Visual Culture and Communication

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Yarn Bombing - Extra Credit Post

Yarn bombing, the act of adorning streets and public displays with color knitting works, has various implications on culture. Additionally, the Close and Hahner & Varda readings point out the intersections of race, class, and gender within the rhetoric surrounding yarn bombing. The primary motivation of this art form is to increase the creativity and liveliness of traditionally dull spaces to entertain and please an everyday audience. Consequently, a movement of empowerment has been triggered amongst the participating artists as the art creates a community, particularly among women. The articles discuss how the nature of yarn-bombing is particularly class-specific and sexist, as it exercises privilege amongst the artists given primarily praise and attention for essentially vandalizing public space and claiming the community as their own through the territorial yarn bombing. As of current, the website for the Los Angeles community for yarn bombing claims to offer a sign of inclusiveness but diversity is clearly lacking as proven through the pictures of white women featured across the page. I agree specifically with Close’s recommendation for the inclusion of other races to engage in the dialogue and for the artists to encourage the potential for a diversity of ideas and talents to contribute to the art.

Obviously identity and form is a significant difference between the dialogue of yarn bombing and graffiti but intersections do exist. Commodification, for example, is relevant for both movements as lucrative galleries and press coverage has prevailed for both. Yarn bombing actually achieved serious accreditation and publicity by earning a TED talk about the movement, evidently garnering more money for the participants and their endeavors.

The authors also make strong arguments regarding the politics of the visual culture. The colorful and cute nature of the displays make a statement about the desire for peace, playfulness, and positivity. It restructures the public space into a feminine aesthetic therefore attempting to restructure the male-dominated political space as well. Similarly, as depicted through Picture #1 and Picture #2 of the yarn bombed tank and the bull, the art makes an opposition statement against militaristic violence or dangerous strength, considered masculine characteristics, and adorning it with playful pink yarn which can symbolically portray peace in this juxtaposition. This point goes even further with the yarning of actual people as shown in Picture #3. This statement relays back to identity and how the movement is essentially attempting to soften or beautify not only masculine objects but people as well.

Photo #1

Photo #2

Photo #3

Leslie A. Hahner & Scott J. Varda (2014). “Yarn Bombing and the Aesthetics of Exceptionalism” in Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies 11(4), pp. 301-321.

Samantha Close (2018). “Knitting Activism, Knitting Gender, Knitting Race” in International Journal of Communication 12, pp. 867-889.

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Graffiti and Street Art

In the chapter, “Writing “Graffiti” in the Public Sphere: The Construction of Writing as an Urban Problem”, Joe Austin highlights the various dialogues and news reports that constructed the discussion of writing graffiti in New York City. The chapter paints a picture of the state of the city on different levels to emphasize how graffiti was a signifier of the malfunctioning social reproductive mechanisms of the city. John Lindsay, while running for mayor and advocating radically for public transportation, reacted aggressively to the graffiti problem that developed on the subways. Lindsay was known for insulting writers and attacking their character rather attempting to understand their motives. Austin details numerous instances in which officials fought for anti-graffiti legislation that made it more difficult for writers to possess their supplies or carry out their art. Furthermore, coverage on the matter did not include writers as active participants in the public mass-media conversation but rather just objects of analysis.However, the piece also points out the multiple positive attitudes towards graffiti in New York City and even The New York Times framed the practice as a natural human response to the urban environment. My favorite quote is from citizen, Ronald Gross; “Must we literally whitewash spontaneous communication? Can we afford to lose one more impulse of affirmation in a city dying of anomie? Why are we so uptight?” (Austin, pg. 90). Similar attitudes began to emerge in published pieces that referred to graffiti as art and recognized its cultural significance. For example, this recent article in The New York Times shows how there is a shift in how some authors talk about graffiti. In the article, they consistently refer to it as art and there has grown such appreciation for the actual form that artists are granted a place in more sophisticated settings like in the art show referenced in the article. I agree most strongly with this view as I also see this graffiti as a way to make a dull, grey city a little more colorful and creative. I also don’t see how the claim that the writers are imposing their identification on others is necessarily a bad thing. After speaking with my Uncle who used to be a graffiti artist in the bronx, I realized that it is a very empowering practice for those often marginalized. My Uncle Mark said, “I didn't feel empowered in New York. I felt like a nobody, unheard amongst a sea of millions of people. Graffiti was a way to involve myself in the city and make my mark, symbolically and physically. It was a way to feel recognized for something I thought I was good at” (Phone Call). In addition to the empowerment of forgotten citizens, I think the art also serves as a positive visual experience for the city. As seen in the picture below, a women is caught looking at the myriad of graffiti on the city buildings. I often find myself, like the woman in the photo, being captivated by the images or words on the wall proving that this form is a visual experience. It gets people to look up from their daily rush in the bustling streets and embrace the city. This article even shows how these places have even become tourist spots for people to seek out when visiting the city. This leads to Sarah Banet-Weiser’s main point about graffiti as a form of branding.

