Magazine Analysis

Magazine Analysis

• The layout of the magazine includes the model in this case a celebrity, being the dominant image, the left third includes coverlines that are more important as this is what the reader will see first. 
• The composition of the masthead 'Vogue' is not clearly visible because it is already a well-known magazine. The coverline of 'Queen B! Beyoncé rules the world' is in the left third so the reader will be able to know who the celebrity is before looking at it. It is also an intertextual reference to one of her songs. 
• The fonts used is a serif font for 'Vogue', which connotes sophistication. The rest of the magazine uses sans-serif font, to perhaps make it look modern and clearer to see. It could also try to gain a wider audience of younger women to older women. The colours used are white, black and red making the text also seem sophisticated.
• Beyoncé is from a mid-shot, and is giving direct eye contact to the reader - this is direct address.
• The mise-en-scene, includes lighting that suggests it was professionally taken in a studio, she is wearing a black and white dress, which fits with the style of the magazine as the text are in a similar colour. She is wearing make-up and has her 'done'. This makes Beyoncé appear aspirational, to other women. She also conforms to the stereotypes of women by wearing make-up and a feminine dress.
• The magazine includes a banner over the masthead, 'Power 2013', this may make the reader feel to have the best year they need to read the magazine. The lexis used in the coverlines can also be aspirational, the reader will want to read to have the qualities the magazine says. For example, 'strong and sexy', 'shockingly chic', 'simple, sleek, elegance'. The magazine also includes things that the target audience will be interested, as Vogue is a fashion-lifestyle magazine, 'suits', 'accessories', 'New looks for night!', 'How to repair winter-damaged skin'. 
• The copy of the magazine is at the bottom right of the masthead, 'Mar', it is a March edition, which means spring fashion, '618 pages of spring surprises'.
• The target audience is women 20-40, who are successful and are interested in fashion and beauty.
• Anchorage with the coverline, 'Beyoncé' and the image of Beyoncé.
• The elements of narrative used in the magazine is the idea of being successful, this could link to Levi-Strauss' structuralism theory of binary oppositions we can see she is successful because she isn't seen as being unsuccessful.
• The theory of Barthes' semiotics is that the coverlines feature hermenuetic codes, the reader will read them and will want to find out more. The cover line, 'rules the world', if the reader know who she is will understand it.
• It goes against Zoonen's feminist theory of women being sexualised and weak in media, for example the coverline, 'sensitivity training', 'Gabrielle Cliffords fighting for gun control'. 'Phoebe Philo the woman behind the cult of Céline'.
• The referential code, of the cover line, 'Phoebe Philo the woman behind the cult of Céline', readers who are a fan of Vogue will like fashion and know what Céline is.