Double Page Spread Analysis 1 & 2 – Kerrang!
Representation of gender & star: Both of these ‘Kerrang!’ double page spreads feature a female band member/artist as their main image and article. This is extremely rare for this genre of music because women are very often seen as a minority within the rock scene. Amy Lee featured on the first double page spread is displaying a black outfit, black hair, gothic jewelry iconography which all adhere the typical conventions of rock music and ‘rock stars’. Whereas, Tay Jardine on the second double page spread is displaying a much more female ‘mainstream’ outfit which alternatively, does subvert the ‘rock star’ conventions that are expected to be seen by the audience. They are both represented positively but they are represented in different ways wearing different iconography and displaying a different attitude to the audience. Additionally, the female icons may attract males to the read the magazine through the ‘male gaze’ theory by Mulvey.
Audience: Both of the above ‘Kerrang!’ double page spreads attract a very similar audience. ‘Kerrang!’ as an institution tend to appeal to a young teen/student audience or a lower class C2DE social group. These different audiences are attracted through the design and layout of the pages and also through the chosen house style that has been displayed. The colours used on the first double page spread pictured above are predominantly pink. white and black which partly adhere to the typical conventions of rock music but the bright colours primarily attract a young teen audience. Similarly, with the second double page spread the colour pallet used is pink, yellow, blue, white and black which subvert the conventions of rock music because they are extremely bright and vibrant and again they attract a teen/young audience. Additionally, the images are of young band members from recent or well-known bands this therefore attracts a younger audience or adults of a lower working class. One may suggest, the reason the ‘Kerrang!’ double page spreads above attract a lower social group of C2DE is because of the use of language which is very simple and can be slightly colloquial.
Lifestyle: The above ‘Kerrang!’ double page spreads represent the lifestyle of the band members/artists to the audience. Both articles show images of the female ‘rock stars’ with their band members this represents their band lifestyle and one may argue, that it suggests how they travel around the world touring and playing gigs and concerts. Secondly, when the lifestyle of the ‘rock stars’ is being displayed and presented to the audience it aspires them to be like these different musicians/artists. It inspires them to attend different gigs and concerts and also changes the way they want to dress and present themselves on a daily life.
Genre Representation: Both of the double page spreads above represent the rock music genre. Additionally, the first double page spread includes a lot of black and white within the colour pallet and house style which adheres the conventions of rock music. Also, the costume, hair style and colour, jewelry, and other band members within the secondary image all show the iconography of typical ‘rock stars’. Moreover, the second double page spread, subvert the typical conventions of rock music because the house style and iconography does not adhere the typical iconography displayed. Although the way in which this ‘Kerrang!’ double page spread does represent the rock genre is through the subject matter of the article and also through the language shown e.g. ‘Pop Punk…’ which is typically about hard rock music.
emilyyharrison 