used is clear to read whilst not taking a side with either of the stereotypes portrayed. The preferred reading of the piece would be seen as negative towards the male gender representation and positive towards the female representation. With today’s readership it would be very difficult to not get a negotiated reading thereby making the magazine a success as there could be any type of readership.
ReplyDeleteI think I have used media language at an OKAY level but I could have added some more, I think I have talked about the representations at a good standard, I could have done more in terms of genre and institutes but I think I did well with narrative.
We can see that this cover of The Big Issue is trying to convey women positively, and that this ideology is the domination on the cover, there is also a depiction of Donald Trump as a male archetype. The cover connotes that Donald Trump is the antagonist by photoshopping him onto the “Slimer the ghost” character with a photo of him making him look nasty, as he is pulling a gruesome face. The mise en scene has worked by placing the image of Donald Trump in a smaller character at the top of the page in order to keep the focus on the “female frontline”. This layout creates a clear idea of where the readers focus should be – on the group of women that look like they are having an enjoyable time, creating a sense of unity and sisterhood.
ReplyDeleteThe Big Issue magazine, by doing this cover, is attempting to align itself with feminists by suggesting that Trump is the opposite to the empowered women, such a politically powerful women, popstars and black women. The faces of the women are happy whereas Trumps face shows the opposite, this creates a binary opposite between the antagonist and villainous looking man and the heroic and empowered women. The political alignment of this magazine is relatively unclear, we could argue for both sides, however it is most likely to have more left wing ideologies due to them representation Trump as the villain. This can also be linked to the feeling of sisterhood implied on this cover, which could again, be the magazine aligning itself with a feminist audience with strong opinions on their political views. However one of the most difficult things to take from this cover is who they target audience is, we cannot be sure of a specific age bracket, this is interesting because it ca mean it is targeted at a very wide audience leading to a variety of negotiated readings as the preferred reading may be hard to grasp dependent on the views of the audiences.
Haven’t included:
• Semiotics
• Signs/Signifiers/Signified
• Institution
• Codes and Conventions
• Stereotype/Countertype
There is a mixture of representation shown on this cover and includes different social groups (race, class, background, profession), and emphasises the ‘new female frontline’ being diverse and that woman from any part of the media is influential in some way. The image of Trump as a green ghost sees him as the role of the villain; establishing sense of conflict between white male archetypes with 4 women trying to escape from patriarchal society. The magazine aligns itself with intersectional feminist ideology by suggesting that Trump is opposition to not only Clinton, but also women across the world. There is a clear binary opposite shown of villain vs hero, with the unified successful women being shown in a positive light. The magazines political stance is questioned as they’ve used political figures from opposite alignments, with Hilary Clinton being a left-wing democrat and Theresa May a right-wing conservative. They’ve also used an intertextual reference to the all-female remake of the movie Ghostbusters, with Trump being represented as Slimer the ghost (villain), while the women are seen as the Ghostbusters (saviours)- which further suggests the magazines alignment with the feminist ideology.
ReplyDelete•Use more key phrases: denotes, connotes, mis en scene etc
•Institution
•Audience
•Genre
•More media language, eg. pluralistic vs hegemonic, sign/signifier/signified
This cover connotes the empowerment of women as they are going against Trump who is signified as a male archetype. By using not just politicians it portrays that it's not just a political piece it’s a social piece and is promoting females making justice against Trump and his opinions, as The Big Issue is seemingly left wing they would politically be against Trump's views and would be emphasising the feminist movement like they are in this cover. Their facial expressions are positive and mocking Trump whereas Trump looks scared in a comedic way as he is on a cartoon ghost and it juxtaposes them together, they feature binary oppositions as it is the women vs. the men and how they are overpowering him. The original ghostbusters were male actors so now changing them to female shows the change in time. They are stood in front of the houses of parliament which are predominantly dominated by males so them stood in front of it smiling shows them taking down the males as a sisterhood force in a positive movement. In this specific magazine it features political views which would make the magazine seem like a political genre, however, this isn’t continuous throughout all of the magazines as each of them seems to take on a different genre or type of news reported in a non traditional way as this isn’t a stereotypical newspaper. The prefered reading that the newspaper wanted is reasonably successful as the combination of semantic codes create the symbolic code that the women are overpowering trump and going against him, however, there could be a negotiated reading from someone who for example, was a Trump supporter as they may see this as him over powering them as they have not brought him down yet and this cannot be avoided as the readership could have multiple contrasting opinions as it is not aimed at a specific target audience.
