mens health language representation

1) Write an analysis of the media language choices on the cover of Men's Health - e.g. colour scheme, typography, language, photographic codes etc.
There is an ongoing colour scheme in the magazine which varies from dark blue, light blue , grey and black to create a systematic dull and sophisticated affect indicating that the magazine is for young productive and working adults. One of the magazines cover consists of a group of men who each have a different ethnic background and different social classes indicating that regardless of race or social class differences, this magazine is for a variety of audiences
2) Identify three specific aspects/conventions/important points (e.g. cover lines, colour scheme, use of text, image etc.) from each page 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: The front cover consists of a famous male actor, who is quite bulky muscle which represents the hyper masculine or ideal masculine man since they were expected to be strong. The subheading which is outlined bold font is there to give a sense of promise to the audience because the wording makes it seem as it promises to help people lose weight fast and that it can be easily done making an audience more eager to purchase the magazine because they may believe that it will help them live up to the expectations of an ideal man.

Editor's Letter and contents page: 

Feature - True Grit - 'The Marathon Man': This page purposely has put an elderly man on the cover to almost give the audience false hope, that if a man of less ability was able to complete a marathon that a younger audience were capable of achieving this. The text is in a small font to encourage the audience to actually properly read the article rather than just skimming through it. The text is also not a lot which gives the audience the idea that anything can be achieved 

3) Apply narrative theories to Men's Health - Todorov's equilibrium, Propp's character types, Barthes' action or enigma codes.

4) Read the cover lines and the Editor's Letter. Does Men's Health offer a cure for male insecurities or does it create male insecurity?

5) How does the 'Marathon Man' feature page offer an example of Steve Neale's genre theory concerning 'repetition and difference'?

Representations

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 Men's Health and specifically the three pages from the Jan/Feb 2017 issue identified as our Close-Study Product.

Representations: applying theory

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

2) How could van Zoonen's work on feminist and gender theory be applied to Men's Health?

3) How could bell hooks's work on 'corrosive masculinity' apply to Men's Health?


Representations: academic analysis

Read these extracts from the journal article exploring the representation of masculinity in Men's Health magazine and answer the following questions:

1) Why is Men's Health defined as a 'lifestyle magazine'?

2) Why is advertising significant in helping to shape masculine identity?

3) The article suggests that the representation of masculinity in Men's Health is not fixed or natural and is subject to constant change. What media theorists that we have studied previously can be linked to these ideas?

4) What does the article suggest Men's Health encourages its readers to be? What examples and statistics are provided to develop the idea of men as consumers?

5) What representations of the male body can be found in Men's Health?

6) What does the article suggest regarding the objectification of men?

7) What is 'metrosexuality' and how can it be applied to Men's Health?

8) What representation of men in Men's Health is discussed in the section 'Homogenous bodies'?

9) What are the conclusions drawn by the article with regards to the representation of masculinity in Men's Health?

10) What is your own view of the representation of masculinity in Men's Health? Is it a positive representation that encourages men to the best they can be or is it a hypermasculine, consumer-driven representation designed to undermine men's confidence and objectify their bodies?