Magazines: Media Language (exams from 2024) GapFill

GQ magazine prides itself on giving boys older women parents men the best advice in terms of science travel mountaineering fashion , styling, exercise and contemporary masculine trends. When read from left to right, the codes and conventions of the magazine's cover work together to construct a tapestry a path a narrative an illusion for the reader. The cover even contains classic character types identified by the theorist Vladimir Mulvey Hall Greer Propp .

The lead actor warm-up act cover star headliner Raheem Sterling is framed and portrayed as a false hero a mentor a hero a princess of the narrative that GQ is constructing. The statement that he has ‘… saved football from itself’ places football and the culture surrounding the sport into the role of the princess hero antagonist anti-hero . More evidence of the intentional characterisation of celebrities in this manner can be seen in the puff piece coverline strapline masthead on the right-hand side that states ‘All the sizzle from GQ Heroes’.

The black winged costume that Sterling wears, coupled with his tattoos, and the main coverline ‘Guardian Angel’ can be described as religious occult sci-fi pagan imagery. The black leathery wings, which match Sterling’s trousers, subvert conventions as the colour red yellow blue white is more commonly linked to the notion of angels. For GQ this front cover is unconventional as its front covers often focus more on the fashion sense piercings eye colour choice of shoes of the cover star. This change could signify that the brand is diversifying and aiming to depict a broader representation of actors clothing masculinity football players .