ReplyDeleteIn this I have specifically talked about some parts of media language, representation, ideology, narrative and genre context. In the next paragraph i would aim to talk about pluralistic/ hegemonic, the audience, typography, mise-en-scene, colour, iconography and language.
This cover of The Big Issue features many representations moreover positive representations of women. This specific copy narrates the domination for women over men. We typically stereotype men with being the hero fighting the enemy off. This front cover is based on the lines of the classic film Ghostbusters which is based on a male team fighting off monstrous ghosts. Here the Big Issue represent women being countertypes to be the heroes instead of the men. Despite Donald trump being seen as a very powerful person in the media the empowerment of women constructs the positive representations to have more power over Donald Trump. The anchoring text ‘The New Female Frontline’ brings connotations of a female positive representation. The faces of the women shows the power and enjoyment of depowering ‘the monster’ (Donald Trump). The audience tends to convey women to be weaker especially in cover being political or not. Here we are presented with four women with completely different lifestyles. Despite not knowing these women’s views, the cover suggests that these women may have strong views against Donald Trump. By doing this constructs the male sees the negative representations whilst presenting the women to be positive.
ReplyDeleteThe unity of women standing up for those who may be empowered by men is represented here by the countertype of the women being the hero as opposed to the men. Looking at this cover of the newspaper contrasting to previous covers countertypes the stereotypical newspaper cover. There is no pattern amongst the style apart from the masthead, unifying them. By having a different style each time makes the focus of their views ambiguous, however especially from seeing this cover the magazines is more left wing but does open for a right wing audience on other occasions. The Big Issue target is to ensure that homeless people are not misrepresented, by presenting positive representations of homeless people conveys to the companies message by trying to overcome mis-represented groups- here they created a positive image on women.
The font cover of the Big Issue represents women in a positive light with four famous women displayed on the front cover. The only male displayed on the page is Donald trump yet he is represented as a ghost/villain which signifies that he is against the four women figures. The mise en scene displays the four women together grinning to represent unity of women, with trump frowning displayed as a ghost. The contrast in facial features displays to the reader that trump is against the women. The mise en scene also displays images of Big Ben and the White House suggesting that iconic monuments that connotes the political standpoint of the country’s in which the monuments lie. The colour of any of them items on the front cover is green, when referring to ghost busters the green colour signifies a negative representation with only the women being their normal colour not surrounded by the green haze. The representations of the cover link to a left wing standpoint with the idea of four strong women standing up against a powerful right wing political figure such as Donald Trump. This representation clearly supports the idea of feminism. With the addition of Hilary Clinton as one of the four women this further supports the fact that the representation is primary left wing. The cover follows the narrative of the film Ghost Busters and clearly is referring to the remake which also features four women. With the Ghost Busters remake narrative and the representation of a left wing view suggest the audience could be younger with more of a support towards feminism and left wing ideology. With the original Ghost Busters being an older film this also could be aimed towards an older audience who understand the reference to the film yet don’t necessarily agree with the ideology. With a cover as such it’s hard to tell if the cover was successful as people can also take their own preferred reading and with the cover having a large audience there is room for many preferred readings.
ReplyDeleteI have tried to talk about ideology, representation, narrative, audience and success as well as trying to incorporate media language throughout.
