Semiological Analysis

In this essay I intend to look at two magazine covers aimed at the adult female market one magazine, Marie Claire, is aimed at heterosexual females the other, Diva, at lesbian females. Now in order to make that simplistic statement I have already used semiotic information, for Diva the sub title "For the lesbian in you" was enough to give me a pointer, sorry signifier, in the right direction. For Marie Claire I relied upon my wife.

The semiotic analysis I shall offer, will not include certain items which I have predetermined to be conventional, unless they subvert that convention in order to make a point. These items are the magazine titling, (not the name) the bar coding and the contents list, or titillations, on the front cover. I fully realise that there is a whole world of semiotic information contained therein but for the purposes of this essay I will not deal with any of these unless they directly affect the main topic of the analysis, which is to be the front cover imagery.

I will attempt to apply some semiotic concepts to both of the front cover images to try to support what it is that we are meant to draw from them and then hopefully deconstruct these to show whether or not they work. I will deal with each cover in turn with some comparisons and then hopefully go into a comparison which supports my deconstruction.

In order to make us want to purchase, buy, own, acquire something, advertisers rely on the fact that we aspire to be like that which it is we seek to purchase. Or like others, the product says, who use it. In the case of magazines a persons magazine rack reflects their aspirations, not necessarily actual lifestyle. The magazine cover's job is twofold, one, to arouse interest in a casual viewe...

... middle of paper ...

...al ones, to decode the visual images to see if they work.

A hegemonic reading of the Marie Claire cover does not produce the preferred reading because the second order of signification is incorrectly coded. Whilst understanding what the preferred reading of the Marie Claire cover is supposed to be, one cannot take an oppositional stance or a negotiated stance because the code is flawed. The same hegemonic reading of the Diva cover, correctly coded, produces the preferred reading.

References

Pease, Allan (1986): Body Language London: Sheldon Press

Chandler, Daniel (2002): Semiotics The Basics London: Routledge

Fiske, John (1996): Introduction to Communication Studies London: Routledge

http://www.musiclinks.nl/songteksten/Peter_Sarstedt/7124.html 29th Dec 2002

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze11.html 30th Dec 2002

January 2003