The Gaze & The Media

The Gaze & The Media

Men act & women appear, women watch themselves m=been looked at.
Berger is not saying that women are vain its saying that women internalize the gaze, because of the amount of imagery which is in the media and the habit of seeing other women in the media is normal. Women have the effect of seeing themselves pictured.

Hans Memlings "Vanity"

This is a nude image is holding a mirror which is an impossible to get a reflection how it is showed. The painter has not just painted her nude for his pleasure but by putting a mirror in the image he is blaming it on herself as she is looking at herself therefore its OK for us to look at her. But Berger says you painted this, because you wanted to look at her naked body & you wanted to make it available for other people to look at. 1485 was a harsh judgement of women.

The device of the mirror has been replicated in the contemporary fashion, there is no return of the gaze as we cant see her eyes as there is no challenge to us at the view. She is preoccupied and therefore we are allowed to look at her. Due to her position its the moment that we are spying on her.



Alexandre Cabanel "Birth of Venus"

This women is partially covering her eyes, looks like she is awaking from sleep and therefore no challenge to our look as she can't see the viewers looking tat her as therefore we are invited by the artist to look at the woman figure and no challenge to the gaze.


Sophie Dahl Ad For Opium

This is a replying pose, this version of the ad was too overtly sexual as there is a concentration to her hand on the breast.

They turned it on its side to make the emphasis change by turning the image away from the horizontal format as there is more emphasis on the face.





Titan "Venus of Urbino"

What makes a challenge to the gaze is the look of the women's gaze, this is a flirty invitation to look at her body. We have this feeling again of spying on her as there is a curtain which is makes it out as its a private place we have viewing too. The hand is covering her women parts and therefore could be modest but also seen as a sexual pose.



Manet "Olympia"

Although this is very similar this is a challenge to the gaze due to her gaze in the eyes. The hand position is very definite which is stopping the view of that part of her body. The woman is actually a prostitute, therefore representing the modern nude and has symbols that she is a artisan. He is celebrating this powerful woman figure.


Ingre "Le Grand Odalisque"

They was responding to the international survey of international sculpture. 
The gorilla girls take the Ingres image and made a poster out of it which they put on buses to advertise the event. It was actally taken down from buses due to its phallic image.




Manet "Bar at the Folies Bergeres"

He makes this portrait as a self portrait. he offers this weird perspective of using the mirror. In the painting you can see her full back which would be behind her if we was siting in front of her. In the top right hand corner you can see he is conversing her and have been put in the position of the viewer.




Jeff Wall "Picture For Women"

In the stance of the women she is copying the stance and look of the bar maid. She repeats this vacant look, but Wall has put a mirror behind her but divide the image into thirds. And the camera is where Manet was in his painting. there is a really complex use of space.




Coward R

The action of the camera in the USA replicates the male gaze. This is a really good example, as she has a figure of a semi-naked female and put in everyday life. Like normalisation of the display of the female body. The model is wearing sunglasses which is another device in advertise as she cant return the gaze, without feeling we are betraying her privacy.




Eva Herzigonva

This is normalisation of the female body in the street, she is looking down at the people below. This is so there can't be no return of the gaze.




Coward R
Whats wrong with type of the investigation?
She says that the problem with the objectification of the body results in a detachment of women from the body and viewed as objects. We start to objectivify them. This is also created in Peeping Tom he films women and then kills them, and films the women in the moment of death. This is objectification taken to the extreme.


This is a male body in the classic pose with his eyes close so we are able to look at him without feeling guilty. 

From 2007

You usually find that every single male returns our gaze. There is no passive position that we get with the female body. If you find a male in particularly clothed situation. The body is a machine and a representation of fitness and nothing passive about the body.




Marilyn "The Seven Year Inch"

 Laura Mulvey looks at the way films are made within Hollywood and how bodies are chopped up by the camera, the framing of the sexual scene and certain parts of the female body will be filmed close-up and allows us to project our fantasy. The females of the film are never the drivers of the story they are reacting passively to the male characters.

People are invited to watch people in the dark. As its a very sexual charged environment. They phasitlitate for the view and the narcissistic process within the ideal ego. She declares that in partial society that it has been split between the male and female role.





Artemisia Gentileschi "Judith Beheaded Holofernes"

They are showing an active and aggressive scene which is unusual referencing as its more of an acted role in mythological role. She wants to reposition the role of women in the history as women are left out of art history as the artist as a genius is always given to a male figure. A lot of her work is position women so there voices are visible.



Pollock G
Women are margilised within the masculine discourses of art history.



