Magazines: Vogue Media Language Flashcards
Introduction to Vogue
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine covering topics including fashion, beauty, and runway
Began as a weekly newspaper in 1982 in the USA, and is now a monthly publication
Vogue set text date and context
July 1965 edition - contains actress and model Sophia Loren
Historical context
During the 1960s gender equality was changing due the sexual liberation movement, women striving for equality and the Equal Pay Legislation
Magazine front cover terminology
Tagline, masthead, main image, brand identity, cover lines, typography, colour, mode of address
Semiotics by Roland Bartes
The idea that texts communicate their meanings through a process of denotation and connotation.
Technical codes in the front cover
Sophia Loren is captured in a medium close up shot and is positioned in the centre of the frame
High key light to draw attention to her natural beauty
Colour in front cover
The colour palette utilises soft blues and aquatic greens which carry connotations of luxury and exotic travel
The masthead is washed in a green hue, which is symbolic of the sophisticated nature of the magazine
Costume and makeup on the front cover
The costume has connotations of wealth and success as well as being exotic
Her headdress is covered in expensive jewels creating connotations of royalty, wealth and sophistication
Mode of address in the front cover
Loren engages the audience with a direct mode of address which connotes confidence and creates an alignment with the intended audience
Iconography in the front cover
Iconic Vogue masthead serves as a sophisticated brand to the consumer and is amplified by the lack of cover lines
Alliteration in the front cover
The lexis in the bottom right third of the cover is designed to promote the stories within the set edition
“Sand swim sea sun sheiks sophia”
Promotes the themes of summer
Structuralism by Claude Levi Strauss
The idea that meaning is derived from pairs of oppositions, and the way that these binary oppositions are resolved has an ideological significance
Application of Structuralism by Claude Levi Strauss
The binary opposition within this set text is constructed through the two different articles that are a direct opposition to one another
Cutex advertisement as a binary opposition
The colour palette constructs a feminine identity of youth, beauty and sexuality - through the soft feminine colour palette of her nails and lips
This is designed to entice the reader and encourage them to project their own self image onto the female model
Binary opposition of wartime austerity and female independence
Women went through a ‘mend and make do’ phase in the 1940s
This is juxtaposed by the ‘shop and spend’ ideology that women adopted in teh 1950s and 1960s
