Referendum Analysis

How does intertextuality create meaning in this source?

The Big Issue has referenced The EU referendum that happened on 23rd June 2016 in their June 13-19 2016 edition. They have made an intertextual reference to the Swedish pop group ABBA to create a comedy effect. ABBA is a very well-known pop group who were popular in the 70's and 80's therefore the big issue's target audience would recognise who they have mocked and as a result, find it more amusing. The lyrics of ABBA's songs have been referenced in the speech bubbles next to each of the politicians, all of which are relevant to the decisions of Brexit. Nicola Sturgeon's face has purposely been edited onto a male's body to make her seem less feminine, creating the impression that she has a personality like other male politicians. The colour of Nicola's hair co-ordinates well with the brown outfit that she is wearing. Considering she has short hair, she looks more stereotypically masculine so The Big Issue are playing off of this to create a comedy effect.

Boris Johnson and David Cameron have been made to look like the two female vocalists in ABBA. The audience would find this amusing as The Big Issue have emasculated the two men, which is ironic because they're meant to be stereotypically powerful and strong leaders. However, we do not see this through the facial expressions that the big issue have used for them; they have been made to look like young girls with attitudes who are fooling around. This creates a mocking effect towards the two of them, suggesting that they do not take their job seriously. Boris' sarcastically-shocked facial expression compliments the lyrics in the speech bubble next to him as it creates the sense that Boris is laughing at Nicola and David who want to remain in the EU.

Nigel Farage is known for his racist and offensive views, therefore when the audience see his laughing and overjoyed facial expression because he wants to leave, it may seem like he is doing it towards the migrants who would no longer be allowed to enter the country. The Big Issue have purposely chosen these four particular politicians because two of them want to leave and two of them want to remain. This creates an even argument, suggesting that the chance of us leaving or remaining is 50/50. It is noticeable that Nicola and David have quite serous expressions compared to Boris and Farage who look like they're fooling around. By doing this, The Big Issue have made it seem like leaving the EU is an exciting thing to do.

The Big Issue have made the world into a disco ball, showing all the politicians 'performing' underneath it. This adds to the pop group effect. It also creates a sense that those four politicians are in their own world, making their own individual decisions that will have a huge impact on the residents of the world. Considering on the image the world is much smaller than the four politicians themselves, it suggests that their actions are more important than those living in the world. They have purposely made the background blue and sparkly to make it look like the ocean, with the yellow/brown strip being land that they are all standing on. The bright, vibrant colours would effectively attract the audience's attention. A ballot paper and box have been placed on the front cover to give the audience a clear insight into the image that they are creating.

The main headline is in black and white to co-ordinate well with the masthead. The line 'decision time' has been written in the colour red to draw attention to it and to emphasise the importance of this article. All the speech bubbles are black and white to add to the masthead and headline theme. The lyrics that are in the speech bubble next to Nicola reflect the fact that she is a female because it mentions the difficulty of relationship break-ups. This creates the impression that she is stereotypically feminine, which contrasts with the fact that she is dressed like a man. Farage has been made to look like he is not taking it serious because the lyrics in the speech bubble next to him say 'take a chance'. This suggests that he does not have valid reasons for wanting to leave, hinting at his underlying controversial reasons that shouldn't be known. 'The winner takes it all' as a main headline is amusing because people would know that it is from an ABBA song, therefore they would think it is clever how most of the text used on the cover references ABBA. From this headline, The Big Issue have created the impression that the referendum is a big competition between the politicians.

Advantages of this approach would be that the audience would find it amusing that the politicians are dressed up as the opposite sex, with silly facial expressions. As a result, the audience would believe that the article would also be amusing to read, encouraging them to buy the magazine. It is a unique and effective approach to the referendum. Most other articles that discuss the referendum would be fairly serious and therefore less fun to read. The Big Issue have subverted this stereotype by turning it into a comedy. The bright clothing and sparkly disco background that people were familiar with in the 1970's would be an advantage to the magazine as it would catch the target audience's eye.