Photo #1: Source

Banet-Weiser discusses the branding of creativity, the newly imagined creative city, and the individual entrepreneur artist.The examples she uses, especially those of Banksy’s work, looks more to me like traditional art featured in museums or studios rather than on subway walls. However, their existence on these walls is essential to the message that public creativity and freedom of enterprising without asking for permission is valid and beautiful. She only notes the shifting ideas of creativity in the US within the context of branding to understand the process of branding graffiti. One of my favorite pieces of her discussion is the dialogue around marketing a city. Similar to the specific tourist sites that showcase graffiti as noted in the article referenced earlier, an actual brand can be made for a specific form of street art, collection of artists, or individual entrepreneurs. What came to mind for me when reading this part was the Wynwood Walls in Miami. As demonstrated on their website here, the collection of artwork on warehouse buildings has its own brand and logo (seen in Photo #2) which is well known in the city of Miami. Their website is yet another example of how the creativity of graffiti art is branded. At the same time, the city of Miami is branded as an urban, colorful, and creative space. On the about page, a quote from the founder states, “By presenting it in a way that has not been done before, I was able to expose the public to something they had only seen peripherally” (Wynwood Walls Website). In contrast to Photo #1 which shows the art as a side or periphery experience while walking down the street, these walls are the main attraction.

Photo #2: Source

Sarah Banet-Weiser also talked about the state critiques and how street art can reflect contemporary culture economy. She quotes Shepard Fairey, an American contemporary street artist known for the art from Obama’s “Hope” posters, saying, “I’m a taxpayer—why can’t I use public space for my imagery when corporations can use it for theirs?” (Banet-Weiser, pg.123). I believe this argument aligns with the meaning and motive seen in the mural right outside of campus on West 27th Street. The art, shown in Photo #3, takes a stance to support veganism in a space that non-vegan corporations could use as well.  The form of free speech and expression without bureaucracy on public walls would support Fairey’s entrepreneurial position and stance on progressive cultural politics.

Photo #3: Source - Myself (Taken on iPhone) 

Joe Austin, “Writing “Graffiti” in the Public Sphere: The Construction of Writing as an Urban Problem” in Taking the Train: How Graffiti Became an Urban Crisis in New York City (pp. 75-106).

Sarah Banet-Weiser, “Branding Creativity: Creative Cities, Street Art, and “Making Your Name Sing” in Authentic™: The Politics of Ambivalence in a Brand Culture” (pp. 91-124).

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Kavanaugh Hearings: A Timeline

It all started when President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh as his pick to replace retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. (The Hill)

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Christine Blasey Ford, Palo Alto University professor, then sends a letter in to her state senator that details an alleged assault by the new Supreme Court nominee. In the letter, Ford claimed that in high school, Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge forced her into a bedroom where Kavanaugh removed her clothes, put his hand over her mouth as she tried to scream, and allegedly tried to rape her. The allegation is made public by The Washington Post in an interview with Ford almost two months later.

