LOOK - Responses

Look magazine attracts both the mainstream and the aspirer and makes them believe in the ideological messages of the magazine. Look magazine is all about status which will attract the aspirer but it also works around a budget which will help the mainstream. One article that shows this is the 30 day skincare challenge for the 2017 9th Jan issue, this article allows the aspirer to look good and buy into the ideologies of the magazine that appearance is important but it also uses household items such as honey, ice, oranges etc. which aids the mainstream as they don’t need to spend over their budget. This article shows that appearance and confidence is impotent but this can also be achieved on a budget and doesn’t need to break the bank.  

Look positioned the audience in a way that they are unexperienced and have minimal knowledge of topics such as fashion and beauty. The magazine talks to the audience as if it is their big sister passing down knowledge and telling them the do's and don'ts of beauty and fashion. This leads to the preferred reading being met by the target audience as they buy into the ideological messages of the magazine and start to believe that if they do all this stuff they will be confident and beautiful, they will listen to celebrities as what celebrities say is important.  

The preferred reading is also met online as Bethany Mccormack said "this will save on the dollar!" This shows how it attracts the mainstream as they want to work within a budget, it also shows how the magazine allows for the audience to be beautiful and fashionable without spending so much money.  

However, the preferred reading is not always met some people take an oppositional reading such as a response to the Facebook video: Bripped Jeans: Yay Or Nay? 

We took Kylie Jenner's bold Instagram trend to the streets. But would YOU dare?, where Charlie James said "nothing bold about it! it use to be the fashion in the 90s.." This shows that he has seen what the magazine are trying to achiever and make the audience buy into this product but he has decided against the intentions of the magazine.  

One comment that could be seen as both preferred and negotiated is a reply to Looks front cover featuring Kendall Jenner where Jess Crabtree says "just another reason to be depressed :'( she's so beautiful" this shows that the magazine is reinforcing the idea of beauty however this girl has seen that she does not look like the model on the cover and has decided that she will never look like that even if there may be tips in the magazine to help you look like her. This audience member has disregarded the content of the magazine and focused on the cover resulting in this reading.  

Overall Look magazine does gain both the preferred reading but also an oppositional reading just like all media texts do.