Main Task: Front Cover Textual Analysis

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1. DENOTATION: The magazine has a of an image of a woman looking directly at the camera. It is a medium long shot showing her head, arms and waist. She is standing diagonally with her legs placed together with her hands placed either side of her body. The background of the photograph is a light tiled background and the photograph covers the whole of the magazine cover. Behind Beyonce is the ‘VIBE’ Masthead, also behind her are three separate cover-Lines mostly in black and red. The woman in the images’ name is in black. A bar code is visible at the right corner of the magazine.
   MASTHEAD: ‘VIBE’ masthead is very distinctive: written in bold red colours. After each bold red letter there is about 2cm space between each letter; they do not interfere with each other. The word ‘VIBE’ is used to describe rhythm of music, suggesting that the magazine is associated with music. It also suggests the type of music this magazine is mostly about (hip-hop).
   CHARACTER: The cover image is of the world wide phenominom American singer ‘Beyonce’
   COMPOSITION: She is posed in short shorts, her clothes are drenched which makes the image quite xual. Her posed, body language and clothing are very sexually suggestive and provocative. Her non-verbal communication is quite welcoming, almost as if the image is wanting the person (hands placed open, mouth slightly open with eyes looking direct into the camera).
   COSTUME: Her clothes are shiny, glittery hot pants with a white low cut shirt, which is quite see-through; she is showing a lot of cleavage. This costume has been chosen carefully to appeal to the target audience of the magazine, who i would say are ment to be males. The clothing worn is similar to sum of the costumes she would wear whilst performing. The gold bangles and her wet long brown hair completes the look.
   NVC: Her non-verbal communication is also very seductive. Her mouth is open displaying her teeth and the subtle tone of lipstick on her lips and she is looking directly at the camera.
   Lighting: The lighting is very bright, highlighting the singer in the image; almost making her seem unreal.
   Setting: There is little setting, although the tiles in the background almost suggest she is in a toilet or showers; which supports the wet look of the singer.
   COVER-LINES: The main cover-line that relates to the artist in the image says 'BEYONCE STRIPS DOWN FOR SUMMER', this refers to the type of clothing she is wearing within the photograph; it also relates to the month and season that the issue came out (summer). The rest of the cover-lines tells us that this magazine does not only focus on musical subjects but also contains information on other issues within that area (such as a 'city summer guide') and more. The magazine, through its cover-lines shows it is diverse in what it chooses to write. All of the cover-lines use a bold thick font- which suggests the magazine has a lot of power and importance.

TARGET AUDIENCE: Overal, considering all the points, the target audience would be male and female ( mainly a male audience) aged 17-35. They would have a good knowledge of popular culture and a definite interest in a wide range of musical styles. They are also likely to be well educated and have a good knowledge in american popular culture.