Dresden exhibition 1903
-Simmel asked to lecture on the role of intellectual life in the city but instead reverses the idea and writes about the effect of the city on the individual
-(Herbert bayer lonely metropolitan 1932)
Urban sociology
-the resistance of the individual to being a levelled swallowed up in the social technological mechanism
-Georg simmel the metropolis and mental life 1903
-before health and safely-people had to learn how to live in built up world
Architect louis sullivan (1856-1924)
-details from guaranty building- 3 levels one below ground, one public, 2 more. -Very pretty embellishments at the top of the building.
-Skyscrapers represented upwardly mobile city of business opportunity
fire cleared buildings in Chicago in 1871
Manhatta 1921-paul strand
Charles scheeler- advertising photographer for for motor companies plant ad the river rouge Detroit (1927)
Fordism:mechanised labour relations
-coined by antonio gramsci in his essay americanism and fordism
-the eponymous manufacturing system designed to spew out standardised low cost goods and affords
Modern times (1936)charlie chaplin
stock market crash 1929
-factories close and unemployment goes up dramatically
-leads to the great depression
-Margaret Bourke-White
The man with a movie camera
Flaneur-saunterer or stoller or lounger.
charles boudalaire
the nineteenth century french poet charles proposes a version of the flaneur that of a person who walks in the city...
Walter benjamin
adopts the concept of the urban observer as an analytical tool and as a lifestyle as seen in his writings.
Photgrapher as flaneur
the photographer is an armed version of the solitary walker reconnoitring stalking cruising th urban inferno the voyeristic stroller who discovers the city as a landscape of voluptuous extremes. adept of the joys of watching connoisseur of empathy
Daido Moriyama (1970) Shinjuki district of Tokyo
Flaneuse
the invisible flanuese. women and the literature of modernity.
describing fleeting anonymous ephermal encounters of life in the metropolis mainly accounts for the experiences of men. it ignores the concomitant separation of public and private spheres from the mid nineteenth century....
susan buck moores
this text suggests that the only figure a woman on the street can be is either a prostitute or a bag lady.
sophie calle suite venitienne 1980
the detective 1980
-wants to provide photographic evidence of her existence
-his photos are notes on her are displayed next to her photos and notes about
him
Weegee-the naked city
9/11 citizen journalism:the end of the flaneur?
liz wells says that phrase is first seen in an article by stuart allen online news journalism nd the internet in 2006. she discusses the 7/7....
surveillance city
since the attack on the towed in 2001...
Thursday 30 October 2014
Thursday 23 October 2014
COP2 seminar 3
Subcultures in animation eg Simpsons, south park, making fun of them almost.
presepolis
tim burton adopted the gothic style in his animation but its not made FOR goths you don't have to be a goth to like it.
posers of subculture- wearing things you know nothing about because other people are wearing it like band t-shirts of bands you have never heard of or like wearing star wars pyjamas when you've never seen star wars.
psychoanalysis
.look at where and why psychoanalysis emerges
.identify key concepts and terms:ego, super ego, id, abject, objet relation
.look at object relation theory with regards to are and design
.look at abject.
Freuds deffinitions
.a discipline founded on a procedure for the investigation of mental processes that are otherwise inaccessible because they are unconscious
.a therapeutic method for the treatment of neurotic disorders
.a body of psychological eta evolving into a new scientific discipline
the third category comprises frauds work on culture which is largely based on the view that culture is a product of the diversion or sublimation of sexual energy.
sublimation- the conversion of sexual drive and energies into creative sexual energy
psychoanalysis seeks to analyse and structure our consciousness through careful dissection of the unconscious mind.
sigmund freud 1856-1939
id- governed but the pleasure principle desires and drives, sex, death, pain, fascinations
ego- the side we show the world
super ego- moral conscience
we repress them because society would allow/like them
to live in society we must repress instinctual desires- sexual or aggressive usually the taboos of society
We watched 'Un chien andalou' which is a very strange black and white film that seems to draw attention to pain, fear and sex. Maybe cause they are things we usually try to cover up.
presepolis
tim burton adopted the gothic style in his animation but its not made FOR goths you don't have to be a goth to like it.
posers of subculture- wearing things you know nothing about because other people are wearing it like band t-shirts of bands you have never heard of or like wearing star wars pyjamas when you've never seen star wars.
psychoanalysis
.look at where and why psychoanalysis emerges
.identify key concepts and terms:ego, super ego, id, abject, objet relation
.look at object relation theory with regards to are and design
.look at abject.