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ReplyDeleteThe Mise en Scene of the Big Issue magazine features Donald Trump in the background of the image being portrayed as ‘Slimer’ one of the antagonistic characters of Ghostbusters, with the foreground female characters showing all emotions that connotes joy and elation while using their proton packs to defeat Trump. The image also shows the White House, Houses of parliament and Big Ben in the background which creates the iconography that this is a battleground where the action is taking place. The social groups of the elitist female are shown in a positive light here due to their show of emotion and their empowerment over arguably the most infamous and important man in the world. The women are shown to be the hegemonic class here, with no pluralism due to Donald Trump being shown as the clearly lower class due to his representation of being ‘Slimer’. The ideology shows a positive representation of women which dominates the page and is reinforced in counterpoint to the negative representation of political strong man archetype Donald Trump. This is also very left wing due to the right-wing standpoint of Donald Trump and his defeat. The cover creates the narrative of a fight between elitist female's vs the elitist males, due to the textuality of Ghostbusters, specifically the 2016 remake which features an all-female cast which breaks the stereotype of the man being ‘strong’ and the 1984 original where the only female associated with the Ghostbusters were the love interest and the secretary. The audience for this article is not very well defined, due to the relevance of the Ghostbusters franchise, as the 1984 film will create an older audience for this magazine due to the massive success of the original, but also can draw in a younger audience from the 2016 female remake, so there is no target audience for this cover. The context of this magazine has great political and social meaning. This is because of the popular politicians used and their clear battle which intertextually references their real-life battle of the 2016 elections, but also shows figures that are relevant in popular culture, these celebrities create the social aspect of the cover as they have both had public feuds with Donald Trump over social media
ReplyDeleteI have not used the Genre and Institution Migrain
Source D identifies a group of females on the center of the front cover, which attracts the readers focal attention. The group of 4 females can be established as women in the ‘news for their extraordinary political, business and sporting achievements’. The group are represented in relation to the 1980’s sci-fi film ‘Ghostbusters’. This depicts and visualises the women in a maculated scenario, to combat ‘evil’ in this sense the evil is the ghost which is represented with the face of the American President, Donald Trump. The image in comparison to the women can arise the idea of intertextuality and the theory of Levi-Strauss and binary opposites, the strong female figures in comparison to the ghost (villain) Donald Trump. The tagline ‘WHO YOU GONNA CALL? The New Female Frontline’ anchors in the whole front cover, links with the famous film line ‘Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters’ - connotes a sense of solidarity between the women and unity against evil. Therefore, the female figures, Hilary Clinton, Theresa May, Taylor Swift and Serena WIlliams are a combat team for a ghost remover service against Donald Trump, a powerful man archetype. This helps the audience identify the magazine with a left-wing dominated outlook in favouring Hillary over Trump, this is supported with the overall mise en scene of the front cover. Further constructed by the images of iconic political buildings in the wider depth of field of the cover, such as the White House, Big Ben and House of Parliament is further symbolic of the political stance of this particular front cover.
ReplyDeleteImprove: Talk more about representation and audience.
The Big issue constructs what can be perceived as a feminist ideology by having “the new female frontline” as the protagonists of the cover while holding Trump as the antagonist in view. This connotes an idea that Trump is somehow a figure against women and the people posing as the ghostbusters are in some way going to fix the problem through the famous tagline ‘who you gonna call?’ which intertextually references the film when the ghostbusters are called to solve the situation at hand. The political ideology of the big issue may also arguably be left wing, with the demonization of Trump and heroin figure of Hillary. Some may argue that the paper also shows a right wing preference by featuring May as a ghostbuster however that is dependents on the papers Overton Window of ideology. The audience targeted by the picture is hard to tell from analysing the cover, although it can be interpreted as being targeted more towards left wing politically aligned people. The view of Trump can also connote the idea of a white patriarchy oppressing women and perhaps women of colour to the eyes of an intersectional feminist.
ReplyDeleteThere is a positive image being portrayed of women by the big issue due to the anchoring text phrase “the female frontline”, possibly connotation that women are a necessity to fix political destruction made by men? this cover was made before the general election in both the UK and US meaning both Hilary Clinton and Teresa May were both campaigning to be at the top of the political hierarchy of their country “female frontline” connotes empowerment and the ideology of feminine equality. Mise-en-scene is carefully created , using a different facial expression than the women as he is depicted to be against the “female frontline”, the women’s facial expression are chosen to look like a united group trying to destroy the ghost which is Donald Trump. The age demographic for this picture is very diverse, the choice of the women covers a diverse audience. Taylor Swift’s fan base is majority a younger audience, and the use of Serena Williams shows a women of colour which is also successful in her chosen field like the rest of these women. Although if applying Bell Hooks theory she would argue that the use of only one women of colour out of the possible four is not ideal and it should be equalised. The Big issue cover shows a positive depiction of feminism as its aim is to try celebrate and liberate women and their succession. The pluralistic ideology in this piece clearly alines us with the feminist concept by rising against the strong dominance of the hegemonic society. The typography used is clear to read what the big issue is trying to convey in their cover whilst not taking a side with either of the stereotypes portrayed.
