Ideology

Ideology is a set of beliefs or values that we have or that we hold, ideology is very important in advertising, as it is often entices us into buying a product, and the same is true for music magazines. Magazines rely on an ideology that encompasses a large group, as this enables them to gain the most sales. 
My own personal ideology is that success doesn't determine motivation, motivation determines success.

Often the ideology behind NME Magazine is one of a more 'rock' and 'rebellious' attitude, but not so much as magazines such as 'Kerrang'. this gives it a large amount of room to work and be recognised as a magazine that contains a large amount of indie-rock music. Whilst never doing so explicitly, it wants to be known as encouraging artists to embrace their darker side. 

Photoshop

Today, I used Photoshop for the very first time. whilst not immediately apparent, i have learned to use border, eraser, glow, shadow, and text tools. Thought I did not use them on the file below, i have a very basic understanding of all the above tools and some others. The picture below was taken by myself specifically for this lesson, and i intend to continue to develop my photoshop skills, that will hopefully mean I no longer have the incredibly poor technological grasp I do. 

Analysis of college magazine

This is an example of a typical college magazine that has both formal and informal qualities.

*Informal: Slanted pictures, gives impression of relaxed atmosphere. 
*Formal: Wearing the uniform, shows the school takes pride in appearance. 
*informal: Graffiti on the walls give a creative and artistic vibe. 
*Formal: School's logo makes it apparent this is a place of learning and determination. 
*Informal: Message from the head teacher makes it seem this school is supported by those who run it. 
*Formal: Lots of text make this seem like a place filled with intellectual individuals. 

These together create a hybrid magazine that is interesting to read without being overly-formal. This makes it appear akin to a broadsheet, but with the pizzaz of a tabloid newspaper. As it is a college magazine, it is likely to have an ideology about work ethic. In this case, it is "Respect, Believe, Achieve"

Analysis of a music magazine cover using feminist theories.

Feminism

The magazine cover seen here defies traditional values of how we define beauty or attractiveness based on 'the male gaze theory'. Instead of showing a conventionally attractive woman who conforms to what many feel is 'sexy', the cover breaks away from this and presents the image in a way that tries to popularise that all women are beautiful. The fact that Beth Ditto is shown with a lipstick mark and the phrase 'kiss my ass!' is used may show how she is unwilling to conform with today's standard of attractiveness and is uninterested in a male perspective.

Alternatively, it could be parodying other music magazines that support the male gaze theory. One such is the cover of Cheryl Cole on Q Magazine, that is conformative and presents a similar 'edgy' or rebellious vibe as the Beth Ditto cover, and both have a strong presence of red, which could connote danger. Whilst one uses someone who could be perceived as unattractive to oppose the male gaze theory, one is intended to be viewed in a voyeuristic manner by males, or so it seems. 

Feminism

Feminism is the act (or belief) of equality in social and political aspects for women. Feminism had a strong presence during the late 1800's with the suffrages movement. However, with the first and second World War, feminism was left as an issue unsolvable at the time. However, during the 1970's, feminism once became prominent during the first media breakout during the Vietnam war and the civil rights movement.

A prominent feminist during the Suffrages was Emilienne Pankhurst, who was well renowned in Britain.

Whilst feminism in these times started out as a legal-based system, it has since evolved into a much more socially dedicated movement. A popular feminist, even today, is Laura Mulvey. 

Mulvey argued that women were represented in the media in a way that emphasises appearance and sexuality. She cited three trends in Hollywood films:
*Men controlled the action, and moved the narrative along.  
*Women are represented as 'passive' objects for the male gaze. 
*The pleasure of viewing comes from a combination of voyeurism and narcissism.
These points together make up 'the male gaze theory'.

However, there have been some criticisms of this theory, and many films do not support it. James Cameron's 'Titanic' has a female as the lead and someone who rescues the male character, breaking this convention. As well as this, the female character is not only central to the plot, but is in fact the one driving it.

As well as this, Gammon and Marshment used semiotic theory to explain how texts are interpreted in different ways by different people, and 'the male gaze' can't exist if 'the female gaze' doesn't. This can be supported by numerous modern day magazines and adverts (Including one for Diet Coke) applying 'the female gaze'.

Semiotic theory

According to Morris, human action involves signs and meanings in three ways:
The perception stage - the person becomes aware of a sign.
The manipulation stage - the person interprets the sign and decides how to respond to it.
The consummation stage - the person responds.

The denotation of something is what it literally is. i.e, a red rose would be a flower that is red.
The connotation of something is what it's inference is. I.e, a red rose may connote love but could also represent the death of a loved one, as blood is red and a rose symbolises love.

Semiotic theory is, essentially, the study of signs. This means signs and symbols can be interpreted in different ways, by different people. 

Music magazines and semiotic theory...
Semiotic theory is very important to driving the sales of music magazines. By showing an artist in a particular light, people can be influenced to buy the magazine based on their manipulation stage. An example could be the music magazine on the left, which shows an artist (Carl Craig) in low key lighting wearing a suit and holding a dog. Someone could interpret this as an artist who takes their music very seriously and is determined to become the best. A different interpretation could be that this is someone with power and status within the music world. His almost condescending glance makes him seem a harsh individual who already knows he is 'top dog'.