Remix Sexist

I chose the topic of sexism because i am convinced that women have always suffered from this issue.  I believe  in some cases, this issue has intensified.  The media and society in general has always dictated how a woman should look like, how she should dress, how much she should weigh and how she should conduct herself.

It was definitely a real challenge to go through the material from the 30s 40s 50s  and 60s.  Once I found something, then I had to figure out how to remix super bowl clips with segments from the instructional video.  I had to go back and forth quiet a lot because there are times when the chosen clips do not completely present the final message in a way that is comprehensible to the receiver.  I had to change my ideas a few times.  I also had to go through more footage from different genres and several super bowl ads-current and in recent years.

I finally came across a video from the 50’s titled The trouble with women.  With such a provocative title, this film illustrates some of the perceived problems a supervisor might face working with women, but ultimately demonstrates where the real problem lies.  Although, a lot has changed since then, but women  still struggle with certain stereotypes.  To a certain extent, some of the problems have not only persisted but are actually worse.  Many of the super bowl ads depict images of women that are very demeaning, sexual in nature and depict women as stupid . I wish to mesh that into the ideas depicted in the footage from the Moving Image Archive.  Additionally, I would like to mesh in depictions of men in the super bowl ads that contradict the ideas of the supervisor who longs for the days when the work place was for men only.  I hope to put forth a message that says that as a society we are still the same when it comes to our perceived stereotypical demeaning ideas of women, but that these stereotypes come from the ignorance of man.  Many of the ads depict men as stupid.

For the most part, I would probably use the oral language in the film footage The trouble with women, and interject current images of women that ground the message in the footage.  Then I would like to use footage of the man in the film footage, who thinks men are more grounded and dependable in work situation, and contradict that with stupid images of men in the super bowl ads.

I would like to transition from each shot by utilizing music and text.  In some areas there will be repetition of images to pound in the message.  Other times, there will be quick flashes of certain images that depict the same message.  This is my first time doing this, and I am actually looking forward to the challenge.

The Google Toilet

This is a political cartoon aiming to send a message by using humor.  It worked.  I enjoyed the clip and I must say I was truly informed.  Now let us dissect this piece.  To begin with, a female voice was used and it was used for a purpose.

I am assuming that this is a young woman.  She is probably in her 20′s.  She uses a calming ‘hostess like’ voice.  So you are immediately put to relax.  Now you can enjoy the trip, and in this case, an informative session.

The male appears to be a Caucasian man in his 30′s.  So we know who the target audience is.

A couple of things I want to discuss.

1.  They used a woman instead of a man to inform the public, and in this case males, that they have basically sold their life to Google just by using it.  Google becomes this evil being that has invaded this man’s life in the most intimate way and has sold his information to whom ever pays for it.  The man is totally trusting of Google and is completely dumb struck by the truth.  He can’t believe that his life is an open book to the whole world.  And who gets to inform him of all this in the calmest voice ever-a woman.  The woman becomes the embodiment of evil Google.

According to Hall (2007), “there are numerous relationships that can exist between signifier and signified.  Two important things about the relationship stand out…one is that we can have the same signifier with different signifieds.  The other is that we can have different signifiers with the same signifieds.” (10).  In this case, the woman’svoice is the signifier.  Let us look at what the voice signifies.

Signifier Signified

Woman’s voice                                                 Google

Woman’s Voice                                                 Deception

Woman’s Voice                                                 Voice

Woman’s Voice                                                  Evil

Woman’s Voice                                                   Manipulation

Woman’s Voice                                                  In control of man’s life

2.  This man is in his underwear the whole time.  The clip opens with his deepest darkest secret…his desire for an Asian women.  This is a secret that he guards and wishes that no one becomes aware of it.  What does that leave us with?  A caucasian man, who secretly desires Asian women and is afraid to share this info about himself.  Google finally exposed him.  Might I say, a case of possible racism?  Or maybe it is not the norm for him or other Caucasian men to like Indian food.  Google had to expose his dirty little secret.

