Music Q Magazine - Textual Analysis

I have done further research and have decided to a textual analysis on a Q magazine with Madonna on the front cover. The written content on the cover tells us that Madonna is the main focus of this particular issue. The '196 PAGE BUMPER ISSUE' sign tells the viewer or reader that with this issue you are getting something different than usual issues.
Madonna is a symbolic icon. She symbolises fame, music and her celebrity status is known world wide. She is instantly recognised for her successful music career. Therefore by using this image especially of Madonna it is saying to the audience that this magazine has celebrity status that they should buy this particular issue if they want to know about Madonna. She has been awarded many many awards and is an icon or role model to lots of women. Having Madonna on the front of this magazine suggests that this particular issue was/is aimed at women, Madonna does seem appear to be wearing a gown with a hood, this is similar to what male boxers wear before a boxing match. This reinforces a slight area of masculinity and looks 'hard'. Madonna is looking straight at the camera this could suggest that she is confident and prepared for anything and be to do with looking dominant and not being a coward.
The British flag on the magazine suggests that the magazine is British and that the magazine is about British music because on it states 'The 50 best British albums voted by you!' Madonna is known world wide so she can still be targeted to a British audience, as she is here.
The photo of the superstar is taken in mid shot, she is looking straight at the viewer/reader of the magazine, so the eye contact could entice people to buy it. The magazine is looking at them and calling them out to buy it.
There are 2 main colours of this magazine, they are red and black. Red is a very fiery or blood colour and associated with strenght, power, determination and danger. This colour is used widely for advertising as it this the colour the eye sees first and is used for banners to make things be noticed, on this magazine the colour red is used for the logo design and the big title across the centre, this is to grab peoples attention to the magazine. Black on the other hand is mainly associated with death, power, evil, mystery and elegance. Black contrasts very well with bright colours, as it does in this case with the red writing on the magazine. The colour black connotes strength and authority and is considered to be very formal.
In the picture Maddona is wearing make up, this may be to highlight femininity and balance out the masculinity factor from wearing a hooded top. Lots of women wear make up all of the time and usually its to make them feel good about themselves. As i have already mentioned she is looking at the camera and making eye contact with the viewer, this is part of her body language and shows that she is thinking positively and is clearly not worried about what she looks like to the viewer. Eye contact can also be a sign of negativity, but only is the person has his or her arms crossed, however this does not apply to this picture of the pop star. In the picture I cannot see where she is located as the background is black. Maddona is positioned to the camera on the side and then she is turning her head, this could be done to give an interesting affect to the picture. There are no pictures of objects on the magazine so this enhances the importance of Madonnas presence on the cover and that particular issue is focused on the pop star.
The font of the main title and name of the magazine is easy to read and is quite simple to look at and read straight away. From looking at the front cover I can also see that in this issue there is a 'FREE INSIDE! 70 page special' of 'women in music', this does not stand out from the rest of the magazine as the focus is all on Madonna. The word free is appealing to everyone and should make the magazine a big seller.
The picture of the woman on the left to that grey title has been taken with her legs wide apart with writing between them. This emphasises who the magazine is aimed at, men, this is a very masculine thing to do and being as the issue is all about women this makes sense as to who it is aimed at. I have also noticed that the picture of the Union Jack and Madonna being American has a contrasting meaning, this is called juxtaposition. The words on the front cover are easy to understand and any sentences are kept short and snappy, for example, 'Rolling stones... At the movies' and 'Arctic Monkeys.. In the Pub', this is a short description of what is in the magazine. With these sentences you can see that there is a name of someone or a band and then where they are or what they are going to be talking about. This is the type of writing that stereotypical of what a man would read, quite 'lazy writing'.
Overall, I can conclude that from my findings this particular magazine and issue is aimed at men because of its writing about women and the colours used. The choice of words is very simple and having Madonna on the cover represents the class of people it is aimed at.