The Media and Consumer Culture

Last week's lecture and workshop focused on the concept of consumer culture; the things we buy, how we are influenced to consume and how we define ourselves by what we buy.

We considered the following in discussing consumer culture:

- The development of modern cities
- Growth of the middle classes
- The emergence of leisure time
- Advertising and PR

Turning our attention to how the media and consumer culture operate alongside each other, I've been looking at how Style magazine exemplifies this culture in operation.

As this is also the focus of my research report, this will potentially form the basis for my textual analysis, when considering the cultural significance of the magazine.

Firstly, a bit of background on Style. It is one of several Sunday supplements which come with The Sunday Times newspaper. The magazine, like most 'consumer' titles, covers fashion and beauty, celebrity, music, lifestyle, food and homes. It also has several key features each week on particular issues e.g. this week's features include ethical fashion, the secret party life of Kabul and the latest craze 'cringe parties'.

To me, Style exemplifies consumer culture much like the majority of similar magazines, but the way in which certain products and brands are presented is not as obvious as examples like glossy weekly Look. Because there is a clearer element of real editorial content e.g. news features (often on quite serious subjects) it is harder to determine where editorial stops and advertising starts. By this I mean that often features will talk about issues within the fashion industry and include specific names, brands and designers as part of the write-up. Although presented as 'newsy', there is advertising and branding apparent in much of the content.

The key features of Style are recurrent weekly:

- The weekly update from Shane Watson together with the 'going up - going down' scale of fashion and lifestyle 'must-haves'
- Fashion news including trend watch, 'one to worship' and 'blog off' (what the web thought of a celebrity outfit/outing etc)
- 'People like them' - an update on the world of celeb parties, launches and designer latest
- Artist/band profile feature (this week it's Plan B)
- Fashion pages which include 'your style' (advice), key looks and weekly fashion shoot spread
- Beauty pages which often profiles a particular artist and their work as well as the latest products and tips
- Inner style pages which focus on health issues, emotions, problem advice and personal stories
- Life style pages which feature someone’s home interior each week, food recipes, a restaurant review and wine reviews
- Advertising for luxury brands such as Gucci, Tiffany’s, Dior, Prada as well as high street favs M&S, TK Maxx and Boots

The kind of experience offered by Style is very different depending on the reader. For me, a full-time student who earns next to nothing and is up-to-the-eyeballs in student debt, the experience is very much one of admiration, awe and jealousy. Not in a bad way - just in the way that I cannot afford most of the products and featured items in the magazine and so end up with a sense of lust and longing.

Again, personally I feel this is a good thing. Although not necessarily the prime target in terms of the consumer - many of the features such as fashion and lifestyle are things that I would like to aim for in the future - the finer side of life and all that. Whether or not that becomes a reality is another ball game but the desire is there for me as a poor student!

On the other hand, the target reader of Style is likely to be not only a little older and more financially stable than me, but also in a position whereby they could genuinely go out and consume whatever takes their eye in this week's edition. For them, the experience is something that is more familiar to them - something which they're accustomed to - and so they can relate to the consumer aspect of the magazine more closely than I can. This is reflected in the advertising which appears in the magazine - high-end brands that only someone with a very comfortable lifestyle could afford or those who buy into the lifestyle amidst crippling debts!