Music video remake week

 1 - planning

1. Teams
2. Screening 
3. Storyboarding
4. Prop acquisition 
5. Location scouting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ujWUrZTulo

2 - filming

3 - editing

Gender performativity and Zoe Sugg

Judith Butler and gender performativity

Click the title above for an in-depth exploration of gender from the theorist themself!

• Performance is a repetitious and ritualistic act that constructs identity
• There is no gender identity behind these expressions of gender
• Our identity only comes as a result of this performative act
• Gender performativity is the ways in which our performance of gender affects the world around us

Getting Out In The Garden, Morning Routine & Children's Book Recommendations

Sugg's wholesome relationship with her daughter is constructed through MES, an unobtrusive editing style and post production colour grading that all encode 'authenticity'. The combination of codes constructs a hyperreal representation of motherhood. 

• Morning routine, makeup demonstrations and ‘day in the life’ montages are all highly conventional paradigms of the vlog as a genre. Zoella in many ways codified these features, which are now widely used by her competitors. However, more importantly, by presenting a voyeuristic montage of her daily life, Sugg demonstrates her ritualistic gender performance, which in turn performatively influences and constructs her devoted audience. 
• Sugg makes her daughter's beds, reinforcing the ideological perspective that Sugg is fulfilling her duties as a mother. This notion of mum’s even having duties is deeply sexist and patriarchal
• We see her skincare and makeup ritual, which reinforces an ideological perspective that to become hegemonically attractive to to be ready for the day
• She takes the dog out in to the garden, a bland and boring aspect of her routine that reinforces that the function of women in society is to be nurturing and caring
• Through these performances of gender, Sugg performatively encourages her target audience to copy her, thus reinforcing and cultivating an ideological perspective of a perfect and hyperreal mother. This clearly has repercussions for her target audience. 

Applying feminist theory to Zoella

 Liesbet Van Zoonen 

• women’s bodies are used as spectacles in media products. For example, heterosexual women may aspire to Zoella’s beauty standards. She also argues that gender is constructed through codes and media language, and that different genders are constructed in different ways.
• Women’s bodies are used in media products as a spectacle. For example the hegemonically attractive Zoe Sugg provides an aspirational mode of address for her straight female target audience
• Gender is constructed through media language and men and women and other genders are represented completely differently through media language 

bell hooks 

• feminism is for everyone. Intersectional feminism. Different women have different experiences. We should take an active role to challenge to patriarchal society 
• Feminism is for everybody. Different women have completely different experiences of life. 
• Intersectional feminism argues that all people are welcome in feminist discourse, including trans people 
• Feminists should challenge the patriarchy for the benefit of everybody 

Past paper question - Explore how representations in Zoe Sugg/Zoella may position audiences. [15]

My Newborn Favourites & Things I'll Use Again With Baby Number Two | Vlogust Day 20

• “Craters through the nips…”
• “My nipples were wrecked” - Here Sugg talks with absolute openness to her target audience of younger and middle aged women who relate to this representation of becoming a mother. Here Sugg takes the role of a wise mother, teaching her audience and sharing information. By discussing her ‘cratered nips’, Sugg is subverting hegemonic stereotypes of women and motherhood being a perfect and flawless experience. His is in stark contrast tov historical representations of women, they represented motherhood as a perfect and flawless experience
• Sugg’s lexis, ‘craters through the nips’ is highly visual and even potential disgusting, subverting hegemonic expectations of female beauty 
• However, Sugg’s dress DOES reinforce feminine hegemonic beauty stars, as it encodes a stereotypical representation of a mother. The dress is white, which is connotative of purity and innocence, conversely yet another hegemonic expectation of mothers. 
• Sugg’s necklace is pearl, which has connotations of a middle class and middle aged lifestyle. This reinforces Sugg’s middle class lifestyle, which also contradicts her previous representations, for example, as a Primark shopper
• Additionally, this conservative video is radically different from content on Zoella.co.uk that features tutorials on ‘how to squirt’ and reviews of sex toys. 
• This fractured set of representations is clearly postmodern. However, from a more straightforward perspective, Sugg is using conventional and hegemonic representations to conform to and to appeal to a simple and straightforward audience. In doing so, she appeals to her aging audience, and therefore minimises risk and maximises profit.
• This version of motherhood is not relatable to many audiences. The breast pump that she advocates is £250 new, and in combination with all the products that she is using, demonstrates a significant investment. By demonstrating all of these products, Sugg constructs a representation of motherhood as yet another consumerist experience, and an opportunity to buy yet more stuff. Arguably, rather than helping her audience, Sugg is using her platform to manipulate her working class target female audience in to buying things through affiliate links 
• Sugg’s voice takes the tone of a teacher, as someone knowledgeable who wishes to impart her knowledge. This constructs a representation of women being knowledgeable about motherhood and pregnancy, which constructs a highly stereotypical mode of address. 
• The stereotypical MES of Sugg’s dress constructs a hyperreal representation of a mother. For example, the colour white is connotative of innocence, purity, and virginity. This stereotypical construction of motherhood raises an issue, as in order to be a mother usually requires having sex. Additionally, this contradicts Sugg’s previous sex positive image, where on her blog, her team discuss female ejaculation and sex toy review. Not only does this allow active audiences to pick and mix which version of Zoella they wish to engage, it also presents a highly postmodern mode of address. 
• Sugg refers to her cracked and cratered nipples, presenting an unpleasant image for her target audience. This clearly subverts the stereotypical ideology that women’s bodies are used as a sexual spectacle. The lexis ‘my nipples were wrecked’ directly addresses a younger female and potentially mother audience, presenting a realistic and relatable mode of address to an audience who may have gone through this. 
• Previously, motherhood was constructed as a solely positive, yet Sugg constructs motherhood in a more complex and challenging way. Here Sugg constructs a realistic representation of motherhood, which will appeal to her target audience.
• Her very long hair is stereotypically feminine, hegemonically attractive, and constructs a hyperreal representation of women. Her makeup here is natural, and reflects her more mature and older brand identity. 
• The breast pump that Zoella advertises in this video has an RRP of 269 pounds. This is a substantial amount of money for a low income audience. Sugg advocates a consumerist lifestyle, where the audience can become a better mother through buying products. In doing so, she also profits off the fear and anxiety that first time parents face. 
• Zoe Sugg represents  a conservative, ‘trad wife’, representation of motherhood. She is white and middle class, and represents a very particular type of woman. 

Audience responses to Attitude Online

 How does Attitude Online…

…construct and cultivate its audiences?
…meet the needs of its audiences?
…target niche and diverse audiences?

For this activity, all articles were accessed on Tuesday 25th March 2025

Agatha All Along makes Marvel history with first lesbian kiss and fans are loving it

This article about a popular Marvel show focuses not on the narrative or genre conventions, but on the representation of lesbians. Firstly, this article may target a secondary lesbian and bisexual audience, and the number of embedded videos of the kiss seem to suggest. Additionally, the representation of queer people constructs an inclusive and intersectional approach to queer representation

Queer - this previously derogatory term has been reclaimed by some gay audiences, and is now used to represent the broadness of gender identity. 

