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.