The Big Issue
The Big Issue is a magazine that tackles world issues such as poverty by spreading awareness and collecting donations through merchandise. They also follow pop culture and have several stories concerning popular TV shows, giving them a wide spectrum of things they make stories out of; with serious stories about global crisis and less serious but equally viewed articles about topics such as Doctor Who. Their shop does not only sell t-shirts encouraging the world to be saved, but they also sell things that people would like to buy such as socks and cat mugs in order to gain more money and collect more for those living on the streets and in poverty. The Big Issue also like to get feedback from their audience, demonstrating that they care about publishing what the people want to see, and so if more needs to be spoken about regarding homelessness, they will do so. The artwork sold on their merchandise website can be considered controversial, with some art pieces containing Donald Trump and their slogan being 'shopping with a social echo'. Launched in 1991, The Big Issue has the purpose of dismantling poverty and can be bought for £1.25 and then sold for £2.50, giving the vendors a chance to start a career, which can be helpful dependant on their life situation. They are a non-profit organisation that has a circulation of 80,000 magazines sold weekly.
A magazine is a periodical publication containing a collection of articles targeted at entertaining or informing a particular audience. They share some of their characteristics with newspapers, however magazines are: Usually printed on high quality paper, Usually stapled or bound, Published weekly/monthly/quarterly.
Front covers in magazines are vitally important as a shop window, it is the first part of the publication that the reader will see. Therefore it must do the following:
Indicate who the magazine is intended for, appealing to the attention of the audience.
Indicate the type of magazine it is
Help the magazine stand out from its
competitors, by conveying a clear sense of brand.
The Big Issue magazine was launched in 1991 with the aim of transforming the lives of London's homeless through it’s mantra “a hand up not a hand out”
The
magazine is often referred to as a street newspaper. It supports the homeless and those seeking to
escape poverty. Vendors buy the magazine
for £1.25 and sell it for £2.50. The Big
Issue has helped over 100,000 people since it began.
The Big
Issue reader
is likely to be
•University Educated
•Be interested in politics and popular and
high culture
•Have a limited disposable income
•Want to help make a difference to the
society we live in
The
front covers, and content must attract this type of reader (Audience). The use of media language and representations
it constructs must also appeal to the reader in order to insure that the street
vendors can sell each issue and make money.
People become homeless for lots of different reasons. There are social causes of homelessness, such as a lack of affordable housing, poverty and unemployment; and life events which cause individuals to become homeless.
People
can become homeless when they leave prison, care or the army with no home to go
to. Many homeless women have escaped a violent relationship.
Many
people become homeless because they can no longer afford the rent.
As for many, life events like a relationship breaking down, losing a job, mental or physical health problems, or substance misuse can be the trigger. Being homeless can , in turn, make many of these problems even harder to resolve.
James Bowen was a recovering heroin addict who was busking and living on the street, he was also a vendor of the big issue. Bob the street cat found James and they became inseparable, James then proceeded to get books and films out of his heartwarming story of how Bob saved his life and he saved Bob's. In this article the colour stands out in a bright pink to not only reflect the love connotations between the pair, but also visually attract a reader. The main image of Bob the cat gains the sympathy of a reader immediately due to how cute he is, and the pictures surrounding him suggest all the cat has achieved, with the global suggesting he has become a worldwide story and a household name. The angle of the image is looking up to Bob, to reflect how James Bowen looks at him and therefore how the world should see him. The font is all sans-serif to demonstrate that it is a serious story and isn't just a cute cat named Bob. The colour at the bottom of the cover is bright yellow to emphasise how exclusive the article, in order to gain buyers.
Right wing media tabloids such as the Sun, the Daily Mail and the Daily Express regularly portray the poor/working class as scroungers, irresponsible and feckless.
