Hegemony

Key Theory 8 - Feminist Theory - Lisbet Van Zoonen

The idea of the male gaze, that women are only in media products for the appreciation and attention of heterosexual man. The idea that gender is constructed through discourse, and that its meaning varies according to cultural and historical contexts. The idea that the display of women's bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture. The idea that in mainstream culture the visual and narrative codes that are used to construct the male body as a spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female body.

men act women appear

Key Theory 9 - Feminist Theory - bell hooks

Feminism is a struggle to end patriarchal hegemony and the domination of women. Feminism is not a lifestyle choice; it is a political commitment. "Feminism is for everybody," and certainly not just those who identify as women. Race, class and gender all determine the extend to which individuals are exploited and oppressed.

 The masthead on this newspaper includes the colour red, this connotes the idea that The Mirror is bold, and therefore will deliver stories other newspapers are not confident enough to publish. By adding the slogan 'fighting for you' inside this masthead, the idea that the newspaper cares more about people who read the articles, above anyone else, makes readers feel special and entitled. This is reinforced by the direct address of the word, 'you', which highlights the readers importance in relation to the newspaper.

By using the layout to place the East Ender's news beside the masthead, this informs readers who the paper's target audience is, as Eastenders is stereotypically watched by the working class. The lexis of the word 'thug' is informal, relating to the language the target audience would stereotypically use in day-to-day life, making the newspaper seem approachable and down to Earth, which is appealing to the working class.

The advert below which talks about horse-racing, ensures that the word 'free' is a larger, more bold font, which emphasises the little cost and deal on offer. This is appealing to the working-class, who the newspaper is targeted towards, due to the acknowledgement that families will be trying to save money. By using the rule of three in the lexis of 'all the skills, all the tips, all the form!', the event is built up to be exciting and full of drama, as expressed by the repetition of the phrase 'all the', as it highlights that the audience will see everything. This advert demonstrates the producer's ideology perfectly, as it suggests that anyone can see everything, and promotes equality, as the offer is available for everyone to attend, regardless of financial background or class.

The word 'mayhem' suggests chaos and references something almost comedic, making a fool out of Teresa May, and presenting Brexit to be foolish and stupid in nature. This supports the views of the newspaper, who do not support Teresa May, and therefore do not support Brexit. It could also reference action and suggests Brexit is full of action, but not much is happening as implied by the word 'delay', and therefore further makes a joke out of the ordeal.

The word 'surrender' references action and makes Brexit seem exciting and fast-paced, with a lot happening without much explanation. It suggests that Brexit is chaotic and disorganised. 'Chaos' strengthens this idea of the paper referencing action.

This double-page spread emphasises how the newspaper deems this story to be important and shocking to the audience, as strengthened by the inclusion of red colours, which connote boldness and are intended to catch the attention of the audience. This exposes the idea that the newspaper is being bold in it's stories, to differentiate from other papers who would conceal the truth, and therefore presents one of the ideologies of the producer to be that 'good newspapers expose the truth'.

The boldness of this story is further stressed by the inclusion of a capital-letter headline, and the lexis of this headline, which says 'a faller at second', the word 'faller' highlighting that Teresa May is a failure and cannot metaphorically stand up on her own. The dominant image shows Teresa May with her hands up, acting as symbolic coding for a surrender, therefore presenting her to be weak. This demonstrates the dominant ideology of the newspaper to be against Teresa May, and that the producer believes that Teresa May is a weak, and therefore inadequate leader.

The inclusion of statistics for 242 yes, and 391 no, presents a clear binary opposition of views, and arguably points towards 'no' being the 'right' answer, because more people have voted that way. This further expresses Teresa May's failure as a leader, as her opinion is being opposed by a rather considerable number. This projects the underlying ideologies of the producer further, as it demonstrates Teresa May to be bad at her job, as she cannot persuade 149 other people into holding the same opinion that she has, highlighting her bad leadership skills.

By describing Jason, at the bottom of the layout, as 'honest', it constructs him to be a good person, and uses binary opposition to go against Teresa May, making her seem like a bad person. The lexis of the word 'honest' emphasises his goodness as a person.