//A LEVEL// INDUCTION:Written Task

GQ Magazine, 

Target Audience: Teens-Middle aged men

The main image presented is of the star vehicle, male celebrity David Beckham.  Mise en scene presents David wearing a smart black suit, white shirt and slim black tie. This has symbolic codes of professionalism and is the average outfit of a stereotypical man who works in a high-end office job. This reinforces stereotypes of men, telling the audience that this is what an ideal man looks like. In addition, mise en scene shows him wearing a wedding ring, meaning he’s a married man who most likely goes out to work for his family and “put food on the table”.  Mise en scene shows a mid-shot being used for David, to show not his full posture but what most people would notice of a man. From their head to their waste a man can be judged, and by showing us this, we as the audience see David, the star vehicle, overall as a smartly dressed, hard workingman. Moreover, Mise en scene presents David with tattoos, which tells the audience that underneath the suit is a man, rugged and rule breaking, reinforcing stereotypes of men also. He uses direct address, which connotes bravery and a confident attitude. This works hand in hand with his slight smiling expression.  This is a progressive stereotype, helping men to seem better than most actually may be. There is a pull quote in the far left of the page, saying “Style Bible”. This idolises mean in a godly way, as the authors of this “style bible” are men. And the author of the original bible is god. This isn’t a popular stereotype however it has symbolic codes of women idolising men as creators. This also works with god having been a male. The typography for the masthead is sans serif, connoting neatness and cleanliness. This subverts stereotypes of men, as they are mostly known to be messy and un-hygienic. The gesture of the star vehicle is holding their jacket together, almost attempting to stop anything from inside coming out. This has connotations of men hiding their true selves and their feelings from others to maintain a certain image towards others. This stereotype is regressive, presenting men as shy and eager to hide things from other people.