Tatler Case Study

Introduction - Tatler Media pack

1) Look at the Tatler Media Pack. Go to page 2: how does the editor introduce the magazine?

It describes Tatler as a fabulously targeted, sensationally accurate riflle shot to the very richest in the country. 

2) Now go to page 4 of the Media Pack. Focus on the print magazine (NOT tatler.com - the website). List the key demographic details: age, gender %, ABC1 % (social class), HHI (Household Income), % of those living in London and the South East. What do these demographic details suggest about the average Tatler reader?

Age- 41, Gender-73% female, ABC1-83%, HHI-£261,572, London/SE-70%. This shows that Tatler readers have a steady income  and live very money issue free as they have enough for themselves to use their money for things like this.

3) Look at page 6. What do Tatler readers think about fashion? How much do they spend?

£843 mil spent on fashion in the past yr. Tatler readers agree that they often by things when they are advertised in magazines. 

4) Go to page 10. What are the special editions of Tatler that run throughout the year? What does this suggest about the Tatler audience? What about the pyschographic audience group that best fits Tatler?

Travel guide, wedding guide,beauty and cosmetic guide,spa guide, watches and jewellery guide,schools guide. This suggests that the tatler audience is wealthy as they are able to afford the poducts that are advertised to them. 

Media language

1) What different examples of typography can you find on the cover of Tatler? What are the connotations of the serif and sans serif fonts?

Serif and Sans Serif, one showing sophistication on the other showing modernism.

2) How do the cover lines appeal to the Tatler target audience?

The cover lines show what the Tatler's audience does with their free time and the societal crowd they hang around with.

3) What are the connotations of the Tatler colour scheme on this particular front cover?

The colour scheme of black,green and blue connote class and sophistication.

4) How is the central image designed to create interest in the magazine? Find three reasons for your answer. (E.g. the model, the mise-en-scene such as props, costume and make-up, body position, facial expression etc.)

The model may cause interest to the audience as they're not used to seeing someone of colour on the magazine. Her costume may also cause interest as it's not an everyday wear for a person and is very fancy and ball-like. The background may also be of interest to people as they may wonder where she is, why she's there and why they chose to photograph her there.

Representations

1) What celebrities or famous people are mentioned on the cover? Why do you think Tatler put them on the cover?

   Emma Weymouth is mentioned on the cover. I think Tatler wants to keep up with the times so they used a black woman as a token on their front cover. They used a lightskin women as she would be more palatable for their very white audience.

2) What do the cover lines suggest about the lifestyle of rich people in the UK?

    That they are high end follow the latest trends and fashion.

3) Looking at the image and cover lines together, what different groups of people are represented on the cover and how are they represented? (E.g. men/women/rich people/race & ethnicity etc.) 

    The black woman on the cover is presented as sophisticated, the rich people are presented as obnoxiously expensive.

4) Are there any stereotypes being reinforced or subverted? How? Why?

A stereotype being reinforced is that rich people are disconnected from the way normal people live their lives as the cover lines mention "lockdown fashion fit for a queen" while the cover shows a women in a colourful ballroom dress.

Social and cultural contexts

1) What types of people are NOT featured in Tatler? (Watch the clip above again if you need help with this - the clue is in the title 'Posh People') People who are not posh

2) Tatler runs special issues on holidays, spa breaks, cosmetic surgery, watches and jewellery and private schools. What does this suggest about the magazine's representation of life in Britain? 

  Their audience are people that are wealthy enough to go on spend their money on meaningless materialistic things like that.

3) What audience groups might be offended or insulted by the front cover of Tatler? 

   Working class people or the black community for using one of there own as a token 

4) Find three other front covers for Tatler from different months. What issues, subjects or people are regularly featured in Tatler?

   Beauty and cosmetics: beautiful people 

   Weddings: people that want to get settle down

   Watches and jewellery:  shows that these people have enough money to throw away on materialistic things.

Grade 8/9 extension tasks

As an extension, you may want to watch the documentary about Tatler linked above to find out more on the social and cultural contexts for the magazine. Then, think about or write answers to these questions:

1) What would be the preferred and oppositional readings to this cover of Tatler?

   An oppostitional reading could be that the only reason there is a person of colour on the cover of Tatler is because they don't want to be left behind in the times. A preferred reading could be that it's about time they used a [person of colour on in their magazine and that they're doing a wonderful job at catching up with the times.

2) Are there any misrepresentations or under-representations of certain groups? What might this suggest about the target audience?

   The fact that they chose a lightskin woman for their cover shows that they only chose her as she is more pallatable for their audinence. So they could've chose a darkskin woman but they wouldn't be able to tame her as much as they did with Ms.Weymouth. They also chose someone who is on the slimmer side as they usually do.

 
3) How does the front cover engage audiences with possible narratives? Look for stories, cliffhangers, dramatic cover lines etc.

    "How the social set get married in a crisis"

4) Read this Guardian article on the BBC documentary about Tatler called Posh People. What does the article suggest about the people who produce and read Tatler?

  They say how the people that are in the programmes and magazines that they produce are from a small pool of people in the same social circle. Meaning there is no room for people whop aren't like them , who are not from aratocracy and aren't from a rich circle. They even said that "if there were an ugly person in the office, the camera didn't fit them or else editor Kate Reardon had locked them in a cupboard to maintain clean lines." Showing that if you didn't fir their narrative then you would not be able to appear anywhere near them or you could possibly ruin their image. They described it as "The Tatler world was portrayed as a sealed terrarium with filtered air, freshly cut flowers at all times and definitely no lower class people."