ReplyDeleteAt a first glance, this cover seems to empower women, the images of 4 famous figures through politics, sport and entertainment are what the audience are drawn to first, particularly as their faces are clearly stuck onto original images of bodies which makes their faces look comedically bigger than the bodies. The bodies are an intertextual reference to the famous film Ghostbusters – included with the most famous quote from it to make the main typography of the cover “Who you gonna call?” – This quote backs up the intertextuality from the film as almost everybody knows the quote, and also has connotations of solidarity between the four women, showing that they can be relied upon and they are working in unity to tackle an issue. The anchoring text “the new female frontline” also carries connotations of unity and suggests that they are powerful and are aiming to tackle an issue together – this could make the cover appeal to an audience of females who believe in feminism and equality. While clearly empowering women at first glance, this cover has a negative representation of the political archetype Donald Trump – who is pictured as the antagonist who the four women are trying to capture – again linking to the intertextual reference of Ghostbusters. This magazine therefore aligns itself with feminist ideologies by suggesting that Trump is against powerful women such as Hilary Clinton and also other women united in the ‘frontline’. This could make a female audience feel empowered, and also make a general audience feel that there are powerful women too, not just men to take the power. However, this cover could be read in a different way – because there is some inequality within the image, with only 1 woman of colour being pictured, so therefore could be suggesting that most of the powerful women in the country are white and are still seeing people of colour and other features not issued (e.g. trans females) as less important.
ReplyDeleteTo improve: Genre, institution, sign/signified/signifier, and media language such as colour.
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ReplyDeleteThe cover of The Big Issue, in Source D conveys women positively and the ideology of female empowerment is the domination of the cover. There is also a depiction of Donald Trump as a male archetype. The cover connotes that Donald Trump is the antagonist by photoshopping him onto the “the ghost” character with a photo of him making him look nasty, as he is pulling a gruesome face. The mise-en-scene has worked by placing the image of Donald Trump on a distant character at the top of the cover in order to keep the focus on the “female frontline”. This layout creates a clear idea of where the audiences focus should be; on the group of women that connote strength and power, creating a sense of unity and sisterhood. The tagline ‘Who you gonna call? The New Female Frontline’, creates intertextuality, due to the resemblance with the famous film line ‘Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters’, which also connotes a sense of solidarity between the women and unity against evil. Therefore, the female figures, Hilary Clinton, Theresa May, Taylor Swift and Serena WIlliams are a combat team for a ghost remover service against Donald Trump, a powerful man archetype, yet also a global figure of ignorance and threat. This helps the audience identify the magazine with a left-wing dominated outlook in favouring Hilary Clinton over Donald Trump, who are essentially binary opposites in terms of political views. This is supported with the overall mise-en-scene of the front cover, including the images of iconic political buildings in the wider depth of field of the cover, such as the White House, Big Ben and House of Parliament which is symbolic of the left-wing political ideology of this Big Issue front cover.
ReplyDeleteThere is an evident representation of female empowerment represented in this cover alongside a negative connotation of the current hegemony that is the old aged, white, middle class man (in this case represented through Donald Trump). This representation is conveyed through the use of prominent and powerful women in today’s society used in the intertextual context of the recent ghostbusters, reinforced by the cover line that uses a quote from the famous movie and the anchoring text that conveys the women as a ‘new female frontline’. This connotes the idea of women fighting against the patriarchy and defeating social stigmas of women not being as powerful as men. Further reinforcement can be the theory of binary opposition and that the use of ‘male vs female’ is being used as a means to place the women in a favourable light and frame the idea as being ‘good vs evil’ with men representing the villains (seen through the intertextual context of the man playing the villain).
ReplyDeleteAnother reading could be the political standpoint with two prominent political figures in the American government that occupy opposite ends of the political spectrum, the reading would be that ‘The Big Issue’ aligns itself with the left side of politics as seen through the negative representation of Trump and positive representation of Hilary Clinton. This reading could sway the audience to believe that the Big Issue, as an institution, holds a left perspective on the political side of the world and the use of representation of women being heavily pluralistic, is also reflective of leftist values. This perspective reading could indicate the nature of the magazines demographic, likely being those who fall into the ideology of the left political spectrum and are predominantly pluralistic in their views, which would typically be a younger and educated audience.
Joshua Read
I haven't included Genre and parts of media language.
The iconography represents four famous, powerful women, fighting against the antagonist – Trump. The intertextual reference to the upcoming female remake of the ‘The Ghostbusters’ reinforces the aspect of Trump being the enemy of these powerful figures, with “Slimmer” (Trump) being a famous adversary to the iconic group. The magazine was published on the 18th of July 2016, the height of the political election campaign in the United States. This time saw many allegations against the presidential runner, Trump, whereupon his past actions were deemed as sexist and in a typical male hegemonic way. The context connotes that the Big Issue align themselves with a feminist view, supporting the allegations by representing him as a famous antagonist. The vast background of these famous women, stretching from political, to musician, to sports star signifies that the Big Issue believe the “Female Frontline” should be a stance represented by all women, no matter the background. This is emphasized by the Mise en Scene, including the Houses of Parliament, the White House, as well as Big Ben, connotating that the frontline is not hindered by a geographical location, and anyone from around the globe can join in.
