Magazines: The Gentlewoman - Language and Representations

 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 typefaces used on the front cover convey to an audience sans serif fonts are intended to be chic and simplistic. 

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

The Gentlewoman subverts conventions of magazines because it doesn't have typical aspects like coverlines, lower case title and the close up of the models face.

3) Write an analysis of the central image.

• tightly framed 
• closeup camera shot - unconventional
• low angle
• direct mode of address

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

Scarlett Johansson is a well known actress and can be seen as a successful woman.

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

• Judith Butler - 'gender is a performance' 
• van zoonen - 'spectacle'
• bell hooks - 'feminism is a movement'

Feature: Modern Punches

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

Todorov's 'equilibrium and disequilibrium' is demonstrated by her informing the audience about her difficult childhood and how she developed.

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

The place she is represents the hardship and connection between her career; the Cartier watch represents her path of career in boxing and how she has the 'golden hand' to back it up.

3) What representation theories can we apply to the Modern Punches feature? 
There is still a lot to be done in the media industry when it comes to feminist views because there is still a desire for women to live independent lives without being objectified and stereotyped, which there is, but there are still women constructing their selves in this generation making advertisements still trying to end it.

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. 

Doesn't show an image of the women behind the scene just her name and work.

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.

In Wilding, Isabella Tree tells the story of the 'Knepp experiment', a pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex, using free-roaming grazing animals to create new habitats for wildlife. Part gripping memoir, part fascinating account of the ecology of our countryside, Wilding is, above all, an inspiring story of hope.

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

Isabella Tree says in her seminal ecological book Wilding that "we have been persuaded by our own absorption" that the environment we see in Britain today has always been there. That the hills have always been devoid of trees, and that the vegetation and wildlife are just as they should be. "We believe the countryside around us, or something very similar to it, has persisted for centuries," she says, "and the wildlife within it, if not exactly the same, is at least a fair representation of what has been here for centuries." "We are blinded by the immediacy of the present."

Feature: Stella McCartney and vegan fashion

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

Our sustainable vision is guided by and accountable to our bold values – making every action count, inspiring trust and celebrating life. We are change agents; we are activists. We stand up and speak up for Mother Earth, our fellow animals and in solidarity with all humans. 

 

We strive to create the most beautiful, desirable products with the least impact on our environment. Our conscious values are also the inspiration behind our innovation. As industry leaders, we endeavour to create the most cutting-edge materials and animal alternatives, continuing to push towards circularity and being fully transparent by developing tools to measure and report our impact. 

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

The main subject of the page is highlighted with bold and huge copy.The rest is fairly modest in comparison to the headline, maybe to emphasise the importance of the detail; the serif font also maintains a less basic yet informative approach.

3) What representations can be found in the image accompanying this feature? 
Zoonen suggested 'new women' as a new journey as it would influence others to independently know confidence and assertiveness compared to the early years of being objectified by men. - initiates the use of blazer being shown in the image to amplify the 'assertiveness'.

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? 

“At that time, we felt there was a dearth of intelligent perspectives on fashion and there wasn't really a fashion magazine for actual readers. I guess you could say that there are a few more magazines like us now. But when we started, many magazines had the visual right, or had the text right, but very few managed to reconcile the two. I think that’s very difficult — to produce long-form journalism and a personality-centred magazine that has equally eloquent imagery and graphic design.”

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

This realistic and modern approach is reflected in The Gentlewoman's general editorial point of view, which, according to Martin, begins with the woman rather than the product."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. Meanwhile, on the inside, The Gentlewoman has profiled a wide range of women at the top of their game, including gardeners, entrepreneurs, novelists, artists and news anchors.

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

Like many editors of women's magazines, Martin is often asked about her publication's stance on feminism. "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.”