Hungary bans Pride marches in latest crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights

The headline uses the specific lexis LGBTQ+, which assumes a level of knowledge for the target audience. This article focuses on the suppression of gay people in another country, and constructs a representation of gay people as powerless and vulnerable. There are many other articles that reinforce this representation. Articles such as this meet the needs of a gay audience by providing them with knowledge of the world around them. It imparts a straightforward message that Hungary is nopt accepting to gay people 

LGBTQ+ - Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, etc

Atzaró Agroturismo Hotel: a hidden jewel of serenity at the heart of Ibiza

This travel article constructs an escapist fantasy for the gay target audience of a place where prejudice does not occur. This relaxing and luxurious will appeal to the target audience through it’s appealing MES and middle class mode of address

New investigation uncovers one ambulance call a day due to chemsex in London

Chemsex refers to the practice of taking certain drugs that lower inhibitions increase libido before having sex. Taking hard drugs is very risky, can cause permanent damage, and cause issues in terms of consent. Articles such as this use exclusive lexis that exclusively target the gay community. This article fulfils the need for information.

Billie Eilish blasts questions about sexuality as she confirms: ‘I like boys and girls’

In this article, pop star Billie Eilish questions the needs for labels and sexual identity. This article constructs a complex representation of sexuality that appeals to the target audience by constructing a relatable mode of address for a younger demographic. 

Ian McKellen says it’s ‘silly’ for young actors to stay in closet

Here, veteran actor McKellen provides an experienced voice to the young gay target audience. He uses specific queer lexis such as “stay in the closet”, which refers to hiding one’s sexuality. By encouraging the young gay target audience to ‘come out’, this article constructs a direct mode of address, and also cultivates a positive ideology surrounding being gay

New research shows 75% of queer people ‘don’t consider chemsex a serious issue’

Chemsex refers to the use of hard drugs during sexual intercourse. It is not exclusive to the queer community, but is heavily associated with it. It also raises huge issues with consent. The article discusses the dangers of this, and the issue that a comparatively small number of queer people have heard of it. In this article, gay people are constructed through a social issue and problem, re-presenting gay people as vulnerable and sexually promiscuous. This article is exclusively targeting a queer audience who are aware of this practice.

Scottish party leaders call on government to introduce opt-out HIV testing in A&Es

HIV is a virus historically associated with the gay community. In the 1980s it was particularly affecting of the queer community. Here, being gay is represented as being vulnerable and being associated with tragedy and death 

1 in 5 LGBTQ+ people have been sexually assaulted in LGBTQ+ venues, new data finds

Articles such as this will allow victims of sexual assault to feel heard and represented, and it deals with an important issue. It also spreads awareness and provides the audience with information. Finally, articles such as these cultivate a sense of fear and anxiety to ensure more clicks and engagement.

Bright Light Bright Light to release Enjoy More: Listen to an exclusive track here

This New York based artist is constructed through the MES of rainbow colours, an effeminate pose, a crop top, jewellery, confident expression, his short shorts and his big mustache. His look is very camp and queer coded. This highly stereotypical representation of a gay male pop star cultivates a set of tastes and preferences for the gay male audience. Attitude is therefore constructing an audience who enjoy camp, 80’s style electro pop

Camp - a flamboyant, often ironic and over the top form of expression

Happy New Queer – Attitude’s New Year style guide is here

The lexis ‘queer’ here has been reclaimed and reappropriated by the LGBTQ+ community. Here, it means inclusion, positivity, and happiness. However some audiences may take offense at this. Though the term ‘queer’ is supposed to be intersectional. Yet the fashion in this article is exclusively high end and expensive, assuming the target audience have significant disposable income (the pink pound)

Music videos

This post features a variety of music video recommendations, made by teachers and students. These have been compiled to encourage and inspire you to construct your own music video. There is no one right way to make a music video, but it is very easy to make one that does not look like a music video. 

Please note that several of these videos include adult themes. Be careful!

Dead Weight - Jack Stauber

Dinosaur Jr - Little Fury Things

CITY OF CATERPILLAR - Decider

Dio - Holy Diver

JPEGMAFIA - 1539 N. Calvert

Mount Kimbie - Blue Train Lines

IDLES - POP POP POP

Pissed Jeans - Moving On

Aphex Twin - Donkey Rhubarb

The Body - The Myth Arc

Xiu Xiu - Scisssssssors

Perfume - Spending all my time

my bloody valentine – you made me realise

Pulp - Babies

SOFT PLAY - Act Violently

The Chats - Pub Feed

BaBe - 「Get a Chance!」

Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

Pet Shop Boys - Suburbia

Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind

WINK - 淋しい熱帯魚

Bananarama - Love In The First Degree

Rebecca - Vanity Angel

Isabelle Adjani - Pull marine

Isabelle Adjani - D'un taxiphone

Full of Hell - Doors To Mental Agony

Thou - The Changeling Prince

Zoella - how is identity mediated through digitally convergent media in a postmodern world? BONUS - Postmodern sentences

To use theory at the highest level and to achieve the highest marks possible, a student must explore how theories interact and support each other. This post, built from student responses, explores the following theories and how they all synergistically combine. This is top level stuff! however, since postmodern theory is much of a headache to actually talk about, we also came up with a bunch of snappy one-liners to dump in your exam, which you can find at the end of this post. More and more information but less and less meaning?  It's a Baudrillardian nightmare! 

The three theories that this analysis ends up combining are Stuart Hall's theory that representations re-construct realities, John Baudrillard's theory that reality and meaning is fractured, and Gauntlet's theory that we can take these fractured re-presentations to construct our own identity. 

Before jumping in to things, let's start off with a reminder about what representation is: 

Representation is how a person, issue or event is shown again by the producer of a media product. Representations are always constructed through media language to demonstrate the ideology of the producer. Stuart Hall argued that representations are controlled and constructed by those in power, and that representations construct reality. In this essay, I shall argue that Zoella uses her power and privilege to construct a simple and stereotypical representation of women to minimise risk and maximise profit

Mediation - the process of moderation or control. We can also call this negotiation, or simply picking and mixing.

