2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?&4. Who would the audience be for your media product?

On my cover I have used many techniques to convey the social group I am representing. The most prominent is the artist I have used as my main image. From my research into mis-en-scene I found that most of the social groups that are connected to alternative/rock music (e.g. emo, goth, punk) share many common features such as brightly coloured hair, dark makeup around the eyes, black nail polish, clothes that deviate from current fashions, tattoos and piercings. These are all features I have given to my artist so that she is instantly recognisable as someone who listens to/creates rock music and there for is a representation of that group. This alternative kind of lifestyle is often associated with youth culture, the stereotype of an emo for instance is a teenager aged between 12-19 years, therefore I have used a young model (she is 17 years old) and is a good representation of youth. From my research into target audience, I found the majority of the audience were white, therefore there is little demand for ethnic representation of any other sort.

As for my contents page I again used mostly females on this page but there is one male here. Everyone on this page is also white, for the same reason as why all the people on my previous page where white, stereotypically it is a style of music that only white people listen to. The same features as were on the first page represent alternative sub culture here, the hair and tattoos ect. There are also other signifiers on this page that connote the stereotype. For instance the guitar, an instrument synonymous with rock music because of its unique sound, someone who is able to play guitar would probably be a fan of rock music.

As for my double page spread, the use of representation is more or less the same as on my front cover. From my research into mis-en-scene I found that most of the social groups that are connected to alternative/rock music (e.g. emo, goth, punk) share many common features such as brightly coloured hair, dark makeup around the eyes, black nail polish, clothes that deviate from current fashions, tattoos and piercings. These are all features I have given to my artist so that she is instantly recognisable as someone who listens to/creates rock music and there for is a representation of that group. This alternative kind of lifestyle is often associated with youth culture, the stereotype of an emo for instance is a teenager aged between 12-19 years, therefore I have used a young model (she is 17 years old) and is a good representation of youth. From my research into target audience, I found the majority of the audience were white, therefore there is little demand for ethnic representation of any other sort

My overall use of representation takes some elements from existing magazines but has also broken convention in some areas. One way in which I have conformed to the example set by already existing magazines is my use of only representing white people, this is because after my initial research and feedback from potential target audience, I found a predominantly white consumer group and so I have only represented white people. If there were any need for ethnic representation it would have been necessary for token ethnic representation but according to my target audience survey there was not. However, I have broken convention in my use of heavy female representation. From my audience research I found that a lot of the rock music magazine readers are in fact female and that there was a large demand for a rock music magazine with more female representation. Because of the tattoos, coloured hair and such, they look no less a representation of rock music than the males in kerrang do and therefore I can justify making this choice.

Over all, the content of my magazine and the social groups I have represented will reflect on the target audience that my magazine will focus on. People will respond well to the magazine if they see a representation of the group they belong to within my magazine. To summarize who I have represented, it is: White peopleMembers of alternative sub culture (emo, goth, ect) Females

So my target audience will be predominantly this. There is also an attraction to teenagers because of the articles the magazine has to offer. Ages 12-17 would have an interest in music but would have the limit of funds to spend on merchandise and media related to their favourite artists so this cheap magazine with free material inside is perfect for their situation. The target audience is also not just exclusive to the representation. For example, males could read this magazine for the women inside but not for the same reason that a female would read this magazine, e.g. they are reading it because they find the artists attractive.