What conservatives are thinking:

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What liberals are thinking:

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A day after The Washington Post interview with Ford is published, Kavanaugh denies allegations of the sexual assault in a statement from The White House saying, “"I have never done anything like what the accuser describes—to her or to anyone. Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday.” (CBS News)

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A second accuser, Deborah Ramirez, comes forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh from their time at Yale. (The Hill)

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Then a THIRD allegation from Julie Swetnick who claimed Kavanaugh was present for gang rapes in high school. (The Hill) Swetnick was represented by the same lawyer who is representing Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who is suing Trump over a non-disclosure agreement. (CNN)

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On September 27th, Ford and Kavaugh appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ford delivered a compelling testimony with details regarding the attack and made certain that the jury knew that she was “no one’s pawn” and was not politically motivated. (The Washington Post)

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Kavanaugh became very emotional as he shouted and cried speaking about the harm the allegations have had on his reputation and the impact on his family.  (The Washington Post)

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His emotional temperament was so prevalent in his testimony, Matt Damon even comically represented him on SNL as having a sharp, uncontrolled tone. (NPR)

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Kavanaugh’s strongest alibi consists of his calendar from 1982 in which he indicated that he was not at a party the night the alleged assault. (The Hill)

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A day after the hearing, The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the nomination on a party-line vote. Republican Senator Jeff Flake makes a bold deal with Democrats to call for a 1 week, limited FBI Investigation. The Investigation failed to contact Ford, Kavanaugh, or other corroborating witnesses listed by Ford. (The Hill) Democrats looked a little something like this: 

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On October 6th, the Senate held the final vote which confirmed Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court by a 50-48 vote and on October 8th he was sworn in with Trump (CNN).

Democrat Reaction:

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Republican Reaction:

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Anti-Logos: Sabotaging the Brand through Parody

In the Anti-Logos chapter of “OurSpace: Resisting the Corporate Control of Culture”, Christine Harold analyzes situationist techniques within the contemporary setting of corporate branding and its backlash. The chapter emphasizes the power of “sabotage” and “parody” while also admitting limitations and arguing that campaigns such as Adbusters lack attention to the realities of today’s branding based economy. Furthermore, the example of the Seattle WTO protests showed how images of sabotage politicized public spaces and “transformed these companies and their logos into symbols of voracious globalization run amok” (Harold, pg. 49). An image of the Seattle protests as seen in Photo #1 shows protestors holding up a banner that says “March Against WTO Global Injustice” with an image of an earth with a nail through it. I think it is ironic that a protest against advertising still uses a type of logo to brand themselves. This shows just how much contemporary rhetoric is built on branding and similar forms of visual storytelling.

Photo #1: Source

It is important to note that a cultural shift in the understanding of sabotage and control took place after the era of disciplinary power that Harold uses Deleuze and Foucault to explicate. She discusses their distinctions between sovereign power, disciplinary power, and the control over communication and how the current culture does not respond to these factors in the same way as in a disciplinary society. Today, media savvy sabotagers of corporate branding “embrace the potential rhetorical force of sabotage, they destroy property in a way sensational enough to warrant coverage in the twenty-four-hour news cycle” (Harold, pg. 48). This Sociology blog post further explains these ideas and analyzes what a post-disciplinary society entails. The post explains how beyond institutions, such a post-disciplinary society has power and control exuded in a multitude of different ways, as proven by Harold through examples in contemporary branding as well as sabotaging.

Harold uses the blackspot sneaker and the Breast Cancer Fund's "Obsessed with Breasts” campaigns to describe subvertisements, a satire or parody of corporate advertising. More examples of this type of undercutting can be found here to further show the techniques and language used. This list of subvertisements shows billboards in particular to tackle the problem of pervasive advertisements that are often inescapable and cannot be avoided through simply switching off technology. It is also important to  note that Harold identifies the idea of anti-capitalism as the truly the binding piece that brings similar activists and sabotogers together. Photo #2 is a definitive example of a subvertisement in line with the radical viewpoint of activists against capitalism. The Coca-Cola logo is made parody to indicate how the company is a penultimate example of capitalism, forcing the audience to view the soda company in a different light than normal.

Photo #2: Source

Christine Harold, “Anti-Logos: Sabotaging the Brand Through Parody” in OurSpace: Resisting the Corporate Control of Culture (pp. 27-69).