Towards the end, the female voice becomes more assertive, controlling  and aggressive, with a few curse words.  Her voice shifts, almost transforms to this deep evil voice.  How deceiving!  Is this a stereotype for women.  By the end, the man could not escape from her.  She held him down to the toilet until the army came and took him away.  Hmmm…

Class Discussion: Online Pirates and criminals

This week’s discussion in class centered around what is copyright and if we should allow for the freedom of expression by utilizing other peoples’ work to form a new piece of Art.  Lessig suggests that people are going to pirate other people’s work and if we do not allow for this venue then we will create a culture of criminals.  I am not sure what to think about the whole issue.  I am not sure if there will ever be a solution for this problem.  Whilst the internet has provided for many solutions, nevertheless it has spun out of control.  With that being said, I don’t think there will be any one solution, because what ever they come up with, others will come up with a way to by-pass the rules.  I think this issue has to go back to the question of ethics.  What  one feels as morally acceptable, another might disagree.  Is it acceptable to use one’s hard work without asking for permission?

Who stands to benefit?  In the end, we will create a giant who makes profit off of everyone and everyone else is left without profit- the creator and the pirate.

The Remix we saw in class was very entertaining.  They were creatively done.  Very convincing!    With this online community and availability, I wonder what the future holds for television?

Photo Essay Redo

You can access the photo essay on the following link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vrmcs10/sets/72157623556747416/

It was a struggle at first.  Choosing the topic was challenging.  Then once I found my topic, i didn’t know where to start or how to bring the photos together to convey the message.  ”Semiotics is defined as the theory of signs.” (Hall,2007, 5).  Through various semiotic modes such as irony, sarcasm, textual and visual structures, metaphors;  i attempted to create a series of photos to tell a story-the story of the homeless- the forgotten species in the land where dreams come true.

Places such as Camden and parts of Philadelphia have always intrigued me in many ways.  In one given , limited space, one can see the vast differences in lifestyle.  There is the rich and the very poor; the most advanced building alongside a boarded one.  On one side of the street you can walk without fear and on the other it is absolutely dangerous.  Some of the places look worse than poverty striken countries around the world.

My photo essay is a direct reflection of these issues.  I took photos of the homeless tents sprawled out on the cold right underneath the noisy exit from the highway.  Right around the corner from that stands this multi billion dollar company that is expanding in growth and success whilst the homeless are growing in number, and the boarded houses are infested with crime.

My first photo begins with “at last.”  The black trail is an indication of the presence life.  Someone is walking back and forth from the pile of garbage bags.  Then as you follow the trail or “the road home”, you are confronted with the tents beneath the highway.  Hall (2007) argues that in order to “consider just the meanings that can be generated between texts, images, and objects,” we would have to engage in analyzing “the form of the text” and “this consists of the shape and color of the letters and the layout of words.” (93).   I used a font that resembled handwriting to  give the photo a realistic appearance.  I also chose the color red to emphasize on the written message and  grab the reader’s focus.

The second photo titled “dwelling” is the view from the high way.  The words “home is beneath” is placed on the rail to give the impression that this is the door.  Hall (2007) emphasizes that “the style or typeface can influence how we feel about a sentence.” (140).  Once again i used the font resembling handwriting.  Bottom right of the photo is the skeleton and bone sign to signify danger.  You can not walk there.  Rushing cars are exiting the highway.   Hall (2007) indicates that there are “numerous relationships that can exist between signifier and signified.” (10).  The skeleton signifies death.  I slanted the photo slightly to give the impression of the car as it is descending on the exit.  What a place to have a home!

The third photo titled “reality” is really depicting the life of the homeless.  Every day, they wake up and that is all that they have. This is their life-a pile of garbage bags.  I placed the focus on the pole and the garbage bags to emphasize this point.  Hall (2007) said, “even if we ought to judge a picture, object, or piece of text in isolation from the intentions of its maker, this is hard to achieve in practice.” (22).  This is why i manipulated the photo to give the impression that we are looking through the lens of a homeless person.