HUGE Summer Primark Haul | Zoella

• The video consists of a single continuous long take that goes on for a full 25 minutes. A single close up represents Sugg to her target audience. This mundane mode of address constructs a relatable ideology for Sugg’s target audience
• Zoella pulls fashion items out of three huge bags, and presents them directly to the camera. Once this thus mundanity serves a function, not only to promote a relatable ideology, but to allow the active target audience to pick and mix their own identity from this video. By buying these consumer products, her audience aspire to be like her…
• The video makes heavy use of commodity fetishism. Constant close ups of products emphasis their price as opposed to their value as a fashion item. This reinforces a consumerist lifestyle 
• Zoella smiles frequently, constructing a stereotypical and hegemonic representation of a young white woman 
• The lighting is artificial yet resembles natural light. In this sense, we see Sugg using the hyperreal MES of artificial light to construct a representation that is more real that reality itself
• The video encourages a passive audience interaction, and may well be watched in the background.
• Sugg is wearing a low cut, tight fitting black top, constructing a modern and straightforward style. Liesbet Van Zoonen argued that women’s bodies function as spectacle for a heterosexual male audience. However, in Sugg’s videos, the intended audience is clearly young, heterosexual women . Here the function of Sugg’s body is aspirational as opposed to erotic 
• The setting also constructs and anchors a stereotypical representation of women. The nig spongey cushions encode a cosy and comfortable ideology, and suggest the ultimate goal for her target audience, is to live a life of comfort.
• This video lacks any notable binary opposition or form of conflict at all. This constructs a stereotypical representation of women as peaceful, without any conflict, and without any noticeable trace of personality. From this video, all we learn is her materialistic ideology, and complete refusal to engage in conflict.
• The format of the video is under stimulating, yet engaging to the target audience. The target audience is encouraged to position themselves with Sugg, yet the audience is also encouraged to passively consume this video, perhaps leaving it on in the background. In this sense, the video functions as escapism for the target audience. However the brand Primark is affordable for much of the producer’s target audience, making this escapist fantasy very realistic and relatable. 
• Sugg is wearing makeup. The makeup is natural, apart from her eyes, which is conventional for Zoella. Her smile is a key part of her ideology, and constructs a hyperreal representation that she is always happy, reinforcing the hegemonic ideological perspective that in order to be desirable, a woman must smile constantly
• Sugg explicitly and actively shows fashion objects to the camera to form an active relationship with her female target audience
• The MES of Sugg’s costume in this video is revealing. However, it can be argued that the address is not for a heterosexual make audience. Here her body is presented as an aspirational mode of address for her target audience. Sugg is clearly very skinny and therefore reinforces hegemonic values of women’s bodies to her target audience
• Sugg is rich and famous, which conflicts notably with her brand identity of her as a relatable and normal woman. 
• Stuart Hall’s theory of representation argues that only the rich and powerful and privileged own the means of representation

How is Zoella a hyperreal simulacrum of a woman? What aspects of media language re-present her? How is her face, body, hair etc utilised as part of her brand identity?

This is not Zoe Sugg. This is a representation of Zoe Sugg...

Note - in this exercise, we analysed Zoe Sugg's body itself. Which is a little strange. However, Zoe Sugg's appearance is a key facet of her brand identity, and is clearly instrumental in her massive success as a vlogger. 

• Sugg is clearly very hegemonically attractive. Her face and her body are particularly appealing to her increasingly older female target audience. 
• Her features are soft and appealing. Her voice is generally soft and stereotypically feminine which reinforces a hegemonic stereotype of women in general 
• Sugg generally wears a significant amount of makeup. The makeup itself is somewhat natural yet clearly visible, which would appeal to her younger audience demographic. This provides audiences with the aspirational opportunity to emulate her makeup and be like their idol
• Her style at public events is casual and stereotypically feminine. Adopting a conservative style, Sugg is likely to appeal to a conservative and less adventurous target audience (Sugg typically avoids political discussion to avoid alienating her audience)
• Sugg is noticeably very skinny, and therefore potentially is not relatable to her target audience, although she does construct a representation of hegemonic beauty standards. 
• Finally, Sugg constructs a hyperreal representation of white hegemonic beauty and lifestyle standards. She presents a singular and straightforward representation to her predominantly white target audience
• Zoella is famous. She is notable among a certain group of people 
• The MES of Sugg’s hair is straightforward, relatable and yet attainable for her target audience. This is a key aspect of her brand identity 
• Her style is casual ,straightforward and yet classically feminine, and suggests a relatable and conservative mode of address.
• The gesture code of the way in which she stands at official event is confident and assertive. Yet she lacks the sophistication and aggressive assertiveness of certain celebrities. The MES of her smile is welcoming and practiced. This conflict between the fakeness of her smile and the connotations of relatability is highly hyperreal 
• Her appearance is completely lacking in any risk or friction, constructing a highly stereotypical representation of young women 
• Sugg is clearly highly hegemonically attractive. She has long hair and wears make up, yet her smile, which involves her eyes becoming smaller and dimples forming at the side of her mouth constructs a classic, traditional and straightforward femininity 

Nice

Postmodern phrases to drop in to exam responses 

• In a postmodern world, nothing is real, but everything is a representation of reality
• Hyperreality is representation is more real than the real itself 
• We live in a postmodern world, that means that meaning has collapsed
• Watching Zoella’s videos only breeds discontent and reminds us we can never live up to her hyperreal standard. This is a symptom of the postmodern condition
• “Online media has completely shifted our perception of what is real and what is not…”
• “The videos of Zoe Sugg reflect the postmodern condition…”
• “Jean Baudrillard argued that we are exposed to more and more information, yet now have less and less meaning….”
• “With the postmodern condition, we lose our sense of authenticity….”
• In a postmodern world, the idea of reality has been replaced with the hyperreal…”
• “Zoe Sugg’s perfectly imperfect house is a hyperreal construction…”

Slavoj Žižek, fetishistic disavowal and the irrevocable perpetuity of capitalism

Slavoj Žižek is a fascinating and controversial theorist. As close to a celebrity on the media studies and philosophy circuit as you are likely to get, he is notorious for the difficulty of his prose, and his tendency to use hardcore psychoanalytical theory to analyse popular culture. At times, it can seem that Žižek is being controversial for the sake of it (he's a radical Marxist who has come out in support of Trump...). He has also been accused of being difficult on purpose. But there are a few concepts that Žižek discusses that are particularly useful in media studies. 

Fetishistic disavowal 

Fetishistic disavowal is a term first used by Sigmund Freud. To understand fetishistic disavowal, we must first understand fetishism. Fetishism is an intense and all consuming interesting in a niche and specific element. Fetishes are often sexual in nature, but they are also often related to products. Commodity fetishism is

“...the process of ascribing magic “phantom-like” qualities to an object, whereby the human labour required to make that object is lost once the object is associated with a monetary value for exchange.”  (Patricia Louie)

So basically, it is the brand, the money that's the most important aspect of the product, and not the product itself. A good example of this is Christian Louboutin shoes. These eye-wateringly expensive shoes are differentiated with red soles: an impractical and trademarked feature that essentially indicates to passers by that yes, you are rich, and yes, you live a carefree life of luxury...

For Žižek, Fetishistic disavowal refers to the mental gymnastics that we must engage in every time we engage in capitalistic exchange. New phones are a desirable luxury that have been recontextualised as a necessity. Yet buying a new phone involves a subjugation and exploitation of countless people. From the exploited Chinese assembly line workers who put iPhones together to the numerous human rights abuses in and around coltan mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, even buying a phone makes us complicit in murder, torture and exploitation. What is more fascinating is that we know this, and we do this anyway. How does this happen? For Žižek, the commodity fetish is simply so powerful that we are able to shrug it off. 

Slavoj Zizek eating two hotdogs at once while walking down the street

The perpetuity of capitalism 

Žižek argues that it is easier to envisage the end of the world than to imagine the end of capitalism. A really good example of this can be seen in mainstream, Hollywood cinema. A quick google gets me this:

And this is just the beginning. You want videogame apocalypse? Play Fallout. Arthouse apocalypse? Watch The Time Of The Wolf. Literary apocalypse? Read The Road. Manga apocalypse? Read Fist Of The North Star. Soviet era Polish apocalypse? Check out O-BI O-BA: The End Of Civilisation. Even my three year old daughter's favourite videogame, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is set in a (very cute) post-apocalyptic world. You could spend years consuming nothing but apocalypse media and still get a reasonably diverse experience. 