Representation refers to the representation of an issue, event, social group or person from the particular point of view of the person who constructs the representation. Common representations in the magazine industry tend to support the dominant social group, as they are usually the media owners and producers. This means that the media representations often serve to reinforce the social status quo, so that those considered to be in minority or subordinate groups remain stuck in those social roles. This links to Gramsci’s theory of hegemony and consequently the poor are often marginalised since they have little agency (power) over the middle class and elites who are the dominant voice in society.
The Big Issues is a charity that, through the magazine aims to help those who are marginalised in society and subsequently misrepresented or under represented in the mainstream media. It aims to provide a platform for social issues that are of national and global importance. However the magazine owners (hegemony) and target audience can be seen to fall into this dominant group in that they are white, male, middle class and middle aged. This suggests that the Big Issue is unlikely to offer complex representations that possibly both challenge and support those seen in mainstream magazines.
Hamilton summary: Hamilton is the story of immigrants and how Alexander Hamilton became a founding father
How does a bastard, orphan son of a whore
And a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean
By providence, impoverished, in squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
The 10 dollar
Founding father without a father
Got a lot farther by working a lot harder, by being a lot smarter
By being a self-starter, by 14 they placed him in charge of a trading charter
And everyday while slaves were being slaughtered and carted away
Across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up
Inside he was longing for something to be a part of
The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow or barter
Then a hurricane came, and devastation reigned
Our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain
Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain
And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain
Trump's opinion on immigration and immigrants- during his speech a man held up a sign reading 'immigrants built America' which gained public attention for a while during the speech, but Trump ignored the sign and continued slandering immigrants and saying that they are criminals that bring drugs into the country illegally.
Issues: mental health; Trump's political ability; the impact of US culture and politics on the UK
Meltdown has a triple meaning in the big issue, with the denotation of the July 2018 heatwave causing ice cream to melt, mental health issues subsequently resulting in people having meltdowns and the idea created that Trump caused the UK to collectively meltdown when he visited during the summer. Due to Trump's controversial spreading of fake news as president of the USA, it left everyone in the UK on edge when they discovered that he would be visiting during the heatwave, with the vast majority disliking him and his actions. To assist in the UK's anxiety about his visit, someone made a giant baby Trump that floated outside parliament which reflected everyone's mutual hatred towards him by viewing him as a joke. The big issue played on this in their paper by using an illustration that intended to humiliate the president as well as using his own words of 'fake news' against him to make a mockery of him after his visit as well as adding the features that regarded the 2018 heatwave.
Choices made about how to represent: the decisions made by the producers of the magazine that evidently construct how the viewer interprets it. The big issue's satire and Trump's harsh views suggest that they want to reflect him in a way that will reflect the paper and audience's disliking towards him after his visit. This mutual hatred comes as a result of Trump's capitalist views which suggests that he is very self concerned.
The positive and negative use of stereotypes: Trump is a stereotypical rich white male due to how self centred they are always portrayed to be which he fits the criteria of perfectly. Despite this, due to being the president, he would still receive positive news articles. The big issue does not do this however, instead they openly criticise him and encourage mockery and humiliation.
Social groups who are under-or-misrepresented:
Class- upper class
Age- middle aged
Gender-male
Ethnicity- american and British for the 99p flake
D- mental health issues- anxiety
S- straight white male who plays golf-keep women in toe
Impact of industry contexts on choices producers can make: due to how expensive daily photographers can be (£300-500), it is highly likely that they hired an illustrator instead for that reason. It gives it a more heartfelt and passionate paper, there is a tradition of using satire through cartoons which is most likely why the big issue opted for a funny illustration.
How the media through representation construct versions of reality: the melting ice cream Trump can suggest how on edge he was about visiting the UK due to his awareness that we don't like him- linking the the mental health stuff due to the trip prompting some anxiety about the trip. Due to the melting suggesting that he is anxious, the reader can interpret it as Trump having something to hide or some ulterior motive.
