Elles Structure and Content: Multimedia Engagement with Audiences - Essay Example

Elle’s Structure and Content: Multimedia Engagement with Audiences The content of a magazine provides an object of shared attention for many as well as topics of conversation. As stated by Saner (2010), women magazines have become one of the most resilient print Medias. In support of quality, Cronin (2005) argues that the structure and content of the magazine provides the potential for a diverse range of stories of coherence. Stories of the female time/space of reading pleasure and relaxation legitimised through the magazines. They also provide the potential for the relation of female viewers’ self-image to the images of femininity offered to them. Female fashion magazines contents influence millions of women. They influence their values, beliefs, and behaviours. The images in these magazines serve as woman-to-woman socialising agents Elle is one of the market leaders in the mass print media. Elle magazine is stylish, and that stylishness is appealing to its target audience – women. The female viewers of the magazine can enjoy the glamour of high fashion products that they think might transform their female gendered bodies into an ideal. According to Thompson et al. (1999), people have a tendency of assessing themselves on various criteria such as physical attractiveness. They compare themselves to gender-specific ideals communicated to them by both the visual and print media. Elle’s representation of the ideal female body as beautiful influences the body shape women desire and strive to achieve. Elle magazine has used celebrities such as Blake Lively. Blake Lively’s display of pregnant women styles may be very appealing to women who are pregnancy and who are aspiring. Elle presents Blake’s pictures both before giving birth and four months after giving birth. Blake acts as a powerful role model for pregnant women to emulate, and her idealised images can be regarded as prototype used by pregnant women to evaluate their looks. Each and every page in Elle constructs what women expect. Winkler and Caroline (2012) argue that women’s magazines form an imaginary community that ties women together, particularly women who spend much time alone, at home, or with children. For example, the story cited above about Blake Lively is a good example of what pregnant women might like or expect. Every pregnant expects to be back in the shape she was in before pregnancy. As observed by Nash (2014), a primary concern for pregnant women often centres on whether they will regain their pre-pregnancy body shape. The current cultural norms are that a woman should bounce back to her body weight and shape after giving birth. These cultural norms are targeted at women during pregnant and have emanated from moral panics around maternal obesity and the circulation of celebrity mothers who have bounced back from pregnancy with little evidence of childbearing left on their bodies. In Elle, a good example of celebrity mothers bouncing back is Blake’s case. Women find ‘regaining control of the body’ following childbirth empowering to the extent that all women make it their goal. Blake’s pictures display is directed to the pregnant female audience. Elle magazine presents an over-killed emphasis upon the physical beauty of women. Some of the titles and messages accentuate the female physical body. Through the use of women photographs, Elle magazine reinforces assumed linkages between women’s physical appearance and their feelings of self-worth. Every woman dreams of an ideal body type. Even the society expects them to have ideal body types. Such social pressures induce women to look for every resource that they could get help. Elle’s magazine seems to identify this need, and it has used various stories and pictures to satisfy this need. There is a wide usage of female beauty in the form of photographs and pictures by advertisers to sell their products to women. Marchbank and Letherby (2014) argue that the presentation of women’s images in media has very real consequences. These images present what women would desire to be even when some expectations seem unrealistic. These authors further argue that, women’s magazines shape women’s lives and expectations at every stage of their lives. Elle provides a variety of other titles and images of women. Most of them are empowering to women. The intention of the authors is to appeal to as many women as possible. For example, a title, “Bruce Jenner: I’m a woman” is itself attractive to any woman even before they read what the story contains. Other ways in which the content in Elle is appealing to women audience is through a display of fashion items. These include clothes, stories that women find attractive such as weddings, dressing codes, adverts that appeal to women, fashion items, and love stories. Another captivating title is the “Beyonce’s anti-aging secrets are now yours for the taking” (Elle, April 23) In one instance, Elle combines the issue of marriage and fashion. Both aspects are very appealing to women. Elle presents “30 Dresses under $350 to Wear to Your Best Friend’s wedding.” (April 18). The introductory section of this story talks about “a jewel-tone frock” and “a floral dress” for the ones who are ‘feeling girlish’. The magazine also presents another love story, “Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s love story now immortalised in a fancy clutch” adding that it is one of the greatest love story of all time (Elle, April 18). What a magazine offers in terms of structure and content must resonate with the expectations of women who buy and read them, or simply would not make sense. For a magazine to be popular, it requires acceptability among its target audience. Women buy these magazines with love and beauty myth, and they have to do this if the magazine content and structure is to be meaningful. The above story in Elle is structured in a mythically appealing way. The introduction is structured in a way that Kim Kardashian represents the ‘princess’ and Kanye West represents the ‘prince’ in the story of the ‘prince and the frog’. Women find such stories appealing especially when they talk about their role celebrities. Women find such stories inspiring. Weisser (2013) observes that the story “of finding or being chosen by the right guy still has enormous power over many women’s lives. Most romantic stories in both visual and print media seem to target female audiences more than they