The fourth photo titled “life” is an up close look at the tents.  One of the tents has a red cloth, an indication that it is very cold and the cloth serves as extra shelter from the cold.  Some of their belongings are buried in snow.  I highlighted the twigs  to show that they are lifeless in this cold weather.  Yet, humans live right along side them, out in the freezing cold.  On the bottom left of the photo, “IT IS” is written  in such a way to blend with the environment.  It is what it is!

The fifth photo titled “This is it” examines the reality of this situation.  This is their life, out in the wilderness.  ”My belongings” is the actual truth about the homeless.  They have nothing but nature and even that is decided by the law.  I purposely gave the picture a dark and bleak appearance to convey the message.  I removed the color to reflect a depressive mood.  Hall (2007) reiterates that “denotation is concerned with what is photographed, while connotation is concerned with how it is photographed.” (118).  The removal of color with the clear focus on the wilderness shifts the receiver’s mood and perception and allows them to view this from the experience of the homeless.  In its original form, it could be a photo of the beautiful trees.

The sixth photo “UP” speaks for itself.  I gave it a shaded appearance and placed the focus on the entrance of the building.  I did this because , i did not want the issue to be this particular company.  It could be any company or organization.  The issue is the system that contradicts itself.  The color of the sky is not blue and i did this to reflect the reality of the homeless.  According to Hall (2007), “pictures can be divided in different ways.  One way to divide them is to place the idealized elements at the top of the picture and the realistic elements at the bottom” (78).  The focus on the image is the company and it is idealized.  At the bottom left, the large bold letters “SUCCESS” is the reality of the company but i purposely blended the colors to give the whole image an ironic appearance.  Usually, success is a picture of happiness; blue sky and greenery.  But in this case the manipulation of color brings irony to the image.  As Hall indicates “irony is about opposites.” (44).

The seventh photo “Down”  is in direct contradiction of the photo before it.  This is the one of the many boarded buildings that surround the company. The word “failure” was purposely placed there in a similar style as the other graphite.  It is written in red to stand out.  I gave it the appearance of a postcard, because it is almost unbelievable to imagine that such a place exists right next to this company.  Once again irony is used to highlight the features of the boarded building.  ”Failure” is ironically written in the same font as the graphite.

The eight photo”Free” is another building in an area that is almost deserted.  I focused on a particular side of the building that reflects spirit.  Images of people are drawn next to  each other, united like a family.  Next to them is the word “LOVE.”   A bright yellow explosion of color  emanates from the word.  I wrote the word “spirit” to reflect hope.  But the word hope seems to be in a limited space against the vast blue sky.  You can barely see the word hope.  This is to reflect the reality of Camden.  According to Hall (2007) “Placing things in images in a certain way, or presenting objects in a certain way, therefore, is important if you want to draw attention to them-or divert attention from them.” (86).  I wanted to draw attention to only one side of the building that embodied “love” and i injected “spirit” to change the usual perception people have of buildings such as the one pictured.

The ninth photo “OH” is of a street that stretches for miles.  On the right side, inside the black fence, is success and on the left are the boarded houses.  ”Stagnant” is written in a black bold color on the left to reflect the situation.  Growth is written in red alongside the fence to stand out.  The focus is on the road that divides and the colors are bleak because the whole scene is bleak.

The tenth photo “Anyone?” is a boarded house with two broken windows that are not even boarded.  I emphasized the windows to give them a haunting look.  Who lived once lived there and does anyone live there now? “In short, the picture has an aura that appears to transcend how it looks,” Hall asserts.  (Hall 2007, 164).  He also says that “the stories that we tell about the world can always be presented from different viewpoints” (164).    The bolded word in red “HI”  is placed between the two windows.  The presence of the word is almost condescending.

The eleventh photo “back to earth  so soon”  brings as back to the tents just around the corner.  The twigs are literally covering the tents.  It is almost as thought they are buried with life.  I tried to manipulate the photo to make it seem as such. Even the words are camouflaged.  Why bach to the tents after the boarded homes?  This is because i always wondered why leave humans out on the cold when there are buildings to house them?  I ordered them to give sequence to the story.

