Deconstructing Magazine Covers

The person on the cover of this magazine (Arnold Schwarzenneger) is very fit and confidant.  He appears very intimidating, like he expects other to be afraid of him, and as if he can physically overpower anyone who challenges him.  The purpose of this magazine is to promote bodybuilding and fitness.  Its intended readership is men who are interested in bodybuilding and how to improve their appearance and become "tougher".  Some values and viewpoints that are omitted are those who are interested in improving their health, and not their appearance, those looking for family-oriented content, or intellectual stimulation.

These two magazine covers portray the same person in two totally different ways.  While the first one focuses on Arnold's strength and tough-guy attitude, the second cover portrays him as more approachable, as a politician running for office who wants to be your friend, as opposed to someone you should be scared of.  The colors and text on the covers of the two magazines represent the magazines' purpose.  The color red on the cover of Muscle & Fitness and the text is in bold capital letters represent power and strength, while the text is softer, which appeals to a wider variety of readers.  The readers of Esquire are more likely to be interested in business and politics, and the text on the cover refers to Arnold's run for Governor of California.  In the Muscle & Fitness magazine, the articles noted on the cover are about workouts and the article about Arnold is about one of his movies and his workouts.  On the Esquire cover, the articles are about music and books, more sedentary interests.  The Esquire cover also includes a black and white picture of a beautiful woman, and though she's got a lot of skin showing, it's done in an artistic manner.  Esquire's intended readership is probably males in their 30's-50's, who are in professional careers and higher incomes who are interested in the finer things in life.  Although the same person is on the cover of both magazines, he is portrayed in totally different roles, although both are stereotypes of those roles.  In the first cover, he is the stereotypical action hero, while in the second, he is the stereotypical politician, ready to shake your hand and pat you on the back.