But to imagine the end of capitalism is far more difficult. Can we think of media that convincingly describes a world without the exchange of capital? Lots of post-apocalyptic films see impoverished people barter with rocks, bottlecaps and chickens. But this is just capitalism under a different brand. Some people, crust punks for example may drop out of society and live in squats, but even then they survive through bin diving and donations and so on, essentially living off of the detritus of capitalism. Even radical Marxists seek to recontextualise and reshape capitalism rather than abolish it altogether. 

Christian Louboutin presents Loubiairways - considering brand identity, ideology and the mechanisms of fetishistic disavowal in high end fashion advertising

The above advert is typically of how high end fashion advertising 'smooths over' the issues and problems that exist with the purchase and promotion of luxury goods in an unequal planet. In short, this advert constructs a cheeky and playful world where issues such as homophobia, exploitation and global collapse in the face of an upcoming climate catastrophe simply do not exist, as long as you have the money and lifestyle to purchase luxury products!

• The use of the colour read is highly symbolic of luxury, love, romance, confidence
• An upper middle class and aspirational audience is targeted through the MES of the luxurious and stylish outfits 
• The advert is set in the departure lounge of a stylish international airport. Utterly perfect and spotless…
• And this is anchored through the casting of beautiful, stylish, hegemonically attractive models walking with confidence and purpose, strutting through the concourse
• The handbags are ostentatious and loud. They are not subtle, emphasising the themes of confidence. 
• The purpose of an advert is to sell a lifestyle. Louboutin is a luxurious, confident ad sexy lifestyle 
• A big emphasis on sexuality, with a symbolic and fetishistic focus
• A character is stereotypically camp and queer coded, suggesting that to be gay is completely fine 
• Louboutin shoes have red soles, a unique selling point that is fiercely protected through copyright law. Louboutin shoes are obscenely expensive. Furthermore, the red soles will be worn down quickly, making this product even more fleeting. It is a declaration of wealth and status, and a perfect example of commodity fetishism
• A carless, selfish lifestyle is constructed where the carefree models strut glamorously through the departure lounge of an international airport
• An upbeat and luxurious address is constructed through the confident body language and the soundtrack, a fast, futuristic high BPM pop song. The language is French , which has connotations of love, romance, art and intelligence 
• The advert is dominated through the colour red, connoting romance, passion, lust…
• The advert takes a highly voyeuristic and fetishistic mode of address, constructing a sense of sexuality and sex implicitly 
• A heavily queer coded representation of a gay man constructs a world where gay people are accepted and seen as positive 

Adbusters 125: initial discussion and front cover analysis

Adbusters 125 initial discussion

• Image of Elon Musk clearly makes fun of him. Other public figures, e.g. Donald Trump are also criticised 
• Highly critical and highly controversial 
• Highly anti-capitalist mode of address and ideology. However, the magazine itself is a consumer product… pretty ironic!!
• Covers a range of non-typical topics 
• Highly artistic with a big focus on images. Not much copy
• Complete disrespect to certain people and to societal values
• Features adverts, but no paid for adverts … so high cover price

Brand identity - how a brand presents itself to the consumer

• Minimalist design 
• Bold design and high contrast
• Inconsistent design 
• Masthead changes every issue - challenges the potential for a consistent reader base, challenges capitalist ideologies by refusing to have a brand identity 
• …however, the brand identity is clearly that Adbusters is NOT consistent..
• Highly political, clearly left wing, socialist and anti-capitalist 
• Blunt, to the point, telling it like it is
• Discussion of issues and current events around the world
• Graphic and unpleasant images and concepts
• Unconventional layouts
• A complete lack of adverts… or at least paid adverts!
• Dubious legality, highly controversial 
• Graphic and postmodern
• Graphic arts and design
• Super pessimistic, existential, and nihilistic 
• Each issue has a COMPLETELY style and aesthetic. Typically magazines will repeat certain aesthetic elements to construct a brand identity. Yet Adbusters uses a completely different masthead for each edition, subverting the idea of commercialism and brand identity. 
• BUT… is Adbusters brand identity a LACK of brand identity????

Genre 

• Unclear!
• Alternative (not conventional) 
• Political 
• Activism 
• Abstract
• Art and design 
• Anti-consumerist ideology, critique of how we use fast food to satisfy our desires
• A consumer product… that challenges consumerism???
• Extreme and controversial, likens Donald Trump to Hitler 
• Genre: politics. Yet completely unfiltered and even aggressive 
• Extreme left wing 

Adbusters 125 - ‘Post -West aka The Year of living Dangerously part 2’ front cover analysis 2025

• The front cover lacks any form of anchorage or context, which potentially makes audiences confused and upset. Highly atypical and controversial 
• The bold, sans-serif, capitalised typography connotes a strongly impactful tone that is direct and visible. The producers are demanding that we take action, although the action that we should take is not immediately clear
• The MES of the grainy, messy, muddy print partly obscures the masthead, covering the brand identity, and potentially limiting readers and therefore profit. This connotes that not only is Adbusters non-conventional , they also do not care about brand identity or profit
• The apparently badly printed cover looks not only grainy, reflecting connotations of battle and war, it also has notably low production values… or appears to have low production values. It looks bad on purpose!!
• Non-profit - no money made as a private company with all profit instead used to pay employees. For profit companies are measured through their surplus revenue, that is usually used to pay inflated CEO salaries and shareholders
• The model’s army vest is connotative of way and the military. However, his costume suggests an independent fighter, a mercenary or a paramilitary force
• The model stereotypically resembles a terrorist. The middle eastern ethnicity, the beard, the scream, the camo all construct a typical representation of a hyperbolic terrorist. Reaching this conclusion makes the target audience uncomfortable, as we are forced to stereotype through lack of anchorage.
• The clenched fist functions as an action code, connoting violence, scaring and upsetting target audiences. Compared to Woman magazine, which has a calm and friendly mode of address, this magazine is clearly adopting a different strategy
• Post - West - after west. The term west refers to a few choice countries, for example the UK, the US and Europe. There is an assumption that Western countries are dominant, in terms of cultural hegemonic dominance. Hollywood movies have more global cultural resonance than Bollywood or Nollywood films have. Additionally, there is an assumption that the western world is more developed, suggesting that some countries are more developed, wealthier and desirable. The idea that success can be measured through GDP is a highly western ,capitalistic ideology. The lexis ‘post west’ suggests that ‘western’ values have collapsed into war and instability. 
• The masthead is run down, gritty, with the MES of the grit connoting a warzone. However, the ‘mud’ is actually ink. The image seems badly printed, like the printer itself has run out of ink. Poorly constructed and with low production values, the magazine subverts converts conventions of mainstream magazines, challenging the idea that magazines a a luxury product, challenging a consumerist lifestyle. 
• The model’s fist is a symbolic code, connoting anger. This anger is anchored through the facial expression of the model, with furrowed eyebrows and a screaming mouth. A warlike address is connoted through the military costume. With the symbolism of the camo print representing violence. He represents the opposing side of the ‘western world’ 
• The model resembles a stereotypical terrorist. His beard, his middle eastern ethnicity, the camo print and the aggressive facial expression all construct a highly stereotypical mode of address. By presenting us with this unanchored stereotype, the audience are forced to feel uncomfortable. This cover is a complete binary opposition to the front cover of Woman magazine. 
• However, Adbusters lacks context and anchorage. Some audiences may be intrigued and may wish to find out more, yet other audiences may be shocked by the implicit violence, or simply confused!
• The lexis of the coverline, POST - WEST is highly enigmatic. On speculating, we may deduce that WEST is connotative of Western culture and capitalism and this is a challenge to this. However, this ideological perspective is vague. It could be nihilistic, it could be balanced and political, yet without anchorage, we simply do not know! Yet the audience are assumed to have a certain amount of contextual knowledge, that West is symbolic of countries like the UK, America, Europe.
• The Year Of Living Dangerously Pt 2 - suggests that the potential audience is already missing a range of information that was included in part one. This dangerous living could connote a dangerous
• Adbusters suggests that the world in which we live in is dangerous, violent and unstable. We are at a point of collapse. The idea that the Western world is better, more developed and with a better economy cultivates a capitalist ideology. Does Adbusters challenge this? His magazine clearly assumes a high level of political understanding. 