The twelfth photo “i will accept” is the harsh reality of the cold icy ground with the blue tents.  The word “cold” is written in the same color blue to emphasize the cold weather.

The thirteenth photo “i don’t see you”  is of the tents.  ”Invisible to you”  is the focus of the photo.  According to Hall “human beings have the ability to perceive things in terms of foreground and background” (84).  The text is highlighted to give the impression that it is in the foreground, but at the same time the words are blended into the background to also emphasize the background.

The fourteenth photo “Bolt” is the post card appearance of  the black iron gates that has locked Success in from the problems that surround it. The post card appearance gives it a n realistic look that does not reflect the reality.  The metaphor of this image is that we are familliar with the black fences in neighborhoods but utilizing the words “locked in” inverts our perception of what the iron gate means.  Hall explains that “metaphors are often at their most interesting when they link something familiar with something unfamiliar” (38).  The bold white letters are chosen to contrast with the black fence.

The fifteenth photo “can’t see” are the tents locked out side the fence.  Locked out is purposely placed outside the gates to blend in with the environment.

The sixteenth photo “camping?”  is a closer look at the tents.  Irony is the definite reason for the title of this photo.  Some might look at the photo and assume that a group of people are out camping.  Therefore, I deliberately placed the word OUT behind the bars in large letters to restrict the meaning of the photo.

The last photo “Alien:The homeless”  emphasizes the black fence and blurs out the tents.  However at the same time the environment that houses the tents is brought to focus.  I gave the trees eyes that look in at the success and question humanity.  ”HI” is paced on the one of the bars in bright red to highlight irony and sarcasm.  According to Hall “sarcasm changes the meaning of what i have said” (33).   How many times do we throw out that word and not really care for the answer.  He also  says,  ”Unusual depictions and curios representations are all of interest to those who study semiotics because they allow us to say what we mean in a non-literal way.  Those non-literal forms of meaning enable us to make the familiar seem unfamiliar and the unfamiliar seem familiar.” (33).  This is the reflection of this photo essay.

My aim in this photo essay is to bring into question the meaning of success, humanity, and the reality of our collective failure.  What ever the problems may be, we are in the end, all humans.  There needs to be the basic need s of life for all, no matter what the circumstances may be.  This is because we do live in a country that does have a lot of resources.  Such companies house individuals with million dollar salaries, whereas right out side the bars live those who can’t afford the next meal.  The last photo gives closure to the reality.  I know it is bleak but it is what it is.

Panopticon Inverted

In class, Professor Wolff discussed the Pnoptic model system as a system of surveillance. In prison, the quards are placed in the center to constantly survey the jailed.  Prisoners would never know whether they are being watched or not.  It is this perception of fear, the idea that you are always watched even if you are not.  For this week i have chosen to analyze this political cartoon of a Muslim woman dressed in traditional clothing.  Take a look at the image below.

Who is the tower now?  However, instead of her surveying others, it is quiet the  opposite.  She stands in the middle with a confused/befuddled expression on her face whilst several hands are holding magnifying glasses at her from all angles.  One of the hands is holding a match and is about to light the rope protruding from under her garment.  Make a move and we are ready to respond, is basically what it is.  She is essentially being watched from all angles.    She stands in the spot light looking helpless.  This cartoon was created by a Saudi Arabian woman in protest of all the attention, negative or not, that a Muslim woman receives.  This cartoon can be interpreted to mean a great deal of  things, but the point i am trying to make is that, just because she chooses to dress in a certain way, she becomes the tower that is surveyed, the person to watch and quetion, the person to wonder about.  Even if no one is doing that, it is the perception of fear, of that which is not common, of that which does not conform to a specific environment, that  which is different, provided for this invisible surveillance.  To further demostrate this, look at the same image below.

So now, instead of this idea where the figure or tower in the center is the one surveying, it is the outside surveying the center.

