The Big Issue - Lesson 3 - 26/01/21

 Representation and The Big Issue

Representation: how someone, something or somewhere is presented to someone else.

Who/what does The Big Issue represent and why?

The Big Issue represents big social issues e.g. poverty, racism. They present issues which mainstream media doesn't normally bring attention to. They give people a voice who aren't normally given one in mainstream media or are normally represented in a negative stereotypical way. They focus on representing reality and showing issues which are relevant on a wide scale.

What we see on the cover of The Big Issue has been carefully considered to convey a message which suits the ideology of the street paper. However, how we interpret a text/representation is influenced by our awareness of social, political and historical context in which the text has been created. These representations ae created through the media language selected e.g. colour pallet, layout, typography.

Who or what is being represented on the front cover and how does this link to the ethos and ideologies of The Big Issue?

• The front cover has the theme of finance. The cover lines indicate that in that issue of The Big Issue you will be able to gain knowledge that will help you financially. This fits with the ideologies of The Big Issue as the magazine wants to help society and 'dismantle poverty' so by running articles on how to be financially stable, this will help people in society. 
• Romesh Ranganathan is the main image of the magazine front cover. He is a well-known comedian who often speaks on issues such as racial equality, education and his tough upbringing. This shows his ideologies to align with those of The Big Issue.
• Money can be a challenging topic to talk about but The Big Issue represents it in a light-hearted way which is shown through the happy look of Romesh along with the bright colours on the page and the use of cartoon style drawings. The use of having The Big Issue represent the topic of finance in a light-hearted way, shows that magazine to try and bring positivity to people and have a helpful outlook on the world. This positivity is also reflected through language choices such as 'money happy returns' in a positive yellow colour. 

Media language feature                         How it helps to construct representation in The BI

Tagline                                                  'A hand up not a hand out'. The tagline makes it clear that The                                                                    Big Issue was created to allow those who needed support to be                                                                  financially dependent. It is not charity but instead is helping                                                                      people improve their lives.

Main image                                         The main image on The Big Issue relates to their main story                                                                      inside of the publication. Their main image will often be of a                                                                      public figure or celebrity who has had a big impact on society                                                                   or who has ideologies which align with those of The Big Issue.                                                                  The way that the image is shown will often represent the model in                                                               a way which they haven't been shown before as The Big Issue                                                                   represents people in a unique way.

House style                                          The house style of The Big Issue is very unique as it is typically                                                                 bright, colourful and has a pop-cartoon style effect. This allows                                                                for it to appear very upbeat. It does include serious topics and                                                                    issues but tries to address them in a way which encourages                                                                        readers to think positively about it in order to carry out the                                                                          necessary action needed. It has this unique style to signify that it                                                                is not part of the mainstream magazine industry- it doesn't talk                                                                  about the latest celebrity gossip and makeup tips but instead talks                                                              about how to improve society.

Layout                                              The layout of The Big Issue front cover usually features one main                                                              image of a person. The main image will be in relation to the main                                                             article in the magazine. There will be a title on the page which                                                                   relates to the main image. There are usually cover lines on the page                                                           which are in the same style as the the font selected for the title. The                                                           layout is normally very unconventional to mainstream magazines to                                                           reflect how The Big Issue has different values and ideologies.