The Gentlewoman: Language and Representation

 The Gentlewoman: Language and Representation blog tasks

Close-textual analysis

Gentlewoman front cover 

1) What do the typefaces used on the front cover suggest to an audience?

-The cover shows that the design is bright and vibrant as it follows a colour scheme of orange border and purple and red bold makeup. 

2) How does the cover subvert conventional magazine cover design?

-The magazine subverts conventional magazine cover designs because normally a women in a magazine is presented more 'feminine' and soft,whereas in this magazine the female is seen to have bold and different makeup.

3) Write an analysis of the central image.

-Tightly framed 

-Closeup camera shot 

-Low angle

-Direct mode of address

4) What representations of gender and celebrity can be found on this front cover?

-Scarlett Johansson is seen as the highest paid actor in 2018-2019,which shows she is a powerful and successful woman.

5) What gender and representation theories can we apply to this cover of the Gentlewoman? 

-Mulvey's theory of male gaze-this is because she has heavy makeup to please the desires of men.

Feature: Modern Punches

1) How does the feature on Ramla Ali use narrative to engage the audience? Apply narrative theories here.

-The feature engages the audience because they wouldn't normally see a female boxer who is really talented in the boxing industry,as it is seen as a man sport.

2) What representations can you find in this feature - both interview and image?

-We can see the representation of working class people and the struggles they go through,also we see how women are being represented in sports.

Feature: Isabella Tree interview

1) Why is this feature unconventional for a women's lifestyle and fashion magazine? Comment on the use media language in these pages. 

-The feature is unconventional because it doesn't talk about women but instead nature and plants.

2) How does the Isabella Tree feature reflect the social and cultural contexts of contemporary Britain? Think about AQA's discussion of lifestyle, environmental issues and ethical movements.

-The British author sir Charles Burrer is the 10th Baronet married to Lady Burrell who is a British aristocrat. It values the social and cultural context of Britain by reflecting its environment.

Feature: Stella McCartney and vegan fashion

1) How does this feature reflect contemporary social and cultural contexts?

-Views in fashion are constantly changing,such as the ethical and moral ways that businesses produce products.

3) What representations can be found in the image accompanying this feature? 

-We can see a representation of an upper-class educated background.

Representations

Read this Business of Fashion interview with The Gentlewoman editor Penny Martin. If you don't want to sign up to the website (free) then you can access the text of the article on Google Drive here (you'll need your Greenford Google login). Answer the following questions: 

1) What type of magazine did Penny Martin, Gert Jonkers and Jop van Bennekom want to create? 

-A fashion magazine for actual readers.

2) What representations of modern women did they try to construct for the magazine?

-"I'm interested in what [The Gentlewoman] tells you about how modern women live, from the way they drink, dance, drive and speak to the way they sign their letters or conduct their divorces. We make sure that the magazine is not just a pornography of product that is supposedly interesting to women."

3) What examples of cover stars reflect the diversity in the magazine's content? 

-Cover stars have ranged from 88-year-old actor Angela Lansbury, shot in a peach silk blouse and Terry Richardson's black frame glasses, to pop-star Beyoncé, looking calm, strong and composed in Dior with a face free of make-up.

4) What is Penny Martin's view on feminism and whether the magazine is feminist?

-Martin says "Well, it's made by feminist people, so what do you think?! But I don't want to make those values and principles fashionable, because I don't want to undermine them by turning them into an aesthetic and I don't want them to pass into the realm of the unfashionable. Let's just assume that we all agree there should be equal pay and childcare and get on with it, eh?"

5) Look at the end of the article. How does the Gentlewoman help readers construct or reflect their identity by engaging with events and spaces beyond the magazine? 

-There will be physical events in the future.