Final Entry

Throughout the semester, my experience with blogging about visual rhetoric has taught me just how many perspectives and ideas can come out of one image. I have not only learned this from composing my own blog, but by reading and thinking critically about what others post as well and hearing their individual take on an image. I especially enjoyed the instances in which someone pulled a meaning out of any image that I had never though of. If anything at all, the one thing I will take away from blogging in general (as this is my first time participating in the blogosphere) is the truth behind the title of my blog. At the beginning of the semester I titled my blog 'Infinite Perspectives' knowing that everyone is able to come up with their own unique perspective in regards to an image. Through the topic proposals and the blog posts though I have truly come to realize how creative and unique everyones thought processes are. Some of the topic proposals that I have read over the semester really surprised me as it was a perspective on a topic that I would never have thought to take.

By blogging every week I have also been constantly on the look out for images that may be useful for these assignments. I have caught myself numerous amounts of times looking at images and advertisements and thinking about the many meanings that can be pulled from them. I also find myself analyzing an image and trying to figure out what type of thought went into the image or advertisement while it was being created.

Overall, throughout my blogging and this course in general my attention to detail has increased dramatically. I have taken many advertising and MIT classes in which we analyzed images but this course has allowed me to analyze images in a more detailed way and has over all given me a greater understanding of the argument that is being conveyed by a particular image or advertisement.

The image above was found on the cover of the UWO Gazette for the annual sex issue published in February. This issue of the Gazette is always a huge hit throughout the UWO student body as it is filled with funny articles, facts and opinion pieces that are not typically found within a student newspaper. The reason I loved this image so much was because it depicted a homosexual relationship opposed to the traditional heterosexual relationship that would usually be portrayed in the sex issue. I think that the fact that the Gazette felt comfortable enough to place this image on its cover is truly representative of how accepting the culture is here at Western. This image could also have been placed on the cover in order to shock people as it is most likely not the image they were expecting to see when they picked up the sex issue but this in itself is a way to challenge the Gazette audience into thinking about why this image is considered shocking in the first place. 

I found that this image related to my time within the blogosphere because the place in which the image was found was why I found the image to be intriguing. Had I found this image within Cosmopolitan, GQ or even a blog I probably would not have thought twice about it, because to me, a relationship such as this one is something I am perfectly comfortable with. The fact that I found it interesting on the Gazette however made me realize that the Gazette was trying to convey an argument by placing this image on the cover. I suppose I was more so interested in the reaction of others to the argument that the visual rhetoric was composing than my own personal reaction. 

Finally, I truly believe that my thought process about this cover page would not have been so complex had it not been for my experience within these blogs and my exposure to the many perspectives that one can take on an image and its context.

A Free Man: News Photograph

The story behind this photograph is so compelling that it is hard to say the image does it justice.
The man enjoying the sunshine in this photograph is Michael Morton and in 1986 he was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife. Twenty-five years later he leaves the courthouse a free man as his name was cleared thanks to DNA testing and a team of lawyers who never doubted his innocence.
The full story of Michael Morton is available here.

The reason I choose this specific image is because I believe it is truly representative of what we define as freedom. This is the first time Michael Morton experienced sunlight outside of the prison yard in a quarter of a century and his body language and facial expression convey just how truly appreciative he is.
His situation is certainly not a normal one but if it could happen to him, an innocent man, than it is just as likely that it could happen to one of us, a scary thought but none the less true. Therefore I think this image also acts as a reminder to enjoy the little things in life such as sunshine, because something we take for granted the one day could be taken away without warning the next.
The people walking behind Morton in this image also add to its rhetoric. By having an entourage follow him out of the court house it is symbolic of the support that he has sustained over the years. The man beside him in this image is his attorney, and with his large figure next to Morton he symbolizes someone who can protect him which is essentially what he has done by clearing Michael Morton's name.
By using this image in a news report, such as the 60 minutes interview where I first saw it, it emphasizes the point that this man has had so much taken away from him but he is so happy with something so little (sunshine). When one knows of the background story behind this image it is hard to not have an emotional response to it. By using this image to illustrate his story of becoming a free man I believe it successfully plays on the pathos of the audience to really feel compelled by the story being told.

Then and Now

The two photographs posted above are personal photographs of my sister and I. The first image was taken in 1994 while the second was taken in 2011.

I have always loved seeing photographs from 'then' and 'now' as I think they tell a story through both the similarities and the differences.

My sister and I have always been very different, not just in our physical characteristics but our personalities as well, which is illustrated through both of these photos.  

In the first, I have a head full of hair where my sister, unfortunately, was bald until the age of three. I also have a large and somewhat attention seeking smile on my face where my sister looks like she is being more reserved. These personality traits remain true to the both of us as I have always been outgoing and loud and she has been quiet and shy.

