Conclusion
The print publication industry is one of the biggest sources of a historical archive as the way to trace the historical changes of a certain era. These changes can be seen through modernisation and the way society conducts themselves. Visual comparisons of past and present images, through the media and magazine and components such as the layout and visual aesthetics, are a vital clue as a way to compare such changes. A Cover a publication is of most importance, as this is an indicator to what has transpired over the years as well as study what remained the same and what practices have been abandoned due to the nature of time and influence. This research aimed to study how historical changes of a country can be seen through a media publication such as drum magazine. The publication provides a great visual illustration to the periodical cultural shift within society and how it managed to influence the black community both negatively and positively. Drum still remains one of the publications that continue to redefine societal norms and subsequently influence societal identity and general roles.
Summary of chapters
Identity is multidimensional, it is embedded in different facets of life that ultimately have an impact in how one perceives themselves in relation to the rest of the world. Very often these experiences are morphed with other components, such as self-esteem, which subsequently determines one's characteristic. As a social construct, Drum looked to the Eurocentric/western standards of an ideal life, by operating under the dominant ideologies of time such as patriarchy as a mean of upholding the societal norm of male privilege and women are regarded as subordinates. Ultimately the publication is seen as vital research component to the representation of women The politic climate in which the magazine was created in cannot be ignored, documenting real life experiences instead of creating stories that neglect the true realities of the black living in and around Johannesburg.Cultural identity should be seen as a cycle process that redefines what society ought to do and the normative standards that should be implemented. Countries such Europe and the United States of America still remains leaders in terms of creating standards of either high or low culture, and how they are infiltrated in other countries, particularly South Africa, and ultimately it affects every sphere of life of the people. The black community in particular, have embraced the cultural standards, from lifestyle to notions of beauty, and these practices create an inner conflict with their own traditional identity. Due to the advances of modernity, the way we view the world has been altered by the hybridization of different cultures from various groups of people and therefore a sense of self is beginning to be replaced by that of other people. Issues such as the role of women was heightened by the cultural norms which were reinforced by the media
The media, as one of the leading source of cultural formation, gained freedom from governmental dictatorship which made it reach a simpler to convey intended messages, such as stereotypical gender representation to the people. Free media seemed strengthened the ideology of democracy.The inception of the publication was created during an era of political turmoil, the apartheid system enforced laws that saw racial segregation of inequality that oppressed the black community. Although drum had free reign to write and create any content that they wanted, which saw political issues that plagued the society reflected in their covers, they faced a minor glitch in which those in power. The magazine as a threat to their policies and it was seen as an instrument to influence resistance from the black community. At the dawn of democracy post-1994, when the laws of apartheid were lifted, drum remained to document, inspire as well as inspire the society at large and the legacy of apartheid can't still be seen based on the ideological frame of mind that governed to the public previously.
Drum magazine spans over 60 years as one of the main sources of identity construction. One's sense of self and identity is closely framed by the environment the visual materials such as a magazine .initially the publication centred around agricultural information and traditional music that was not of mainstream of that time, but when Jim Bailey took over, he saw it fitting to reflect the emerging culture of the black community living in around Johannesburg in the 1950s. black journalist rebranded the publication and the black society had representation that they could relate to. Readers were also drawn writing style of Jazz music and to the American lifestyle short stories of American gangster theme, readers embraced such way of thinking and the era is seen as a start of adopting standards set out in the west. Gender norms such as women role in society began to take centre stage, although the has been great efforts where women created the movement to get recognised and revive equal rights such as the right to vote, the media industry still reinforces patriarchal norms as a way to control the perception of women.
This can illustrated by the how magazine covers such as drum depicted women on their covers, in positions that are either hypersexualized and domesticated and reinforce the status quo of male privilege. The study examined some of the dictatorship mannerism that men have over women such as objectifying a women’s body. Drum magazine did little to destabilise gender roles and continued to influence the society based on how the Western and Eurocentric notion of how women ought to be.
The standards of beauty are one of the elements publication such as drum utilised to influence society, the issue of black hair, motivate black women on what constitute as good hair. Black hair is both historical and political because the historical injustices placed black as a centre for discrimination and humiliation. As a result, black women remain conflict and would do anything in order to receive acceptance from the society. This study demonstrated that the effects of colonisation, slavery and apartheid had a negative effect on black of all generation and the media further intensify the anxiety of hair that black women constantly battle with which ultimately makes women use dangerous methods such relaxation, in order to archive a straightened, long hair that is ideal according to Eurocentric and Western standards. The visual figures illustrate how the evolution of drum magazine in slowly transitioning to covers that depicted black women in their natural hair state to the Westernisation of weaves and wigs adorn by the black females.