Freuds deffinitions
.a discipline founded on a procedure for the investigation of mental processes that are otherwise inaccessible because they are unconscious
.a therapeutic method for the treatment of neurotic disorders
.a body of psychological eta evolving into a new scientific discipline
the third category comprises frauds work on culture which is largely based on the view that culture is a product of the diversion or sublimation of sexual energy.
sublimation- the conversion of sexual drive and energies into creative sexual energy
psychoanalysis seeks to analyse and structure our consciousness through careful dissection of the unconscious mind.
sigmund freud 1856-1939
id- governed but the pleasure principle desires and drives, sex, death, pain, fascinations
ego- the side we show the world
super ego- moral conscience
we repress them because society would allow/like them
to live in society we must repress instinctual desires- sexual or aggressive usually the taboos of society
We watched 'Un chien andalou' which is a very strange black and white film that seems to draw attention to pain, fear and sex. Maybe cause they are things we usually try to cover up.
COP 2- lecture 4
Identity
Zygmunt Baumanphysiognomy- the study of physical features.
the closer to the vertical your brow, upper lip and chin line up, the more intelligent you are. (racism)
Chris Ofili, holy virgin Mary- deals with black identity in his work. uses lumps of elephant dung in his work. shown in metropolitan museum in new york. outrage at the fact he portrayed the virgin media as black.
Douglas kellner- media culture:culture studies, identity and politics between the modern and post modern 1992
.pre modern identity- personal identity is stable defined by long standing roles
.modern identity- modern societies begin to offer a wider range of social roles.
possibility to start choosing your identity rather than simply being born into it
.post modern identity- accepts a fragmented self identity is constructed.
post modern identities- secure identities. farm worker, land worker, soldier the state, factory worker industrial capitalism, housewife patriarchy, gentleman patriarchy, hunsband-wife marriage/church
modern identity
Charles Baudelaire- the painter of modern life- introduces the concept of the 'flaneur' (gentleman stroller) never writes about a 'flaneurse' (female version) woman is always his accessory on a mans arm not the object. Walking around in the middle of the day for no reason shows they have time on their hands means your rich enough that you don't have to go to work.
Gustave Caillebotte (1848 - 94),
Le Pont de l’Europe, 1876
Gustave Caillebotte (1848 - 94),
Paris Street, Rainy Day, 1877
Thorstein Veblen- theory of leisure class- conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentlemen of leisure.
Geor Simmel- writes about fashion in a term of defining identities, trickle down theory, emulation, distinction, the 'mask of fashion'
people want to align themselves with the upper classes so they wear cheaper versions of what the rich people wear. Then the upper class start wearing something else so the poorer people follow. no longer trickle down its bubble up. - street fashion being re made into something they sell for hundred of pounds.
'the feeling of isolation is rarely as decisive and intense when one actually finds oneself physically alone, as when one is a stranger without relations among many physically close persons at a party, on the train, or in the traffic of a large city.'- Simmel
'The separation of the subject from the object of life'
Michel Foucault- discourse analysis
identity is constructed out of the discourses culturally available to us.
possible discourse- age class gender nationality race/ethnicity, sexual orientation,
discourse- a set of recurring statements that define a particular cultural 'object' (e.g. madness, criminality, sexuality) and provide concepts and terms through which such an object can be studied and discussed' Cavallaro
martin parr, new brighton, merseyside, from the last resort,1983-86. , ascot - lower classes pretending to be upperclass.
identity page 52- Bauman- society reminds one of a particularly shrewd cunning and pokerfaced player in the flame of life, cheating of given a chance flouting rules whenever possible.
nationality- think of England, think of Germany. english perceptions of germans.
much of the press coverage centred around accusations of misogamy because of the imagery of a semi naked, staggering and brutalised women in conjunction with the word 'rape' in the title but McQueen claimed that the rape was of Scotland, not the individual models as the theme shows was the jacobite rebellion- Alexander McQueen, highland rape collection, autumn winter
Vivian Westwood anglomania collection. uses tartan.
las vegas- Venice, New york, Egypt, Disney land, mini versions of different countries, do you even need to go anywhere else.
'i didn't like Europe as much as disney world. at disney world all the countries are much closer together and they just show you the best of each country.'
race/ethnicity, chris ofili, no woman no cry, - murder of Stevie Laurence- black hate crime. racial stereotypes white people might impose.
captain shit and the legend of the black stars. no black super heroes. He realised there were no black superheroes so he thought how would white people portray a black superhero so came up with that.
from signs that say what you want them to say and signs that say what someone else wants you to say- gillian wearing.
its a jungle out there- some people thought this migh thane been racist because he put a black model in animal skins and put horns of her etc. he made a pout he was drawing attention to the fact theres not a lot of black models.
Emily Bates was abused for having red hair. She believed that people saw nothing more than her hair. So she decided to make a dress from her own hair.
saint mary magdaline -titan-had red hair and she was thought to be a prostitute- maybe that is where all the stigma comes from.
gender and secuality- wilson E 1985, adorned in dreams:fashion and modernity, london IB taurus page 94. secret hatred of women but forcing them into exaggerated ridiculer hideous clothed.
flapper, 1925, frowned upon to show knees and short hair. la gar cone women vs man
androgyny 1920s style from punch magazine.
masquerade and the mask of femininity, Cindy Sherman, untitled film stills 1977-80. stereotles of femininity in films
post modern theory- identity can be constructed through our social experience
Erving Goffman, the presentation of self in everyday life
Goffman saw life as theatre made up of encounter sand performances
for Goffman the self is a series of facades
Zygmunt Bauman- yes identity is revealed to us only as
introspection is as disappearing act faced with moments alone in there cars on the street or at supermarket checkouts more and more people do not collect their thoughts but scan their mobile phones for shreds of evidence that somebody needs of wants them.
i think therefore i am- i shop therefore i am. what you buy where you go. sponsored Selfridges sales.