ReplyDeleteThe Big Issue has no ‘house style’, enabling each of their magazines to vary greatly. This magazine therefore is very unconventional in many ways, other than quite a few editions referencing politics. There is a clear positive representation of women overall on this front cover. The text ‘Who You Gonna Call’, along with the representation of Donald Trump (political strong man archetype) as ‘Slimer the Ghost’ (an antagonist figure), at odds with four women – ‘The Ghostbusters’ (heroes), is a very clear intertextual reference, which The Big Issue’s main demographic are very likely to understand. The anchoring text ‘The New Female Frontline’ supports the idea of them being united and a team, against a powerful enemy. The typography is very bold and in black, making it stand out in contrast with the mise en scene created by use of high amounts of green on the cover, including the fog engulfing the ladies’ feet (perhaps connoting that it has been created by Trump and is covering the streets, where the women have to work together to destroy this). The idea of setting it in London, made clear with iconic buildings such as Big Ben set in the background of the cover, involved the audience as London is the main place the Big Issue would be sold. It makes the audience aware that what the magazine is showing effects them too. A binary opposition is created between Trump and the four women, where he stands as a signifier as the villain – the patriarchal white oppression vs. their representation of strong female empowerment. Although the preferred reading entirely represents a negative view of the male gender, an intersectional feminist could argue that the misrepresentation of women of colour (just one of the four women) as well as the LGBTQ community (which is not featured at all).
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis front cover of The Big Issue intends to construct a positive representation of women that is reinforced in counterpoint to the negative representation of political leader and archetype Donald Trump. The covers use of intertextuality with its representation of Trump as the antagonist, Slimer from the popular film Ghostbusters who poses as threat to the four women. This allows the magazine to align itself with feminist ideology, implying that Trump is in opposition to Hilary Clinton, Teresa May, Taylor Swift and Serena Williams but also women across the world. The magazine arguably aligns itself with left-wing ideologies, favoring Clinton over Trump. The mise en scene creates a parallel between Trump and the four women as Trump’s facial expression is very different to theirs. The four women’s facial expressions suggest a sense of unity and enjoyment across the group, reinforcing the sense of sisterhood. The anchoring text, ‘The New Female Frontline,’ connotes solidarity and defiance. This helps to create a binary opposition between patriarchal white oppression and heroic and female resistance.
ReplyDeleteOn this magazine front cover there is a positive representation of women. There are four women as powerful and influential women that most people are expected to know. Above them we get a negative representation of Donald Trump who is seen to be less important and portrayed more as an outsider to the women and their sisterhood as it 'The new female frontier'. Prop's theory of the 8 characters can be used to show how the four woman are all protagonist whilst on the other hand Donald Trump is the antagonist. This audience aims to attract a diverse range of audiences by having an appeal to different political groups(the two politicians) to a younger audience (Taylor Swift) and to sports fans (Serena Humphreys) The ideology is signified in this front cover as it feature Hillary Clinton to be overpowering Donald Trump from the right wing, however the presence of Theresa May contradicts this as it shows the power of someone from the left wing over all giving the newspaper a poor central political ideology. The use of the politicians connotes female empowerment contradicting the hegemonic view of male power and dominance .The Mise en scene shows the four women fighting evil (Donald Trump?) they are seen as powerful and joyful whereas the other character in this Donald trump is seen as an intruder to the system and is shown to be more scornful. The typography is bold to help get the point across and prove that women are able. Although this is a positive representation of women as they are dominant over the male. Inter-sectionalism can be argued as even though 4 main people are women only one of them is of colour showing her as a minority. In addition by featuring a sportswomen of colour signifies to the audience that black people are only good in sport. There is also a discrimination about sexuality as although its women there is no signified image of support to to the LGBT community as all the women featured at heterosexual females.
