Research Katy Perry Billboard, front cover analysis, 3.

Representation theory

I believe this image prompts an argument of Laura Mulvey's theory: 'the male gaze' which suggests that women pose and dress the way they do, in order to attract the attention of men. The model's outfit is not provocative, the flowers draped all over her, combined with the pink and purple colours are all indexical signs of a feminine magazine and therefore i believe it will appeal to a female audience as opposed to a male one, consequently the photographer planning the photo shoot will not have been attempting to portray a highly sexualised woman who he believes will draw the attention of males, this is implied through the connotations of her pose, she has both her arms covering her chest this could suggest her innocence as she is covering herself in a protective way. The flowers i think are symbolic of innocence and fragility and therefore a young and girly representation is being created which will attract a young female audience. This supports Richard Dyer's theory: 'a star is an image, not a real person' this is very obvious as the model would not be pictured in every day life wearing this, the photographer and stylist have chosen her outfit, make up and pose to create the representation that they desire.

The masthead relates to the image because both the music magazine and the artist Katy Perry have substantial and iconic roles within the music industry. The model is looking directly into camera, making eye contact allows the reader to feel connected to their favourite artist. A medium long shot has been used which is slightly right of frame, i like the page layout and organisation of this magazine as the name of the artist fits in perfectly to the space created by her arched back, it is an interesting pose which i could use in my own work.
This magazine has no dateline or bar code which breaks a convention. There are also only 4 cover stories on the front of this magazine suggesting it is slightly smaller than magazines like 'Q'.

The background very clear with light and dark shadowing of the bubble gum pink colour, complimenting the colour of the pink, white cream and red colours of the flowers and contrasting with the deep purple of her dress. The photo has been taken in a studio setting. Her makeup and hair are quite understated apart from her pink lips, the outfit and make up are all indexical signs of Katy Perry and her girly, cute and fun image. However her pink lipstick can still be quite alluring and her short dress keeps her target audience slightly older (older teenage girls). However she does look very attractive in this image so it could also appeal to some men who enjoy her music. I believe the house style of this magazine is pink. There is no free CD included. There is a PUFF in the bottom right hand corner.

The masthead has been placed at the top of the screen. It included primary colours (red,yellow, blue) and black to avoid clashes with the bright pink background. The font is san serif this makes it easy to read and easily recognizable as a 'Billboard' magazine. Again breaking the convention of not obstructing the masthead has again been broken by placing Katy Perry's head in front of the 'bo' however in this case it is effective because it enables Katy Perry to appear more 3D as it puts the masthead in the background and the subject in the foreground.  

How this post has influenced my creativity and planning: 

I like the use of pink and purple as complimentary colours, it creates a more feminine appearance and will therefore attract my female target audience.
How