Glossy representations of nationality and culture across popular magazine websites: a comparative analysis
Date
2021
Authors
Hassim, Farhaanah
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Regarding magazines as a significant source of data explicating the performances of social factors such as gender, race, and class amongst others, this study explored the discursive constructions of nationality and culture on the homepage of four multinational magazine websites. Arguing for the recognition of nationality and culture as significant social characteristics of identity. Based on a review of the literature, this study collected screenshots of the homepage of , and Vogue magazine websites. The screenshots were then analysed using multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA) focusing on the manifestations of nationality and culture A mixed-method social constructionist research paradigm demonstrated that aspects of identity represented across the magazine websites including nationality and culture were consistently enclosed in discourses of beautification fuelled by capitalist practices. Revealing that capitalism ultimately determines the regulatory standards of society. This study was however limited to geographical regions wherein English editions were published.
Description
A research project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Linguistics to the Faculty of Humanities, School of Language, Literature, and Media, University of the Witwatersrand, 2021