The Gentlewoman: Language and Representation blog tasks

 The Gentlewoman: Language and Representation blog tasks

Close-textual analysis

Work through the following tasks to complete your close-textual analysis of the Gentlewoman CSP pages:

Gentlewoman front cover 

1) What do the typefaces used on the front cover suggest to an audience?

The masthead is in sans-serif and lower case and it expresses modernity and it reflects values/attitudes of magazine with a modern approach - woman empowerment is also highlighted. The name check of celebrity Scarlett Johansson is in serif font, being traditional, classy and stylish, empowering a female role model, who was the highest paid actress from 2018-2019.

2) How does the cover subvert conventional magazine cover design?

It uses unconventional themes such ad the colour scheme, which is bright, vibrant and has an orange border which is similar to the colour of the actress' lipstick in the central image. Also, the central image features a low angle close up which is tightly framed, giving an unconventional portrait aesthetic, which isn't a very common magazine cover style.

3) Write an analysis of the central image.

The central image is a low angle close up which is unconventionally tightly framed to portray a portrait aesthetic. This connotes empowerment as there is star power used, with the image featuring the famous actress, Scarlett Johansson, who is wearing striking eye shadow and lipstick to reinforce femininity and traditional beauty ideals.

4) What representations of gender and celebrity can be found on this front cover?

We can see that a lot of the front cover conventions connotes female empowerment, which subverts traditional patriarchal styles, which undermined women. These conventions include the name check for the celebrity, bringing all the attention to her being featured in the magazine as well as the masthead which involves woman in the name to showcase their aim to highlight feminine standards and lastly the central image showcasing the female in power. However there are no links to men or masculine ideals due to the strong objective of getting the ideas of female empowerment across.

5) What gender and representation theories can we apply to this cover of the Gentlewoman? 

We can apply Propps character types by conveying Scarlett as the heroine as she is the woman in power in the magazine and we can also apply Todorrov's theory as there is a new equilibrium shown as the Gentlewoman magazine tries to restore feminist power after there traditionally being a patriarchal society dominated by men.

Feature: Modern Punches

1) How does the feature on Ramla Ali use narrative to engage the audience? Apply narrative theories here.

They portray the woman and her athlete status to reinforce female empowerment, while subverting stereotypical ideals of athletics being a male field. In, terms of narrative, they use codes such as action codes as we can see the central image showing her standing on a chair flexing her muscles, to highlight her strength, which she can use to overcome traditional expectations.

2) What representations can you find in this feature - both interview and image?

Stereotypical and traditional representations of women are subverted as the interview links to how Butler rejects the notion that gender is socially constructed, breaking away from norms as she becomes a boxer.

3) What representation theories can we apply to the Modern Punches feature? 

We can apply theorists such as Butler, who believes gender is a performance and isn't innate as she has a tomboy style, which is unconventional for women traditionally. We can also apply bell hooks as she talks about intersectionality within feminism due to gender, race and ethnicity. The interview portraits are used to show how gender, race and social class all intersect to create meanings for audiences.


Feature: Isabella Tree interview

1) Why is this feature unconventional for a women's lifestyle and fashion magazine? Comment on the use media language in these pages. 

Because, rather than focusing on women, they are portraying images of nature, which reinforce their magazine values of being ethical in terms of the environment. They show pro-environment features, which are a mix of arthouse and personal images, emphasising nature over people.

2) How does the Isabella Tree feature reflect the social and cultural contexts of contemporary Britain? Think about AQA's discussion of lifestyle, environmental issues and ethical movements.

It showcases the rise in ethics and how more people are following niche trends that protect the environment as shown in this feature. Since they are illustrating a woman that is famous and integrated with the A/B upper social classes, it shows that people who own state properties etc are also becoming more conscious of the environment as she isa working on rewilding projects.

3) What representations of nature can be found in this feature?

They represent nature as authentic and beautiful, shown by the portrayal of a rainbow and trees etc.

Feature: Stella McCartney and vegan fashion

1) How does this feature reflect contemporary social and cultural contexts?

The idea of a vegan handbag reinforces the magazines core values, supporting the protection of the environment and the feature is more capitalistic compared to the Isabella Tree campaign as it advertises high end handbags.

2) Comment on the typography and page design in this feature.

They use both serif font (in large, with a somewhat modernistic style) to form the modern aesthetic without forgetting core/ previous values as well as sans serif font (smaller) to emphasise the contemporary twist to the feature. The editing of the typography also shows the designers name which is bigger than other text to connote star power.

3) What representations can be found in the image accompanying this feature? 

We can see binary opposition of the character vs the setting as Stella McCartney is shown, rich wealthy and capitalistic and then she is positioned in an urban setting, creating juxtaposition.

Representations

Read this Business of Fashion interview with The Gentlewoman editor Penny Martin. If you don't want to sign up to the website (free) then you can access the text of the article on Google Drive here (you'll need your Greenford Google login). Answer the following questions: 

1) What type of magazine did Penny Martin, Gert Jonkers and Jop van Bennekom want to create? 

They wanted to form a long-form journalism and a personality-centred magazine that has equally eloquent imagery and graphic design as they thought many other similar magazines found it difficult to do so.

2) What representations of modern women did they try to construct for the magazine?

She says, "I'm interested in what [The Gentlewoman] tells you about how modern women live, from the way they drink, dance, drive and speak to the way they sign their letters or conduct their divorces. We make sure that the magazine is not just a pornography of product that is supposedly interesting to women. It's about putting those women at the centre of the material world around them. That balance is important to us."

3) What examples of cover stars reflect the diversity in the magazine's content? 

Cover stars have ranged from 88-year-old actor Angela Lansbury, shot in a peach silk blouse and Terry Richardson's black frame glasses, to popstar Beyoncé, looking calm, strong and composed in Dior with a face free of make-up.

4) What is Penny Martin's view on feminism and whether the magazine is feminist?

She says, "When people ask me about politics or feminism, I say that it isn't a magazine about those things, it's a

magazine informed by those things — among others. Is it a feminist magazine? Well, it's made by feminist people, so what do you think?! But I don't want to make those values and principles fashionable, because I don't want to undermine them by turning them into an aesthetic and I don't want them to pass into the realm of the unfashionable. Let's just assume that we all agree there should be equal pay and childcare and get on with it, eh?"

5) Look at the end of the article. How does the Gentlewoman help readers construct or reflect their identity by engaging with events and spaces beyond the magazine? 

"Other things" includes the recently formed Gentlewoman Club which extends the magazine's brand into physical events where readers can interact and chat with editors. "We're starting to develop our website as a kind of portal for real things to happen rather than a bogus virtual community with likes and message boards. I am so not interested in that. I think that's over." “For me, the future is going to be about in-person transactions and  real conversations, skills and sharing in real spaces, rather than the cabaret of the nameless we’ve witnessed over the past decade.”