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Advertising and Brand Culture through Campaigns

Both the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, presented in Dara Persis Murray’s article, and the various arguments presented in Sarah Banet-Weiser’s piece, work to demonstrate how how brands build culture through relationships with the consumers based on emotion and affect. In the analysis of Dove’s campaign, Murray evokes contexts of social change, female beauty, and post-feminism to show how active female citizenship with empowerment through consumerism can be problematic. The inauthenticity comes from the corporate benefit from these social problems while “distracting attention from their [the corporation’s] connections as to why these social problems continue to exist” (Stole as cited in Murray, 2013). The argument states that the branding strategy is actually oppressing women through the process of self branding girls as “real beauties” that circulate semiotically within the corporate identity. This in turn underscores neoliberal self-improvement for the benefit of Dove’s economic power. The branding strategy and the aligned message is even represented in some product design as observed in Photo #1 below. The bottles bring brand essence and product design together to further show their commitment to the message. However, it is important to note that language and simple visual and textual marketing is far more effective at building consumer trust than the actual product itself. This is why the campaign message is recognizable or popular to the general public while these particular bottles were not.  As noted in the Pepsi advertisements we analyzed in class, Dove also attempts to market to all generations by placing models within historic waves of feminism. This analysis is used to indicate how Dove is leading the charge into postfeminism in which “real” identities are used to serve the aims of institutional power. Murray also notes that the casting is inherently objectifying as they choose women based on certain physical attributes to promote economic consumption. This article further highlights Murray’s point about how objectification has transitioned to subjectification and its subsequent effects on feminist culture and media representation. I think this raises the question as to if this is necessarily a bad thing if the goal is to empower women through identification with women in advertisements not traditionally represented? It seems as you would have to objectively cast in order for the campaign to hold meaning. While reading this article, I was able to understand the criticism and the flaws or inauthenticity in the campaign but I tried to think of an alternative to combat this major issue of “real” beauty representation in the media. If Dove is admonished for taking such a stance for social change to benefit the institution, then I am not sure how else it can be done on just as large of scale.

Photo #1: Source 

Similar to the Dove campaign, Sarah Banet-Weiser’s piece “‘We Are All Workers’: Economic Crisis, Masculinity, and the American Working Class”, focuses on the gendering of the current recession and the connections between work, labor, and a crisis of masculinity. The main point of the article is to analyze how the culture, largely occupied by gender, of the economic crisis is organized by advertising and its economic features. The article points to advertisements in which U.S. corporate culture offers the means for men in particular to rescue the broken nation as individual agents of change. The rescue comes in the form of economic investment and a buy in to capitalism. This genre of brand culture that influences capitalism and vice versa not only centers on maleness but whiteness as well in an effort to celebrate an idealization under attack by others. The argument goes so far to conclude that anxieties about masculinity not only affects individuals but also cause anxieties about the future of a nation because of how connected patriotic advertising and masculine, white collar work has been in advertisements throughout history. The Levi case study of the Go Forth campaign proves a resolution to these crises by calling on workers in Rust Belt towns to courageously rescue themselves through their national duty of consumerism. I know that this brand strategy is inherently gendered as similar campaigns invoke these same emotions and affects about the working class rebuilding after wreckage. For example, Budweiser always runs commercials set in rural, industrial settings that point to the manual, masculine work done in these towns and on the land. A series of such Budweiser commercials throughout decades can be watched here. The Budweiser Can itself displays the company’s slogan “King of Beers” as seen in Photo #2. This is a clear gendering of their product and their message about a predominantly male and white working class finding status and strength in consumption. Overall, this case shows the current moment in contemporary culture in which the recentering of the masculine citizen’s role within a brand narrative is “one way to reassert cultural control over an otherwise destabilizing crisis” (Banet-Weiser, pg. 87). Like the Dove campaign, the Levi’s campaign fails to address the reasons for the social change like the lack of jobs available, but knows to play into an audience's desire for optimism and national and individual identity.

Photo #2: Source

Sarah Banet-Weiser, ““We Are All Workers”: Economic Crisis, Masculinity, and the American Working Class” in Gendering the Recession: Media and Culture in the Age of Austerity (pp. 81-106).

Dara Persis Murray (2013). “Branding “Real” Social Change in Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty” in Feminist Media Studies 13(1), pp. 83-101.