How representations make claims about realism: the pun of 'flake news' can suggest that Trump isn't a good president due to flake having a double meaning of avoiding and missing doing something-which is Trump's case would be an irresponsible thing to do. Also, due to the big issue drawing him like an ice cream, it makes it near impossible to read it and take Trump seriously as a result.
Capitalism- an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.
Individualism- the habit or principle of being independent and self-reliant
Post-modernism- a late 20th-century style and concept in the arts, architecture, and criticism, which represents a departure from modernism and is characterized by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions, a mixing of different artistic styles and media, and a general distrust of theories
Socialism- a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole
Consumerism-
the protection or promotion of the interests of consumes.
Viewpoints and ideology- the big issue is a business that functions to produce money which is invested into employment and poverty. Therefore, they represent a viewpoint that enters mainstream media and openly questions dominant ideologies and dominant group A. Their social agenda tackles issues such as: social welfare, politics, finance, health and the environment. They counter right wing politics, meaning that they focus on creating oppertunities for those less fortunate (dominant members of the big issue are mainly white, middle-aged men); They achieve this with their use of satire.
Audience interpretation of meaning- through media language techniques, the producers of the big issue are able to satirise political figures, issues and events. In order for the satire to be effective, some assumptions must be made about the target audience:
1. The reader will decode meanings in the preffered ways
2. The reader has prior knowledge to understand the refrences made on the front cover
3. The reader shares the same views as the producer
4. The reader enjoys satire and has an interest in the topics discussed (they are left wing)
Social Welfare can be defined as the group of assistance programs designed to ensure the well being of a nation's citizens. In other words, it is a system that aims to provide quality care to society participants. Current affairs are events of political or social interest and importance happening in the world at the present time
David Tennant analysis
Doctor Who research
Doctor Who is a very popular sci-fi drama that has been on television since 2005 when it was re-booted and has since had 11 seasons. The show is about a timelord that goes on adventures with various side-characters in his tardis (a blue telephone box). The doctor has a sonic screwdriver that he uses for various tasks such as opening doors and removing peoples memories. After every few seasons, the doctor regenerates into a new appearance and therefore gets a new actor to play him. Most famous actors that have played the doctor include David Tennant, Matt Smith, Tom Baker and Christopher Eccelson.
"The Doctor doesn't leave you"- this quote said by David Tennant reflects how much the role has changed his life, due to it being what he is most known for. It is a phrase that can be said for both the actors and the viewers, due to Doctor Who being such an unforgettable show, and therefore making Tennant seem more down to earth by sharing the same opinions as the viewers. The quote also means that although Tennant is moving on with his life and his career as an actor playing different roles, there will always be a part of his most famous role that remains with him, as a reminder of how he got to where he is today. What could also be meant by this is that without his role in Doctor Who, he wouldn't have met his wife who also starred in the show, and therefore wouldn't have his children, and so the doctor acts as a reminder of how he built his life and still continues to improve his life, this quote acting as an expression of his gratitude.
The ideologies of the magazine are linked to a social
agenda (where society = communities taking care of the welfare of one another)
Food- published May 26th 2019, this relates to social wellbeing because they are looking at the fast food crisis while also making us aware of the continuous poverty & hunger issues. By stating "how we live now" in an arrow that points to unhealthy take-away food, it shows that the producers of the big issue believe that to make society better something needs to change, which in this case would be less focus of fast-food and more attention on the hunger and poverty happening all around us; suggesting that they deserve better.
The environment- published August 30th 2019, this links to social wellbeing by making the reader aware of the severe damage rubbish and had on our country, suggesting that if something doesn't change the environment will end up paying the price. The main image is rubbish collaged on the UK and demonstrates that the amount of rubbish we send to landfill every day is too much and will kill our country-and therefore we need to make a change.
Politics- published September 16th 2019, this links to social wellbeing because the big issue believe that Boris Johnson is evil and will corrupt the country, therefore they are trying to create awareness to what a monster he is by visually making him appear like one on their front page.
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