SA - Deconstructing Print Media

I have chosen to deconstruct this album cover from the Chew Lips, as they are the band that our remix originates from.

- The visual signifiers in this album cover are the three people, who are the band members, the overlaying images of the peacock and the two parrots, and two sets of font, one is the name of the band (Chew lips) and the other is the name of the album (Unicorn). These are all the iconic signs of the album cover.

- The female is situated in the centre of the cover and dominates over the two males in the background, this shows her challenging the residual ideology that males dominate over females. Although she is still very feminine, and shows this by seeming to be wearing nothing, and this reinforces the dominant ideology that beauty is shown through smooth skin, make-up and a thin body. The overlayed image of the peacock connotes beauty and finesse, reinforcing her as a 'beautiful' women. The two males have the overlayed image of a parrot, which isn't as beautiful as the peacock, connoting that the two males are there to make the female look good. Although it is not quite as simple as that, another reading could be that the abstract/indie nature of the band is reinforced in the construction of the album cover.

- I think the use of the over-laying of images shows the band authenticity of creativity, and the use of the female singer as the centre of the cover shows the social myth of feminine beauty, with the near perfect look to her.

- The indexical signs present in this album cover are ones that make the listener feel like they are part of the quirkiness and authenticity of the band. There are signs, like the fashion and 'indie-ness' that the buyers can use to construct their identity through what they consume, making this album cover quite postmodern in its stylings, also another way it shows postmodern qualities is the use of the overlaying of images, this has been used many times in photography and art and the band have 'borrowed' and used this technique quite effectively.