Magazine Audience's

Magazine Audience's

                   

http://www.allure.com/

I choose Allure for my magazine. The primary focus of the magazine is beauty and fashion.  The cover of the April edition magazine features current pop star Nicki Minaj. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicki_Minaj the cover of the magazine also features several captions for article in the magazine, such as Anti-Aging Surprises, Good-Mood manicures, Drop 5 years in 5 Minutes, and lush hair. The magazine is very colorful, from the cover page to the contents. I would say the magazine is targeted towards 20's and 30's age range. While flipping through the magazine I was met with a variety of topics. I admit almost all were based on beauty products or fashion. I did however find some interesting articles that were about self-improvement.

Now a lot of people could look at the cover of the magazine and make a snap judgment that it’s just another fashion magazine that tells you how to look and dress and how to mold yourself into a version of the latest celebrity. I admit to thinking the same thoughts. I was surprised when flipping through the magazine that there were hardly any pictures or stories about celebrities except the cover story on Nicki Minaj.  The articles consisted mostly of the lasted nail styles (black polish is back in) and the latest fashion (animal print is still in) there was a large focus on how to look younger and how to improve your skin. Perhaps it was just this issue.

To be honest this was the first time I had read the magazine. And I was refreshed. It had a rather wholesome appeal to it (I can only speak for the April issue) and wasn’t bogged down by innuendo, or celebrity media. Allure was a light easy read. The link above allows you to access the website which is in a similar format as the magazine. While looking through the magazine I asked myself the following questions:

·         What is the overall overt message(s) that the magazine conveys?  In other words, what does the magazine tell its readers directly about who they should be and what they should do and/or own?

The overall message was about beauty and fashion and how to improve in those particular areas. The focus was on hair, skin and nails

·         What values are being expressed by the elements of the magazine? In what ways are those values expressed? (For instance what does it say if all the people in the magazine illustrations are slim and beautiful?)

The value of the magazine is based on the outward appearance, basically looking younger and trendier. There was however some articles about personal growth that expounded on the benefits of discipline and how it can benefit your lifestyle.

·          Do the implied values complement or conflict with the overt message? In what ways?

The articles about personal growth complimented the overall message of beauty and fashion. It was a reflection that inner beauty is still important. However the main point of the magazine is to improve one’s appearance, the values stated by the magazine are just that. There is a straightforward message that the magazine is conveying, and there isn’t room for much confusion.