ReplyDeleteThis cover uses iconography to construct and explore positive representations of women, possibly connoting the left wing ideology of ‘The Big Issue’. The women are all powerful in some way and are famous for being successful, possibly allowing them to be a countertype for normal stereotypical views of women being less powerful and successful. This is further reinforced by the layout of ‘the new female frontline’ being in front of Donald Trump, suggesting they’re more important than him. The anchoring text further connotes this idea, due to the diction choices such as “Frontline” denoting them as being in front, as in more important and powerful but also connoting them as fighters and therefore strong and powerful, which is not conventional of how women are stereotypically represented in other magazines. Again this could possibly because of ‘The Big Issues’ left wing ideology and is possibly reflective of their ABC1 audience who are more likely to challenge these ideas themselves and have a wider understanding of these political and gender issues. Furthermore the women having smiles on their faces and having a good time, contrasting with Donald Trump’s scared/ worried facial expression, signifies the women as being taken more seriously as they are strong enough to scare such a strong political archetype. This further allows ideas of binary oppositions to be explored due to this contrast, allowing a preferred reading to be obviously constructed to the diverse left wing audience, of positive unified female power being connoted by the women versus negative patriarchal white oppression being signified by Donald Trump. The use of intertextuality also allows these ideas to be further explored and paint Trump possibly as the 'resisting force' to these ideas and 'the new female frontline' and suggests to the female demographic that unity could help overcome this, due to the ghostbusters being a team to overcome ‘the ghost’.
ReplyDeleteThe cover of the big issue connotes a positive representation of women that emphasizes solidarity and strength across the women's influence on cultural and political contexts. The use of intertextuality in reference to the 80s film 'Ghostbusters' challenges the conventional roles of women in society that often suggests the inferiority or vulnerability of females as in the original film, by reinstating entirely female characters that indicate the strength of such women. The choice therefore to use celebrity figures on the cover conveys success of women and empowerment. Similarly, there is a range of social groups represented however it could be argues that this could be more extensive to truly promote the preferred reading of the piece. Use of colour throughout the cover in addition to the manipulation into the figure of Slimer the ghost elicit the idea of binary opposition between men and women by portraying trump in the role of antagonist. Though on the surface we this may seem to allude to some kind of gender war, we can understand that Trump is representing more than just gender here but rather the conservative and largely sexist attitudes he has famously been accused of. Having said this, we can see evidence of the publication being more left wing in its ideology as it opposes traditional notions of gender roles. According to the big issue website 72% of their readership is ABC1 and 43% are AB. This means that the audience is more likely to be of high income, work in managerial roles and be university educated. Hence, they are likely to have a wider understanding of socio political issues and might enjoy being challenged intellectually. This demographic will likely understand the use of intertextuality and so the publication may be trying to contest preconceived ideas of gender using the familiarity of another media text.
ReplyDeleteThe Big Issue front cover provides representations that reinforces a feminist ideology in order to challenge patriarchal dominance. Semiotically the front cover contains an image of 4 females in a defensive formation fighting away a ghost, this refers to the film ghostbusters which has recently had a remake with all four originally male roles switched to female. This not only shares likeness through intertextuality, but also through the ideology of feminism being able to combat a negative force, which is portrayed by the character slimmer with Donald Trump’s face edited onto it. Trump represents a stereotype of a strong and powerful male figure, this therefore conveys feminism fighting against a dominant patriarchal ideology. Contextually Hilary Clinton, who is a powerful American political figure, was Trumps opposition in the last American election, however the implication of having Theresa May a powerful British poltical figure suggests that the there is unity irrelevent of any national importance or political agenda. Serena Willams represents both a powerful black female who has been selected to represent both of her main attributes in a group where white femlaes portray the majority. This in conjunction with her smiling facial expression further connotes a positive feminist movement in the face of patriarchy whilst representing cultural diversity between individuals. The selection of Taylor Swift who is arguably the most famous out the four, portrays another area of diversity by representing a female figure who appeals to the widest audience out of the four indivuals which further adds to a diversified and largely appealing and assumably identifying audience. The mise-en-scene of the scene also includes faded images of the whitehouse, big ben and the houses of parliment which are three significant and well known places, probably better aimed at a western audience who will be more familiarised with these places. They are also epicentres for politics in the US and UK which links the social and political sides of feminism, it also connotes the the cultural level feminism is addressed on which reinforces the ideology tenfold.
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ReplyDeleteThis Big Issue cover has used intertextuality to represent Donald Trump as a slimy, stupid villain (definitely unfit to be POTUS) compared to the strong, dominant pose of election rival Hillary Clinton pictured in the foreground of the cover. By putting Trump’s face on Slimer, a villain from 1980’s film Ghostbusters, the readers automatically recognise the representation of Trump as villainous due to readers making the connection to the famous 80’s film without it explicitly mentioning Ghostbusters on the cover, but relying on readers making the connection due the iconic outfits and famous tagline ‘who you gonna call?’. As well as undermining Trump’s personal ability to lead he also represents a patriarchal society and the old guard of white, straight, male leaders and the pro-feminist cover is clearly opposing the patriarchal norms by presenting Trump and symbols of the ‘old guard’ such as the White House and Houses of Parliament in the green smoke, Green has connotations of villainy, greed and money. The four famous women in the foreground of the cover are fighting against this evil which is an effective use of intertextuality as most would recoginse that the Ghostbusters who the women are represented as are fighting against villains such as Slimer (Trump) and suggests that this new ‘Female Frontline’ will break the patriarchy in politics, music and sport.
