Institution

Language

Representation

Laura Mulvey talked about “The Male Gaze” which is a theory which relates to media products being produced to appeal to a heterosexual straight male’s viewpoint – PAGE 148 is an example of the male gaze as a strategy to appeal to the male audience. Shows women in the background, posed in a suggestive manner, of the dominant signifier – the man who’s wearing the Givenchy aftershave. This creates an unrealistic representation of reality for impressionable men reading the magazine.

Audience

Stuart Hall – Theory of preferred reading – accepting or rejecting the dominant reading – powerful media producers can enforce their opinions towards cultural minorities to spread their agenda. Men’s health – Some may accept the dominant reading of exaggerated physical features (as shown with the dominant signifier on page 18) and use it as motivation. However, some may reject this and see it as unrealistic expectations to compare themselves to and feel bad about.

James Gerbner – Cultivation theory – the more we as an audience are shown a representation the more we associate it with reality and accept it. This suggests that the audience is passive and it will become mainstream in the media and among an audience.