Cindy Sherman "Film Still #6"

Her work challenges the gaze and the alumina of the work does not lie within the maker of the work. The woman in the image in a up right position so there is more of a focus on her face. rather than looking at herself in a mirror it is down on the bed so we are denied that access that we are allowed to use her as the gaze. This image challenges the gaze by refusing the viewer not allowed to look ate her without feeling awkward.




Babara Kruger "Your gaze hits he side of my face"

She uses this text which gives the impression its cut out of a newspaper. there is reference to violence. As its not harmful and challenges ways we cant look at female bodies by using the word hits.




Sarahs Lucas "Eating a Banana"

She pictures herself eating a banana which is referring to the phallic connotation of a banana. She is returning the male gaze in an aggressive challenge. The feel of food & language is something that comes out of her work often. This is a serious comment on the language that is used and a real challenge in her position.




Tracey Emin "Money Photo"

This is a similar pose to Sarah Lucas photo. She is saying that her work can't be rel or good as she is making money out of it. 




Caroline Lucas MP 

Even today we still have page three which has been brought to the attention of the house of commons by Caroline Lucas. This top was told to move as it was not norm for the dress code for the house of commons. 
There is a big trend against the attack of women which are talking about the objectification of the women of history. 

One of her campaigns was to reinstate the women on the British currency as if she is to be replaced she needs to be replaced by an important woman figure. If it goes unrecognised and unchallenged it makes it worse. She started receiving death threats which made her close down her account, which has led to them now bring the report button onto the twitter site.




Lucy Ann Holmes
She has also been a victim of similar abuse on Twitter for writing her views on feminism. 





The Times

Women happen to be removed from history, which ignores the fact that 30 years ago a female won the title.




Social Networking

Is used to perpetuate the critical male gaze and here even aimed at young girls who are already been made to change themselves for the male gaze.





Susan Sontag "On Photography"

This is a way of encouraging whats going on to keep on happening, this is a really interesting quote to the role of the paparazzi as our need for the images are the drive for the large amounts of money and therefore the market for these images are there. Taking the shots actually create the market, this is perpetuation of this cycle. This is to see the mass in celebrity as the desire to see them as ordinary people in this case leads to her death.




Reality Television
This offers us the all-seeing which offers the power which we use to vote to keep in the house. This is the kind of voyeuristic & passive consumption of this distraction. there is no active world for the viewer.




The Truman Show 

He was born into a reality TV as everything he does is filmed. This is the level of reality we can't get in BB. At one point he realises that everything he sees around him is a stage. 





Big Brother

Seems to offer the equality of both male & female body which seems to level it out. It makes voyeurism on everyday activity. Its the gaze at its worse. The fantasy is that they can't see us as we are the peeping tom. There is another layer that they carry round the sense of been looked at. 




Vistor Burgin
Looking is not indifferent, There can never be any question of just looking.
As your are the next generation of image walkers are there alternatives.

Identity & Othering Task Three

Identity & 'Othering' Task

The question of who the other is might seem useless, because in some way we are all 'others' to someone, and everyone else is 'other' to us. We can never fully know the other, and even if we strive to do so, 'the other' is constantly changing. At the same time, there can be no “I” without a relation to and a concept of the other. We need something that in some degree is different from ourselves to actually constitute a self. And therefore this is how we identify ourselves within society by 'othering' others. And therefore, this is how labels occur and how personality and perception of people and social groups have arrived. The example above is what I am going to use to explain this concept.

This advert is for the car brand Corolla. This advert is suggesting it is luxury due to the obvious reason in the background of the image. It has been designed in a way of showing royalty and therefore suggesting luxury & wealthiness, through the use of the silverware on the outside of the car. Therefore this is also suggesting that the family have a butler. This is 'othering' its audience suggesting that unless you have a butler you won't be able to afford this car.

Futhermore, within the bodycopy it quotes 'So luxurious your family will not want to leave.' This is therefore also using the method of 'othering' due to them dismissing the audiences who don't have a family. Therefore, again suggesting that unless you have a family this car will not satisfy your needs and therefore you wouldn't get this car. The use of the dusk lighting could be suggesting that they have been on a family day out and just got back, therefore this is a nuclear family and suggesting that they are fully functioning family that are happy therefore using the method of 'othering' due to the suggesting that the typical happy family can get this car.

Overall, this advert has used 'othering' in many ways due to the use of creating a divide between classes and making people feel inferior. Now, the 'others' from this advert is the audience that will 'other' themselves from the people targeted in this audience due to them thinking they are more superior within society than them, when in actual fact if 'othering' was not a common factor in society then this hierarchy would not be used to create a comparison.