The dresses that we are dressed in within the first image were obviously picked out by my mother. I think the similarities between these outfit choices are symbolic of my mom's failed attempt to make look more alike or more like 'sisters'.

The second image was taken last June at my sisters graduation. To this day no one believes that me and her could possibly be related and I think this image is a true testament as to why. Although we share no physical characteristics and have extremely different personalities we have both grown to have similar interests. This is why I love the second image; I think it shows our differences but at the same time we do not look out of place with each other (this could relate back to the similar outfit choices in the first photograph).  Another reason I love this photograph in comparison to the first one is that the roles have switched. Within the first image i feel like I stand out more as I am taller and look more excited to be in the photograph. In the second image however, it is my sisters graduation day and therefore her time to shine and although you can't tell very well in this image she has also grown to be 3 inches taller than me. 

My sister is currently in first year studying MIT at Western too and we always joke about how we are bound to have the same life path as the majority of our decisions over the years have been the same.

I suppose the main reason I enjoy these images is that they are illustrative of both of our lives and how, regardless of our differences, either physical or personality wise, we still remain sisters. 

Calvin Klein

For my final project I am going to focus on the infamous Calvin Klein advertisements that have gotten nothing less than controversial reviews over the years.
I intend to analyze both commercial advertisements and print advertisements from various campaigns and will be discussing just how the brand uses sex to sell their product. In addition to this, I hope to focus on how the brand uses inappropriate themes within their campaigns such as child pornography and the sexualization of children themselves in reference to their toddler underwear campaign.
As a major topic within the media and within the field of advertising studies I am able to use both news reports and academic papers in regards to these campaigns specifically.
By analyzing these ads I will be able to put together a multimedia presentation as I will need to show both print and commercial ads to further prove my point.

If any of you have suggestions on any other perspectives I could analyze I would love to hear them!

1928 Advertisement

Advertisements have undergone significant changes throughout the last century and this particular ad is a tribute to just how far societies values have changed the advertising and marketing sector over the years. However, after the analysis of this particular image it can be determined that there are still similarities between advertisements from then until now.
This ad was published in 1928 for Lux soap brand, a dishwashing detergent.
Judging from the opening caption and the size of font we are able to determine that the target audience for this advertisement is 'girls'. Wash dishes!' is also in italics which allows it to stand out as the second most important line in the headline after 'girls'. By hailing girls as the intended audience this advertiser is attributing them with the washing of dishes and by making the words 'girls' and 'wash dishes' stand out from the rest of the font the advertiser is essentially telling the audience that if you are a girl you should wash dishes.
The caption as a whole however is a prime example of the sexist underpinnings that this advertisement is portraying. By hailing girls as the audience and trying to capture their attention through their apparent want for 'pretty hands' the advertiser is reducing females as a whole to housekeepers who are looking for ways to multitask both their housework and beauty upkeep. Needless to say, this ad could never be published in today's society as the brand would be condemned for their gender stereotyping and sexist values.
The fact that this ad was published in 1928 is truly representative of the values that were widely accepted at the time in North American society as the majority of women were stay at home mothers and would have found this ad to be persuasive. Many women were most likely intrigued by this idea of beauty and housework combined.
Another detail to note about this advertisement is the picture at the top. The image is of a woman who looks as though she is thoroughly enjoying doing the dishes. The woman looks like your average everyday housewife and is nothing spectacular. By using an average housewife within the image the advertiser may have been trying to appeal to the middle class or even lower class women. The target demographic is made even more clear with the words at the bottom of the advertisement that states 'Lovely hands for less than a cent a day'. The use of the average housewife image in combination with the cost effective caption, the advertiser is insinuating that if they use Lux soap even they could have pretty hands without the need to spend ridiculous amounts of money. In face they are saving money because they are getting dish soap AND pretty hands that would usually only come through relatively pricey lotions.
Finally, the advertisement was given, what appears to be, the home-maker stamp of approval. The fact that a home-makers stamp of approval even existed is fascinating within todays day and age but what is even more interesting is that this stamp most likely would have helped this product sell better at the time. It is yet again another example of how our values have changed.

Although by analyzing this ad it is easy to point out how much our society and values in regards to gender stereotypes within advertising have changed it is also interesting to evaluate how similar they still are. Granted that advertisements can no longer be this blunt in regards to their sexist connotations, their still are underlying gender stereotypes within our ads. The prominent use of women within cleaning products ads for example could be directly linked to the the same mentality used in this advertisement. Their are also seals of approval, not by home makers, but by companies like brand power, telling us which products work best. So, just because the 'home-maker seal of approval' is not longer considered to be a respectable authority does not mean that we do not look for some sort of approval from those who 'know best'. And realistically, those who do approve products most likely get their information from those who use the products within their home. Therefore, although the copy can not be produced as it was in 1928, their are still similarities to advertisements that we see everyday in 2012.

