Representations - Justin Bieber

Text 1 – Cover of the Seventeen magazine article in December 2015

Justin Bieber is shown to have the persona and image of a ‘heart throb’ for teenage girls. He is dominating the magazine cover whilst giving an innocent, yet flirtatious look. His shirt is slightly unbuttoned, revealing a tattooed chest. This gives the audience the impression that he has the persona of a ‘rebel’. The shadowing is covering most of his body except his face and arm, which highlights these areas and extenuates his main features and gives him a proud and confident look. The lighting also gives a warm and inviting tone, which shows him to be a happy person and a good person to be around. The image is taken from a close up position which helps to make his facial features stand out more. The angle of the shot is a mid-angle shot which gives him a look mystery as he looks up to the audience. There is use of direct mode of address to make him look towards the audience, giving the audience a personal connection with him.

            The encoders of the text are representing Justin Bieber as a style icon and an admirable figure. His dressed-down look offers the impression that he does not have to try to look the way he does. By dressing in everyday clothing, he is even more admirable because he is depicted as a normal person whom people could aspire to be and look like. This makes him seem more like a normal person and he will therefore he appeals to teenagers and people that admire him. He is represented as an apologetic person with the headlines of ‘I was disappointed in myself’. This shows him to be even more of a normal person because he too makes mistakes and messes up. He is also named as just ‘Justin’ rather than his full name. This too makes him seem like a normal teenager and puts him on a personal level because the audience are addressing him in an informal and friendly manner. Society has certain stereotypes for the appearances of what are seen as good-looking young men. Justin Bieber tries to fit this stereotype in the magazine.

 

Text 2: Cover of ‘Men’s Health’ magazine in April 2015

In this magazine cover, Justin Bieber is shown in a black and white filter, posing shirtless with a serious facial expression. The image has been taken from a medium shot to show all of his torso and facial features. This represents him as an admirable and inspiration to others as he has achieved the look that many people are aiming for. He is showing all of his tattoos which gives him a grown up and manly look and is again admirable for the audience of the magazine. He has positioned his hands behind his head which helps to enhance the look of his body. This makes the audience focus more on his body over anything else. This also represents him as being a confident person. He is seen here as a style icon and a mature adult; which takes away from the ‘teenage heart throb’ that we have previously seen. He has a grown up persona and a manly appearance.

            The creators of the magazine would want the audience to see that he is a grown up and mature person who should be looked up to and admired by the audience of the magazine. The encoded message is that he is representing what everyone should look like and that people should aspire to look like this. This is the preferred reading of the magazine. However, some people may see this as giving a false message to young people and giving them an unrealistic idea of what they should look like. This could be telling young people that they should look like this when there is a high chance that this image has been edited and manipulated. This is the oppositional reading. 

            We live in a society that is consumed by stereotypes and ideologies that many people struggle to live up to. This magazine is showing what is seen as the ideal body for men, which could have severe psychological effects on the audience.

 

Text 3: Photo from a Photoshoot in 2014

This is a photo from a photoshoot that Justin Bieber did in 2014. He is sitting on a black leather sofa in what looks like a living room or apartment. The apartment is difficult to see because the lighting is focused on Justin Bieber’s face. The lighting is highlighting his face to make his facial expression stand out and we see he is looking towards the camera. The angle of the shot is a high angle shot which shows him to be looking up towards the audience. This represents him as more of a normal person because of the casual setting and the dressed down outfit. He is holding a pair of drumsticks in his hands which reminds the audience that he is musical and has a great amount of talent. This represents him to be as being a natural talent as he clearly does not have to go to much effort to achieve this look. The messy look of the room in the background makes Justin Bieber seem more relatable to other young people as this is something that many people especially teenagers have. This adds to the appeal and attraction of him and represents him as a normal teenager who is just the same as other teenagers.

            The encoded message of the photo is that he is a grown up and natural talent who does not need to put in much effort because he is already talented. He is shown as the central figure of the image which gives him a great deal of importance and respect. This is the preferred reading of the photo, the opinion and viewpoint that the producers of the media text want the audience to have. However, due to the clear amount of image manipulation and editing that has occurred, some people would see this as an unrealistic depiction of Justin Bieber. The photo is taken from a particular angle and position, which shows that the image is mediated and it is unlikely to be what reality for this celebrity looks like. This is the oppositional reading, the opposite opinion of what the producers of the media text what the audience to have.

            The world and society that we live in revolves around the type of people that we are, our appearances and lifestyles. Justin Bieber is trying to show the kind of lifestyle he lives using the dressed down look with his clothes and the casual and messy looking apartment. We get this stereotype through social media and the way that more people are showing the lifestyles that they live. People are seen as ‘cool’ if they wear branded clothing and have a relaxed lifestyle. This is what Bieber is trying to show.

Text 4: Cover of the ‘Sun’ newspaper in January 2014

This is the cover of a newspaper printed in January 2014 that titles ‘bustin Bieber’ across the top. The images of him include the central picture of him in front of a car with his hand down not showing his face. This represents him as feel and acting guilty for his punishable actions. He also looks to be shameless and he is being publicly shamed through the newspaper. This also shows him to be a ‘bad boy’ who is willing to commit crimes and break the law and does not make a big deal out of it. The main image is a long shot that shows all of Justin Bieber and the background setting. This makes him seem small compared with the car, representing him as someone who does not have a lot of confidence because he knows that he has not done anything to be proud of. The images below are his mugshots that were taken of him in prison. By including these images, he is being represented as a criminal and someone that has committed a serious enough crime to be punished in this way. It reinforces the idea that he has done wrong and does not excuse his actions; making the audience think that he is a bad person and not someone who should be looked up to.

            The publishers of the magazine want the audience to see that he is a criminal and a bad influence who does nothing more than cause trouble. They have chosen to include the images of his mugshots to remind the audience that this is the person that he is and he should not be admired or looked up to. This is the preferred reading of this media text, what the producers what the audience to think and the opinions that they want them to have. However, some people may reject this by saying that the newspaper is making the crimes that he has committed seem bigger and that they are things that many people are arrested for. This is the oppositional reading of this media text, the opposition of what the producers what the audience to think.