Media A1:
Media Messages; Magazines
The Big Issue Foundation Magazine...
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The Big Issue Foundation supports vendors to achieve financial stability through their magazine sales whilst helping them to overcome social exclusions that have previously held them back.
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Their main focus is dismantling poverty through their constant act of fundraising
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They achieve this through a model of Service Brokerage.
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Their front-line workers - Service Brokers - are trained to accurately identify the needs of a Big Issue vendor and provide expert information, advice and guidance best able to address these needs.
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They do this by accessing local services, maintaining support networks and preventing Big Issue vendors falling through the gaps in society across nine core areas:
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Personal Sales Goals
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Finance
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Housing
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Obtaining ID
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Health and well-being
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Addiction treatment
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Employment
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Education
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Personal Aspirations
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The fund aims to give a small hand up to vendors with a specific objective in mind.
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Vendors save and contribute a percentage towards the cost of the item required.
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They grant the additional cost from our donated funds to help make the idea a reality.
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Their work is not funded by Big Issue magazine sales- they are financially independent and supported through the generosity of their own donors
My Examples:
Throughout these Big Issue magazine front covers, there is almost a very serious matter being discussed but not being presented in that particular way.
The magazine discussing Donald Trump shows quite a comic aspect towards the issue it is talking about. This being strongly presented by the extreme size difference between Trumps head size compared to his body size.
On the other hand, the other magazine front cover could be considered a more personal discussion towards the Big Issue Foundation on the topic of Ann wanting to share her personal story on how the The Big Issue Foundation helped her.
Both magazines have an amount of the colour yellow used which could suggest a brighter and more positive effect from the front cover. I believe that the ideal audience that these front covers are aiming towards is more of a younger generation based on the 'trendiness' style within the hierarchy. Also, it is most likely to be aimed towards a lower more working-class group of people who can relate more to the Big Issue magazine and their topics that they discuss.
Definition of a Magazine...
A magazine is a periodical publication containing a collection of articles targeted at entertaining or informing a particular audience.
They share some of their characteristics with newspapers, however magazines are...
•Usually printed on high quality paper
•Usually stapled or bound
•Published weekly/monthly/quarterly
Reasons for this comparison...
The poor being represented in very different ways creating a wide range of different opinions towards the topic of poverty.
The difference between The Daily Mail magazine and The Big Issue are both discussing this topic of the poor and the issue of poverty. The Big Issue is almost showing a more positive approach towards the subject and suggesting certain ways that our society could help the poverty situation; like a 'POVERTY FIGHTING MACHINE'. There is also a more positive aspect due to the choice of hierarchy used within the choices of bright colours and big, bold, San-serif font. Whereas, The Daily Mail has not shown much of a positive approach, actually much more serious and negative. For example, there is very little use of colour chosen to be used in the hierarchy, as well as a bold but Serif font being used within the titles.
Issues: (Mental Health)
There may be some sort of mental health issues caused and created by Donald Trump and his opinions on how to run a country. This is shown in the smaller writing that reads 'How to beat anxiety' which could imply that certain people are experiencing anxiety as they worry about the actions of Donald Trump and the consequences for the United states of America.
Analysis
In this magazine cover created and produced by The Big Issue it has quite a positive and comical approach when choosing to discuss the president of USA; Donald Trump.
The choice of the bright pink background shows the choice of hierarchy representing a positive and bright aspect. There are also other elements creating a positive effect, such as; the bright blue, bold and San-serif font. Due to the idea of Donald Trump being represented as a cartoon version of an ice cream that is melting away shows a very comical side to this front cover. There are also a number of features within the cover that imply comic again. For example, the punned style of the Mast Head which implies a play on words from the term 'Fake News' over used by Donald Trump, converted to 'Flake News' referring to the 99p flake poking out of his head. Another example being the other pun towards the bottom of the page which reads 'Avoid Meltdown!' linking to the image of Donald Trump as an ice cream melting away. Another comical element could be seen on the other smaller sub-heading that reads 'Eat Ice Cream' which once again links to the representation of Donald Trump being an ice cream. Donald Trump is a white/American heterosexual who is also 73 years old and part of the upper class. His mode of address is not very engaged as he is looking away from the audience/camera, showing no interest. This highlights his little amount of respect that he has for others and how he only cares about himself and the economy of his country. It is also clear that he is frowning and being presented in a very negative light which may imply how the Big Issue magazine feels towards Donald Trump. The Big Issue is a charity based magazine that mainly depends on the donations of the public, whereas Donald Trump doesn't care much for others especially people of less fortune.