Visual Articulation Project

For this assignment I have chosen to do the Visual Articulation option.
The quote I have decided to base my image around comes from Adele's song 'Someone Like You'.

"Regrets and mistakes, they're memories made."
Although within the song Adele is referring to a past relationship, when I hear this lyric it really encompasses life in general for me.
I truly believe that living life with no regrets is the only way to remain happy and so this lyric really resonates with that belief and puts into perfect perspective that no matter what your decisions are they are just going to be memories made in the end.

As of right now, in order to put this lyric into visual form I plan to create a collage of images of both things that remind me of mistakes or risky decisions made in my past and also things that I hope to strive for, or risks I plan to take in the future.
I am also considering the idea of making the images that represent past decisions a little bit blurry and out of focus in order to help them resemble a memory. This will also help to distinguish them from the images that represent the future, which will, in contrast, be bright.

The Spectacle of Pepper Spray, Sexualized Females and the Police

The image above was taken by a photographer by the name of Tyler Shields. His work is often considered to be controversial as it contains a significant amount of violence, drugs, sex and exploitation.
This image in particular, I found to be extremely interesting.
The first thing I notice when I look at the picture is the front female spraying the pepper spray. Her stance is powerful and in charge and it is evident that she is purposely dressed as a sexualized blonde bombshell for the rhetoric purposes of the image.
Next I notice the men who are sitting on the ground. These men, clearly meant to represent the police, are the ones being sprayed with the pepper spray which is of course the reverse of what is usually supposed to happen.
This image, I believe, is playing on the recent allegations of police brutality that have made the news over the past couple of years from the G20 Summit in Toronto, the recent occupy movements in New York and multiple other cities, and in particular the University of California pepper spraying of students. (Video can be found here.)
I believe that Shields used sexualized females within the photograph since they are usually seen as the victim whereas here they are the ones in charge and this was meant to create a dramatic and irrational parody in a way of the police behavior. The police here are sitting down in the exact same way as the students were in the UC Davis incident and look defeated with no intention of getting up.
The men in the background taking pictures also play an important role. While men like this would usually be seen as taking photographs of the women, they are in fact focusing their cameras on the police. I feel like the purpose of this is to emphasize the spectacle of police authority acting in ways that seem irrational and out of context which is exactly what was considered of the police behavior in the previously mentioned scenarios.

This is what I got out of this image and I would love to hear what you think of it as well as I find it to be controversial and relevant in regards to the news coverage we have seen over the past couple years on police behavior!

#3: Celebrity of Interest: Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey became an internet sensation after her songs, 'Video Games' and 'Born To Die' were leaked onto the web in mid 2011. Since then she has faced mixed reviews about both her musical talent, her attempt at a specific persona and her worthiness of a career in the music industry. Personally, I am in love with her music, as I find it to be a nice change from the typical pop princess cliche. It is her persona, however, that really intrigues me.
The way in which she portrays itself comes with a whole visual rhetoric of its own depending on the scenarios she is situated within as her look is constantly changing.
In this first image she is portraying a rebellious vibe, with her over sized ring, her 60's inspired sunglasses and her pouty yet seductive mouth.
From this image I get the impression that she is in control and that she isn't about to be taken advantage of.

The second image however shows a different side of her as she looks vulnerable and consequently could be taken advantage of at any moment. Her look is distant and she shows no hint of the badass attitude seen in the first image. The fact that she is leaned up against a wall portrays the message that she needs support.
This image is from the music video for 'Video Games' which holds a rhetoric of its own (it can be found here).

The third image goes back to her portraying herself as something out of the ordinary. From the look on her face, to the regular T-shirt contrasting with the abstract floral hair piece. Nothing about this look is average and I believe the purpose of posing for photo-shoots like this is too make herself stand out.

The fourth and final image is of her on Saturday Night Live during her, what some call, disastrous performance and unfortunately I am inclined to agree. See for yourself here. Regardless of the actual performance though her look here is once again completely different. She looks elegant, in a floor length lace gown, and her hair and makeup say 'old hollywood' to me.

Over the course of her rise to fame, critics have crucified her image as trying to be too 'American Apparel Hipster', too much of an attempt at a young Pricilla Presley, and over all too industry constructed. The point of me focusing this blog post on Lana Del Rey is not to judge her image and not to pick a side with any of these critics but to merely reflect on the fact that in just under half a year she has constructed more versions of visual rhetoric about herself than most celebrities do, or want to do, in their career (with the exception of Lady Gaga of course). The purpose of me including 5 images of Lana Del Rey is to show that she does not have one definable style, one definable look, or one definable character. Regardless of whether this is done purposely to make it in the industry, I think it can be argued that she knows how to make a visual argument about herself and the fact that so many people have chosen to criticize or comment on this just goes to show that it is working.

