Timed Essay Question 3

 

On the front cover of the Big Issues it shows Trump next to the world. They have represented Trump to be big headed as shown by the way they have edited his head to be significantly out of proportion with his body. Trump supports right wing views, so it suggests that the reader of this magazine is left wing (labour) and are likely to read this text in a preferred reading (reception theory). This also explains why they choose to make fun out of him in this way because they don’t have the same views, so the reader is likely to dislike him. The headline of the magazine says ‘what’s the worst that could happen’ which suggests quite a sarcastic tone that could be referring to Trump believing that what he is doing is right and the readers know that it is likely to go bad.

In terms of cultural representation, it shows Putin riding an eagle. The eagle is a symbol of America and Putin is a threat to America so the combination of the two suggests that Putin is likely to cause problems for them. Also, the fact that he is behind Trump in the sky with lightning suggests that Trump is unaware, and it could come unexpectedly. It also shows Trump and Putin who are two male leaders of the world, so this represents a male dominated world and that they have more power in society in majority of countries, which demonstrates how gender within these cultures are being represented as gender theory suggests that women only have a domestic, marital, consumer or sexual role in society so they would not be in power in many countries. 

In terms of social representation, this magazine is most likely to appeal to a middle class and educated audience as Carl Bernstein wrote it and they are more likely to recognise his name. This means they are likely to have a preferred reading (reception theory) because it will likely have the same views and they can identify with him. Since the story is representing a ‘global’ issue as it includes a picture of the world suggests that Trump is a concern to the world.

Overall, The Big Issue shows left-wing ideologies in this story and this reflects on the way they have represented social, cultural and political events in their magazine.