How does Zoella utilise vlog conventions to ensure minimum risk and maximum profit?

Engagement - The ways in which an audience interacts with an online media product. Engagement can be quantified through view counts, likes, and most importantly, total time spent watching or viewing something 

Engagement, as in encouraging the audience to watch the entire video, is maximised through:

• Zoella has a pre-existing target audience that she has cultivated over 16 years
• Sugg’s persona is natural, relatable and highly compelling to her target audience of younger women. She is an aspirational role model
• Uses commercially available equipment to produce her video. High production values are not a prerequisite of the lifestyle vlog, and additionally, this keeps her production cost
• Zoella intentionally cuts out aspects of the video which may harm or limit her earnings, for example copyrighted music. The music used in her vlogs is typically copyright free…
• Engaging with the video, as in watching at least minutes results in money for the producer. Adverts too. Affiliate links, sponsorship and associated adverts all provide a range of revenue streams. 
• Discussion of stereotypical aspects such as housekeeping, homeware and looking after children 
• Sugg’s costume engages the audience through its aesthetically pleasing and relatable qualities for a younger female audience. However, using digitally convergent technologies, we are encouraged to explore and even purchase items of her clothing, allowing the target audience to truly aspire to be her. This voyeuristic mode of address relies on digitally convergent technology 
• Direct address is maintained almost throughout the video, encouraging to audience to continue engaging with the video
• A relationship, to be precise a one-sided, parasocial relationship is formed between the youtuber and the target audience. This helps audience engagement and future 
• Audiences can comment on the video, directly interacting with Zoella 
• “Long time watcher here! It is so crazy to see you just casually taking the train to London and spending a day out there, something which would have been so difficult for you anxiety-wise not so long ago! Just in case you have anxiety wobbles and need a reminder of how far you’ve come, we’re all so proud of you!” - Zoella’s videos are constructed in such a way to encourage positive and supportive comments. This in turn encourages audience response and engagement. 
• Relatable topics for a middle class, homeowner target audience, or an aspirational working class target audience
• Video is passive and ‘cold’, encouraging audiences to engage with it in a variety of different ways, for example, playing the video in the background while doing work
• Use of brand deals and advertising. Utilising digitally convergent media, this video uses hyperlinks to gain paid revenue from other products. Utilising affiliate links allows Sugg to sell fashion and lifestyle products to her target audience, and allow them to aspire to her lifestyle. However, for each click through or verified purchase, Sugg and her team would receive some revenue. 
• The discussion of relatable content, for example the highly heteronormative ideology that one’s function is to produce children and raise them in a nuclear family, is highly relatable to other mothers, and those who relate to Sugg herself
• The use of repetitive conventions constructs a deliberate brand identity for her target audience
• Sugg’s number of subscribers (5.1 million!) suggests high audience engagement
• Sugg directly the addresses the audience and provides updates on her life, providing further engagement
• “You guys know that I really love Christmas” - a direct address, a nostalgic mode of address that targets her long term fans that forms a complex and engrossing parasocial relationship. A parasocial relationship is one sided and deeply emotional. This may provide for an unhealthy outlet. We as an audience let ourselves believe that we have this relationship. This allows for an escapist mode of address. Audiences suspend their disbelief 
• Audiences must also suspend their disbelief and accept that Sugg is not perfect but has constructed a hyperreal world that is more real than reality
• Audiences may use Sugg for escapist purposes, and may also negotiate this product as a comfy and relaxing experience. 

The introduction - What is ‘online media’?

Online media refers to the distribution, production and post production of media using the internet and digitally convergent media. The internet is a series of interconnected computers, servers, and other ways of storing data. 

ANOTHER GROUP'S TAKE

Online media refers to media that can be accessed using the digitally convergent medium of the internet. The internet is a series of networked computers which allow for the intense exchange of data across the world. Hosted on a variety of networks, server farms and other hosting solutions, the internet is everywhere.

What is a ‘vlog’? What are the conventions of the ‘vlog’?

A vlog is a video blog. It can take many forms, but 

Blog is short for web log

A blog is a series of posts on the same topic, taking a variety of different forms.

• Often fairly long, for example longer than half an hour
• Low production values
• Direct mode of address, talking to the camera
• Shakycam
• A ‘normal’, relatable, realistic setting…
• Unscripted, authenticity
• Lack of professionally hired actors
• A fun, funny or noteworthy persona
• Regional accents 
• Limited editing
• ‘A day in the life’, a voyeuristic mode of address
• An attractive thumbnail image
• An authentic, relatable host
• A direct mode of address
• Highly personable, for example through the use of regional accents
• Unscripted and chaotic, provides a sense of authenticity
• Encourages audience participation through hypermodality

What advantages does digitally convergent technology provide its audiences and producers?

• Convenience  - we can access digitally technology from anywhere, with no issues with geography
• Anyone can be a producer (Clay Shirky’s end of audience theory). . Using minimal equipment, audiences can produce their own work, and digitally distribute it as well.
• Cost - there are fewer financial barriers to entry. Distribution of media is now essentially free, as long as we are willing to abide by terms of service
• Possibility to reach a MUCH wider audience…
• ….but simultaneously a niche audience. Models of broadcasting have been replaced by narrowcasting, appealing to hyper specific audiences 
• Mass information. All human knowledge can now be accessed…
• Audiences can now engage with producers directly with producers using comments, allowing for positive interactions
• Ease of access for producers. There is no barrier of entry 
• Audiences are able to access a vast amount of information 
• Allows for many niche audiences to be targeted (narrowcasting)
• Producers have few restrictions 
• Cost effective - production and distribution all unified under one product 
• Hyper specific audience targeting utilising algorithms, Google adwords and other specific practices 
• Greater access to a wider variety of audiences 
• Audience interaction and participation: audiences can leave reviews, mean comments…
• Replying to comments

Cultivating active audience responses

Hypermodality - the idea that online media allows us to switch from mode to mode. Exploiting hypermodality can be used by media producers to encourage audiences to fall into rabbit holes or roach motels

How does ‘Zoella’ use algorithmically inspired techniques in order to engage her audience to maximise profit?