I chose to utilize Picnic to make a few changes to the image to bring focus to one particular message.  I did this to highlight this idea that the person behind the image has the control to manipulate the photo in order to send a particular message.  The image above was originally intended for a Saudi audience.  But, taken out of is context it can mean a number of other things, depending on the kind of message the photographer wants to send!

Class Discussion: Photographs

“Photographs are never ‘evidence’ of history;  they are themselves the historical.” (Tagg, 245)  This particular quote from the book Visual  culture (1999) encompasses the idea that photographs record culture, politics, Religion and all aspects of life at any given moment to tell the story of that given moment.  Photography had and still has the power to manipulate the audience in any shape or form. But are the photographs doing that job, or it the person behind the camera.  A photograph taken can tell a thousand words, but are those words about the person photographed or the photographer him/herself.  How the photographs are taken, manipulated and presented is a reflection of the photographer, and by extension the society at large,  especially in today’s digital world.  Now, you can take a picture and immediately decide to delete it if you are unhappy with it, or if it does not conform to your idea of what it should like.  You keep on clicking the button in order to find the desired image of what you have painted in your imagination.  You may want to photograph your friend drunk even though it’s not a habit of theirs, or photograph yourself as studious even though you are not.  In fact, you can manipulate how much you weigh , what color eyes you have and so on.  Basically, you are manipulating the receiver into a story that you crafted.

For example;  is McCain always an angry man or is this a passionate discussion and the photographer manipulated and used the photo in order to manipulate the audience?

With this in mind, we are led to question how truthful pictures are.  We are no longer examining the photo but the photographer as well.  Consider the picture below.  It is a Pepsi ad in the 40′s.  But what else is the image informing us of the time period.

The female is bright and cheerful.  The ad is not just about Pepsi, it is also informing us of the defined roles of women at the time.  How do we know this?  Well, the female is wearing , I believe, a hostess uniform and she is not just holding the bottle but she is pouring it in to the cup-she is serving it.  Her role is defined.

My point is:

Although, photos can sometimes be deceiving, they still tell the story of culture, politics, social class etc.  They are a record of time as it unfolds.

The Homeless

It was a struggle at first.  Choosing the topic was challenging.  Then once I found my topic, i didn’t know where to start or how to bring the photos together to convey the message.

Places such as Camden and parts of Philadelphia have always intrigued me in many ways.  In one given , limited space, one can see the vast differences in lifestyle.  There is the rich and the very poor; the most advanced building alongside a boarded one.  On one side of the street you can walk without fear and on the other it is absolutely dangerous.  Some of the places look worse than poverty striken countries around the world.

My photo essay is a direct reflection of these issues.  I took photos of the homeless tents sprawled out on the cold right underneath the noisy exit from the highway.  Right around the corner from that stands this multi billion dollar company that is expanding in growth and success whilst the homeless are growing in number, and the boarded houses are infested with crime.

My first photo is begins with “the road home.”  The black trail is an indication of life.  Someone is walking back and forth from th pile of garbage bags.  Then as you follow the trail, you are confronted with the tents beneath the highway.  I used a font that resembled handwriting to  give the photos a realistic appearance.  I also chose the color red to stand out and grab the reader’s focus.

The second photo titled “dwelling” is the view from the high way.  The words “home is beneath” is placed on the rail to give the impression that this is the door.  Bottom right of the photo is the skeleton and bone sign to signify danger.  You can not walk there.  Rushing cars are exiting the highway. I slanted the photo slightly to give the impression of the car as it is descending on the exit.  What a pace to have a home!

The third photo titled “reality” is really depicting the life of the homeless.  Every day, they wake up and that is all that they have. This is their life-a pile od garbage bags.  I put the focus on the pole and the garbage bags to emphasise this point.

The fourth photo titled “life” is un up close look at the tents.  One of the tents has a red cloth, an indication that it is very cold and the cloth serves as extra shelter from the cold.  Some of their belongings are buried in snow.  I highlighted the twigs  to show that they are lifeless in this cold weather.  yet, humans live right along side them, out in the freezing cold.  On the bottom left of the photo, “IT IS” is written  in such a way to blend with the environment.  It is what it is!