ReplyDeleteThe use of an intertextual reference in this cover of The Big Issue allows them to illustrate a controversial topic in a humorous way in order to make it less offensive.
ReplyDeleteThe satirical depiction of Trump as the comical looking enemy seems to mock men as rulers and suggests that women should take over. Trump, accompanied by the government buildings in the background which are also green create a symbol of patriarchal control; the mockery of this further enforces the idea that men should no longer be in control. This would appeal to the Big Issues audience as they are 72% ABC1 which is a more female dominated demographic.
The Big Issue’s audience is supposedly affluent and environmentally, socially and ethically aware, therefore an intertextual reference like this will be easy for them to comprehend and depicts a respectful and knowing relationship between the audience and author of the magazine.
The cover of this big issue contains intertextual references to ghostbusters which recently had a remake with 4 new female protagonists, using 4 powerful women as the ‘ghostbusters’ fighting a ‘ghost’ with Donald trumps face on it. This not only shares likeness through intertextuality, but also through the ideology of feminism being able to combat a negative force, which is portrayed by the character slimmer with Donald Trump’s face edited onto it. Trump represents a stereotype of a strong and powerful male figure, this therefore conveys feminism fighting against a dominant patriarchal ideology.
ReplyDeleteThe Big issue has used an intertextual approach on its front cover as it can tell a serious story in a lighthearted way and convey its message easier. The depiction of Trump as a silly, unserious character highlights him as someone who is not ready or serious enough to become a national leader as he was going to become at the time. The messaged conveyed is that this magazine doesn’t see him as a man who can lead a country very well and discredits him as a person. On the opposite to that, it portrays the four powerful women as capable, serious “ghostbusters” that will capture the “ghost” that is Donald Trump. The Depiction of trump aids the magazine as it is more likely to sell to people that have the same ideology as them whilst not receiving too much backlash as it is just a joke at the end of the day. The magazine does a very good job of presenting a serious talking point in a light hearted, joke like way that still looks at the topic in a serious manner but just with a front cover like this to mask it and avoid any hate towards the article.
ReplyDeleteItem D has used intertextual references, for example, they have used Donald Trump on the cover. They have represented Trump in a silly way as he is seen as the ghost from the intertextual reference of the new ghost busters’ film. At the time, Trump was not taken seriously which is why they have chosen to represent him in this comical way. The audience of the Big Issue is typically more left wing, so this negative representation of Trump would attract this audience, however the right-wing leader Theresa May is also on the cover which would appeal to right wing people. As the representation of Trump is comical, the producers hope to not offend the right-wing consumers, and this is reinforced by the positive representation of Theresa May. Intertextuality is often used in an amusing way and this representation of Trump achieves this, which also makes the matriarchal suggested message less controversial, especially as Trump symbolises patriarchy. This may appeal to the predominantly female left leaning audience who would typically be encouraging of female rights and social change. Therefore, the use of intertextuality through Trump would be useful in attracting audiences, from both the left and right, which increases readership and therefore profits for charity.
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ReplyDeleteThe representation of the women in the foreground implies that they are to be seen as heroic figures in feminism and world politics alike. Readers with knowledge of the intertextual reference to the Ghostbusters will be aware that the characters themselves in both the original and all-female remake are presented as hero protagonists. It is particularly relevant that the remake is being referenced, not least because at the time of publishing the film’s release and the controversy and debate surrounding it had a lot of media coverage. It is assumed that the Big Issue’s dominant readership of ABC1 is largely left-wing, and that they will therefore have a preferred reading of the parody due to presumably supporting the film itself’s message of feminism. Another way in which the idea of heroism is proposed is through the strap line “The new female frontline”. The evocation of the concept of conflict suggests that the women on the cover are bravely taking on a dangerous adversary, particularly with the term ‘frontline’ implying that they are acting in defence of something here. With the background featuring the White House and the Houses of Parliament, this could be received as the women defending Western Democracy from it’s ‘enemies’ who would do it harm, with Donald Trump being presented as the major threat. The use of colour also presents them as ‘standing out’ against the washed-out green hue of the background, with their red and blue uniforms contrasting with the ‘slime’ that Trumps ‘ghost’ has enveloped the cover with. This is another intertextual reference which further establishes the ‘knowing relationship’ between reader and author, and strengthens the message the text aims to convey.