Highly conventional use of audience position is constructed through a carefully selected array of media language

• Use of saturation on the thumbnails makes the images ‘pop’ and become more exciting and engaging
• Consistent use of direct address connecting her target audience with her
• The MES of the thumbnails is directly related to the video description in the caption, making it clear to the audience what the video is about even before clicking
• Hermeneutic codes encourage the audience to click the thumbnail and engage 
• Her smile is distinctive, inviting and wholesome relating to her target
• The white outline explicitly draws attention to Sugg as the centre of attention, yet also constructs and reinforces her playful brand identity 
• In every thumbnail Sugg is smiling in an apparently genuine way. He welcoming eyes and her dimpled cheeks connote a welcoming mode of address 
• The use of a curvy, cursive serif font on her thumbnails connotes a direct, personable and girly mode of address, providing a relatable experience for their target audience
• Her face fills the shot, and is positioned towards the centre, inferring her importance. This encourages engagement through using a well used YouTube motif 
• The highly saturated creates an enticing mode of address, encouraging the audience to click the bright and attractive
• In each image, the producer has highlighted Sugg and guest stars with a white outline which makes her stand out 

How can online media cultivate active audience responses? 

Fandom - Henry Jenkins - fans actively participate in media products. 

End of audience - Clay Shirky - with digitally convergent media, there is no distinction between audience and producer. Even professional media is now using the language of the amateur  

Christmas Gift Giving With Mark & Ultimate Nostalgia | Vlogmas Day 19

Zoe Sugg, as a postmodern subject, constructs her life and brand identity through a series of highly fetishised consumer products

This video uses a range of amateurish elements in order to engage her target audience and construct a sense of authenticity…

Audiences are encouraged to engage with the video in a variety of different ways…

• We cut from a professional, animated introduction with high production values. Yet we instantly cut to a blurry, out of focus, handheld and badly lit shot of Sugg climbing down the stairs with no makeup. However, this unprofessional and amateurish mode of address cultivates the ideology that Sugg is authentic and relatable. However this conflict between amateur and professional production values constructs a complicated and confusing mode of address. This reinforces the idea we live in a postmodern world, and we are all situated as postmodern subjects
• The unscripted narrative constructs an authentic mode of address. Characters talk over each other, presenting a normal and relatable conversation. 
• Sugg chooses to involve her very young children in the narratives of her videos, and chooses not to blur out their faces. This is intended to construct an intense parasocial relationship.

Novie's  WOW  has literally made my Christmas. 😊

I am on my own this year, but I'm ok with it. I'm an old lady, and have so many happy memories to wallow in . BUT I want you all to know how much your lovely family has enriched my December. Thankyou.

Merry Christmas all 

Janice xx 1.4k likes

• Here we see a YouTube user using the comments format to share their personal experiences, and thus engage with the audience of the video in a participatory model that is typical of fans. Henry Jenkins argues that fans are no longer passive, yet can engage with and participate in media products. Here digital technology has allowed this complex and confusing reaction to happen. 
• At one stage, Sugg starts to sing the song Heaven Is A Halfpipe, a song about smoking drugs, changing the lyrics to be about the North Pole. This process of mediation requires an intense, complicated intertextual knowledge for the increasingly middle aged target audience, relying on the mechanisms of nostalgia
• A nostalgic mode of address is cultivated through Mark and Zoe Sugg digging through an Argos catalogue and mocking the quality of the products. This consumerist ideology may provoke an oppositional response in order to encourage active engagement. 
• A highly personal and intimate mode of address is constructed, encouraging the target audience to engage with this video in an intense and participatory manner. The out of focus cinematography and the appalling lighting here construct an amateurish mode of address that in turn reinforces a sense of authenticity. Fans may use this intimate and voyeuristic address as a replacement for real life social interactions, indicative of the postmodern condition. 
• The producer uses common stereotypical Christmas conventions to engage the audience, and constructs a hyperreal representation of Christmas. Even the heartwarming moment of baby Novi laughing at an elf on toilet paper is a representation, constructing a sense of reality more real than real.
• Sugg makes explicit reference to the song Heaven Is A Halfpipe, constructing a nostalgic mode of address. Using digitally convergent technology, audience members are able to engage with this video by listening to the original song
• Hypermodality allows audiences to click and buy the items of clothing that Sugg is wearing in this video. By allowing the opportunity to dress like Zoella, it allows the audience to directly participate by aspiring to be like Zoella. 
• The MES of Sugg lacking makeup in the first half of the video constructs a sense of realism and relatability. The highly visible spot on Sugg’s chin also constructs Sugg as real, imperfect and relatable. 
• There are surprisingly few comments on this vlog, indicating a relatively low audience engagement. One comment; 

@hols2897

2 months ago

ottie sitting and doing makeup with zoe is something 2014 Zoella would dieeee to see🥺

• Makes explicit reference to ‘old Zoella’, and constructs a narrative that not only is Sugg’s life better now, but Ottie, her oldest child, has taken on the role of her mother. This form of fan interaction has clearly been cultivated by the video 

Harm and offense - what online content exists that may harm or offend an audience?

This is not a nice post. It comes from discussions with two separate classes on the potential harmful content that can be disseminated through digitally convergent technology, and the mechanisms that exist to allow profit and manipulation through such content. It is important to note that the outlined content is absolutely NOT related to Zoella or Attitude. However, it exists as a fantastic example of the ineffectiveness of regulatory bodies in the United Kingdom in the face of hyperconvergent media.

Example one - Gore

For example, Mexican cartel violence is often documented and distributed in order to obtain ransoms, and primarily to create fear, confusion and ambiguity in Mexico. However, this intimidating footage spreads to other countries, and is shared to obtain engagement, likes and clicks. This footage now takes the purpose of entertainment and is commodified. This easy sharing is thanks to digitally convergent technology. Viewing extreme violence normalises and desensitises audiences to extreme violence, and has been directly implicated in several recent high profile murder cases. Therefore these videos can be used to effectively radicalise audiences.  This footage, recorded in real life, for example candid street footage, footage of actual murder, dashcam footage of road accidents, and execution footage. Much of this footage is recorded to intimate and to terrorise. This footage is then shared using digitally convergent technology, and then uploaded and reuploaded in order to encourage engagement. This in turn produces desensitisation that cases real harm and offence to those not even implicated in the original context.

Online agitator Alex Jones was once famous for his rants and raves on his website and media portal Info Wars, that promoted conspiracy theories to a highly receptive audience

Example two - Conspiracy theories - an idea or theory that an alternative ideology exists in direct opposition to the official ideological perspective

Just a few examples...

