Reproduced Images

I think that the book, specifically, Walter Benjamin has a very interesting point when he talks about the fact that reproducing images leads to a political message. Benjamin wrote this in the time when fascism and Nazi propaganda were everywhere and this idea still holds true today (while it occurs on much smaller scales as well). When people take well-known images and rework them to create a new meaning they take what people already know about the original and play off of it. The key to this idea is that there must be some sort of prior shared knowledge of the image they are playing off of, in order for the viewer to see the connection, irony, or message. For example, the recent reports of Britney Spears shaving her head has spurred many reproductions of other famous bald images. There is one with a Mr. Clean reference and one with a Gollum (from LOTR), and not to mention the hundreds of past photos of her that have been photoshopped to have her bald head. These images, while both amateurly done and on a much less politcal statement than the AIDS posters and Hitler image in the book, are examples of how pop culture utilizes this idea. In the Mr. Clean reference, the image is entitled Ms. Crazy, referring to her behavior as of late, she is drawn with tattoos on her arms of such labels as Cheetos. These tattoos are referring to first the fact that she was getting a tattoo when she was first seen with her bald head but also as a sign of her "trailer park-ness." Images of cheetos also reinforces this idea, as her food of choice is normally some junk food (see second image). This image would not make sense to the viewer if they hadn't known of Mr Clean, the ubiquitous bald reference, or of Britney Spears' latest mishaps. While this example isn't exactly of the politics the book refers to, it shows how this idea of reproducing images whether to make fun of someone or to convey a message has become such a popular process today in response to different breaking news reports.

the gaze

The section talks about the fact that women are often depicted in advertisements, films, paintings, etc in positions to attract the male eye. Not only does the idea of having something composed for only half of the population make me cringe, but it also raises this ick factor within me that makes me think of stalkers. The fact that women are still so objectified in the films and art forms of today seems counter-feminist, as women should not be portrayed as only sexual objects or maternal figures. Yet we have every leading clothing advertisement with some sort of image of sex with regard to the female whether she's pouting, revealing some skin, or in a provocative pose. We don't notice that these images are specific to one audience because we are inundated with them everyday, we don't know much else. Besides, these women are seen as objects of desire, and women and I am not excluding myself in this, strive to be like them, those advertising agents... they're good, aren't they?
In my folklore and pop culture class we are reading a book that discusses popular mythic elements of our time, and the first one mentioned is about women and how they are either seen as monsters or as mothers. The idea behind monstrous women is that they are reckless and hard to control, however it also shows that they are not entirely powerless as men seem to think they are. In this book, the film Rear Window alos brings up this point that while Jeffries is the one who discovers the case, he cannot investigate and must rely on his girlfriend (Lisa) to help him out. The irony is that in the beginning of the film he is planning on dumping Lisa because he thinks she is too high maitenance, and in the end she is the only one that believes he has stumbled upon a murder case. Basically its interesting to see the difference between men and women in the way they are portrayed on screen. The themes that were prevalent in Greek times still hold true today, as the book shows through the GUESS ads, which portray women in skimpy outfits that would attract the male viewer.
------To completely change the subject, I just got back from my Writing 140 debate things we have to go to for class. The reason I bring this up is because one ofthe speakers used powerpoint to attempt to get his point across. Had this presentation been before taking this IML class I wouldn't have thought anything of the powerpoint other than it was incredibly boring. However after learning a little bit about the usage of powerpoint and images when conveying a message I paid close attention to his presentation. Ihave a few complaints, first he used white slides with blue writing throughout the entire program Not only was it boring to look at, but the text was small and hard to read (I have an exact replica of the lslide above--I actually took notes on the slides instead of the debate...oops) Another thing that bothered me was that his slides contained direct quotes of what he was saying, I felt as though I was watching a closed captioned speech rather than a presentation with different points highlighted. He used the animation features to delay what words he put on screen, which I think he thought was for dramatic emphasis, but in fact it ended up looking like the timing was off. Not to completely tear this man to shreds or anything I just think his presentation was horribly done, and everything we said powerpoint should NOT be in class.

Image Assignment!

Oh man this assignment has proven to be a test of my patience in the ending stretch, as yesterday night I decided to change nearly all of my images (yea great idea i know) and this morning my email would not let me send the files....

Anyway, for my leaflet I decided to talk about the dangers of tanning beds with my audience as young adult women, or if I have to be more specific either sorority girls or girls in high school. I attempted to use the three types of signs, which I hopehelped my message rather than detract from it. First of all, the easiest is the icon, which in the case of my leaflet could be the picture of the tanning bed, the woman lying in it, the microwave oven, or the people with cancer, as all our images that resemble what they are trying to convey. Next, the symbol I used was a speech bubble over the woman in the oven. The speech bubble symbolizes that someone is speaking within an image, however the bubble itself does not have a particular relation to the action of speaking, therefore it is a symbol. Finally, the index I used was a warning sign (the yellow triangular traffic sign with the black exclamation point on it). I believe that it is an index as it has a relationship between the exclamation point and the message which is to watch out.

As for my punctum assignment, I searched through the Robert Frank images several times. I really liked the one of the man laying on the ground near the tree (RF39). When I looked at the picture more closely I was drawn to his tattoo (a woman drawn on his arm). I started to create this narrative of his experiences based around the tattoo, so i made it the punctum. Therefore I colored the tattoo to help draw it out of the picture. I also blurred the grass around him to help his body stand out, the reason I did this was mainly because there was such a great depth of field and personally I was also caught looking at how clear Frank's focus was (i was in photo for too long I now see). Anyway I believe that this man (who is shirtless, and not looking particularly clean, I might add) is down on his luck, and the tattoo is a symbol of something he once had and is now holding onto for hope. This woman could be a former love, who he has lost. She represents the youth in this man, who now looks to the tattoo as something to strive for once again. Taking this picture while he is sleeping is allowing the audience to see him at his most vulnerable, and I think this woman who he normally may keep under wraps, steals the audience's eye in this photo.