Monday 20 October 2014
Visual analysis
In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting two short animations. These are "Bottle" by Kirsten Lepore and "The dog who was a cat inside" by Siri Melchior.
"Bottle" is a Pixillation animation so it's made by putting a series of photographs together in a timeline. In this animation there are two characters, one is made of sand and the other from snow as they live in different parts of the world. They Send bottles across the ocean with different objects in them and they stick them on themselves like pen pals and friendship bracelets. One day, the guy made out of sand sends a drawing of himself and the snow girl meeting under the ocean. So that is what they do. Unfortunately when they go underwater they both disintegrate because what they’re made of cannot survive underwater.
This could have been about long distance relationships and saying they don't work as they are in contact for a long time before they actually try to meet. It also could be about social media and trying to portray yourself as something your not on your profile like they are sending each other items and they become different people but when they go to meet each other all the fake stuff comes off and they look like themselves again and that’s why it doesn't work because they fell in love with the fakery. This is the same in real life when if you start talking to someone online and pretend to be someone else then you go meet up with them and they see who you actually are and don't like it.
"the dog who was a cat inside" is a 2D hand drawn animation that looks really simple. In the story, there is a dog and inside there is a cat. The two appear not to get along at all. The cat would try and stop the dog from doing what he wants and visa versa. They are both very unhappy to the point they have a big fight and fall in the river. Where somehow they learn to get along a little better and work together. When they get out they find a cat with a dog inside!
This animation can be taken in a number of ways. One thing could be transgender. Like humans sometimes feel that they should have been born a girl and there actually a boy, the dog feels he should have been born a cat and he constantly fights himself saying no that’s silly.
Another issue this could be facing is homosexuality- The dog is a dog so he should like other dogs but inside he actually really likes cats. He feels people will think he is weird so he suppresses the cat inside him. When he finds a cat that is a dog inside he realizes he is not so weird.
It could also be tackling the issue of split personality disorder. Where you have another voice inside your head and sometimes it tells you to do things that perhaps you don't want to do. Like when the cat is interacting with another cat.
I think its nice that it doesn't clarify what issue it is trying to portray as it gives us opportunity to figure this out for ourselves and put our own take on it.
I think both of these stories work well through animation as it makes you think more about the issue but it's not right in your face so you actually feel more comfortable watching it. Also a child could watch this and just think it's a sweet animation but when they’re older that might be still in their heads and help them to understand things. I think if this was done in a film/ documentary kind of way it would have been a lot less engaging and you would probably turn it off.
These animations are executed in quite different ways. One is photographs and one is hand drawn. The sound track is also quite different. In "Bottle" there is just sound effects like the ocean and the sound of sand moving, but in "the dog who had a cat inside him" it is a sound track playing over the top and the sound effects are secondary. They both work though. The soundtrack shows us that time is passing by staying constant while the images change. It also tries to make it more emotional.
I like how ‘the dog who was a cat inside’ used simple 2D animation because it makes such a complex issue seem rather simple and your just concentrating on that rather than the beauty of the animation. However, perhaps people that actually have one of these issues might feel a bit offended by the fact that it has been simplified.
I think both stories work well just as stories and can be enjoyed whether you are reading into them or not.
In conclusion I think these are two very good animations that both portray a human issue using animation which gets the message across in a less in your face way which is easier to take. I think ‘the dog who was a cat inside’ did this more and also had multiple things you can read into it.
Thursday 16 October 2014
COP lecture 3- subculture: most ocmmonthe meaning of style
Hebdige,D (1979) 'subculture: the meaning of style
Subcultures form when we feel the views of society don't fit us or reflect our views so we form a group of like minded people. It issues a symbolic challenge to society suggesting theres a better way of living. political? it attempts to say that what society is doing is wrong or not inclusive etc.
subcultures quickly turn conventional and become something that can be sold and bought and it turns into a brand and becomes mainstream. This neutralises the subculture and it gets sucked into the system that they were trying to change in the first place. The challenge is removed.
The punk style rewrote the rules of masculinity in how they dressed. They thought there were music skill to be learned. The newspapers were saying they're shocking diverts. Punk was a refusal to conform to mainstream society. being from London, working class, underprivileged kids they all came together and started listening to things like London calling.
incorporation-ideological form- society says its stupid, looney, ridiculous, irrelevant.
commodity form-process with which capitalism seises on youth subculture and makes a market out of it then they have to make new culture
people actually just buy into the idea of rebellion.
buying a punk rock album will not make you a punk rocker your just buying into the industry. trading off a youth subculture. making things look stupid and passing it off as fun which neutralises the original idea.