• Flat earth theory
• Ancient aliens 
• Vaccines cause autism 
• The great replacement theory 
• Area 51
• Covid Vaccine truthers
• Moon landing is fake
• Covid was planted 
• The illuminati 
• Lizard people
• Princess Diana was murdered
• Birds are cameras 
• Q-annon
• Pizzagate
• False flag attacks

• Conspiracy theories are popular as they can explain the world in a simple and straightforward way. 
• Conspiracy theories are comorbid and synergistic They have a high degree of convergence, and people who believe one of them are more likely to research more. This encourages audiences to fall down an internet rabbit hole, watching more and more, for example YouTube videos, and becoming slowly manipulated by this confusing set of ideologies and then becoming even more radicalised.. When an audience believes one, they are more likely to believe another. Audiences who are engaged with conspiracy theories are likely to watch videos for an excessive time. 

Who benefits from the proliferation of conspiracy theories, and how?

One way in which online content can be so effectively shared and monetised tis through the process of algorithmic convergence. An algorithm is a set of code and rules. The ways in which we interact with online media is collected and shared and analysed in complex ways that even the people who put these systems together do not understand. It can be used to maximise audience engagement. Yet such maximising of engagement comes at a real cost to the audience member who essentially becomes an unwitting vector within an infinitely perpetuating feedback loop of dubious ideological perspectives. 

Lots of Zoella facts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• When she started her vlog, she was working as an apprentice interior designer! OMG!!!!
• She was criticised for releasing a 12 door £50 advent calendar! LOL!
• She was removed from the EDUQAS GCSE media specification for writing about sex toys on her vlog! Wow!!!!!!
• Girl Online, her first book, was written by a ghostwriter, despite what her fans said!!!!!
• She is a psychic and can foretell the future (precognition) Amazing!!!!!!!
• Won a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award for Favourite UK Vlogger! Go girl!!!!?!
• Her novel sold more copies than Harry Potter (in the first week). Damn!
• Criticised for making old tweets with homophobic and classist language! OMG!!!!!
• Her first vlog was uploaded in 2009! Old!

Regulatory factors: how does Zoella.co.uk conform to and conflict with UK regulatory guidelines?

Check out this article :O

Ummmmm OK

• The article is written by ‘Team Zoella’, a group of freelance journalists employed by ‘Zoella’ to create content.
• The article “How to Squirt: A Beginner’s Guide” describes explicit sexual content in a frank and non-pornographic manner. It is encourage it’s female target audience to explore their bodies and to be open about their own sexuality. This highly sex positive mode will appeal to the target female audience who are in their late 20s and early 30s. The article is blunt, straightforward and even scientific in it’s mode of address. It is unlikely to be used for erotic purposes by a wider audience. 
• However, the article is highly polysemic and fulfils many functions. It takes a deliberately shocking mode of address, and functions as clickbait, encouraging a variety of audiences to click on it. It’s popularity and clickability will then allow the video to feature at the top of google search results, and then allow Team Zoella to minimise risk and to maximise profit. 
• The internet in the UK is regulated by OFCOM, who also regulate TV, radio, the post service and UK broadband provider. The regulation of the internet is extremely extremely hard due to it’s immense size and complexity. 
• However, there is nothing the content of this article that is illegal or anything that requires regulation. It is unlikely that a young person would find this article, as this website has a defined target audience. Additionally, there is nothing particularly traumatic about this article. 
• Zoe Sugg and team are essentially self-regulating. They are deliberately staying within the boundaries of taste and decency to not alien their fans. In doing so, the y minimise risk and maximise profit. 
• Online media in the UK is regulated by OFCOM. OFCOM also regulate radio, television, the Royal Mail, and broadband providers. This extremely generalised approach to regulation is highly ineffective, with massive holes and issues in this regulation. For example, the extremely popular website Pornhub is hosted in Canada, out of OFCOM’s restrictions and remits. Initiatives to implement online age verification have all completely failed due to issues of civil liberty. The regulation of many sites is completely ineffective and requires the user to announce that they are the correct age to access material. This is a form of soft regulation, with absolutely no recourse.
• None of this applies to the Zoella blog. The post “How to Squirt: A Beginner’s Guide” may be embarrassing to read for some people, yet it is educational and clearly not pornographic in content. For example, there is a single image of a cross section of female genitalia that serves the purpose of educating her audience about an extremely specific phenomenon. Female masturbation and female ejaculation are topics that are often shied away from, yet this website takes a sex positive approach, and educates it’s target. 
• Furthermore, there is another element of soft regulation in that the website clearly does not cater to a very young audience.
• However, the article is extremely effective at minimising risk and maximising profit
• The lexis “How to Squirt: A Beginner’s Guide” functions as clickbait by using a scandalous mode of address. By using such words and writing about a sexually scandalous topic, the producer is attempting to game the algorithm and to provide as much engagement as possible to her target audience

Adbusters DPS analyses

 Red soles double page spread analysis

• Slavoj Žižek argued that fetishistic disavowal is where the desire for the commodity and it’s fetishistic quality is so strange, that we completely ignore all the issues and exploitation that may occur during its manufacture. We know processed food makes us unhealthy, we know that iPhones are constructed through slavery, and we know that certain video game studios exploit their workers… but we do it anyway.
• The image on the left shows a high angle shot of a black person’s feet placed in the MES of milk bottles. Anchored through the MES of red sand, a stereotypical representation of Africa is constructed, constructing a stereotype of ‘Africa’ as a single, straightforward, less developed ‘country’. It reinforces a binary between ‘us’ and ‘them’. The assumptions that we must make here make us complicit in stereotyping, due to a lack of anchorage. 
• The use of photomontage on the right image combines an image of a refugee camp with an image of a catwalk model. This binary opposition constructs a satirical mode of address, constructing a dark and ironic form of humour. 
• Adbuster engages in culture jamming and detournement. Taking a real advert and placing an actual image of complete material deprivation, a sense of verisimilitude positions the audience in a guilty and bleak mode of address. The low resolution of the image emphasises the graininess of the pixels, heightening the discomfort of the address. The image looks like it was taken from an ancient phone camera, further emphasising themes of inequality.
• This spoof advert constructs a binary opposition of inequality, between high end fashion and ‘African’ poverty, of luxurious fashion and terrified refugees. 
• The advert requires a specialised knowledge of high end fashion, perhaps indicating the audience are wealthy and middle class. This irony is further anchored through the high price of the magazine, and the level of education required to understand.
• The advert perpetuates a racist and cliched stereotype of poor, vulnerable black africans. While the preferred reading is to criticise luxury fashion, the advert may just use shocking stereotypical images for the sake of it. 
• Is this a criticism of the ways fashion works? Often even high end fashion is made in developing countries, reinforcing and perpetuating subjugation on an international scale. The photomontage on the right draws attention to the human cost of high fashion.
• The lexis of the slogan, ‘red soles are always in season’, taken without permission from a Christian Loubiton advert constructs a detournement, rerouting the message. The slogan with connotations of luxury and fashion now becomes a comment on the bleeding painful feet of a poor person somewhere in Africa, forced to walk on milk bottles. Through this act of culture jamming, we are positioned to feel empathy for the individual, and realise the unfair inequality that is systemic in our world.  
• The close up of the feet constructs an uncomfortable stereotype of African poverty and subjugation. This stereotype is constructed through the MES of the race of the model, and the reddish yellow yellow sand of the setting. The MES of the milk bottles connote extreme poverty and depression. The product values are low, with a straightforward image, and a low quality, low resolution digital image, presumably taken on a cheap phone. The MES of grainy pixels is a binary opposition of the luxury of the brand identity of Christian Loutitons adverts. 
• This spoof advert assumes a great deal of contextual knowledge of luxury brands. This ultimately assumes that the target audience of Adbusters are also the target audience of luxury fashion brands, and are therefore middle class and potentially wealthy.  The message ios clear, do not buy luxury brands. Clearly this raises awareness of inequality and their issues that exist under capitalism . However, the mode of address of the advert clearly targets a privileged audience, presenting a hypocritical mode of address. 
• Adbusters take a mocking and even offensive mode of address with this spoof advert. There is even an oppositional reading that the advert is racist, utilising cultural stereotypes of a poor and vulnerable ‘Africa’ cultivates the message that reaffirms racist stereotypes. The advert utilises an extremely ironic and dark humour to make a political and anticapitalist point. This advert lacks any form of anchorage, and forces the audience to come up with their own interpretation. 
• On the right, an image of a stereotypical crowd of refugees with distressed facial expressions lunges against a barbed wire fence. The black and white image is presented in high contrast, and symbolises struggles that exist in this world. However, we lack anchorage, and have knowledge and understanding of who these people are. 
• Yet a binary opposition is formed between these refugees and the fashion model directly beneath. The MES of the fashion image utilises vibrant colours that symbolise luxury and confidence. This confidence is reinforced through the walk and performance of the model, strongly striding, her hegemonically attractive legs constructing a beautiful mode of address. 
• This blunt binary opposition creates a narrative where the audience are selfish and pathetic for allowing these things to happen.

