GQ: Language and Representation

 Language: Media factsheet:

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

With a focus on a variety of topics like food, fashion, or home and gardening, general interest magazines are published for a larger readership to deliver information in a general way. Special interest magazines are specialised publications that provide in-depth information on a certain subject or field. In a period of declining print sales, these magazines seem to be doing really well right now. A professional's regulating organisation publishes periodicals called professional journals. Such a periodical's quality standard may be comparable to that of a scientific magazine.

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

Since 1957, GQ has encouraged men to dress better and live wiser thanks to its unmatched coverage of fashion, culture, and other topics. The brand principles of GQ reveal a lot about their understanding of their target market. Through image and fashion, they are aiming to attract males, but they are also appealing to their cultural savvy.

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

GQ chooses their cover stars with great care. They decided on Marcus Rashford, a football player for Manchester United. But this isn't the hook they've used to anchor him. The correct term is "Campaigner of the Year." His public criticism of the government's decision to end the free provision of school meals during the epidemic and his involvement in this field of charity.

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

• For maximum impact, the Masthead uses a sans serif font style. Addition of price, month, and year
• To draw the reader's attention, puffs are frequently placed inside a graphic element and placed in the left or right-hand corners of the page. The emphasis on sex, fashion, and appearance is typical for a magazine with a mainstream lifestyle interest. 
• The primary coverline delivers different, interesting content that has nothing to do with the picture.
• Pull quotes like "I was dancing so hard my dress fell off!" make people laugh and possibly startle them, but they also seem to reveal insider information. 
• To elicit an emotional response, true crime and/or gossip magazine jargon and sensationalism are intertextualized.

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

A magazine's "look" in terms of content and formatting is referred to as its "house style." The house style creates a sense of brand identification and aids in setting one magazine apart from another.

Language: CSP analysis:

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.

The colour scheme is simple because it is usually black or white, and the typeface is always suited to the photoshoot's topic, in this case, the emo motif. In terms of what the magazine presents, the language is direct, with a rhetorical query to get the reader's attention. Photographic codes put a lot of thought into the clothing and makeup, maybe to reflect the subject's participation in a forthcoming event.

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

The Jonathan Bailey-starring GQ issue portrays a much more expressive role in terms of costuming, which suggests a hint of Gauntlett's idea that "masculinity is in crisis," meaning the magazine itself is meant to be a traditional gentlemen quarterly and now men are being more feminine.  

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?

Levi-Strauss' binary opposition demonstrates the various features featured in the GQ magazine. As you start to open the magazine, you are confronted with sources that have a much more feminine element, which is consistent with the magazine's conventional representations. The front cover may have a much more punk-styled ambiance.

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

They provide a case study for Steve Neale's repetition and difference theory because, despite both of them being expressive in their own distinctive ways, they differ in the motivations behind their representations—one is more focused on a personal, sexual issue, while the other is heavily focused on defending themselves in modern society and fashion. 

Representations: applying theory:

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