GQ - Language & Representation blog tasks

 

GQ - Language & Representation blog tasks

Create a blogpost called 'GQ: Language and Representation' and complete the following tasks:

Language: Media factsheet

Complete the following tasks using Media Factsheet 252 - The Codes and Conventions of Print Magazines available in our Media Factsheet archive here. Answer the following questions:

1) What are the different magazine genres highlighted on page 2 and how do they link to our magazine CSPs?

General Interest. Special Interest, Professional

2) Look at the section on GQ on page 2. How do they suggest that GQ targets its audience?

The statement of GQ about its brand values says a lot about

what they know about their audience. They are targeting

men through fashion and image, but also appealing to

their intelligence and needs for information about culture.

“Beyond” is vague, but the magazine also covers politics,

technology and trends. It employs leading writers and

experts on a wide variety of topics appealing to activators,

achievers, and seekers.

3) What does the factsheet say about GQ cover stars?

GQ selects their cover stars very carefully. In the December 2022 edition, they chose Marcus Rashford, a Manchester United footballer. However, this is not the coverline they have anchored him with. It is instead “Campaigner of the Year.” His high-profile criticism of the government about stopping free school meals during the pandemic and his charity work in this area would appeal to achievers because they value the “fruits of hard work.”

4) Pick out five of the key conventions of magazine front covers and explain what they communicate to an audience.

The Masthead, the publication name, is at the top,

using a sans serif font type for maximum impact.

Price, month and year are conventionally added, as is a

barcode.

• Puffs are place in the left or right-hand corners to catch

the eye of the reader, often inside a graphic element

(“4 Easy, Sexy Spring Dos”, inside a blue ball). The

focus on sex, fashion and image are conventional to a

mainstream lifestyle interest magazine. These are similar

to Pugs, also known as the ears of the magazine, that

are usually information in the top corners of a page with

a buzzword in it.

• The main coverline is not related to the image but

offers different content of interest, with varying size,

colours and styles of typography.

• Pull quotes such as “I was dancing so hard my dress

fell off!” invoke humour and perhaps shock, but also

appear to give insider knowledge. This creates a close,

albeit illusory, relationship between the reader and the

star.

5) What is a magazine’s ‘house style’? How would you describe GQ’s house style? 

The house style of a magazine refers to its conventional “look” in relation to its writing and formatting. The house style establishes brand identity and helps to distinguish one magazine from the other.

Extension tasks: Look at the final pages of the magazine factsheet that focus on creating magazine pages for coursework. What can you take from this to help future coursework projects? 

Language: CSP analysis

Use your annotated CSP pages to help answer the following questions. You can find an annotated copy of the GQ pages here (you'll need your Greenford Google login).

1) Write a summary of our annotations on the media language choices on the cover of GQ - e.g. colour scheme, typography, language, photographic codes etc. 

2) Identify three specific aspects/conventions/important points (e.g. cover lines, colour scheme, use of text, image etc.) from each page/feature of the CSP that you could refer to in a future exam. Explain why that particular aspect of the CSP is important - think about connotations, representations, audience pleasures, reception theory etc.

Front cover: Robert Pattinson image - Art & Fashion issue

Inside pages: Jonathan Bailey feature and fashion shoot

 

3) Apply narrative theories to GQ - Todorov's equilibrium, Propp's character types, Barthes' action or enigma codes, Levi-Strauss's binary opposition. How can we use narrative to understand the way the cover and features have been constructed?

4) Analyse the cover and inside pages of GQ. Does this offer an example of Steve Neale's genre theory concerning 'repetition and difference'?

 

Representations: applying theory

We have already covered many relevant theories in our work on Advertising and Marketing (for example, David Gauntlett's writing on Media, Gender and Identity). We now need to apply these theories and ideas to GQ and specifically the CSP pages allocated by AQA.

1) How can Gauntlett's ideas on masculinity, gender and identity be applied to the GQ CSP pages we have analysed?

2) How could van Zoonen's work on feminist and gender theory be applied to GQ? Does the magazine challenge or reinforce these ideas?

3) Does bell hooks's work on 'corrosive masculinity' apply to GQ? 

4) How does the Jonathan Bailey feature represent masculinity and sexuality? 


Representations: wider reading - GQ and the new masculinity

Read this CNN feature on how GQ is redefining masculinity and answer the following questions:

1) Which GQ issue is discussed at the start of the article and what was notable about it? 

2) How did Will Welch view GQ when he took over as Editor-in-Chief and what did he want to offer readers? 

3) How has publisher Conde Nast responded to changes in the magazine industry and how did this impact GQ?

4) What did the GQ New Masculinity edition feature? 

5) What did journalist Liz Plank say about toxic masculinity?

6) How did Welch respond to suggestions GQ was responsible for toxic masculinity?

Finally, read this short GQ feature on masculinity and answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest masculinity involved at the start of the 20th century?

2) What social change occurred from the 1930s?

3) What is suggested about masculinity today?

4) Why does it suggest these changes are important?