Water double page spread

• On the right, an advert for a Zuchetti tap is presented completely unaltered, drawing attention to how ridiculous this product is. Zechetti exists to brand tap water, an essential product we need to use to not die. This example of commodity fetishism ascribes a bizarre quality to water itself, making it fashionable and beautiful like a high end perfume. When the target audience buy a ZAechetti tap, they buy a luxurious lifestyle, and reinforces and cultivates a capitalist and consumerist ideology
• However, an assumption is made about the target audience, that they are aware of Zucchetti as a brand… presumably making them very middle class!
• On the facing page, a quote about water deprivation in Brazil suggests that certain people live in absolute poverty and cannot access clean water. The placement of this quote forms a binary opposition between absolute poverty and ridiculous luxury, where some live lives free from challenge, and others struggle to exist. 
• The image in the top left features a fully nude woman in a bath. However, this image is in no way sexualised. This completely contradicts Van Zoonen’s assertion that the sole function of women is to be eroticised for a heterosexual male gaze. The nudity is contextualised, and not sexualised. The emphasis is on her knees as opposed to breasts , and constructs a sad, negative and depressing connotation.
• The woman has tattoos which is stereotypically less feminine, and subverts hegemonic beauty standards
• The setting is regular, and even connotes poverty. The model is curled up, indicating the bath is sma, which constructs a representation of a vulnerable person. Her hands are wrinkled, suggesting they have absorbed water, suggesting an excess. However, it is not a luxurious image. Yet she clearly has enough water to bathe in, unlike the Brazilian villagers who have no water at all.
• The composition of this double page spread constructs a hierarchy, where even those in relative poverty are significantly better off than those in absolute poverty. This suggests that the world that we live in is hierarchical, unfair and unequal. 
• The Zucchetti tap advert is presented with no additions, suggesting that it is already ridiculous. It plays with the audience's expectations. We believe it is a parody, yet researching it proves it proves it to be just as ridiculous as it looks. The activist audience will be angry by the absolute lack of compassion and consumerism
• Themes of inequality are constructed through an anchoring binary opposition between the article drawing attention to water poverty, and the obscene Zucheti advert. People are so obsessed by consumerism that they will spend  a grand on a tap, while fetishistically disavowing the problems faced by those in absolute poverty 
• A high angle, close up shot of a fully naked woman in the bath appears above the article on water shortage. Somewhat shockingly, this image is in no way sexualised. While the mode of address is voyeuristic, it is anchored through the positioning of the text beneath her. Around the image itself is a blurry mist that resembles steam or water damage. 
• This representation is unconventional in many ways. Firstly, it is not sexualised, conflicting with Van Zoonen’s theory that women are used as spectacle for power and profit. Additionally, the model herself is unconventional. She has tattoos, and her hands are wrinkly from being in the bath, symbolic of water damage and therefore an excess of water. 
• However, the image is not glamorous at all. The setting is dull and even cheap looking. Her hunched knees suggest she is either cold, or her bath is small.
• Her nudity connotes vulnerability, and invites the audience to emotively empathise with her. 
• Bricolage - the combination of different forms and media to construct a new meaning 

Homeless DPS

• Fetishistic disavowal - The binary opposition between the model and the homeless person reminds the audience of the radically different ways that people live. 
• Atypical constructions of gender - The model looks perfectly symmetrical, fascinating and cool. The model’s contoured face has masculine connotations, connoting power and confidence. Yet the woman on the right is androgynous through being messy, dirty, scruffy, and her clothing is unisex and worn solely for function. 
• Bricolage - the combination of different forms of media to construct a new meaning. A binary opposition is constructed between the glamorous model on the left of the spread, and the homeless person on the right. Clearly this opposition constructs a gulf between the rich and poor. However, both individuals are somewhat androgynous, and subvert gender expectations. 
• Detournement - taking something and changing the meaning
• Active audience responses - The audience are expected to either already have detailed knowledge, or be expected to research it for themselves. This indicates an educated target audience who are willing to actively engage with the material. In fact, the 350 ppm, a reference to the safe limit of CO2 molecules in the atmosphere, functions as a hermeneutic puzzle for the target audience.
• Fetishistic disavowal - the double page spread encourages us to engage in ignoring reality. The three awful and potentially issues represented here are homelessness, the collapse of food production due to climate change, and the levels of CO2 in the air exceeding safe amounts to breathe
• Atypical constructions of gender - unconventional representation of a woman. Matted, dirty, messy hair, unwashed hair, unclean, dirty shoesnot hegemonically attractive. We are positioned as a passer byer, choosing whether or not to donate money… uncomfortable! By loosing her cleanliness and her dignity, she has lost her femininity
• Bricolage - The image of the model present is a beautiful, challenging, exciting, striking and androgynous model. Yet the pitiable homeless woman is also androgynous… This constructs a binary opposition between wealth and poverty
• Detournement - by combining these two images, a double standard is enforced, as well as a brutal critique on beauty standards… 
• Active audience responses - the audience are actively encouraged to do their own research. Hermeneutic clues are suggested through lexis and MES, and ultimately the audience are assumed to be completing research. This not only assumes that the target audience will align with the anticapitalist messages and also have a high level of intelligence and education… Yet active audiences may reject any political reading and instead see it as satirical humour, or even purely as a fashionable aesthetic.