Image 1) Pellegrino Sparkling Water
http://www.mintat.co.uk/images/jobs/SPell-water.jpg
This S.Pellegrino ad consists of five different manners in which the sparkling water is packaged. I see the company as hoping to show consumers how versatile they can make their product in the way it is contained. The first and fifth S.Pellegrino images could be closely compared to alcoholic beverages, such as wine and beer. It could be assumed that S.Pellegrino is trying to market to the higher class constituency who enjoy such beverages and appreciate the foreign European appearance. The S. Pellegrino Company is trying to market its sparkling mineral water so that customers will recognize its Italian origins and to many Americans, European products are attractive to us because they seem to be of higher quality and are generally different than what we are used to.
Image 2) American History X movie cover
http://www.impawards.com/1998/posters/american_history_x.jpg
My second image displays the cover of the movie American History X with its main character, Derek Vinyard, played by Edward Norton. He has his right hand over his heart, assuming the pledging position accompanied by his furrowed brow and scowled face. What is more apparent though, is the large swastika tattooed on his left breast, externally over his heart. We also catch glimpses of his other tattoos on his arms and soldiers. Norton’s shaved head may also lead others to assume that he is a member of the subculture known as the Skinheads who share in ideologies that embrace racism and violence. His appearance leads us to believe that his character encompasses these kinds of racist and violent principles and that the movie will consist of him rebelling against society and playing the villain figure. However, the movie demonstrates his ability to change and the struggle he has with his younger brother and fellow Skinhead members once he is released out of jail with extreme alterations made in his social and political positions. I believe this particular movie’s distributor is taking a chance in acquiring its maximum profit in sales from the general public. Most may assume it says nothing beyond anything racist or projects nothing beyond violence based on the cover, therefore many people would not purchase it. Only those who are attracted simply by the appearance of Edward Norton’s character and their assumptions of his beliefs or those who see a deeper meaning behind what is initially portrayed will desire to purchase the film.
Image 3) Thread for Thought tee on model
(2nd link) http://www.synaptic.bc.ca/gallery/BombingForPeace.htm
This Thread for Thought tee shirt displays the quote, “Bombing for Peace is Like F*cking for Virginity”. Many consumers of Thread for Thought tees will also know that this company donates some of its profits to various charities and makes their clothing articles out of organic cotton. Many may find this shirt’s message to be too outspoken or detrimental to morality for its obscenely humorous message. The majority of people would assume that the individual who wears this shirt associates themselves with the anti-war, anti-Bush, and liberal democratic political side. While this would most likely be the case, some consumers of this product may simply appreciate its wittiness as a statement since virginity cannot be maintained through fornication, just as peace doesn’t seem like a goal that can be achieved through violent acts, such as bombing. The second site link provided shows the same statement on a sign in a pro-peace rally during the Vietnam War period in the 1960’s. This shows the versatility of the statement and how it is still used today in comparing
The shirt is also worn by an attractive model whose defiant and independent gaze to the left lead the consumer to believe that by wearing this item, you too can be more independent and display your opinion about political issues or against the contrary statement of “bombing for peace”.
Semiotic Analysis
The message displayed across the front of the shirt, bold print, and use of suggestive language – signifier
The model’s capability of wearing the shirt that demonstrates the importance of taking a stand confidently and displaying a message that may not be fully accepted by society, no matter where the consumer’s intentions may lie – signified
The total image of the model and the shirt leads consumers to believe that they too can be an activist for the statement and promote the contradictory statement of “bombing for peace” by comparing it to fornicating in order to achieve or maintain virginity. The overall declaration is to promote an active and young feminine society that can seize self-belief.
Semiotic Analysis
Image 4) Rage Against the Machine CD
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r113/laurac423/rcc003.jpg
Music is a very important means of media in our society and many musicians and bands focus a lot of their music towards speaking out about their country and government. Rage Against the Machine uses this image of Thich Quang Duc as the cover of their 1992 self entitled album. This scene shows the Buddhist monk, Duc, setting himself aflame in order to protest his South Vietnamese government’s persecution of his religion of Buddhism. This CD is a great representation of the true nature of Rage Against the Machine’s music and its purpose. Just as Duc took a stand against his government, RATM provides a radical message in their music and are public activists. You can see from the Parental Advisory sticker assigned and also from the band’s name that they provide politically charged lyrics that aren’t intended for any particular sort of easy listening, but rather to ignite, as the cover shows, some sort of passion within its listeners to fight apathy, become informed, and take action. This band is trying to appeal to consumers who wish to listen to music that possesses evocative lyrics and those who want to be inspired by what plays in their headphones.
Image 5) Scion xD advertisement
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r113/laurac423/rcc001.jpg
This 3d poster displayed in my room was recently taken from and alternative music magazine that was advertising the 2008 Scion xD. You can see that the ad contains the quote, “Fall with the Herd”, which can be representative of why you should invest in the new Scion vehicle. You see the majority of the figures in the ad are sheep like people who are all stumbling over the monster character’s rope set out to trip them. This ad, due to its appearance and origin of the alternative magazine, will appear to the younger generation who may be investing in a vehicle in the near future. The Scion xD according to its own website offers particular specs that would appeal to the younger constituency and costs only around $16,000. I think the ad does indeed engage younger viewers who may be trying to stray away from normalcy and stand defiant apart from “the herd”. This ad implies that by being independent you will not “fall with the herd”. This indeed may be true because this is a reasonably priced vehicle that has an efficient gas mileage packaged in an alternative looking car that most teenagers and young adults are looking for.
