Research & Planning: Friends With Benefits Movie Magazine Analysis

Genre

It is abundantly clear from the pose of the two characters on the cover of this magazine that the film in question, Friends With Benefits, is a romance. Although we known Friends With Benefits to be a romantic-comedy, the comedy aspect isn't too clear on this cover. The only glimpse at humour is the slightly mischievous smirk on Mila Kunis' face as she grasps Justin Timberlake's tie. Both the lighting and colours of the cover photo are very nature-inspired, which symbolises a natural love story. The other colours on the page include pink and white, which are perceived to be quite feminine colours; again stereotypically insinuating that the movie is a romance, perhaps from a females point of view.

Representation

There is clear representation of stereotyped gender roles in this magazine cover. The male protagonist is seen to be grasping the main female character, whilst she is cosying up to him in a stereotypically sensitive feminine manner. There is a slight break from the stereotyped gendered roles as we see that the female character could be said to have the power as she is grasping the male protagonists tie, and he seems to be fine letting her do so. The look on the female characters face leads us to believe that she is in the driving seat of the relationship, which undoubtedly will be the main focus of the films storyline. The male character in this photograph is dressed very smartly, which perhaps goes against the stereotype that men dress badly and look generally quite scruffy. In contrast, the slender female character is dressed in a very stereotypical glamorous black dress.

Narrative

From the picture on the magazine, I would assume that the storyline goes along the lines of: two strangers are somehow introduced into each others lives, perhaps through work (purely based on what they are wearing, very formal clothing), and then the male protagonist (I have come to this conclusion based on his stature in the photograph) falls madly in love with the female character; who plays hard to get (based on her grasping of the male characters' tie, in a mischievous yet sexy way), but she eventually succombs to the male protagonists' charm and they live happily ever after. Or something to that extent. The cover line 'Secrets of sexual attraction' indicates that there may be a focus on sexuality in the film, perhaps through either sexual tension or perhaps sex scenes.

Audience

Based on the narrative of the movie (which I have concluded from the photograph on the cover of the magazine), I would say that the target audience of this film is females aged between 16 and 24. I think the sexual aspect of the story line may put off older audiences, and it may not be understood fully by viewers under the age of 16. I think females will be mostly interested in watching this film as the magazine itself 'Elle' is aimed towards females, after all it is a female lifestyle magazine. There is also the inclusion of an attractive male on the cover which will undoubtedly attract a large amount of viewers from Justin Timberlake's fan base. I do believe there will be a lot of men/boys watching this film also, perhaps aged between 15 and 21; as they may be fans of Justin Timberlake, or the idea of sexual activity including Mila Kunis might attract them.

Media Language

The masthead of this magazine is very prominent on the page, it takes up over a quarter of the real estate of the page. Contrary to this, the masthead resides in the background of the two characters in the cover photo. Unlike a traditional magazine where the date and issue number are positioned at the top of the page, they are both found next to the barcode in the bottom right of the page; which works better as it does not draw any attention away from the main feature. The cover lines appear to scale in a hierarchy, with the most important cover lines being in bigger, bolder text; and the less important ones being in thinner fonts and at smaller font sizes. For example, the main feature 'Mila + Justin' is written in a slab font, and is coloured a very vibrant pink-red. In contrast, the less important coverline 'How To Stop Being Angry' is written in a smaller font size and is coloured black - it might not immediately attract the readers' attention.