Institution: Front cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine.
Genre: Men’s fitness, health, and body building.
Representation: Represents a strong and powerful public figure, celebrity, body builder, and governmental figure all-in-one, associated with a very strong male body. Advertises the illusion that all men can become as big as Arnold and can achieve what he has if only they could change their workout routine and get ripped like him. The hard work needed (diet, time, continual weightlifting) to get large muscles is not represented.
Audience: Men ages 18-40, who either want to get big muscles, are body builders, or gym rats. Men focusing on their physic and know that having bigger muscles does equal more physical power and possibly can mean life success.
Ideologies and Values: Muscles are power and this magazine is here to help you achieve that power. Success can be built like a bicep, if you focus on your goals and never stop trying to achieve your goals. It is manly to have large muscles, even if you need the help of a magazine article to get you to the size you want to be.
Narrative: All guys want more muscle and Arnold can let you know how to achieve that goal. Any man can achieve a great and strong physic.
Hey Adam, I chose to comment on your analysis because it differed from mine in a few ways. The biggest difference is that where you focused on the cover's appeal men's desire for power (mostly physical, but perhaps political, etc.), I took the old Darwinian focus and saw messages of men's desires to be appealing as mates to potential partners. I also looked at the action film fantasy created by the image, thinking the background colors were meant to remind one of fire and explosions. In that you also saw power. It just goes to show that this cover means different things to different men.
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