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[angelprincess7]

Week 16 Rumination

This week, our focus was centered on the global flow of visual culture and how it has evolved through the massive amounts of circulation. One section in particular discusses Global TV & Film, which I think has definitely contributed to the circulation of entertainment, information, etc. With the development of television, cable, and streaming services, channels such as Disney and Fox, and services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc., transnational circulation has become much more normalized. Not only that, but such has been normalized each way, from the U.S. to other countries, and from other countries to the U.S., particularly in recent years, Korean Dramas, Kung fu action films (since the '90s), and Britain shows. Especially with the method of such commercialization occurring through the act of "voice over" or of actors of a different language reciting lines over the original language.

In my opinion, Netflix has become the prime example for the circulation of entertainment and films, while cable channels such as Fox (as bad as it can be) are the main provider of news and information, despite how biased the story may or may not be. As a result of such mediums, cultural barriers have been breached and have allowed people to learn about these distinct cultures. Despite this notion being one on a positive note, the employment of language overlay, although not negative, it can, in my opinion, impede on the digestion of other languages, especially English in America. It is understandable that many people are not accustomed to reading subtitles while also watching the show or film itself. Also, considering that most people don't want to multitask while watching a comfort show or film. However, I think it is nice to watch the original language version and at least hear how the language sounds.

[angelprincess7]

Week 14 Rumination

Image copyrighted by: Ian Dagnall/Alamy Stock Photo

This week we delved a lot more into the visual aspects that related to science, the body, and how the fascination with the dead body has captivated the world for quite some time. The picture included above is an example of an anatomy theatre, a room in which a dead body, usually that of a criminal was used for dissection for the knowledge and entertainment of the audience. This audience consisted mainly of students, colleagues in the work, and the upper echelon of society at the time. However, the focus was never truly on the cadaver, or the body being used, but on the anatomist, the one doing the cutting and incision work.

In this same instance, anatomy theatres have started and upheld the standard fascination with dead bodies, especially human ones. However, as was stated in the lecture this week, this fascination has led to more problems than there ever should have been including the aspect of racial profiling and understanding the difference between moral tendencies and appearance. This problem has skyrocketed due to the start of classification, identification for criminals, and the use of biometrics and photography for "regular" people. Not only that, but in my opinion, this fascination with the dead human body has led to other interests in people, such as necrophilia...which is just gross.

In some way, at least in my opinion, despite the true use of these still being in effect today, my view of the room itself with no one in them is that of a college lecture room. A few pictures truly fit this description of mine, however, most anatomy theatres could be viewed, in a "modern" sense as a college lecture room where the students are surrounding the teacher, whilst being informed and, if the professor is nice, entertained as well.

[angelprincess7]

Week 13 Rumination

This week we focused on Laurie Gries's book "Still Life with Rhetoric: A New Realistic Approach for Visual Rhetorics". This book focuses primarily on the Obama Hope poster, its origin, its evolution, and how it has impacted visual case studies forever. However, we focused on Chapter 8 which includes the commodification and reproducibility of the poster. The image I decided to use this week to incorporate the topic into this rumination is another parody of the Obama Hope image with the use of the Transformer Optimus Prime. In my opinion, parody can either mean more to an individual than the original or they can mean nothing at all. Both are completely fine and it does not necessarily mean that this meaning is meant with ill intent.

With the Internet and social media platforms continuously growing by the second with how they can be used, more and more individuals choose to use what they can for profit. In the Obama Hope topic, Shepard Fairey was simply trying to help the campaign of Obama by using one of many photos taken by AP photographers. In many cases, the purpose of these remixes are simply for fun, however, others may contain other meanings about specific topics. In the society we have adapted to, our brains now have the capacity of a squirrel or a fish, so we have had to find ways to entertain ourselves, in the form of memes. And unfortunately for Shepard Fairey, his remix led to one of the most iconic memes in Internet history.

Gries's book chapter talks about the fetishization and "appeal" of Obama, not only because he was to be the first black president but also because many people viewed him as having "political magic". However, the fetishization of minorities, especially black people, is a loaded topic for another session.

[angelprincess7]

Week 12 Rumination

This week I decided to focus on one of the binaries that were mentioned during our lecture, Real/Illusion. Society tends to perceive what is real as true which is truly mind-boggling to me. Which is also unfortunate, because subconsciously, we all tend to want to believe that what we see is real and what is real is true. Subconsciously, somewhere in the back of our heads, we know that not everything we are seeing is truth and there is always something to be revealed behind the image. The use of these opposites has especially increased with the creation of social media. It has also increased with the use of photoshop apps and/or photo-altering apps/techniques.

As much as these apps and techniques have evolved over time and have allowed "regular" people to alter their taken images, it has many times, done more harm than good. Whether that be emotionally, physically, or substantially mentally, altering the "original" picture for any intent that is harmful, is never good. For example, when Facetune came out, a lot of celebrities were allegedly using the app to correct any marks or to reshape their face/body shape in order to appeal to societal standards. This enabled a younger audience that did not feel comfortable with themselves to rely on the app for confidence. With this, mental struggle increased and self-esteem plummeted, leading to dire life and death consequences, and trauma to a generation that did not need it.

As a final note, the binary of Real/Illusion also has its good moments. The illusion portion allows for people to continuously have a creative imagination. To see something else in another object is creative, so in my opinion, no matter how controversial the binary of real/illusion may be, we cannot refute that it can be and is a creative outlet for people.

