Webinar task
I think I read these images as intended in that the Hilfiger advert was taking advantage of the idea of America being the land of the free, that is what the US flag represents to many.
In the case of Hilfiger, you can see who they are trying to appeal to in that it is young, attractive white models who are modelling the perfume wearing only the flag. This is aspirational imagery to an audience who are susceptible to the mythical American dream, or teens who can’t wait to fly the nest and live their own life. It can also be read as deeply patriotic, if the ad had been released a year later for example it would be taking on a whole new meaning to some. Whilst I can see the appeal and plausibility of the ads they do not appeal to me in terms of what they are selling. For example, the Calvin Klein advert that is pushing togetherness as a brand is a nice sentiment, however it seems very beige in its communication. What appeals to some may not appeal to everyone and for me, seeing a white family in black and white does not represent the future. The use of black and white does not make me think of the future, it makes me think of the past. For me this relates to Hall’s thinking that the signs are still subject to our capacity to relate them with other signs. Where one might see black and white as timeless, I relate it to the past.
I felt stereotypically positioned by the Marlboro advert as the image of the cowboy is something I had been brought up with, it is a classic stereotype aimed at the male audience. Whether I like it or not, there are aspects of my male identity that I can relate to the Marlboro man. Whilst the aim of the advert is essentially wasted on me as a non-smoker now, I can say that from seeing these connections before I do associate the cigarette with the character now. It is a gender construct that continues to be manipulated – relating to Goodwin and & Whannel stating that ‘Messages are socially produced in particular circumstances and made culturally available as shared explanations of how the world works.” (Goodwin & Whannel, 2005, p.60) This is certainly an ideology that has been present throughout my life and the connect between the rugged, strong silent male and smoking is a reality that I still see in cultural media and willingly accept. Looking at the Marlboro ad now, the dominant meaning for me is the cool, strong male that you want to embody smokes and smoking Marlboro may not make you a cowboy but it will make you feel like one (even though it actually doesn’t). The oppositional reading for me now is that I know smoking is bad for me, and that the ad suggests that in order to be this ideal man I should disregard my health and smoke to embody this ideal.
The relationship between text an image is important in the context of interpretation. Accompanying text to an image reinforces the context or intended message – as Barthes writes in his essay, ‘The Photographic Message’, “firstly the text constitutes a parasitic message designed to connote the image, to ‘quicken’ it with one or more second-order signifieds”(Barthes, 1977, p.25). Text helps to remove or reduce the level of ambiguity that is left by an image, in the world of advertising this would be the most direct way of getting a message across however, it could be that the more direct something is, the easier it is forgotten. This relationship between image and text is incredibly useful in the news and in propaganda where it might be necessary to narrow the field of interpretation in order to communicate effectively.
References
Tommy Hilfiger Advert (2000): https://goo.gl/OgFbCu
Calvin Klein Advert (1995): https://goo.gl/jDbLK4
Marlboro Advert (c.1980): https://goo.gl/IfNVFC
Hall, Stuart (1999), 'Encoding, Decoding'in The Cultural Studies Reader. London: Routledge
Goodwin, A. and & Whannel, G. (2005) Understanding Television. London: Routledge
Barthes, R.(1997) Image, Music, Text: London Fontana
Viewers Make Meaning
One of this week’s activities was to upload a recent image to the a public forum with zero context and then for students read the image and make their own meaning from it.
I submitted the image below, taken from a recent trip to Toronto.
I was intrigued to see what would be made of this image as for me it was a snapshot taken whilst walking to somewhere else I don’t remember why I took it but I like the image. The comment below was interesting to read.
“What I suspect is the meaning is a documentary style catalog of a run down building. Still in use, but aging, meant to make us feel sad or melancholy about the state of the building.
My personal interpretation comes from the light through the doorway. The door says “receiving” and the warmest light in the image comes from just beneath the sign. To me, the image is about finding hope in even among what appears to be run down surrounding. I would love to see the lights on the left pillars turned off, so truly the only warm light came from beneath the doorway, but that’s my own personal preference!”
It is interesting for the image to be read this way without any context as my final project carries the theme of devotion and love which are to me the light in the dark for my take on the world.
CRJ 