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In the book, Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes: A Cultural History of American Advertising, Juliann Sivulka charts the timeline of advertising and the industry’s reflective and influential capabilities within American life. Chapter 8, “1975-1990 From Positioning to Image Building”, details the rise of advertising agencies and changes in the US economy as a result, paying close attention to how demands of the agencies by clients changed. Sivulka explains the term positioning through the lens of various actors in the industry at the time while showing how positioning choices differed based on what the product did and who would consume it. A Pepsi campaign is used as an example of a specific type of competitive positioning in which the company conducted blind taste tests that concluded consumers enjoy Pepsi more than Coca-Cola. They used this strategy to create content marketing against their competitor while Coca-Cola did the same back. I find this particular example in history interesting as similar advertising strategies persist today but through different and additional outlets. This article includes a series of examples in which campaigning against competition proves prominent while also providing insight into when certain strategies are appropriate and when they are not. One modern example of this form of positioning is the fast food chain Wendy’s creative and ruthless attacks on McDonalds via Twitter. As observed in Photo 1, Wendy’s tweeted an aggressive message denigrating McDonald’s for their use of frozen beef. In a viral response, an average twitter user added an edited GIF indicating Wendy dunking over Ronald McDonald to display dominance. Believe it or not, this social media interaction is a form of advertising in the modern age that still uses the competitive positioning of the advertising age Sivulka speaks to in Chapter 8.  It is interesting how advertising has changed so much to not only include social media, an interactive platform, as a way to advertise but the strategy also uses the average media user to contribute to the brands advertising goals. The lay person that reacted to the Wendy’s tweet actually helps the brands messaging by circulating through twitter culture a GIF indicating Wendy’s dominance over McDonalds.

Photo #1 : Source

Chapter 9 in Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes, focuses on the world of advertising as it has stood more recently as well projections for the future of the industry. She notes how all the changes that happened to the world prior to now have influenced the economy, culture and politics of society while inadvertently changing the way people engage with commerce. With that perspective in mind, Sivulka dives into how globalization and technology has changed the advertising landscaping and also makes a point to discuss the role of women in advertising. This particular piece was interesting to me as it explained how certain products like beer and cleaning materials have dramatically changed marketing tactics towards women with the intention that the women mindset was changing to take on less men-dependent personalities and identifying as consumers of traditionally men products. Although the shifts are prevalent to an extent, I think that the reverse stereotyping of that ideal still remains today. This article explains how the representation within the population of content creator and within the actual content is a persistent problem today with significant aspects failing women. Similarly, Sivulka notes that advertising is still behind the times in regards to race. Racist ads stereotyping certain ethnicities plagued the 90’s and still find their place on occasion today. For example, a recent PopChips advertisement featured Ashton Kutcher as an Indian with brown face. I think how this differs from the racist advertising Sivulka notes from the 90’s is now the use of white people to take on the forms or attitudes, or in other words, culturally appropriate, non-white races. In general, an analysis of the history of advertising with eras that mold to the features of the time, has proven to possess the power to shape what we think, feel, and want while we engage in consumerism.

Photo #2: Source

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Memes, GIFs and Emojis

This week’s readings seamlessly tied together the rhetoric surround Memes, Gifs, and Emojis. All modern vehicles for discussion that circulate popular media, these three mediums of visual communication individually play unique roles in shaping internet or messaging culture. In his article “It’s Supposed to Look Like Shit: The Internet Ugly Aesthetic”, Nick Douglas notes that there is an evident ugly aesthetic in memetic culture that is a product of the speed and lack of gatekeeper within the system in which memes circulate. An example of an Ugly Meme is seen in the memes below (Photo #1 and #2) of the Moth Meme trend. The main humor is in the fact that moths are obsessed with lamps because of their attraction to the light. A universal understanding has been “memeified” and injected into existing ugly meme formats. As you can see from the form, the pictures of the people in bed and in the car are probably off the internet and a low quality picture of a moth is copied on one of the faces. It is an inherently easy production of a meme and allows for quick iterations that build an internet trend. This is an example of Douglas’s point that “Specific sites will start memes but mostly spread them to a wider population for further iteration” (Douglas, 2014). Meme culture has democratized participation, allowing for anyone to be a creator to innocently parody, critically satirize, and celebrate the authenticity of ugly. Douglas uses the trends of Rage Comics, Shitty Watercolour, The Shitty Network, Nailed it, Bazinga Comics, and Snapchat to explain how memetic culture is a rebellion from the New Aesthetic of refined, clean pixelated art. The analysis of memes in this article describe how memes reflect the culture of the platforms they are represented on. This point is illustrated in this article which presents the perspectives of millennials on how meme culture is tied to political opinion. One high school student quoted in the article noted, “"I love the way memes can brilliantly explain a huge political issue in a simple way” (Myles cited in Ballantyne, 2017). This ties to Douglas’s argument that public opinion is represented more effectively through Internet Ugly rather than perfect execution. Internet Ugly is simple and available to quickly created iterations but carry significant meaning for the participants, both creators and viewers.