Fred perry presents 'subculture' 2012 Dir. Don Letts.
most common subculture atm is hipster. but its not a subculture. its not rebelling or anything its just a meaningless transparent subculture. they're not issuing symbolic challenges anymore.
We then watched a video about all these subcultures and here are my notes from it:
http://vimeo.com/52431977
rock and roll american culture coming in people watching it and then pop culture started.
the wild one- expresses the rebellion. although they're copying americans it looks brittish
teddy boys. wearing a uniform- making it okay for a man to care how they look and do up their hair. rejecting things around you. edwardian style idea which gets changed. adopts the upperclass uniform and subverts it. almost takes the mick out of it. middle class teenagers liked to dress casual annd working class teenagers wanted to dress smart in a uniform. teds racist?
mods n rockers. leather jackets, motorbikes. muscular american culture based on bikes and fighting. took on the american look and made it British with a British motorbike. generation gap- parents don't want their kids long like that. media spread the subculture people pick up and idea and a set of clothing from people they've never met.
started by a few kids who wanted to be different but then everyone copies so that defeats the object. they can't play music or may bot have a record player but they have trousers and thats how they make themselves different.
modernist- people start to look forward more than back. interested in modern jazz. vespa, jacket, ideda of cool. vespa means they don't have to rely on their parents for transport. being smart, short hair, started by guys,mods would have been called puffs.
drug culture, creating generation gaps. ready,steady,go the tv show people watched it and wanted to dress like they did. kids wtart running round smashing things up because thats what the mods were doing. the who, small face.
Drugs and stuff form hippies and some people go and form skin heads.
punk was anti style and anti fashion but ended up turning into a fashion.
mod style isn't extreme so more acceptable and more durable. mod living is clean living under difficult circumstances.
rudeboy-edgy dangerous, anti mainstream.narrow trousers with white socks. emphasis of masculinity. -less english version of skin heads.
skin heads weren't racist they were happy with there own cultue=re. american ivy league. astronauts had buzz cuts and they thought it was cool. no creases allowed you had to look immaculate. 'sea re proud to be working class' grow up in inner city areas shared with black and white. girls wore suits too. skin head girls would attack people.
when the media coverage started people stared growing their hair long and the look fazed out. then it revived in the 70's but became racist. they weren't cool anymore.
fred perry went through lots of fases.
soul boys- wiggan -black music enjoyed by white people. all about sharing records an having a record other people didn't have. working class work hard all week so they want to go out and dance. dress comfy. impressive dance moves.
northern sole and southern soul are different. black kids bought gabiccis white kids bought hawaain shirts and things they could dance in. black kids started to dress up too and join in.
jazz funk in the south. essex was the home of black music in the uk. chris hill and froggy. multi racial there to have fun. no political statements. making a statement about accepting people. didn't have figureheads and specific bands so it never really went anywhere. this keeps it as a subculture.
clubculture- dis move around and play recognisable music.
england was boring and duo and people wanted to create something to do.
punk- people start ripping clothes and wearing chains. usually people that had been to art schools. malcom mclaren. mix of different cultures dress. because it was so mixed noone looked the same. dIY ethos. women start playing guitars how they want to play it. hippy ideas got acted out in punk.
regge welcomed everyone. After a punk swore of tv it ended then extremist styles occurred. steve jones. two tones. punk regge dub scar, mashup of regge and punk. the specials.
margret thatcher, lots of change. politics. recism is bad, the specials wrote about things close to home.
working class people earning more money than they ever dreamed of. able to spend a lot more money. starts in liverpool. expensive designer stuff they see when playing in europe. thatcher didn't destroy football hooligan it was someone who bled some chemicals together (ecstasy)
ravers go dressed to dance and sweat. casual. when it gets into the media rave become national.
brit pop. was it a real culture? retro enthusiasm. mod, london, rock edge. back to bands. lost of things in common. and they knew how to sell it.
internet brings people together because you can find people like you.
Subcultures form when we feel the views of society don't fit us or reflect our views so we form a group of like minded people. It issues a symbolic challenge to society suggesting theres a better way of living. political? it attempts to say that what society is doing is wrong or not inclusive etc.
subcultures quickly turn conventional and become something that can be sold and bought and it turns into a brand and becomes mainstream. This neutralises the subculture and it gets sucked into the system that they were trying to change in the first place. The challenge is removed.
The punk style rewrote the rules of masculinity in how they dressed. They thought there were music skill to be learned. The newspapers were saying they're shocking diverts. Punk was a refusal to conform to mainstream society. being from London, working class, underprivileged kids they all came together and started listening to things like London calling.
incorporation-ideological form- society says its stupid, looney, ridiculous, irrelevant.
commodity form-process with which capitalism seises on youth subculture and makes a market out of it then they have to make new culture
people actually just buy into the idea of rebellion.
buying a punk rock album will not make you a punk rocker your just buying into the industry. trading off a youth subculture. making things look stupid and passing it off as fun which neutralises the original idea.