Stereotypes:
Throughout the media Donald Trump is represented in a very negative matter, even though a man of his situation would stereo-typically receive amounts of respect and be portrayed in a positive matter. Donald Trump, as a white, male, middle-aged and conservative is a member of the dominant group and would usually be represented positively in the media. However, his characteristics and personality doesn't match or create him worthy for this amount of respect the stereotype of him should receive.
Social Groups:
The use of the 99p flake ice cream as a visual representation of Britain and the use of the puff to reference Hamilton represents American history and politics. Therefore, the American and the British people are represented as being affected by Trump and the dominant group.
Impact of Industry:
The reliance on illustration to cut production costs has a positive impact on the representation of Trump for this cover. It offers a humorous and creative representation that wouldn't be seen in mainstream.
Version of Reality:
The use of Trumps melting face presents a representation of Trump as under pressure and not looking forward to his visit to the UK. In constructing this version or 'reality' of Trump the producers are able to satirise him and invite readers to question Trump's motives, social and political values and the impact of his visit to Britain.
Definition of Hegenomy:
leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others.
Definition of Irony:
a situation in which something which was intended to have a particular result has the opposite.
Definition of Satire:
the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticise people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
What is Hamilton?
An American Musical is a sung-and-rapped through musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, with music, lyrics and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda, inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by historian Ron Chernow.
“How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore…” recurs throughout the musical. This line in particular highlights Hamilton's difficult childhood and shows the ways that he has overcome unthinkable odds to achieve what he has achieved.
This links to the idea that the seed of America was not very good or pure in any way when it first begun and the idea that people were travelling to America for the wrong reasons. The fact that the line asks the audience to ponder how Hamilton could do all this gets us to focus on how surprising and impressive his accomplishments are.
There is a sense that everyone has a history and a legacy is what drives the characters' ethical lives, and encourages them to work for what they believe in. This theme is echoed time and again in an oft-uttered mantra of Hamilton's, "I'm not throwing away my shot" his shot being his one chance at creating a dazzling legacy.
Definitions of...
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Capitalism: an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.
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Individualism: a social theory favouring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control.
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Postmodernism: a late 20th-century style and concept which represents a departure from modernism and is characterised by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions.
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Socialism: a political and economic theory of social organisation which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.
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Consumerism: the belief that personal well-being and happiness depends to a very large extent on the level of personal consumption, particularly on the purchase of material goods.
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Intertextuality: the referencing of another media text or cultural product- in making the references- the meaning is further shaped and developed.
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Dominant Group A: a sociological term used to refer to a social group that controls the value systems in any given society- they may not be the largest social group in terms of size but the group is made up of the social identities that hold social, political and economic power, privileges and social status.
Definition of Viewpoint: a person's opinion or point of view on the situation/topic.
Definition of Ideology: a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.
Viewpoints and Ideologies on 'The Big Issue':
The Big Issue as a brand is considered to be a business that functions to produce money, which is socially invested to create employment and ease poverty for people rather than providing profit for those who own it.
It therefore represents a viewpoint that runs counter to the mainstream and can be seen to question dominant ideology and the dominant group.
The political bias of the magazine isn't direct as this could affect sales of the magazine for the vendor but the magazine has a clear social agenda with features covering...
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social welfare
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current affairs politics
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culture
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the environment
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finance
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health
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food
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sports
The Big Issue agenda can be seen to be counter to right-wing politics which do not value progressive social welfare policies but instead value individual and financial profit from business above access to social provision and equality for all social groups.
In my opinion, socialism has the largest and most similar link to what The Big Issue magazine represents; the need for equality between the rich and the poor. It is a magazine that definitely stands for working as a community and one large group in order to keep on producing the magazines, this being due to the reliant it has purely on the donations of the British public.
