Magazine Analysis: American Horror Story - Murder House

The magazine front cover features Dylan McDermott (Left), Rubber Man (Right) and Connie Britton (Middle) on the front cover. The three people are directly addressing the audience with tall powerful stances.

They are all dressed in the colour black which has connotations of death, darkness and evil which infers to the audience that there is some evil and twisted going on. The title links as it suggests that ‘TV just got weird’. Connie Britton is stood in the middle with open hair and a black dress. She is also wearing light make up to show a clear beauty. She is holding hands with Dylan McDermott, suggesting that there is a relationship between these two people. His hand his clasping over hers which shows his protectiveness over her. The Rubber Man has his hand clasped around Connie Briton’s arm which presents a level of control. The image is a symbol of control as the two hold on tightly to Connie Britton. The image is quite convoluted which already relays the message of the show about being odd and twisted.

These anchor models helps to convey the genre of horror through its peculiar characters and message. The colour scheme is the rule of three for it uses red (From Connie Britton’s make up); Black (The clothes) and White (The shine from the Rubber Man’s suit). This front cover follows a ‘T’ Layout in order clearly show the purpose of the models. There are not that many plugs which could entail that the issue will focus purely on American Horror Story. The fonts are san serif font to make the show bold and stand out. This catches audience’s eyes and the inclusion of a button further emphasizes the exclusivity of the magazine. It is coloured a bright blue to stand out and make the cover more exciting.

Entertainment Weekly has a universal audience of the age range of 18 – 49 year olds, male and female. The magazine covers film and TV Shows. The front cover is using American Horror Story to advertise and promote the show and it includes a unique photo for audiences to truly feel it is compelled to watch the show.