Media language: This magazine cover has a lot of dark, but bright, bold colors of red and orange. It has white letters that stand out with the darker colors. Also, there are some black letters that also stand out. The actor on the front, Arnold, is very well known - especially for his physique; therefore, allowing the audience to become captured by his appearance. "20 inch arms" is right BESIDE his large arms; therefore, the audience is going to notice his arms, the text, and then become interested.
Institution: Front cover of Muscle & Fitness
Genre: Fitness, Body building, and exercise
Representation: This magazine cover represents a very fit, very large, Arnold. Therefore, this is geared to either someone who is as big, getting that big, or wants to become that big. This is a magazine for many young guys in this society.
Audience: The target audience 'screams' young men. However, this audience can actually vary. This targets mainly to men - really of all ages. Boys start the working out and getting into shape process at the young age of 13 or 14 years old. Also, men try to stay fit and muscular well into their 40s and 50s - some lucky ones even older. However, there are many girls that enjoy working out. some girls may just like to stay fit, get tighter, smaller, or just a little muscular; therefore, they may not be interested in this magazine - or at least the entirety of it. However, there are girls who enjoy being as big or bigger than some men. Therefore, this would reach out to them as well. Any ethnic race, class, or even profession could pick up this magazine because they are interested in fitness. The main reason I feel that this is mainly for men is because of the words "20 inch arms in three big moves" right beside Arnold's arm. Not every girl wants those 20 inch arms; however, there are some that would so I cannot leave them out.
Ideologies & Values: The values in this magazine cover are really that it is nice to be physically fit. It is showing ways that can be helpful to achieve this. Therefore, the positive aspects of this cover are being fit is a healthy lifestyle choice, burning fat is a must, exercise is a positive alternative. However, there are some negatives. They are not everyone can be that big, some people are healthy and fit but do not feel like it because Arnold is on the front cover taking up a fourth of the page due to him muscles. Therefore, I feel that it empowers fitness gurus and people who enjoy working out to get 'bigger'. It disempowers people who are either not fit, not in it to get bigger but simply lose weight, and people who may not think highly of Arnold. The media maker's interest is served due to having an icon like Arnold on the front of the magazine. He is a great model for those who WISH to be big and muscular and physically fit
Narrative: The part of the story that is not being told is how long did it actually take Arnold to get that big? Does it REALLY only take a few exercises and a few good meals to become as physically fit and big as Arnold? The information can be found within the magazine, in other fitness magazines, and through trial and error of these exercises.
What is the “text” of the message?
- The phrases: Recharge your routine Seven Exercises robbing YOU of results, Get Lean in less time stay out of the gym to burn more fat, 20 inch arms in 3 big moves, and an exclusive page all about Arnold, his new movie, and how he stays hit
- The other main 'text' we get out of this is Arnold showing off his large arms. He is also wearing sunglasses and a tight shirt to show his large chest
- It looks as if fire is behind him - or just dark reds and oranges
What is the “subtext” of the message?
- Arnold works out, lifts, and is a movie star
- Arnold wears sunglasses and tight clothes when he works out
- He is using a fitness magazine to promote the new movie Terminator Three
- There are many workouts that get you as muscular as Arnold
- You need to change how you work out
What “tools of persuasion” are used?
Association, Bandwagon, Beautiful People, Celebrities, Intensity, Charisma, Rhetorical Questions (or statements in this case), Simple solution, Card Stacking,
How we differed, is that I did not see as many negatives as you had seen. I do believe that trying to say that this 53 year old man can look like this you can to, so it should be easy, was a bit unrealistic. He had been working to look like this for 35 years. I can now see that it goes farther than this in terms of how the message does really keep trying to push that you can look like this in no time. That just really isn't possible. I really did not see the disempowerment of the "normal" guy or girl just that you can't look like this overnight. I think the reason, without being sexist, is as a guy we do think that with a little extra time they can get these kind of results. We are more prone to believe the get healthy, stronger and bigger claimes. Women, for the most part don't fall for these ideas, they think in more realistic terms.
ReplyDeleteI guess I looked at the audience definition differently than you because I thought of it as the group that would most likely buy the magazine and help the magazine make the most profit. You said that you “cannot leave them out” referring to the women that like to work out. I can see how this magazine would interest some younger boys, some older men, and some women; however, I don’t think that the editor of the magazine or the designer of the front cover was focusing on those outliers when s/he started working on this issue of the magazine. While I believe those you mentioned might buy a few copies of the magazine, I also believe that those younger boys, older men, and muscular women are not the main audience that the magazine makes the most profit off from.
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