How does your media product represent particular social groups?

(Bullet For My Valentine has been shortened to BFMV)

I found this image of a rock style band called ‘Bullet For My Valentine’ and noted that it was similar to my photo of Here I Stand. Each band has four members and they are all positioned in the same kind of way, if you look at the ‘BFMV’ image and the ‘Here I Stand’ image, they are both standing in front or behind each other in the same way. The only difference in the positioning is that their hands are in the pockets on the Here I Stands image whereas in BFMV’s they’re not. Also the expressions on everyone’s faces are more or less the same as each other; they are always using a subjective shot with a plain expression on their faces to show they have an ‘I don’t care’ attitude, which comes across in most ‘rock stars’. What I also thought was clever is that both backgrounds a very similar apart from Here I Stand’s curves round at the edges. The shot types are clearly the same which is a medium long shot. The lighting is slightly different, BFMV’s lighting is quite dark whereas Here I Stand’s is using natural light, BFMV’s is darker because it has been edited that way in post production, probably Photoshop. Also their clothes are quite different, BFMV’s are very dark and gothic like whereas Here I Stands have abit of colour to it, which appeals to a younger, more female audience. I think their hairstyles are also quite similar, Tom from Here I Stand (second to the left) has his hair over his eyes abit, this is the same as the second from left guy in BFMV. Also Kyran from Here I Stand has longish hair, as does Matt from BFMV. Bullet For My Valentine are quite dark and mysterious in this photo, which could show their music and style is quite ‘Goth like’ whereas Here I Stand seem more lighter and more updated for the newer stereotypes that are coming around for example ‘Scene Kids’ and ‘Emos’.

Teenagers like to belong to sub-cultures and create identities for themselves which are different to the mainstream. My music magazine targets the sub-cultures of ’Scene Kids’, ‘Emo’s’, ‘Skaters’ and ‘Punks’. It both reflects my audience's interests and tastes and is a guide for my readers to follow. My magazine does have a pro-consumerist side to it, as a few of my models are wearing ‘Drop Dead’ t-shirts which usually target my sub-cultures, but it also has an anti-consumerist side that helps you to stand out and to not be afraid to wear what you want and to be your own person. Most teenagers are presented negatively in the media such as the tabloid newspapers, but magazines such as Kerrang help teenagers and their audience be accepted in what they want to do and listen to their audience's needs and show this in their magazine. This is exactly what I have tried to do in Explode.