On the cover we can also see the four female politicians and celebrities who make up ‘The New Female Frontline’. Hall would suggest that in the UK this would be mainly be interpreted as a preferred reading since the zeitgeist of the UK at the time is very much of the view of Trump being an enemy due to his background. The four women are seen with their heads embedded into a ghostbusters scene. The intertextual reference helps the audience perceive these women as the Hero’s as they are represented like the protagonists of the film. Dominant readers will see this as empowering for women however some may reject this and see the political message as possibly too informal or unprofessional. The intertextual approach is important to the big issue as it is around the same time as the Ghostbusters remake came out, therefore people who are interested in the movie may appreciate the cover of the magazine, helping to strengthen the knowing relationship between the company and the audience. The intertextual references allow the magazine to construct meaning and a narrative that targets it’s audience that is of a predominant ABC1 demographic who are interested in fixing or paying attention to social injustices therefore the big issue can use this to ideologically align itself and emotively capture its intended target audience. Conclusively this is advantageous to the big issue since using intertextuality and intertextual references enables it to target its audience while keeping them informed and entertained by referencing other interests that they may have such as movies like Ghostbusters, this allows the big issue to keep up with the status quo and be viewed as one of the more ‘woke’ magazines on the market.
ReplyDeleteThis cover of the big issue demonstrates representation, the four women on the front are of different ages and ethnicities, as well as this they are represented in a positive light, the likely left-wing readers of the big issue will decode and admire this representation. The concept behind the ‘new female frontline’ cover mimics the new all-female ghostbusters film, readers of the big issue are more likely to be aware of the hypocrisy surrounding the female ghostbusters, and more likely to be in favour of it, if a more right-wing newspaper had used this concept there may be backlash as people disagree with the female premise. The big issue has been sure to include pop culture and sport icons as well as political figures, this is due to their readership being predominantly left wing, editors would have known that using only political figures with right wing policies and views (Hilary Clinton and Theresa may) would not be correctly decoded by their readership and may be more likely to cause offense or anger. The whole background to this issue of the big issue is green, nothing in the background therefore, including Donald trump’ stands out, the ‘female frontline’ stand out as their photoshopped faces contrast the dull green, the clearest thing on the cover of the big issue is their branding, it is clear to the reader what magazine this is without taking a second glance.
ReplyDeleteThe Big Issue typically attracts a mass audience categorised as ABC1, they are mostly affluent individuals who shared the predominantly left-wing, liberal political stance conveyed in the magazine. This front cover encompasses the institution’s ideologies through presenting the topic of female empowerment in a positive light. Throughout the foreground of the image, the four high-profile female celebrities are represented as favourable individuals. The representation seems quite counter typical of mainstream media due to the absence of objectification or simplification of women, the mise en scene establishes them as strong rather than the perhaps ‘domestic’ or ‘sensitive’ figures that a theorist such as Van Zoonen would argue are too prominent in our culture. Through shared cultural codes, we as an audience are intended (through intertextuality) to understand the portrayed ghostbuster characters as the heroic figures of this narrative, whilst towards the top of the image, the depiction of Donald Trump is clearly villainous, therefore evoking more negative associations.
ReplyDeleteIn the center of the cover are representations of Hilary Clinton, Theresa May, Taylor Swift and Serena Williams on the figures of the new ghostbuster's movie. The mis en scene is constructed to create an encoded meaning for the preferred audience which would see them as “the New Female Frontline”. The consumers of The Big Issue are likely to be largely a left wing bias audience and be more educated, arguably to have a more pro-feminist ideology and therefore the depictation of these women as the protagonists will be decoded positively by the left wing audience. The intertexutuality creates a less aggressive attitude on the feminist stance as used the nostalgic comedic movie ghostbuster’s. Arguably, the cover could represent women fighting of the men in politics (a new era of women leading politics) as they wave there weapons at the Trump faced slime. This could be controversial to some readers as the opposed reading may see the binary opposition between the males and females as un-unifying. The stark contrast between the two representations as a foolish looking Trump compared to the team led powerful women again would not be decoded in the positive satirical way it was intended.
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