Activity #2 - Arnold Deconstructed

1. What do you think about this person based on the cover of the magazine? How does he look? How does he make your feel?
This person looks powerful, in a "don't mess with me" kind of way. He looks strong, and there is a large emphasis placed on his arm muscles - both the picture and the text ("20 inch arms"). It is unclear what he is holding, and although he is pictured with something yellow, his hand placement could just as easily be holding a football as it could be a gun... or maybe that's a car hood?
 

2. What is the main purpose of this magazine?

This magazine's main purpose is to teach men how to get more muscular and athletic.

 

3. Describe who you believe is the magazine's intended readership.

Men in their 20s & 30s who weightlift or interested in building their strenght through weightlifting.

 

4. What lifestyles, values, points of view are represented or omitted?

This magazine represents active lifestyles who value strength and power through traditional stereotypical masculine images. This magazine omits lifestyles of men that value strenght building through endurance excercises such as running and/or bicycling - which typically build leaner muscles, rather than bulging ones.

 

1. What do you think about this person based on the cover of the magazine? How does he look? How does he make your feel?

I think that he is supposed to represent the "little boy devilish" - like he just got away with something, and no one who knows him can believe that it worked. I get this impression based on his expression paired with his hand gesture (which is out of focus, so it looks less menacing) and the text accompanying it "The next governor of California. Really." Also, the use of his first name as a familiar. The suit he is pictured in just leads credence to me as the powerful white male who got away with something - especially with the reference to a political office.

 

2. What is the main purpose of this magazine?

To entertain and inform men about current news and interests.

 

3. Describe who you believe is the magazine's intended readership.

Men, 28-45 who are slightly a-political, have steady professional jobs and interested in current pop-cultural news.

 

4. What lifestyles, values, points of view are represented or omitted? A more hedonistic lifestyle is presented, with values of self-interest and female objectification. What is missing is images of men that care about community and historical context. The tagline "Man at his best" just reinforces the message of self-interest and promotes social Darwinism.