Rhetorical Analysis #1

The comic I have chosen to analyze is from the Gazette's homecoming issue. It is titled "The University of Western Ontario's only real Homecoming tradition".
The first panel is of a beer funnel and stick people with the caption 'chug! chug! chug!'.
The second panel is of one stick person leaning over a toilet with the other stick people saying 'puke! puke! puke!'.
The third panel is of one stick person passed out with drool coming out of his mouth and a beer bottle in his hand with the other stick people saying 'sleep! sleep! sleep!'.
My argument for this particular comic strip is that it endorses the idea of Western as a party school. By stating that chugging, puking and sleeping are the only real traditions, it belittles the other traditions that happen throughout the university on homecoming weekend.
This comic strip is also published in the gazette which is a news paper published for the entire student population. Although this tradition of homecoming being centered around drinking may be true for the majority of the population there may be students who choose not to follow this 'real' tradition. Consequently, this comic strip is applying a stereotype of one type of western student to all western students in a news paper meant for all of the student population.
The stick people within the comic strip all appear to be male. If read literally this comic strip would essentially be stating that the real homecoming tradition is for the male population to drink till they puke, and then puke until they pass out with no females anywhere in sight.
The purpose of this comic strip however is obviously meant to be funny for those students who partake in this particular sort of tradition on homecoming. I think that this comic is simple and to the point and that is what makes it worth a laugh while you are flipping through the pages of the gazette. It is really a harmless cartoon meant to poke fun at the stereotype that western has about its partying habits. It is also touching on the issue of more and more students forgetting that homecoming weekend is actually about the alumni and the events held for their benefit; although I'm sure witnessing the students at the football game who have already partaken in this particular tradition has become entertainment for the alumni themselves, as they are most likely thinking to themselves 'I remember when that was me'.
This cartoon touches on the lack of participation in other homecoming events by hyperbolizing what actually occurs. By stating that all Western students do is chug, puke and sleep, the cartoon is also poking fun at the students who do spend the day drinking as it seems a little more ridiculous when put into the context of just three words.

Blog Topic Proposal #1

For my personal narrative essay I have chosen to do option #1 and I will be collecting my photographs from a Starbucks coffee shop. As any frequent Starbucks customer knows, the atmosphere within a Starbucks location is key to their success. Through the use of colours, music, furniture and of course images, a certain type of brand culture is projected. My argument is that the images chosen to be displayed within the Starbucks have a certain rhetorical purpose in regards to the atmosphere of the store and are carefully selected to ensure that the brand values are emulated appropriately. The images to be analyzed have not yet been chosen as I have not visited a Starbucks yet, however from past knowledge I have a good idea of what images I will most likely come across. The images are not limited to the photos on the walls but may also consist of the advertisements being displayed as you first walk in.

Here are a few examples of what I may find:

#1

Hello! My name is Lauren Bailie and welcome to my blog for writing 2291.
The purpose of this blog is to explore and analyze different images of visual rhetoric and to share my own personal perspective on the images that intrigue me.
The title, Infinite Perspectives, is meant to summarize the concept that all images are subjective and that what I may see or take away from one image is entirely different than what anyone of you might perceive. It fascinates me how, after hearing someone else's opinion and thoughts on an image, my own perception of the image is subject to change depending on the degree to which I agree or disagree. Everyone has their own thoughts and opinions based off of what the image says to them and therefore, if an image can speak a thousand words, to be cliche, I believe that an image can also hold an infinite amount of perspectives waiting to be be shared and discovered.

The first image I would like to share with you is one that I took myself last year from my front porch here in London. At the time I felt the need to take a picture of this sunset because it seemed so rare that something so pretty would be happening right outside my window, much less on Richmond Street.
Although sunsets have become somewhat cliche in the world of visual images as they are the go to for desktop backgrounds etc. I think this one is an exception.
This image, contains more trees than it does sky, the sun itself is barely visible, and there are multiple power lines running through the middle. At first I was frustrated because I couldn't seem to get a picture where the power lines were completely invisible but now the more I look at the picture the more I appreciate the power lines.
I think that this image, for me personally, is proof that you don't always have to travel to find amazing views; sometimes they are right outside your front door and the power lines emphasize the combination of the everyday with the beautiful. That even if you cant escape the confines of your student house in London, ON you just might be surprised with how much you do enjoy the simple things such as a sunset.  
I also think that, although this image my be categorized as just a 'sunset picture', my perspective and interpretation of it gives it a much more in depth meaning which is my first testament to the concept of infinite perspectives!