The fifth photo titled “This is it” is examines the reality of this situation.  This is their life, out in the wilderness.  ”My belongings” is the actual truth about the homeless.  They have nothing but nature and even that is decided by the law.  I purposely gave the picture a dark and bleak appearance to convey the message.  I removed the color to reflect a depressive mood.

The sixth photo “UP” speaks for itself.  I gave it a shaded appearance and put the focus on the entrance of the building.  I did this because , i did not want the issue to be this particular company.  It could be any company or organization.  The issue is the system that contradicts itself.  The color of the sky is not blue and i did this to reflect the reality of the homeless.

The seventh photo “Down”  is in direct contradiction of the photo before it.  This is the one of the many boarded buildings that surround the company. The word “failure” was purposely placed there in a similar style as the other graphite.  It is written in red to stand out.  I gave it the appearance of a postcard, because it is almost unbelievable to imagine that such a place exists right next to this company.

The eight photo”Free” is another building in an area that is almost deserted.  I put focus on a particular side of the building that reflects spirit.  Images of people are drawn next to  each other, united like a family.  Next to them is the word “LOVE.”   A bright yellow explosion of color  emanates from the word.  I write the word spirit to reflect that there is hope.  But the word hope seems to be limited against the vast blue sky.  You can barely see the word hope.  This is to reflect the reality of Camden.

The ninth photo “OH” is a long road.  On the right side inside the black fence is success and on the left are the boarded houses.  stagnant is written in a black bold color on the left to reflect the situation.  Growth is written in red alongside the fence to stand out.  The focus is on the road that divides and the colors are bleak because the whole scene is bleak.

The tenth photo “Anyone?” is a boarded house with two broken windows that re not even boarded.  I emphasized the windows to give them a haunting look.  Who lived once lived there and does anyone live there now?  The bolded word in red “HI”  is placed between the two windows.  The presence of the word is almost condescending.

The eleventh photo “back to earth  so soon”  brings as back to the tents just around the corner.  The twigs are literally covering the tents.  It is almost as thought hey are buried with life.  I tried to manipulate the photo to make it seem as such. Even the words are camouflaged.  Why bach to the tents after the boarded homes?  This is because i always wondered why leave humans out on the cold when there are buildings to house them?

The twelfth photo “i will accept” is the harsh reality of the cold icy ground with the blue tents.  The word “cold” is written in the same color blue to emphasize the cold weather.

The thirteenth photo “i don’t see you”  is of the tents.  ”Invisible to you”  is the focus of the photo.

The fourteenth photo “locked in ” is the post card appearance of the black iron gates that have locked themselves in from the problems that surround them.  The post card appearance gives it a n realistic look that does not reflect the reality.

The fifteenth photo “can’t see” are the tents locked out side the fence.  Locked out is purposely placed outside the gates.

The sixteenth photo “camping?  is a closer look at the tents.  Some might look at the photo and assume that a group of people are out camping.  Therefore, I deliberately placed the word OUT behind the bars in large letters to constrict the meaning of the photo.

The last photo “Alien:The homeless”  emphasises the black fence and blurs out the tents.  However at the same time the environment that houses the tents is brought to focus.  I gave the trees eyes that look in at the success and question humanity.  HI is paced on the one of the bars in bright red.  How many times to we throw out that word and not really care for the answer.  This is the reflection of this photo essay.

My aim in this photo essay is to bring into question the meaning of success, humanity, and the reality of our collective failure.  What ever the problems may be, we are in the end, all humans.  There needs to be the basic need s of life for all, no matter what the circumstances may be.  This is because we do live in a country that does have a lot of resources.  Such companies house individuals with million dollar salaries, whereas right out side the bars live those who can’t afford the next meal.  The last photo gives closure to the reality.  I know it is bleak but it is what it is.