Semiotic Analysis
The monsters tripping the sheep as the entire image – signifier
“Fall with the herd” message demonstrated by the image – signified
The sign is the collective promotion that by purchasing the Scion xD you will stand independent and therefore make the successful choice, while watching all the others choose the lesser alternative which will serve them less efficiently.
High vs. Low Art
Low
(Hard to see – the bottom left corner displays: “Best Before End Of/The/World”)
http://s142.photobucket.com/albums/r113/laurac423/?action=view¤t=rcc002.jpg
(2nd link) http://www.linkvending.co.uk/Images%20NaturalFoods%20Snacks/SunmaidRaisins.jpg
(Please ignore me in this pictureJ)
I walked by this poster attached to a phone booth every day while I was in London, UK this summer and appreciated its transformation of the Sunmaid Raisins symbol into an artistic political statement. I noticed the basket of grenades the woman in the gas mask is holding as planes are dropping bombs in the background as to show the end of the world approaching. This inventive means of art demonstrates the somewhat satirical message that Air Raid Sirens would best serve the public before the end of the world, but would probably not really be as effective as hoped to be. By viewing the 2nd link posted above you can read even more into the image by comparing it to what it was initially based off of. This work is representative of “low art”only because of its lack of aesthetics in regards to those innovative of high art and its pop culture art classification.
High
http://www.if-art.com/spic/sdali/sdali43.jpg
The Average Bureaucrat by the Surrealist, Salvador Dali shows the innovative techniques the artist possessed during his time and more importantly his ideologies. He spoke out against the bureaucrats of his time and made clear his opinions about them. The painting can be interpreted as the mustached man is representative of the bureaucrat of his time and the two holes in his head are left to collect dust and shells, where his brain should be. Dali portrays the bureaucrat as lacking any intelligence or depth of thought and therefore stands out during his time because of his confidence in speaking out about political issues. His technique and connotative meaning of this artwork lead to this painting being classified as “high art”.
Part II
Mass media can serve both a democratic and oppressive function in our society today. We see that it can do both in particular by considering news broadcasting and when it first began to publicize the Vietnam War and the media’s continuing to publicize the wars and violence in years following. It had the positive effect of showing people what was really going on thousands of miles away to American soldiers and changed many people’s perspective on the idea of war. Due to its initial publication, many made public their aversion towards war and demonstrated against it. Today, however, the media and government has turned this tool around to serve a more negative purpose in some cases by twisting actual events around through various video and image editing, and therefore the truth is not always apparent.
2 comments:
I have several friends back home who used to listen to Rage Against the Machine and this kind of political expression through music has become more and more popular in Latin America. Artists are realizing the extent to which their role as songwriters can exert influence on the public. Their album cover conveys a solid image of political disillusionment. The impotence of these persecuted monks is so strong that even when they burned themselves alive, they still maintained a paradoxical serenity. There is no greater political message than to see a person who suffered persecution for his beliefs stay immovably calm while engulfed in fire. Politicians have sought to benefit from the power of artists’ influence. It is a common sight during presidential campaigns to see film, TV, or music artists next to candidates. As the two most influential components of our society, politics and the media are converging to consolidate themselves as the moving force of society. This tendency is evident by artists-turned-politicians Ruben Blades, Benjamin Rausseo, Arnold Schwarzenegger for Panama, Venezuela, and the US respectively and powerful media personas in the US such as Ben Affleck, Jack Black, Bill O’Reilly, and Britney Spears who use their status to promote their political affiliation. This expected convergence has given insurmountable power to very few people who shape the public opinion of the majority. The danger of this merger is imminent, apparent in the perversion of the truth through the different networks to provide support for their own agenda as you pointed out the LA Times incident of the photograph depicting the soldier holding his gun up at an Iraqi child.
The air siren image uses humor to shift the light by which we would normally view something so grave as an air raid in order to produce a more lasting impression on passers by. Your choice of image in this case helped me to further understand a concept mentioned in the reading about how images depend on one another to convey their messages and how “we are the recipients as well as the authors of media messages” (Chapter 5, 152). This image depends on the viewer’s prior knowledge of a specific brand name and the images associated with that brand name. In this way, it requires a specific cultural context in order to achieve the desired affect. To those living in a culture or area where Sunmaid Raisins are not available, this poster would make little sense and the words in the corner would likely not be recognized as an expiration date.
Because I have lived a privileged and untroubled life, I am able to look at this image and laugh. It is funny that the Sunmaid Raisin woman, gas mask, grenades and all, is still donning her big red bonnet. It is thought provoking to see flames and bombs replace the large sun behind her. The lasting impression that I take from this image is one that speaks on the futility of war and the threat of mortality. The portrayal of air sirens as purchasable goods makes them to seem fleeting and insubstantial, much like the food in Pieter Caesz’s still life. In the end, when you are facing your own death, nothing, whether it be food or noise, can set you apart from your own mortality. Others, however, may interpret this image as offensive or completely incomprehensible. It really is a matter of how you look at it.
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