Fred perry presents 'subculture' 2012 Dir. Don Letts.
most common subculture atm is hipster. but its not a subculture. its not rebelling or anything its just a meaningless transparent subculture. they're not issuing symbolic challenges anymore.
We then watched a video about all these subcultures and here are my notes from it:
http://vimeo.com/52431977
rock and roll american culture coming in people watching it and then pop culture started.
the wild one- expresses the rebellion. although they're copying americans it looks brittish
teddy boys. wearing a uniform- making it okay for a man to care how they look and do up their hair. rejecting things around you. edwardian style idea which gets changed. adopts the upperclass uniform and subverts it. almost takes the mick out of it. middle class teenagers liked to dress casual annd working class teenagers wanted to dress smart in a uniform. teds racist?
mods n rockers. leather jackets, motorbikes. muscular american culture based on bikes and fighting. took on the american look and made it British with a British motorbike. generation gap- parents don't want their kids long like that. media spread the subculture people pick up and idea and a set of clothing from people they've never met.
started by a few kids who wanted to be different but then everyone copies so that defeats the object. they can't play music or may bot have a record player but they have trousers and thats how they make themselves different.
modernist- people start to look forward more than back. interested in modern jazz. vespa, jacket, ideda of cool. vespa means they don't have to rely on their parents for transport. being smart, short hair, started by guys,mods would have been called puffs.
drug culture, creating generation gaps. ready,steady,go the tv show people watched it and wanted to dress like they did. kids wtart running round smashing things up because thats what the mods were doing. the who, small face.
Drugs and stuff form hippies and some people go and form skin heads.
punk was anti style and anti fashion but ended up turning into a fashion.
mod style isn't extreme so more acceptable and more durable. mod living is clean living under difficult circumstances.
rudeboy-edgy dangerous, anti mainstream.narrow trousers with white socks. emphasis of masculinity. -less english version of skin heads.
skin heads weren't racist they were happy with there own cultue=re. american ivy league. astronauts had buzz cuts and they thought it was cool. no creases allowed you had to look immaculate. 'sea re proud to be working class' grow up in inner city areas shared with black and white. girls wore suits too. skin head girls would attack people.
when the media coverage started people stared growing their hair long and the look fazed out. then it revived in the 70's but became racist. they weren't cool anymore.
fred perry went through lots of fases.
soul boys- wiggan -black music enjoyed by white people. all about sharing records an having a record other people didn't have. working class work hard all week so they want to go out and dance. dress comfy. impressive dance moves.
northern sole and southern soul are different. black kids bought gabiccis white kids bought hawaain shirts and things they could dance in. black kids started to dress up too and join in.
jazz funk in the south. essex was the home of black music in the uk. chris hill and froggy. multi racial there to have fun. no political statements. making a statement about accepting people. didn't have figureheads and specific bands so it never really went anywhere. this keeps it as a subculture.
clubculture- dis move around and play recognisable music.
england was boring and duo and people wanted to create something to do.
punk- people start ripping clothes and wearing chains. usually people that had been to art schools. malcom mclaren. mix of different cultures dress. because it was so mixed noone looked the same. dIY ethos. women start playing guitars how they want to play it. hippy ideas got acted out in punk.
regge welcomed everyone. After a punk swore of tv it ended then extremist styles occurred. steve jones. two tones. punk regge dub scar, mashup of regge and punk. the specials.
margret thatcher, lots of change. politics. recism is bad, the specials wrote about things close to home.
working class people earning more money than they ever dreamed of. able to spend a lot more money. starts in liverpool. expensive designer stuff they see when playing in europe. thatcher didn't destroy football hooligan it was someone who bled some chemicals together (ecstasy)
ravers go dressed to dance and sweat. casual. when it gets into the media rave become national.
brit pop. was it a real culture? retro enthusiasm. mod, london, rock edge. back to bands. lost of things in common. and they knew how to sell it.
internet brings people together because you can find people like you.
Wednesday 15 October 2014
COP 2- seminar 2
Our first task:
Visual analysis
Consider two short films in terms of but not limited to the following
the films we have been asked to analyse are:
Kristen Lepore, bottle 2010 and siri melchior, the dog who was a cat inside 2002
Some thoughts on these animations are as follows:
. Technological/production values
. colour and light
. contnet and symbolism
. Relationship with the sound track
. Historical and contextual factors
. function, and fitness for purpose
. target audience and how it communicates with them
Write a short review analysing comparing and contrasting the two films in ratlin to the above. minimum 500 words to be posted onto blog.