Although the owners of the Big Issue are members of the dominant social group in that they are predominantly white, male, middle class and middle aged , ideologically their alternative viewpoint is bound in creating opportunities to support social welfare and values. This is achieved in the following ways...
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Through use of satire, the representation of events, issues and social groups and individuals can be critiqued without there being an overtly political message
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The interesting and creative use of media language helps to communicate the magazines ideological values that we should care about all social groups and the society we live in, not just those with political, social and cultural power.
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This helps to position the audience from the point of view of the producer, inviting the reader to question the meanings constructed on the front cover and in turn question mainstream ideological values (such as capitalism/ racism/nationalism/consumerism)
Audience Interpretation of Meaning:
Through use of the media language elements, the producers of the Big issue are able to satirise political and cultural figures, issues and events.
The media conventions used and the meanings constructed by the producer as a result are intended to communicate a preferred meaning to the reader. However, this relies on a number of issues about the Big Issue audience.
Analysis:
The Big Issue is a niche magazine that is outside the commercial mainstream. It is a contrasting example of how elements of media language can be used to construct alternative representations that appeal to a particular audience. Certain areas of the media language shows a number of different elements that imply different viewpoints and opinions of the cover. The colour chosen for the background is a bright shade of orange that almost has a sparkly, spiral effect which all implies an almost glamorous effect to the front cover. The magazine is discussing David Tennant as the main topic. The masthead is written in silver and purple with a glitter effect over the top of it. The use of the different colours of purple and orange being opposite to each other on the colour wheel, creating it to stand out very strongly. The colour purple has also been used in the choice of clothing of what David Tennant decided to wear. The hierarchy of the choice of using San-serif font reinforces the seriousness behind the magazine and what it supports. The subtitle reads 'The Doctor Doesn't Leave You' which implies a sense of dependence that people can have on Tennant. Therefore, linking to the dependence that The Big Issue has on the generosity of the British public and their donations to help fund the magazine and the poor/people of more poverty. The image of Tennant presents a very intense and direct mode of address, which may link to The Big Issue and the seriousness behind their cause and importance of helping the poor. David Tennant is not represented or known to have any disability, a white Scottish/British male, apart of the middle-class, middle aged and heterosexual. The lighting of the image was very overexposed, influencing a very positive and bright image of Tennant. Also, it appears that David Tennant is actually wearing a suit with the material and texture of glitter and almost sparkly.
The Big Issue reader is likely to be university educated, have a limited disposable in income, want to help make a difference to the society that we live in, interested in politics, popular and high culture. This cover of the magazine could be more likely to be a female due to the choice of the glitter and female stereotype colours. The effect of the glitter and sparkle creates a realism effect on the cover attractive to more readers, potentially younger.
Research on Doctor Who:
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Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC since 1963.
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The programme depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called "the Doctor", an extraterrestrial being, to all appearances human, from the planet Gallifrey.
Summary...
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The further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer known as the Doctor and their companions from planet Earth.
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The Doctor, a Time Lord/Lady from the race whose home planet is Gallifrey, travels through time and space in his/her ship the T.A.R.D.I.S.
This phrase implies the idea of The Doctor being someone people can depend on for help. Interesting to note is that the word 'doctor' is known throughout the universe as 'a wise man who helps people'. The Doctor is the very reason for that, he calls himself the doctor and aids people, thus making everybody familiar with the doctor. The topic is about people being afraid of becoming 'public property' (hence becoming homeless) which could link to the idea that David Tennant (The Doctor from Doctor Who) being the face of this front cover implies that he will also be someone to help support The Big Issue and the people that are dependant on any donations. There is an amount of reassurance that the phrase is creating that to stay supportive as a community will allow everything to be okay, hence giving people the hope that they may not have to become 'public property' hence being homeless.
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Social welfare
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Current affairs
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Politics
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Culture
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The environment
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Finance health
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Food
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Sport
These topics all have a very strong link to the ideology of social well-being within The Big Issue. For example, social Welfare can be defined as the group of assistance programs designed to ensure the well being of a nation's citizens. In other words, it is a system that aims to provide quality care to society participants. The Big Issue allows people to make donations towards the magazine that covers stories and allows people to be more aware of people living in poverty. Another example being finance health and the idea that some people living in bad financial situations depending on this magazine for the donations.