Textual analysis- Propaganda magazine

Propaganda was the longest running & best-loved gothic subculture magazine in the USA & probably the world, dealing with gothic & darkwave music, fashion, nightlife, BDSM & fetish & counterculture. The logo for the magazine was the Totenkopf, or death's head, a skull symbol made famous by the SS & the controversial leftist neofolk band Death in June. This flirtation with fascistic imagery is a trademark of gothic counterculture, provoking controversy, confusion & misunderstanding for those not in the know & acting as a bold statement to those in. This marks the magazine out immediately as something against the mainstream & only for those in the know, intimidating & putting off those not. The coverlines are very short & snappy & would probably be incomprehensible to people who were unfamiliar with the context. 'Bauhaus' to a casual observer would either mean the German design school or just a strange German word, but to members of the Goth subculture it is the name of the first trad. Goth band & one of the most important bands for the subculture. The Cult is more obviously the name of a band, but maybe one that a casual onlooker would not be familiar with. 'Hanoi Rocks' could be referring to the city of Hanoi being very vibrant, but it is actually the name of a Finnish glam-metal band in this context. The smaller coverlines running up the side of the main image are similarly ambiguous to a casual observer, as Tones on Tail would probably not be known by most casuals, neither would Einstuerzende Neubaten (here shortened to Neubaten), a German industrial band. Then the coverlines diverge into features other than bands & into subjects important to goths: Berlin club nights, New York style & fashion (presumably gothic fashion). The main image itself is a typical Prop cover, with an androgynous male model sporting a deathhawk & dramatic, almost Kabuki-style makeup, kissing a mirror in a club bathroom (an environment familiar to goths). 

Textual Analysis on Bizarre Magazine

Bizarre is an alternative subculture monthly magazine aimed at adults (18+) in alternative subcultures. Most covers of Bizarre are adorned with very risque images of partially clothed women with large breasts, usually with fetish & latex style clothing, as the BDSM & fetish subculture is catered for in this magazine (the only mainstream magazine to do so), but that is not relevant to my project as I am aiming for ages 15+ so prefer my cover stars to be clothed, hence why I chose this issue where Kat von D is the covergirl. She is dressed in relatively gothic clothing, so this cover looks more like what I will be going for with my own work. The puffs all contain names of people likely to be known by people in alternative subcultures, such as Kat von D, Jonothan Ross, Nikki Sixx & Chuck Palahniuk, so they immediately draw the eyes to these names & the small descriptions of their contributions, which makes the viewer (probably interested in at least one of these names) want to look inside & then buy the magazine. Lots of reds are used, so the black of Kat's hair & outfit stands out more, especilly against the off-white background. Many members of alternative subcultures are interested in body modifications (tattoos, piercings, scarification, implants etc) so the top line of the cover being about tattoos, leading to the large image of Kat (one of the most famous tattoo artists today) would immediately interest anyone interested in body mod. The pictures & the puffs surround the image of Kat tightly, but not so much so that they distract the viewer to annoyance. 

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Sexuality representation in TV- Hardware episode series 2 episode 5 'Tony Two-Ways'

This episode of Hardware deals with the main characters' reactions to the notion that their student part-timer, Steve, might be bisexual. The way this notion weaves itself into their consciences is through the introduction of Steve's very camp friend Zack, whom the rest of the team immediately assume to be Steve's boyfriend. Rex, the elderly manager of the DIY shop, instantly starts behaving strangely, as he has very old-fashioned & ignorant homophobic views, which puts him at odds with Mike & Kenny who are a bit surprised & think it is funny to wind Steve up about his sexuality, but are generally supportive. Rex is immediately rude to Zack & doesn't want to shake his hand, but Kenny is very welcoming & intrigued by this strange alternative form of masculinity who is in contrast to the DIY store's usual hard gruff manly clientele. After Zack leaves, Steve avoids the gaze of his co-workers & makes an offhand comment attempting to condemn the flamboyance of his friend, which the others who instantly brush off. later, in the cafe, Steve is defensive & Kenny & Mike try to calm him down, but Rex starts spouting homophobic nonsense, which is condemned by the other men, showing the creators of the show think homophobia is laughable & not a viewpoint to be taken seriously.

Race representation in TV-Glue

The representation of Romany travellers in the first episode of Glue shows them to be segregated & mistrustful of the rest of the town. The Romany police officer is regarded with suspicion by both the Romany camp, her police peers & her ex-classmates. She does not fit in with the travellers because she has conformed to the standards & way of life of the townspeople, but she does not fit in with the townspeople as she is racially different to them, who are 'White-British' mostly. 

Age representation in films

In Harry Brown, the character of Harry, a pensioner, is shown at the beginning of the film to be weak, lonely, disapproving of the youth & content to keep to his more old-fashioned ways. It starts him off as a stereotypical pensioner, showing the dated décor of his tiny flat,  his cleanliness & his collection of old family photos & artefacts. As the film progresses, these stereotypes give way to others, such as the stereotype of the elderly having a stronger sense of ethics & justice, as he decides to take the law into his own hands to punish the youths who killed his friend & terrorised his estate. He turns down the prospect of sleeping with a vulnerable young woman & even kills her captors & takes her to hospital with no expectation of reward or gratitude, showing his old-fashioned high morals, which contrast with the loose & low morals of the young people around him. The violent acts Harry commits are not a usual part of the representation of the elderly, but his high morals certainly are.

Analysing magazine covers- i-D

This is a cover for i-D magazine, iconic cutting-edge style magazine which has been around since the 1980's. The target audience for this is mixed, mostly being made up of cool, hip arty fashion students from class E but probably coming from A & B class families, A & B class designers, more alternative style socialites of any gender & those who want to be like them, & finally devotees of i-D who may buy it purely for the name.
I can tell this because i-D covers rarely have more than a couple of coverlines, & if they do, like this one, they are simply names of people & bands that the audience will have probably heard of (or will want to know about if they don't already) rather than any clue as to what the contributions made by these names are, which shows the power of the masthead, as the i-D brand will sell regardless of a forewarning of the content.
The main image is a close-up photo of Lily Cole, an actress, model & animal rights campaigner. Her expression is quite mysterious, as if she is about to say something. This would invite the reader to buy the magazine to find out what she was going to say. She is very beautiful, but not a regular style of beautiful, as are most of the i-D cover stars. This is why her face does not appeal to the vast majority of people under B class, as their aesthetic tastes will be less refined & more suited to the regular beauty of more mainstream celebrities.
The main coverline is simple, being in a smart, uniform font all in lowercase, but being an eye-catching bright green. The line itself, 'supernature' is a reference to a 1977 disco cult-classic song by Cerrone, imagining a future where industrial reliance & wastage of chemicals creates dangerous mutant creatures. This is relevant to Lily Cole as she is very anti-chemical, advertising cruelty-free & natural cosmetics. Regular readers of i-D would probably understand this reference & appreciate the connection.
The yellow roses which are partially obscuring her face also have connotations of raw, natural danger, as they are beautiful but still have thorns, like Lily herself, who is a model but will also vehemently defend her beliefs & fight for her causes. The yellow colour of the roses connotes summer & happiness, as does the bright green writing. In fact, all the colours are vibrant & alive, from Lily's ginger hair & red lips to bright green text & yellow roses, showing that the audience of i-D wants to feel vibrant & alive; they want to feel as if they are part of the stylish scene that i-D is a gateway to, & that they themselves are just as exciting as the people in the magazine.