Kristen Lepore, bottle 2010
This animation is a pixillation meaning it uses lots of photographs to make a moving image. in this film there are two characters. One is made from sand and the other from snow-they live across the sea from each other one sends a bottle with some objects in to the other, who puts the objects on themselves and sends more objects back and they become friends like pen pals. They do this over and over until the sand guy sends a drawing of himself and the snow girl meeting under the water. When they try to actually do this, unfortunately they both die because neither snow or water can survive underwater. This animation can be taken in lots of ways. one way is about identity and they are sending each other what they think the other person should wear but they are choosing where to put them on themselves so maybe that is like trying to create your own style? It also covers the subject of long distance relationships like saying they don't often work in the end or something. Another thing you can get from this is about social media like a Facebook profile picture they are putting things on their bodies to make them someone they're not and when they get in the water,all the false things come off and they become themselves again. This also works with the long distance theory so they pretend they are someone they're not through long distance relationship where they don't actually have to see each other then when they actually meet up they see each other for who they really are and they don't like it.
www.kirstenlepore.com/bottle
siri melchior, the dog who was a cat inside 2002
This animation is a story of a dog with a cat inside him. The style is a very simple 2D drawing. We think that this is could be portraying a few different subjects which are transgender or homosexuality- the dog is a dog so he should like dogs but the cat inside thinks otherwise. Or the dog is a dog but he wants to be a cat and his personality is just like a cat but he can't show it because people will think it's weird. The dog was never happy because he couldn't be the cat and the cat was never happy because he couldn't be outside and show himself like the dog. Until he found a cat thats a dog inside at the end and found someone he could talk to about it.
It could also be tackling personality disorders. Like they have a split personality so sometimes they are the cat and sometimes they are the dog and they fight between the two as we see in the film. I think it is good that its simple because it shows clearly the issue and also i like that they used animals because then you can read different issues into it being human. Humans often have these issues that could be read into it so i think it's really nice that someone has explained this so simply for people to understand. However maybe people that have these issues might be offended that they used animals or made it so simple because it's not a simple thing at all. But you can interpret it how you like for instance children will just find it entertaining that theres a cat stuck in a dogs body and find it nice when it finds a dog stuck in a cats body.
In the animations they both end up underwater at some point. I think animation is a good platform to address this issue because it means you don't have to address it head on which can be easier for a lot of people to handle and maybe if older children are watching this it will be the start of them understanding this.
About the lecture
Lara cCroft could be said to challenge the generalised roles of men and women but actually she is just as sexualised as all the other women in media with her sex appeal and big boobs and small waist etc. New ones are more normalised. Although Lara is an archaeologist and smart and educated if you didn't know this you would judge her from her looks just like in Jessica rabbit where she says "I'm not bad I'm just drawn this way"
Bayonetta- cool character still very sexualised
Something to think about is : Do we have such sexualised characters because most of the industry is run by men and games are played by majority men?
We watched an animation call the hat bymichele cournyer
I actually found it extremely disturbing but maybe that was the intention because it shows just how creepy the male gaze is. I also got the feeling it was saying something about sexual abuse maybe child abuse because the drawing of the woman kept turning into a child and there was one scene where the child was hugging and sliding down a mans penis which is just wrong and either the artist is very perverse or she was tackling the issue of child sex abuse.
This animation was completely the opposite to things like Jessica rabbit. She is attractive and appealing and you want to watch her but with 'the hat' I just wanted to turn it off. But that might have been the idea, you want it to stop so you should want it to stop in real life too.
Then we watched pleasure of war ruth longford.- men are fighters of war women are objects. But in this case the woman uses her sexuality to slay the man, they know the man can't resist the womans' charm. a bit like Judith beheading Holofernes. women goes and seduces the man then cuts his head off but is it objectifying to women to say they have to use their sexuality to conquer. Is nudity objectifying? However it does show how powerful their sexuality can be and how easily men can fall for it. They are using sexualisation and objectification as a weapon, using what she had to get what she wanted. Some would call that resourceful!
Visual analysis
Consider two short films in terms of but not limited to the following
the films we have been asked to analyse are:
Kristen Lepore, bottle 2010 and siri melchior, the dog who was a cat inside 2002
Some thoughts on these animations are as follows:
. Technological/production values
. colour and light
. contnet and symbolism
. Relationship with the sound track
. Historical and contextual factors
. function, and fitness for purpose
. target audience and how it communicates with them
Write a short review analysing comparing and contrasting the two films in ratlin to the above. minimum 500 words to be posted onto blog.
