This is the first analysis of a magazine as part of my AS course and I done this task in the hope that I can analysis the conventions of a magazine to make it easier as and when I create my own magazine.
Evolution of Britney Spears
Britney Spears has been framed as the centre of the magazine, the centre of the reader’s attention; all the other puffs of the magazine are positioned around her. The type of shot used is a high angle mid shot; this image has been used to highlight her fantastic figure and good looks. This type of shot you would see featured in a ‘lad mag’ such as Zoo and Nuts.
Britney's costume in this image suggests that she is trying to break free of her innocent school girl image this is suggested as she is wearing a school girl like white blouse and the buttons are all open which makes the implication she is trying to ‘open up’
The props used in this image convey her innocent school girl image through the use of the prop of a telly tubby doll and she is on the phone which is another suggestion that she is trying to break free from her innocence as a connotation of this is that she is on the phone to boys.
The setting of the image is the bed in which she is laying on connotes that she is trying to prove that she is not an innocent little girl anymore as she is seen lying on the bed in a provocative manner
The intertextual reference being made in this image are; that she is a young girl through the use of the telly tubby doll however through her school shirt being open to imply that she isn’t as innocent as people make out.
The colours used in this are in contrast with each other as the dark colours such as the pink and black suggest Britney's emerging sexuality whilst the white school shirt makes reference to her first music video where she was represented as childlike and innocent
Britney Spears has been framed differently in this magazine. More sexual references are made in this image as this photo reveals Britney's voluptuous curves to an extent where the puffs have been positioned to fit around her bum. A long shot has been used to show her from her bum upwards.
Britney’s costume and pose suggest that she has broken free from her innocence completely. Her underwear are now shorter and more revealing than last time and the shirt she appeared to be wearing open in the previous magazine is now taken off and she is holding it, she also isn’t wearing a bra. This suggests that she wants a more desirable relationship with her audience
The setting of the image seems as if she is standing between two walls which suggest that she may be being trapped through her by the media and may be isolated as a result of her crazed fans and increasing media attention.
The lighting in this image is high key and this effect has been added to the photo to highlight Britney's body.
The colours used in this magazine cover are mostly whites and this is a contradiction to the general idea and connotation of white representing purity and innocence.
The reason that this image has been used is quite significant to its title. At the time of the shoot for this image, Britney is said to have been in the prime of her phenomenal career, in addition the photo has been edited to black and white in order to create a dull, depressed, low key atmosphere, also due to this photo being taken when Britney was at her highest point and the black and white effect connotes that all the life has been drained out of her with the colour being metaphoric to her reputation, name and fame.
The photo has been cropped and framed in this way as the audience are intended to only see Britney’s face for this reason a close up shot has been used. This has been used because it supports the article of Britney in this magazine, a close up on Britney’s life. Also the image on the cover is at a slightly low angle so that Britney’s eyes make her look quite sad and depressed. Furthermore a direct mode of address which is used in this image suggests that she is crying out to the audience, suggested by the look in her eyes and her emotion.
The image suggests that Britney wants to have a closer relationship with her audience; almost as if she was ‘crying out to them’ to an extent the photo evokes sympathy and empathy from its audience as if she were something to pity supported by the mise-en-scene of the photo, the use of the black and white effect creates a depressed mood which evokes more empathy. The image has been supported by its title as the word tragedy connotes that something bad has occurred and the context that it has been used in suggests the Britney from a few years back who everyone saw as a beautiful, talented singer’s career has taken a turn for the worst.
Whilst doing this research, I learnt how certain celebrities images and mise en scene are constructed differently in music magazines and how the star is portrayed to give off different connotations. This will help me in producing my own music magazine as I now know how to construct a magazine to portray a certain theme.