Identity Seminar

Identity Seminar


When both have no concept of self?
Lacan calls this Hommlette - no sense of unifying.

Mirror Stage
6-18 months - understanding you are whole. If you cry someone comes to help you.
Realisation - get the idea that you are an object in the world.

Lacan - Always chasing & affirming our own sense of self & trying to get back to the 'mirror stage'.

Sense of Self (Subjectivity) built on:

• An illusion of wholeness - can be destroyed built up on fiction.
• Receiving views from others - taught that to measure need to see affirmation.

RESULT - Own subjectivity is fragile

Identity & 'The other' is visual representation.

• Creation of Identities - securing identitys for ourselves.
• Concepts of otherness
• Analysis of visual examples.

Identity Creation
What makes you you?

• Education/Job
• Style/Clothing
• Upbringing/Parents/Family
• Ethics
• Friends/Social Groups
• Physical Attributes
• Fears
• Sense of Humor
• Skills/Ability
• Religion/Beliefs
• Background (Limits)
• Gender
• Sexuality

How do you express your identity?

• Clothes
• Lifestyle Choices
• Conspicuous Consumption
• Body (Physical Appearance)
• Job (Profession/Vocation)
• Emotion Avaliability
• Social Networking
• Reality Vs Projected Identity

Constructing & 'The Others'

• Relies on assumption of opposition & radical otherness.
• Create our identities within mothering.
• About security unstable identity
• Subterranean Values - Shared fashion, values.
• Racism - Inform ourselves that we are superior to other races.

Examples of Othering
How we read identify identities to other society - with aim of reaching core audiences. 

Consumerism Task Two

Consumerism Task

In Berger’s essay he talks about how consumer society shapes gender roles including portraying females as objects, and how the media encourages women to survey themselves. Both of these points are as relevant in relation to the media culture of advertising today. This quote I found imparticular relevant:

"Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at". –Berger , J (1972) “Ways of Seeing” Pg 47

The 2011 Lynx ad The cleaner you are, the dirtier you get, is based entirely on presenting the female as an object of desire for the male to enjoy. The model gazes out of the advert at the viewer and as her bikini top is falling off she manages to hold it up by cupping her breasts. The seductive female’s slightly damp hair (which is magically blowing around) invites the dominant male into the shower with her. The advert is a clear example of how advertising today still depicts women as objects and promotes gender roles.

It is selling a false lifestyle, as it is saying use lynx shower gel and you will all of a sudden have a dirty sex life. When in fact this is not for certain but uses this to target their audience. It is making out it will enrich your life, when in fact it is making you poorer. This is also relating to the quote by Berger:

‘It promotes to each of us that we transform ourselves, or our lives, by buying something more.’ Berger, J “Ways of Seeing” Pg 131

Not only do adverts like these encourage the idea of females being the passive object of male visual pleasure, they also encourage women look at themselves being looked at, and in turn objectify themselfs as a subject of a gaze.

There is no denying that fact that Lynx are very aware of their target market and know who to get through to them, for example young boys and men. However, they may not have been fully aware that it will not just be viewed by this particular market, therefore are open to complaints. This advert is very clear in depicting the product but may have went about it the wrong way or taken the initial idea a bit too far. Which also can relate to another quote from the same text:

“If you are able to buy this product you will be lovable. If you cannot buy It, you will be less lovable” – Berger, J “Ways of Seeing” Pg 144

This is therefore suggesting that it is a luxury personal need, but you don’t need it. This is an explicit message of the publicity as it is saying that been able to buy is been sexually desired.

“Publicity is about social relations, not objects. Its promise is not of pleasure, but of happiness: happiness as judged from the outside by others.”- Berger, J “Ways of Seeing” Pg133.

This is related to the lynx advert due to the way the public has been made to view women. Which also links to what Freud says about power and the sexual desires of men, as it shows there great stopping power due to telling them they will achieve there innate desire, to be attractive to women. This enhances the quote taken from a selection from the ways of seeing passage:

“The gap between what publicity actually offers and the future it promises, which corresponds with the gap between what the spectator-buyer feels himself to be and what he would like to be.”- Berger, J “Ways of Seeing” Pg 148

Lynx initially only being for men have now only recently created new brand for females. This may have only been a reaction to any sexist complaints they may have received over the years, so they can now make adverts about the attraction of men, making things seem for equal and fair.

Identity Lecture

Identity Lecture
Theories of Identity.

Essentialism
biological make-up cannot be changed although postmodernist theories disagree with that,

Physiognomy
Phrenology
Informs how people read, identity and who you are.
The idea that in a typical balanced human you have equal parts of the brain broken down in what the society accepts as normal. If your animal is bigger than your domestic part you are accepted as abnormal by society. And therefore throw the whole proportion of the brain.