Kristen Lepore, bottle 2010
This animation is a pixillation meaning it uses lots of photographs to make a moving image. in this film there are two characters. One is made from sand and the other from snow-they live across the sea from each other one sends a bottle with some objects in to the other, who puts the objects on themselves and sends more objects back and they become friends like pen pals. They do this over and over until the sand guy sends a drawing of himself and the snow girl meeting under the water. When they try to actually do this, unfortunately they both die because neither snow or water can survive underwater. This animation can be taken in lots of ways. one way is about identity and they are sending each other what they think the other person should wear but they are choosing where to put them on themselves so maybe that is like trying to create your own style? It also covers the subject of long distance relationships like saying they don't often work in the end or something. Another thing you can get from this is about social media like a Facebook profile picture they are putting things on their bodies to make them someone they're not and when they get in the water,all the false things come off and they become themselves again. This also works with the long distance theory so they pretend they are someone they're not through long distance relationship where they don't actually have to see each other then when they actually meet up they see each other for who they really are and they don't like it.
www.kirstenlepore.com/bottle
siri melchior, the dog who was a cat inside 2002
This animation is a story of a dog with a cat inside him. The style is a very simple 2D drawing. We think that this is could be portraying a few different subjects which are transgender or homosexuality- the dog is a dog so he should like dogs but the cat inside thinks otherwise. Or the dog is a dog but he wants to be a cat and his personality is just like a cat but he can't show it because people will think it's weird. The dog was never happy because he couldn't be the cat and the cat was never happy because he couldn't be outside and show himself like the dog. Until he found a cat thats a dog inside at the end and found someone he could talk to about it.
It could also be tackling personality disorders. Like they have a split personality so sometimes they are the cat and sometimes they are the dog and they fight between the two as we see in the film. I think it is good that its simple because it shows clearly the issue and also i like that they used animals because then you can read different issues into it being human. Humans often have these issues that could be read into it so i think it's really nice that someone has explained this so simply for people to understand. However maybe people that have these issues might be offended that they used animals or made it so simple because it's not a simple thing at all. But you can interpret it how you like for instance children will just find it entertaining that theres a cat stuck in a dogs body and find it nice when it finds a dog stuck in a cats body.
In the animations they both end up underwater at some point. I think animation is a good platform to address this issue because it means you don't have to address it head on which can be easier for a lot of people to handle and maybe if older children are watching this it will be the start of them understanding this.
About the lecture
Lara cCroft could be said to challenge the generalised roles of men and women but actually she is just as sexualised as all the other women in media with her sex appeal and big boobs and small waist etc. New ones are more normalised. Although Lara is an archaeologist and smart and educated if you didn't know this you would judge her from her looks just like in Jessica rabbit where she says "I'm not bad I'm just drawn this way"
Bayonetta- cool character still very sexualised
Something to think about is : Do we have such sexualised characters because most of the industry is run by men and games are played by majority men?
We watched an animation call the hat bymichele cournyer
I actually found it extremely disturbing but maybe that was the intention because it shows just how creepy the male gaze is. I also got the feeling it was saying something about sexual abuse maybe child abuse because the drawing of the woman kept turning into a child and there was one scene where the child was hugging and sliding down a mans penis which is just wrong and either the artist is very perverse or she was tackling the issue of child sex abuse.
This animation was completely the opposite to things like Jessica rabbit. She is attractive and appealing and you want to watch her but with 'the hat' I just wanted to turn it off. But that might have been the idea, you want it to stop so you should want it to stop in real life too.
Then we watched pleasure of war ruth longford.- men are fighters of war women are objects. But in this case the woman uses her sexuality to slay the man, they know the man can't resist the womans' charm. a bit like Judith beheading Holofernes. women goes and seduces the man then cuts his head off but is it objectifying to women to say they have to use their sexuality to conquer. Is nudity objectifying? However it does show how powerful their sexuality can be and how easily men can fall for it. They are using sexualisation and objectification as a weapon, using what she had to get what she wanted. Some would call that resourceful!
Thursday 9 October 2014
COP2-lecture 2
The gaze and the media
In 1972 John Berger said something like that women are forced to carry an image of themselves in their heads. They regard themselves as being looked at so maybe make more of an effort and put themselves out there.
In this image by Hans Menling called vanity, it seems as though we are given permission to look at this womans body because she is looking at herself. This breaks eye contact with the audience.
Another example of this is Alexandre Cabanels birth of venus.
In this image, her arm is over a lot of her face. Again this means she isn't looking back which means we aren't being challenged and she is giving us permission to look at her body.
This is the same kind of image but with photography. It is used as an advertisement. Unfortunately the nature of this photo was considered too sexualised. Partly the hand on the breast which actually covers her modesty and partly because the attention is drawn to her body.
In the below images (left: Titans venus of vurbino-1538, right: Monet-Olympia 1863) they are quite similar in composition. However there are subtle differences. On the left the woman is very relaxed with a soft look of her face whereas the right is more rigid, also pay attention to the hand positioning. The left is just draped over herself whereas the right is more definitely placed as if she does not want that part of her body on display. Both images are like you have special access to their bed chambers but one is more inviting than the other.
The below images (Ingres Le grand odalisque 1814 and the edited version for a poster for the guemilla girls) They used this image to put on their poster advertising that less than 5% of the artists in the modern art section were women but 85% of the nudes are female. They are basically asking why are women the ones being sexualised? However this poster was seen as being too sexually suggestive with the fan in her hand so it got pulled. People are trying to speak out again these things but keep hitting brick walls so nothing will ever change.
