Fur Flies Again By Tamsin Blanchard example essay topic

The statement "The structure and content of feature article reflect and reinforce the attitudes and values of their target audience" is not always true. Some feature articles challenge the attitudes and values of their target audience by presenting biased facts and opinions to make the reader view a controversial topic or issue from a different perspective. On the other hand many others support this statement and endorse the attitudes and values of their target audience, such as "Fur Flies Again" by Tamsin Blanchard. "Fur flies again" was featured in The Weekend Australian Magazine. It is based on the return of fur in the fashion industry and the lack of opposition from animal welfare groups and the general public. The author Tamsin Blanchard has only included one point of view in the article.

"Not since the '50's, when movie stars didn't know any better, have so many pop culture figures worn so much fur - and with little reaction or comment" sums up the entire attitude of the article. TA: The target audience of The Weekend Australian Magazine is men and women from the middle to the upper class therefore the target audience for "Fur flies again" is women of middle to upper class status who are 25 years and older. Since the 50's, wearing fur was thought to be immoral because of the fact that innocent animals were tortured and killed in horrible and cruel ways. While reading this article these women would be thinking "Thank goodness I'm not as vain or as selfish as these people who wear fur with no feeling of guilt".

The target audience has been brought up around the same time as these celebrities who are wearing fur, but they do not have the need or the money to spare to buy fur clothing. As they are not as wealthy as this small group of influential celebrities they haven't been blinded by money and power, and still have morals and a sense of what is right and wrong. The article starts off by listing some of the celebrities who wear fur and that animal skins are the new celebrity security blanket. It goes on to say that the people who wore fur in the '50's didn't know of the suffering and torture that the animals went through, but this generation does. They have no excuse and cannot justify their wearing of fur with their ignorance. Tamsin Blanchard says how fur has slowly made a comeback over the past couple of years in tasteless fashion shows and she suggests that the people don't care about protecting animals against exploitation, as more and more fashion magazines are supporting fur and pushing it to become 'cool'.

There is one quote from a celebrity fashion designer who is not in favor of fur in fashion. Stella McCartney said "My morals before money" and "there is nothing sexy about having an electrode put up your bottom", she sent a secretly filmed video of the pain and suffering encountered by animals which are killed for their fur. It suggests that some fashion designers use fur just to make money and they don't care that an animal has died because of them. This small part of the article dedicated to Stella McCartney's opposition to fur usage symbolizes the small number of people who are taking action against the growing fur industry and many of the readers would agree with what she has to say. But at the end of the article it says that change is the oxygen of fashion and it doesn't matter where you stand on the issue of fur usage in fashion, it is definitely making a comeback. This comment urges the reader to take action or more innocent animals will be tortured and murdered just so they can be mismatched with a horrid outfit or made into a tasteless coat or stole.

The quotes (from Katie Grand, the editor of a British fashion magazine 'Pop'; Stella McCartney, fashion designer; and Tom Teifel-Kristensen, director of communications for Saga Furs) are used to support the authors view. Katie Grand says that wearing mink isn't a problem, we experiment on rats and other animals so there should be no problem wearing fur and Tom Teifel-Kristensen says that wearing fur is more widely accepted by younger people as it is seen as rebellion. These quotes maintain the idea that people are becoming comfortable with animal cruelty. "Fur Flies Again" lacks statistical evidence therefore graphics are used to create interest and validate and endorse the views of the author. Most of the pictures are of runway fur-fashion and to the average person, the fashion on the catwalk is bizarre and they wouldn't ever consider wearing most of it therefore these pictures make the reader think "why would people want to wear fur? It is so unattractive".

The two most effective pictures are the ones on Jennifer Lopez and the US Vogue editor Anna Wintour. The picture of Jennifer Lopez has her in London wearing a fur hat and a coat with diamonds on the buckles which shows her as being selfish, spending too much money on her self rather that being compassionate and looking after others. The picture of Anna Wintour shows that even someone who works for one of the most popular fashion magazines has no fashion sense at all. "Fur Flies Again" by Tamsin Blanchard is a great example of a feature article which supports the attitudes and values of its target audience. The overall message of the article is that the people of the world are losing their morals and have no compassion or respect for each other and the environment. Humans are too greedy and the 'morals before money' comment is a wake up call to the wealthy people who appear to have lost their morals and values and a call to action for the people who are against cruelty to animals.

Animals aren't fashion accessories!