college magazine analysis

The Masthead line is in bold font so that it is big, bold and noticeable to the audience. The main image has followed the rules of thirds and made it so the main image hasn’t taken up the whole front cover. The cover lines attract a younger target audience due to what they have involved in the cover lines.

Due to the maker of the magazine making the background dark to make the man stand out, he has used Levi Strauss’s Binary Opposites theory; this creates a more striking image and makes the audience pay attention to the cover. This magazine has made a positive representation on the man as the media usually portrays young black men as villains; this is not the case for this magazine, they have made him look more like a hero, which involves Propp’s character functions. They have done this by making him look smart, tidy, well-educated and religious. They have made him look well educated as he is studying law. The signifier to show he is religious is his necklace of the cross. They have also used Laura Mullvey’s female gaze theory to attract a female audience, they have done this by putting a young man as the central protagonist of the magazine. They have made the magazine make people attracted to it more by the way how the man is looking straight at you, which makes you feel a part of the magazine itself; this shows the use of the Uses and Gratification Theory.