Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Perfect lives: Lifestyle magazines and utopian impulses in contemporary British society

Hollow, M

Perfect lives: Lifestyle magazines and utopian impulses in contemporary British society Thumbnail


Authors

M Hollow



Abstract

This article seeks to explore and uncover the ideological and stylistic elements that typify the ways in which contemporary male and female lifestyle magazines present the world to the reader. Focusing on two of the most popular British examples – FHM and Red – it analyses the language used, the images portrayed, as well as the structures of the two texts. Throughout it engages with the burgeoning literature on utopianism, and in particular with the ‘utopic’ approaches advocated by theorists such as Louis Marin and Frederic Jameson, in order to trace the common tropes and rules that run throughout both male and female lifestyle magazines. Finally, in light of these findings, it asks what role these texts play in contemporary culture and society.

Citation

Hollow, M. (2012). Perfect lives: Lifestyle magazines and utopian impulses in contemporary British society. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 15(1), 17-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877911411792

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jan 1, 2012
Deposit Date Jun 11, 2012
Publicly Available Date Oct 11, 2012
Journal International Journal of Cultural Studies
Print ISSN 1367-8779
Electronic ISSN 1460-356X
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 15
Issue 1
Pages 17-30
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877911411792
Keywords Identity, Lifestyles, Magazines, Utopia, Utopics.

Files

Accepted Journal Article (460 Kb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
The final definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal International journal of cultural studies, 15/1, 2012 © SAGE Publications Ltd by SAGE Publications Ltd at the International journal of cultural studies page: http://ics.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/




You might also like



Downloadable Citations