Denotation: The magazine front cover has a photograph of a man carrying a chainsaw wearing a discoloured top and apron. The man is wearing a face mask but it is mask made out of ‘human skin’ and the character wearing it is names ‘Leatheface’ who is a murderer and cannibal. It is a medium long shot which shows his face, arms and waist. The background can not be seen properly; however we can tell he is in some sort of dark enclosed room as there is no sort of light. The photograph doesn’t however cover the whole magazine as on the left hand side of the paper there is a separate section.
On top of the page is the magazine title which has been placed behind him and the letters are sans serif font and there are various coverlines throughout the magazine. The name of the magazine is directly positioned next to the man and is one of the only text in the magazine that is in serif font. On the left hand side of the magazine there is a visible barcode.
Masthead: the ‘Fangoria’ masthead is very distinctive as it is very visible in a deep red with a white outlining. The colour of this resembles the colour of the blood on the chainsaw and connotes a sense of horror and that the magazine will be very ‘bloody’ which correlates with the fact that it is a horror magazine.
The cover photograph is of ‘Leatherface’ who is posed in a very aggressive way with a chainsaw in his hand. This position suggests that he is actually hacking at something which we can not see and this makes us very intrigued and wanting to find out more. His clothing is stained by blood and both of his arms are also covered in blood. His hair is very greasy and connotes that he doesn’t regularly bath and lives a dirty lifestyle. The mask he is wearing also adds to this effect and also gives a sense of mystery as we don’t know his full identity. All of these factors have been specifically chosen to appeal to its audience which is a male audience.
The main coverline relating to the photograph says:
“HOW THE BUZZ BEGAN”
This is making reference to the fact that this film is a sequel to the original ’Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ (released in 1974). The original movie stirred a lot of controversy and was banned in many counties including the United Kingdom, Brazil and Sweden and so the remake released in 2006 was the newest sequel. The writing is very comic and is very similar to the writing on the front cover of the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre Comics’ which connotes a sense of un-realness. The coverline suggests that the buzz had died beforehand which could be referring to the fact that the original was made 32 years ago.
On the left hand side of the page there are various pictures which include a bloodshot eye and a persons pale face with its mouth sowed partly together. Both of these images are fairly daunting and connote a sense of unrealism but depending on how it is portrayed inside the magazine, it can be believable. There are various coverlines in an array of colours with the ones on the top half in serif font and the only one on the bottom being in sans serif font.
On the left hand side of the page there are various pictures which include a bloodshot eye and a persons pale face with its mouth sowed partly together. Both of these images are fairly daunting and connote a sense of unrealism but depending on how it is portrayed inside the magazine, it can be believable. There are various coverlines in an array of colours with the ones on the top half in sans serif font and the only one on the bottom being in serif font. With most of the coverlines being in sans serif font this connotes that the magazine is a modern one and doesn’t follow any traditions.
When I consider all of these points, I would say that the target audience for this magazine is a male audience of 18-25 year olds who are interested in films, especially horror. They would also not be faint hearted or disturbed easily by graphic images or detailed stories
By Beatrice Adong-Otim
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