do male females. Elle (April 19 and 21) also features articles about marriage, “4 Sites that make being a bridesmaid more bearable”, “12 short dresses for the alternative bride’ and “The best in spring bridal gowns”. These articles may be very appealing to potential and aspiring brides. The content that denote masculine or feminine is based on various codes in the image. These codes are mainly culturally familiar and recognizable. The ideological concept that is imbedded in a photograph or story does not produce new knowledge about the target audience, but instead the recognition of the world as people have learned to perceive it. The photographs and stories in Elle frame the template within how it conducts its gender discourse. Currently, the beauty culture has become an important symbol for female identity. Elle has increased adverts’ visibilities which are greatly legitimised by the presence of celebrities. These actresses play a crucial role in constructing female publicity based on today’s consumption ideology. Elle’s content and structure entice the female audience to buy the magazine because they aspire to be fashionable. Elle’s pictures play on women’s aspirations to look fashionable like Kim Kadarshian. On April 18, Elle featured a story and photo display titled, “10 styles to look instantly slimmer.” In this feature, Harper’s Bazaar demonstrates to the audience how they can flatter their figure in summer using strategic outfit choices and basic styling tricks. In one of these styles, the details about the outfit states, “The hourglass shape gives the illusion of a thinner waist, hiding imperfections” (Elle, April 22). The wit of the display and details is based upon the focus on the model’s thinness. Elle is focused on selling “sexy” construction and slenderness to its women audience. Other features of Elle include lifestyles, articles on celebrity women, horoscopes, and many women contributions all which are appealing to women readers. The pictures titled, “Models of all sizes take on summer’s sexiest swim” are directed to women who aspire to have athletic and “sexy” bodies. Elle captures the images of models in their swimsuits lying on the beach. The content and narrative structure of Elle magazine reinforces the message in that magazine about what women want (beauty and fashion); how they might get it; how to overcome various dislikes (weight, misshaped features, age) through buying products and services. For those women who are desperate and with serious love and romantic issues, Elle offers advice in “Life & Love” section. For example, Elle (April 22) feature titled, “I’m a self-made woman….with class anxiety” talks about a woman’s fall from high class status to low class status and how one can cope. The online version of this story is well structured because it gives the audience an opportunity to contribute. Another one on the same issue titled, “Ask E. Jean: What’s the proper etiquette for a girl’s night” E. Jean offers advice to women on how they should carry themselves during a night out. As stated by Long and Wall (2011) popular media maximises its audiences through the content and structures of their materials. Popular media continues to target women through displaying and discussing a thinner body (but physically fit) image to be ideal for women. This is how popular media produces its female audiences. Elle has been excellent in producing its audiences through the use of content and quality. The above review of Elle has shown that multimedia production can aid in engaging the audiences. However, Sennett (2008) criticises the vague manner in which they carry too much romantic baggage to the audiences in the name of engaging them. He further argues that these messages tend to rest upon mythical ideas, which often embrace contradictory logics. Becker (2006) also argues that audiences make unusual choices based on the availability possibilities offered to them by the media. However, there are several constraints that impinge on successful multimedia production such as software and design expertise, financial, and legal constraints (Sivek and Townsend, 2014). The ones who are particularly affected by these constraints are the small and upcoming publishers who cannot afford to put up sophisticated tools and machines. Such structure and content as Elle’s requires huge resources because of various reasons. First, as it has been observed uses the services of celebrities and models. A multimedia house must have enough resources to pay these celebrities for their services. It has become apparent that magazine producers must employ the services of these celebrities so that they can maximise their ability to reach their target audiences. There are also numerous legal constraints that a company must overcome, especially magazines that focus on people. For example, Elle has carried out a story about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. In order to carry out such stories, they are legal requirements that a media company has to fulfil. References Becker, H. 2006. The work itself. In Art from start to finish: jazz, painting, writing, and other improvisations. London: University of Chicago Press. Cronin, A. 2005. Advertising and Consumer Citizenship: Gender, Images and Rights. London: Routledge Elle Magazine. Available from http://www.elle.com/ Long, L. and Wall, T. 2012. Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context. London: Routledge Marchbank, J. and Letherby, G. 2014. Introduction to Gender: Social Science Perspectives. Oxon: Routledge. Nash, M. 2014. Reframing Reproduction: Conceiving Gendered Experiences. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Sennett, R. 2008. The craftsman. London: Allen Lane. Sivek, S. and Townsend, A. 2014. Opportunities and Constraints for Independent Digital Magazine Publishing. Journal of Magazine & New Media Research, 15(1), pp. 1-19. Thompson, J. K., Heinberg, L. J., Altabe, M., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (1999). Sociocultural theory: The media and society. In J. K. Thompson (Ed.), Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment, and treatment of body image disturbance (pp. 85 – 124). Washington: American Psychological Association Winkler, B. and DiPalma, C. 1999. Teaching Introduction to Womens Studies: Expectations and Strategies. Westport: Greenwood Publishing. Weisser, S. 2013. The Glass Slipper: Women and Love Stories. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. Read More