Front cover Analysis

The music magazine Q usually focuses on rock artists, which creates some confusion as to why they have chosen to use former pop band member Cheryl Cole as their front cover model. Although Cheryl isn’t a rock artist, through mis-en-scen she has been made to effectively look like an arguably conventional rock musician.

With location, this picture is most likely to have been taken in a building with an endless amount of equipment, however the effect and setting the editor tried to project is one with Cheryl outside on a rainy night. Through pathetic fallacy the rain connotes a stormy, blustery and dark mood which is often associated with the genre of rock music. This is heightened with Cheryl’s dark leather looking jacket, cooperating with the use of heavy eye make-up which reiterates the gloomy and somewhat gothic element linked with rock music.

Cheryl’s bold red lip stick fits in with the house style of red black and white Q has developed through it’s decades of publishing. Cheryl’s mouth is also slightly open with her teeth showing and her tongue moved to the corner of her mouth. By bearing her teeth, I initially think it adds a sense of aggression however when looking at her tongue I believe it’s been done as a technique to sexualise Cheryl as many would find this seductive. Also her lips are painted red deliberately to draw attention, much like the logo Q, as against the black and brown colours it stands out effectively.

Additionally, Cheryl’s face is drained of any healthy colour, her cheeks are not red and there is no real glow about her face, this I believe was done intentionally to comply with the stereotypes of rock music being less feminine and instead gloomier, again working well with the connotations of rain. The lighting has been crafted to dispose of any shadows on Cheryl’s face which works well with the close up head shot, connoting revelation, implying the inside article will contain some sort of exposure.

Elsewhere, Cheryl’s direct mode of address is another technique used to conform to the conventions of a rock musician. The engaging eye contact together with her unyielding facial expression creates a resolute stare which has the effect of arguably instigating challenge. It projects a tough attitude which is very different for Cheryl who is probably used to softer and more flirtatious photo shoots rather than ones like these where she is made to emit power and authority.