 











Cesare Lombroso- He is the founder of positivist criminology the notion that criminal tendency are inherited.

Physiognomy legitimising racism
This suggests superiority of Anglo-Teutonic. Linking back to the face shape and the idea of intelligence.

Chris Ofili, Holy Virgin Mary 1996
He paints the virgin mary, this appeaered in the sensation exhibition in 1997.  This was insulting to christians and that it suggests other than a white European.

Historical phrases of identity.
Pre modern identity - personal identity is stable - defied by long standing roles. Institutions determine identity. You get secure identities which are tied to which you cant escape from these bounds in society.

Modern identity - modern society begin to offer a wider range of social roles. Within space of forty years you have 3 keys text of modernity by Baudelaire which introduces the concept of the gentleman stroller. Veblen talks about conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure, and good that mean something to other and showing it off. This is the idea of class structure he is saying that if you can show off what you are wearing that you don't have to go to work to be like that.
Simmel identitfies the fahsion cycle and that there is collection and everyone has to have it. This is the triple down theory, they wear a certain type of things which symbolises there class. The upper classes want to keep them higher than the low but then the lower class buy cheaper items of what they wear so the higher class wear something new and this is then a continuous cycle. The mask of fashion is also another theory this is the idea that you hide behind what you are wearing.

George Simmel.
Edvard Munch - evening on Karl Johan.
You start getting aleination within society with the a vacant expression on their faces. He goes on to say about the speed of modernity.

Post modern identity

Foucault
He is a key thinker in this analysis and believe that identity is constructed out of the discourses culturally available to us. It is a set of recurring statements and this mean you can categories them and leads to stereotypes of people.

Possible discourses:
age, class, gender, nationality, race, sexuality, education, income etc... Although these can change and the list can be endless.

The ones we want to consider is class nationality race/ethnicity & gender or sexuality.

Gender/sexuality
This is based around a history of middle to upper class heterosexual men. So to be non white European upper class then you will be passed out and set aside the boundaries. This will be referred to as the otherness.

Class
To known the class you fit in you need to know what the other classes are.
Humphery spender/mass observation - work town project.


There idea was they wanted to observe Britain living and playing. They go to Bolton to document this for a few days. All these are upper class and they don't have to go to work. But then how much is this analysing the living or just dividing upper class again.

 


















Children playing
loaded assumption of working class people at work due to the choice of toys.






Martin Parr - The Last Resort
These are taken in Brighton, this could be classed a contra sending as on holiday and sun bathing in litter.

Ascot
He is documenting ascot where people get dressed up for the day but also has this off set focus on a large woman as she is drinking champagne and split it down herself and therefore is it showing lower class trying to be upper class.

Highland rape collection (Alexander McQueen)
Using tartan and chain mail. The use of the word rape is highly emotive. He claims this is not about rape even though the model are covered in blood and stagger up the catwalk, but he says its about the rape of Scotland by England.

Vivienne Westwood - Anglomania collection
The idea of culture appropriation. 

Las Vegas
Is it really American identity or is it using identities of other countries to build up the City.

 

Chris Ofili- No woman no cry

His the first important black painter of art, He was a street artist in New York by Andy Warhol. He parents are from Jamaica, but he likes to show perceptions of black people. It has reference to the black culture and colour scheme is very Jamaica culture. This refers to the murder of the black student and some images of him appear in the woman's tears. Gives a voice to black culture which hasn't happened before.

Captain Shit
No black superhero, so he came up with this idea.

Gillian Wearing
She went round asking people to say what they wanted to say and got them to write them on pieces of paper. She picked up the ideas of witty and things that say something about society. Is it playing to stereotypes of black men been well hung.
 
Emily Bates
She bases her work on her been Scottish and been red headed. She ends up making this work from her inspiration on the Mary Magdalene portrait, she collected all her hair from hair dressers to make this dress.

Cindy Sherman
Film Stills
Women are in films to look pretty for the consumption of men, she dresses herself up and places herself in context of typically stereotypes of films.

Tracey Emin
Everyone I have ever slept with
The embroidered names within the tent are not just people she has had sex with but also if she has stayed in the same bed as them but society takes the title in a different way.
society will say she is a slut because she has had sex with all these people but a male would be praised if he did this. As women are viewed very differently.

 


Gillian Wearing - Lynne
her t-shirt says i may not be brilliant but i have great breasts. The wet t-shirt is objectifying stereotypes.

 

Kruger - I shop therefore I am
She herself is a feminist artist and gets criticised for this as she is becoming corporate in which she was defending before.