This image has been chosen as it ties in well with the anchorage text; ‘Britney Spears, Inside an American Tragedy’. It is an image of pop icon Britney Spears. Compared to the other two rolling stone magazine covers of Britney, this cover is more serious where we see Britney as a musician rather than a sex symbol. The use of black and white enables the image to stand out although it is beneath the magazine title, puffs and anchorage text. It adds seriousness to the artist and the dull colour makes the artist look like she’s going through tragic moments. The black and white also, makes the image more dramatic and again reinforces the tragic style.

The image may have originally been a mid shot or long shot of artist Britney spears that has been cropped and enlarged. Regardless, on the magazine itself it is an extreme close up shot. This allows us to develop a personal relationship with the artist where we are able to clearly see her facial expressions. She is not happy or sad but is looking straight at the camera which suggests she is hiding something as we cannot easily guess what she’s feeling. Unlike the other two magazine covers of Britney, this one allows all readers to develop an emotional relationship with her rather than male readers wanting a physical one. It also suggests that she is going through tragic events and therefore, she is becoming mature dealing with them and the black and white image reinforces this.
Her emotions also suggest that she may be going through drama and the anchorage text supports this. As readers, we instantly become curious to what is inside an ‘American tragedy’.