Magazine Analysis: American Horror Story - Coven

The magazine front cover features Jessica Lange (Left), Angela Bassett (Right) and Kathy Bates (Bottom) on the front cover. An all-female front cover goes on to relay the message that the media it is advertising is a powerful message of female power.

Jessica Lange is dressed all in black with light make up to highlight her as a young person. She is wearing an all-black dress as if she’s a part of a funeral. To link to the title AMERICAN HORROR STORY (AHS), she could be a high authoritative figure. She is wearing black lace gloves which mean that she is stylish. Gloves also indicate she is hiding something. Black has connotations of evil and darkness which suggest that Lange has malicious intent. She has a straight face to show her seriousness. The caption at the bottom right informs the audience that she is playing a character called Fiona Goode. Fiona means fair and Goode means a good person. This is a juxtaposing factor: Her costume suggest that she is malevolent villain while her name refers to goodness.

Angela Bassett is wearing an all-red jumpsuit which match her lipstick. She has box twist hair which reach her waist showing that she is from Africa. Red has a connotation of Blood and danger which infer that she too is a dangerous character like Jessica Lange. In addition to this she too has a powerful tall stance which means that she is a powerful strong being too. Angela Bassett plays a character named Marie Laveau who is an actual historical person. She was known as the ‘Voodoo Queen’ in New Orleans. This informs the audience that history is somewhat mixing with fiction. She is holding a tray with Kathy Bates head on it. This is a horrific sight, relaying to the audience that the show is truly horrifying. Kathy Bates is placed on a tray with plums and various garnishes as if she is being served for a meal. The caption labels her as Madame LaLaurie. She too was a historical socialite figure as she was known for torturing and murdering household slaves. She too is from New Orleans and this informs the audience that the show takes place in New Orleans. This area is known for Jazz and witchcraft meaning that AHS is focusing on witchcraft in America. It links to the ‘COVEN SET’ as coven is a term to describe a witch gathering.

These anchor models helps to convey the genre of horror and history, relaying a fictionalised version to truly terrify audiences. The colour scheme is the rule of three for it uses red (From Angela Bassett’s jumpsuit); Black (Jessica Lange’s dress) and White (The background). It follows as a ‘T’ Layout in order to give enough information without taking up too much space. The magazine name and plugs use a san serif font in order to attract audiences to the front cover as well as clearly highlight the importance of the stories. There are no buttons so that the focus remains more on the front cover.

The magazine has a universal audience and it leans towards the age range of 18 – 49 year olds both male and female for various topics. The magazine covers film and TV Shows. The front cover is using American Horror Story for it has critically acclaimed actresses on the front cover which enable the audience to be inspired.