[angelprincess7]

Week 11 Rumination

I truly think that it is maddening how materialistic the generations have become over the years. In the textbook, S&C state that even when being authentic and not "conforming" to any one brand or to any brand at all, that in itself is a brand. It did confuse me slightly, however, further reading, helped me understand what the authors meant by this with their examples. If a person does not own brand-name products, society is conditioned to perceive that person as one of a spectrum of ways. Society will view them as either poor or not able to afford brand-name items. Or society will view them as someone who chooses to reject the "social norm" and avoids purchasing any brand-name items at all costs. But this notion of not wanting to be associated with a brand is in itself branding, or as the textbook states, "self-branding".

In my opinion, these examples and explanations of brand culture and self-branding are very necessary and help to further justify and define the meaning of these terms. However, I also think that society has learned to put labels on everything because they are scared of uncertainty rather than just letting things be what they are. In materialistic circumstances, a pair of distressed denim jeans from Tommy Hilfiger is the same as any other pair of distressed jeans you can find on any other marketplace or in a thrift store. However, society has deemed that depending on your personal taste, the brand that you bought jeans from is where you should live and die by. And that is simply not the case, nor should it have ever been the case to begin with. As time has progressed and humanity has evolved, popularity has increased like never before. And in all honesty, it is frightening sometimes.

[angelprincess7]

Week 10 Rumination

Wade Jackman/Shutterstock; Received from newamerica.org

An argument that I would like to expound on (even if completely obvious to most) would be that "social media is always used for unity." As was described in our slides this week, the exact opposite argument was made for the statement and I absolutely agree. Not only due to the amount of political disagreement but also because of the mental strain that society has inevitably created for children and young adults especially, but for anyone that uses a form of social media. I will attest that the opinion is true, however, only to targeted circumstances that allow for majority of people to put away their personal biases and fight together. For example, the women's rights movement that allowed for the creation of the 19th Amendment. During this time, it didn't matter who you were or what you were, if you were a woman, you became a part of that community/movement.

Another example that is against this statement might be the amount of mental illnesses that have developed/been diagnosed and the number of suicides since the creation of social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Instagram, in my opinion, was an enormous factor to this because of its algorithm and the reason that it was created. Originally to share photos of events you've been to or photos of yourself in a cute outfit, it has since turned society into one of comparison at the smallest insecurity. And instead of creating a better system for the younger generation to consume, we leave them to clean up the older generations mess of an infrastructure. They have chosen to make profit rather than to help make change within our communities and our future children's lives and alleviate at least some of the societal pressure that has weighed us down for years.

[angelprincess7]

P2P #8

I decided to use this imagery after a LOT of thinking, brainstorming, and even troubleshooting throughout the process. I used Adobe Photoshop alongside graphic design to add the gradient color scheme and added the text in place to represent the "political" protest of women's reproductive rights.

The original intention for the image I "created" is essentially to tell people to mind their own business when it comes to bodies that aren't theirs. The Supreme Court allowing states to create laws against abortion, in my opinion, goes against the protection of privacy and the right to bodily autonomy for women. On the counterculture of this topic, babies are human, and "you're committing murder if you get an abortion". The first part of the opinion is valid, however, in many more cases than not, the women pushing said children out of their hoo-ha are not getting an abortion for the "satisfaction" of killing a new life.

If someone were to come up to me reciting their opinion on abortion and why someone shouldn't do it, that's fine, if you are respectful when speaking. If someone is screaming in my face telling me that I'm going to go to jail for getting an abortion in order to save my life, your argument will go in one ear and out the other and you might even get punched. This topic gets me especially heated, simply because of the patriarchal system that the U.S. is in and the amount of racial and sexist tension there is. To say that women and even worse, Black women, do not "deserve" the right to make a decision that can save their life, whether that be literally or metaphorically (regarding financial stability), that person, in my opinion, is not human.

[angelprincess7]

P2P #7

This picture was first taken some time ago, however, I am not certain of where I was at the time. I first took this picture because I first wanted to capture the moon at the time. To be able to actually see the moon during sunlight-ish hours is magical in certain terms. And my adding the "mystical" butterfly ABOVE the beautiful half moon makes the photo that much more of a fantastical vibe. At least, that what is I hope is received across the board.

This image changes the visual argument, I believe, because as society has led us to be, "magic" is not real. But with this picture, it presents two types of realism in that this moon formation once existed at a point in time (ontological) and the glittery butterfly is representative of magic and the idea of mystical fantasies (representational)

[angelprincess7]

P2P#3

I decided to use this meme as a way to describe the choice we all have as humans for whether we take the author's intended meaning of the creation as fact for the project or do we allow ourselves to be our own interpreters and let our minds roam free with whatever message we come up with? Even this image itself and how I have restructured the original meme to fit this concept is subject to interpretation on its own despite still being an adaptation of an original piece. I had a bit of trouble trying to figure out what meme I first wanted to use but after some troubleshooting and playing around, I discovered that this one just made more sense with the content I wanted to use.

As far as insight to take from this is concerned, that is actually what I intended to question. Is there a point to this meme other than how forceful can this choice be especially within society today? I know...too deep but think about it. If we don't think one way we are wrong, if we think the other way, we are just a pawn in whatever this world is that we have created. So...what do you choose?