Photo #1 and #2 : Source 

Due to a combination of the features, constraints, and affordances, GIFs are also a key component of digital communication as they add a feeling or expression that is lost in simple text communication. In the article “Never Gonna GIF You Up: Analyzing the Cultural Significance of the Animated GIF”, Miltner and Highfield explain how it through “the performance of affect and the demonstration of cultural knowledge” that these isolated snippets of larger texts can be understood within the contexts of society (Miltner & Highfield, 2017). The visuals are also polysemic, offering different meanings and understandings to various audiences. Offering an interesting comparison to the political perspective on memes, Miltner and Highfield similarly indicate how GIF’s participate in political commentary. An analysis of GIF’s from the 2016 presidential campaigns provide insight in how moving, repetitive visuals of politicians can be understood within the political contexts and outside of them but all the while holding significance for how the people in the GIF’s are viewed and used. The authors also note how GIF culture has transitioned from a user driven format to a visual device with institutional implications as commercial forces have adopted GIFs. However, they make the distinction that’s commodification has not diminished the value of GIFs in everyday communication.

In addition to Memes and GIFs, Emojis are also a unique instrument for visual communication. Emojis help the participants of a digital conversation portray an emotion or idea to compliment their text. Often emojis are used in a situation where the intended tone of the sender is unclear with just the use of words. According to the main idea of Marcel Danesi’s article “Emoji Semantics”, the primary function in the basic emoji code is to portray a positive tone. I personally find myself using emojis when I am sending a text that may have a negative interpretation but I don’t want it to come off like I am mad. For example, I would send a text to my housemates saying “Hey, could you send in your checks for the electric bill (insert smiling face emoji here)”. Had I sent the message without a smiley face my message may have come off cold and demanding when in reality I am not mad. By using the smiley face, the recipients of the text can visualize me smiling while asking them to pay the electric bill and interpret a positive tone. I think the article “Emoji Semantics” brings up an interesting idea that emojis are essentially reminiscent of “an ancient form of ‘visual consciousness’ that was evident in the origins of writing” (Danesi, 2016). The premise of this argument is that a message can be more closely tied to the actual visual feeling implied from the message, like how ancient writing was transcribed,  rather than simply words themselves. Danesi also explained how emojis employ a thesaurus effect, meaning that connotation, strongly based on culture, is applied to all emojis to varying degrees. I agree with this point as I know there are certain emojis that even just among different friend groups are understood differently or carry a culture specific meaning. This also can give way to misinterpretation where one person may think an emoji carries one meaning while the other thinks it means something else. This article further explains specific research studies that have indicated the frequent misinterpretation of emojis across cultures and different devices in particular. However the article also states, “ A new study shows that people can misinterpret the emotion and meaning in emoji quite significantly, even when they’re on the same platform” (Larson, 2016). For example, a few of my friends the other day realized that the emoji below (Photo #3) was actually intended by apple to be an information desk girl when we all thought she was indicated she got her haircut or was acting sassy. These differences of interpretation would influence the way my friends may use this emoji in comparison to someone who works at Apple. Regardless of the potential for misunderstandings, emojis, like GIFs and Memes, primarily grant messages more power and employ a helpful human essence to digital communication.

Photo #3: Source 

Readings Citations: 

Marcel Danesi, “Emoji Semantics” in The Semiotics of Emoji: The Rise of Visual Language in the Age of the Internet (pp. 51-76).

Nick Douglas (2014). “It’s Supposed to Look Like Shit: The Internet Ugly Aesthetic” in Journal of Visual Culture 13(3), pp. 314-339.

Kate Miltner & Tim Highfield (2017). “Never Gonna GIF You Up: Analyzing the Cultural Significance of the Animated GIF” in Social Media + Society, pp. 1-11.