This is Coward.R the look from 1984. In this image there is a barely dressed woman in the city streets and everyone around her is just going about their daily business as if she wasn't there. This shows the normalisation of nudity. In this image the camera is an extension of the male gaze.
This image of Eva Herzigova was on a billboard and ended up stopping traffic because people were slowing down to look at it. That shows that sex sells because people want to look at it! I quite like the 'hello boys' bit its like a play on words like it's saying hi to the audience like she wants to be looked at but its also advertising the bra because wonder bras are supposed to enhance the look of your breasts so she is saying hi to her breasts too.
This advertisement for dolce and gobannas male underwear line still had nudity in the ad but the way the models are all looking directly at the camera is challenging the viewer so it makes it not as okay to look and you pay more attention to their faces because they're connecting with you...which kinda defeats the object of advertising the underwear... There are male ads that dont challenge the viewer they are just few and far between and mainly for male fitness ads etc.
Laura Mulvey explores how the female body is portrayed in film in 1940's/50's and how the womans body is usually fragmented so you just see parts of her at a time which shows she is something to be looked at.
Lara croft is a great character and shes very clever and fights etc...but she is still extremely attractive and that is done purposefully its like the lead in a film has to be attractive or people wont want to go see it.
Images such as this which is a celebrity caught unaware by Cindy Sherman are liked because everyone wants an insight into a celebrities life and want to see more of them. The sunglasses here are used much like the mirror at the beginning of the post and the arm over the face. It's to distance the gaze from the viewer to make it okay to look at her.
An example of people wanting to see more from celebrities is big brother. people just sit there and watch other people. But the women on the show are very aware they are being watched and almost perform to it like they are very aware of how they look.
Your gaze hits the side of my face by Barbra Cruger has like a double meaning. Its like yes you look at the side of her face but also the word 'hits' could mean like you literally hit the side of her face like this whole thing with the media and portrayal of women is damaging her. 
Tracey Emin challenges this kind of portrayal of women with this photo showing that money is more important-thats what people want, thats what they see in this photo. Not the fact its between her legs. Another way you can look at the photo is that a womans body makes money.
When Andy Murry won Wimbledon not long back, he was advertised as the first to win Wimbledon in 177 years but actually a woman did it 33 years ago it was just not covered by the news much because she was a woman. I think it's wrong that she was overlooked even in todays society.
We were directed to a site called vagenda magazine which sounds really interesting so im going to have a look at that.
Unfortunately, the way women are portrayed in media shows a certain way we perceive beauty and that can harm young women of today if they dont fit that criteria. They feel they are not good enough or people bully them because they dont look perfect. which is when we see things like this happening and I do believe media is partly to blame for this.
COP2-seminar 1
In our first seminar we were just briefed about what we would do. We are going to be writing a 3000 word essay of our own choosing, including 10 sources in the bibliography but we only have to refer to 4. Then we will be asked to create an animation to back up our work.
We were given a link to find some academic journals - www.jstore.org/ but you have to be in uni to access it.
We were given a link to find some academic journals - www.jstore.org/ but you have to be in uni to access it.
COP 2- lecture 1
This lecture was an introduction to our upcoming lectures.
We are going to be looking at things like the gaze and the media, cities and film, consumerism, globalisation, ethics, censorship, research and more.
The aim of these lectures is to inspire us and inform us to write a 3000 word essay. Then at the end, create a proposal for our dissertation.
We also learnt about Plato's cave and I found it really interesting!
Basically, A group of people have been born and raised in a cave and they are told that that is the world. they see shadows and they're told they are dangerous and never to venture outside. So they live their lives thinking that is all there is to life. One day someone did escape and when he found how wonderful it was outside the cave he came back to tell everyone. However they didn't believe him because they had been told so many lies that they became truth to them so they just thought this man was crazy and they killed him!
This relates to life like we are shown so much imagery telling us what life is like but actually its just a portrayal of how life might be but it isn't the complete truth for instance TV soaps portray a very different life to what it might actually be like. Also we see pictures from Africa of children starving but we don't realise that that is not the whole of Africa because that part is not shown. Very interesting stuff!
We are going to be looking at things like the gaze and the media, cities and film, consumerism, globalisation, ethics, censorship, research and more.
The aim of these lectures is to inspire us and inform us to write a 3000 word essay. Then at the end, create a proposal for our dissertation.
We also learnt about Plato's cave and I found it really interesting!
Basically, A group of people have been born and raised in a cave and they are told that that is the world. they see shadows and they're told they are dangerous and never to venture outside. So they live their lives thinking that is all there is to life. One day someone did escape and when he found how wonderful it was outside the cave he came back to tell everyone. However they didn't believe him because they had been told so many lies that they became truth to them so they just thought this man was crazy and they killed him!
This relates to life like we are shown so much imagery telling us what life is like but actually its just a portrayal of how life might be but it isn't the complete truth for instance TV soaps portray a very different life to what it might actually be like. Also we see pictures from Africa of children starving but we don't realise that that is not the whole of Africa because that part is not shown. Very interesting stuff!
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