Rolling Stone
Issue 1067
December 11,2008
This magazine does more than address a series of topics that the authors feel readers might find interesting. Instead, it provides multiple avenues of information for the reader and allows for a unique read which is essential for a great magazine. Divisions of interesting articles of multiple entertainment industries combined with flashy advertisements fill the magazine. Personal interviews as well as paparazzi snapshots can be found throughout the magazine. Contents like these could be one of the reasons Rolling Stone magazine has succeeded up to this point.
From the latest hit albums and the correlating “Top 100” charts to exclusive one-on-one interviews with the music industry’s leading artists, this magazine definitely targets audiences with an interest in pop culture. In this particular volume, Rolling Stone producers included an in depth interview with Britney Spears addressing her recent “comeback” as a successful pop artist. Likewise, the magazine offers readers a chance to see other talented bands and musicians that haven’t burst into the mainstream of radio music. Also, the magazine includes many hi-definition photographs of the most famous individuals in the entertainment business and provides highly detailed article on just about each one.
Likewise, Rolling Stone has also found a way to provide interesting information on “Hollywood” and keep up with the hottest movies and actors. This magazine does an excellent job of exploiting the appeal most Americans have for celebrities and does an effective job of flaunting them throughout the magazine. Good or bad, Rolling Stone provides publicity for these famed individuals and it profits from the people who find them interesting. Not only does the magazine discuss the actors, it also provides in depth summaries and reviews of the latest movies and provides teaser quotes from each movie.
The magazine wouldn’t be complete if it didn’t include some sort of advertisement. Yet, Rolling Stone has found a way to take traditional advertisements and format them in such a manner that enhances their magazine. Right off the bat, this particular volume includes a fold out Citi ad focused on Nickelback’s Livenation tour and it immediately gives readers an impression of the magazine. Throughout the magazine, the advertisements provide substance and color as well as further entertainment, not to mention the vulgar ads including half-bare women.
Throughout this particular magazine, I believe that Rolling Stone did an excellent job at providing the reader with ample information about the recent activity associated with pop culture as well as other big names all over the country. I think this magazine is effective because time after time it provides interesting articles for readers and flashy pictures that are hard to ignore.
"Britney Returns." Rolling Stone. 11 December 2008: 48.
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Nick, good first effort on this post. You have made some detailed observations of your magazine. Rhetorical analysis suggests that you take another step, and make some inferences on your observations.
ReplyDeleteYou begin to do that a bit here, realizing that the magazine is playing off cultural obsession with celebrities, and selling culture through carefully formulated ads that relate to the magazine's topics.
You might further consider what sort of audience it is aimed at, based on the articles and advertisements. Probably male, from the ads with semi-nude women, and perhaps with reasonable amounts of money to spend, from the cost of ticket prices! Is that fair? Wouldn't women have just as much of a passion for music as men?
Knowing the target audience, you can then consider the impact of the messages within. Dr. Atkins suggested looking at production, distribution, and consumption as food for thought.
Do most people have disposable income for pop-cultural events (and magazines)? How might the messages within here convince people that they should spend their money on these diversions? How might these articles shape our understanding of what good music is or should be?
Dr. Atkins also suggested that people accept, reject, or negotiate the cultural messages that surround us every day. Here you might accept that pop-cultural knowledge can be useful, and that you enjoy articles on current music trends. You might negotiate by only reading it at the bookstore, instead of actually purchasing it.
Rhetorical analysis helps us to better figure out not only WHAT we like, but WHY we like it and HOW it affects us (or others). You might think of it as like looking behind the scenes of your favorite movie to find out how it's made, and noticing how things work, or what they think about you.
Your next paper topic will be on this type of analysis, so let us know if you have any questions. FULL CREDIT
- jeff