Feminism and Moral panic in the media

This cover of NME focuses on feminism in the media today. The main image of singer Beth Ditto represents everything which feminists stand for - women should not be subservient to men and are not passive agents in a male world.
NME is generally aimed at a male audience - with the exception of Paromore on one of their latest editions, this is a magazine which represents men in the music industry. Therefore having a female artist on the front cover may come as a shock to many readers.

Her porcelain skin contrasts with the bright yellow backdrop of the magazine, as do her red lips, nails and dark hair. The general gist of this front cover shows her role in society - that she basically is there to be heard not admired by the male gaze as shown by the large lip print on her bottom and the "Kiss My Ass" puff on the side, this is known as anchorage text (the way in which text helps to pin down the meaning of the image). This image goes against the principles of the way the media constructs representations of women and the ideologies they maintain. By and large in relation to Laura Mulvey and the male gaze, fetishism labels many women as objects; this magazine stands for the fetish that many males place upon larger women. Beth Ditto is not what everyone would call a Narcissistic identification of an ideal woman - as many would argue that what she stands for is a threat to societal values and interests This is known as Cohen's Moral Panic, she is basically a Folk Devil to society as she is promoting obesity and is illustrating how much she does not care about her weight, believing that it is sexy. Being labelled the 'Queen of Cool' suggests that we now live a society whereby weight related issues are extremely common. Therefore this image could be said to have an ambiguous meaning, whether it be portrayed as beautiful or disgusting is up to the individual consumer.

Richard Dyers star theory suggest that a star is an image, not a real person. I believe in relation to this controversial front cover that Beth Ditto wants to be seen as a real person - people would identify her due to her appearance - a real person.

The puffs to the right hand side of the magazine provide the readers with different genres of music - in order to appeal to a wide range audience and involve many different labels of people who have different tastes.

Advertising plays a major role in magazines - as this is what basically sells. Many people purchase the magazine for the free merchandise inside 'Free New Music Poster Special' is posted at the top right hand corner, in a bubble for the purpose of the attention grabbing effect it has on the reader.

Music Magazine Front Cover Analysis

The Masthead 'Q' takes up around 1/9 of the front cover, this symbolises a well known music magazine which has been around since 1986. Brought out in order to engage a generation of older music consumers. The letter Q is a single-letter title which is more attention-grabbing on newspaper stands, it catches the eye with its contrasting white on red colour scheme - which enables consistent buyers to spot it easily. The masthead has not always been red, up until 1993 Q magazine decided on a white on red colour scheme in order to represent itself as a unique music magazine and also to its audience.

< Old Q Magazine Masthead.

Q Magazine is well known for compiling lists - '50 Gigs you must see this decade' is what Q magazine is most famous for as shown in the puff on the right hand side. 50 is a popular number to Q magazine, for example the Q50 is published in every edition. Therefore this magazine has its own specialist audience.

The puffs (other information set around the main image) stick to the same colour system white, red and black. Which contrasts nicely with the main image of the dark crack in the floor - this portrays 'The Prodigy's' ideas and personality which is shown through their music and what they are generally famous for; being slightly extreme and rather disturbing. The appearance of the band represents the underground rave scene which they have emerged from. Lots of costume make up, extreme hairstyles and clothing is why the prodigy are so well known and loved by ravers not mentioning the 20 million albums they have sold word wide. They are loud (as shown by the screaming man on the front cover) and they basically appeal to those who love big beat music. The title 'the PRODIGY' is all in block capitals - which shows the main focus of the magazine, it's also in red which is eye-catching and it contrasts with the white backdrop. The main man is prominently shown at the front - so all eyes are on him. This is called depth of field. The main focus has been isolated from the background in order to represent the band. The Prodigy are also a Moral Panic famous for raving and encouraging drugs - this is a concern to society today, they are folk devils who need controlling as they portray a star image, in which the younger generation copy.

In addition the puffs show all contemporary bands and soloists - with the main interviews set in bold, black in order to grab the readers attention, with a mixture of different groups on show on behalf of people with different tastes in music aka Lily Allen, Kings of Leon and Green Day - who all produce different styles of music.

... Continued

The large Masthead NME (New Musical Express) is a well known music magazine. It uses
dominant red on white font which is striking with its contrasting colours and it appears contemporary and youthful, fitting in with today's music.

Puffs are small pieces of information surrounding the main image. On this cover they remain the same colour scheme red, white and black possibly to contrast with the main image; making it more prominent to the reader. Also keeping the same colour scheme throughout allows some coordination and gives the magazine its own personal Fleur. The main stories are generally a bigger font, and are all in capitals, in order to attract the consumers attention. The titles of the puffs are also set in a larger bold font, in order for the buyers/readers to know exactly what is in the magazine, which may be the reason for the purchase.

All the new more contemporary bands are in red and black at the top of the magazine front cover which are from the same sort of genre indie rock. This suggests there is something for everyone, and by giving a list of different artists people are bound to know and like at least one. There are rappers, Jay Z and Dizzie Rascal, more rock groups like Paramore and Muse, also older bands like Blur who all give something back to the reader and appeal to a more specific target audience.

The main image of Dizzie Rascal portrays a star who many young black men aspire to be. He is continuously bringing out new albums, performing tours and festivals, he is constantly in the public eye and appeals to a specific target audience. The contrasts between the backdrop and himself is highly noticeable and gives the readers a chance to see the real Dizzie through his flamboyant style. This edition of NME exemplifies a youthful tone, through the use of modern clothing, graffiti and bright funky colours. His music is fresh and his videos are bright, colourful and sometimes somewhat incoherent. The word 'man' suggests he was once an ordinary not so well educated young man, not unlike many young artists out there who aspire to become as successful as Dizzie.

From the use of colour I believe this front cover is an attempt to portray his vibrant personality and the effect young artists have on a diverse society today. This in itself automatically draws in a younger generation of consumers - unlike any NME magazines previously sold.

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