In a digital world, print magazines have little appeal. To what extent do you agree with this statement? You should refer to the magazine Close Study Product Men’s Health to support you answer. [25 marks]

Media products often challenge the social and cultural contexts in which they are created. To what extent does an analysis of the Close Study Product Men’s Health support this view? [25 marks]

Men’s Health takes a reactionary stance on the social and cultural contexts in which it’s created, rather than challenging it. This can be seen through Steve Neale’s genre theory where he, to paraphrase, says that genre is structured around a variety of elements that attract audiences based on their expectations. Men’s Health, a male lifestyle magazine, displays a paradigm of signs relating to the stereotypical idea of masculinity. For example, on the front page, the dominant signifier is the iconic sign of well-known actor, Vin Diesel. By presenting a muscular, heterosexual male in a powerful stance, the magazine implies that this is the standard for manliness and that all men should aspire to look like this. The dominant signifier also relates to David Gauntlett’s Identity Theory, in which there are four types of identity: collective, constructive, negotiated, and fluid. Men’s Health emits a collective identity where Vin Diesel is the expected standard for healthy men and a constructive identity where people create their identity around the magazine’s influence.

Lazarfeld’s Two-Step Flow Theory in which opinion leaders pass their interpretations of mass media to others. In this instance, Vin Diesel is the ‘opinion leader’ who people will actively choose to follow and listen to, and by being situated on the front cover of Men’s Health, he influences his ‘opinion followers’ to read the magazine.