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Realism in Animation

Animated television series are notably deserving of analysis as shows like The Boondocks and The Simpsons have complicated how realism and cultural references are presented to complex audiences.  Rex Krueger noted in his article that The Boondocks series has exceeded expectations with its “formal elegance and narrative complexity” (Krueger, 2010). The dense plot, controversial contemporary topics, and exciting visuals has allowed for the show to garner success while demanding critical attention. Krueger describes the show as more of an appropriation from the original comic strip rather than an adaptation. The primary reason for this conclusion is how the show appropriates elements from other sources in order to adapt. The show also utilizes cultural references that straddle the line of universality and currency. Furthermore, I think the idea of cultural references that give expected media literacy from audience and award them for being cultural conversant is especially relatable in my media consumption. For example, throughout high school I wanted to become a doctor so I took biology classes and even shadowed a surgeon at a hospital. I became avid Grey’s Anatomy fan, a medical drama focusing on the world of surgeons. I enjoyed watching the show because i was able to understand the references made in the surgical scene pictured below. The doctors would gather around and use human biology terms and names of certain equipment that I could put meaning to and get the feeling that I was right there at the surgical table.  Although, Grey’s Anatomy has been critiqued for not being an accurate representation of a surgeon’s life, people in the medical field are a large portion of series’ audience probably because they are awarded for knowing many of the cultural references. This relates back to The Boondocks and The Simpsons as they are able to make universal references to racism in America or the danger of nuclear power plants.

Picture 1: Source

Another aspect that makes these references successful in regards to universality and currency,  is their speculative quality and how they envision the future. A definitive example of this seen in Picture 2, The Simpsons episode where Trump becomes President, aired 16 years before the actual 2016 election.  Although quite an eerie speculation, The Simpsons took the culture of glamorized politics and the involvement of the media to construct this potential reality of a TV star taking office. The episode, with the clip of Trump that can be found here, displayed a scary and bleak political reality that was quite difficult for the characters. Working as a parallel to The Simpsons use of speculative cultural reference, Krueger also notes that, “When The Boondocks uses current events and popular culture, these elements must be re-envisioned in the series’ universe, because direct commentary would lag too far behind the actual event.”

Picture 2: Source

In Jason Mittell’s article, he also notes how through the display of the cultural life and the use of genre mixing along with various other textual and formal decisions, The Simpsons achieves a high standard of realism. Mittell claims “genres as culturally circulating set of practices that work to categorize television texts and link together various cultural assumptions” (Mittell, 2001) I thought this point was particularly interesting as it includes an essence of changeability with the times and the understanding of the versatility of cultural assumptions. Another related article by Mittel, “A Cultural Approach to Television Genre Theory”, brings up more interesting points about how the medium fits into his analysis of genre mixing. Mittell lays out his 5 Principles of Cultural Genre Analysis. The first principle is:  “Genre analyses should account for the particular attributes of the medium.” (Mittell, 2001) This reminded me of the new Black Mirror season coming out this year. One episode, as cited in this article, is incorporating a “choose-your-own-adventure” option in which the audience can decide alternative endings based on the decisions they make for the characters. Black Mirror has mixed the genre of suspenseful drama with the video game medium. This is a clear example of Mittel’s argument that medium distincion is becoming increasingly blurred. The attributes of both television dramas and video games must be taken into account when looking into the components of genre within this particular Black Mirror episode.

Jason Mittell (2001). “Cartoon Realism: Genre Mixing and the Cultural Life of The Simpsons” in The Velvet Lightrap, pp. 15-28

Rex Krueger (2010). “Aaron McGruder’s The Boondocks and Its Transition From Comic Strip to Animated Series” in Animation 5(3), pp. 313-329

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An analysis of video games through the lens of reality

Video Games present a particularly interesting perspective on how reality is analyzed, experienced, and appreciated. All of the articles this week at some point noted how various there are some video games are based off of everyday professions or tasks rather than some action packed war scene or a far off planet quest. The New York Times article “It’s All Fun and Games, Even When its Menial Work”, explains a game by indicating how the fantasy of it is that it is set in a place of meritocracy and that games often transition from feeling fun to feeling like work. While reading this article, I was reminded of the days I spent playing the Waitress Game on my family’s Desktop computer. Obviously menial labor, the work of the waitress in the game was stressful and not at all glamorous but I was continuously entertained. The article,  “‘Social Realism’ in Gaming: Essays on Algorithmic Culture”, describes this type of game as realist, being that it reflects “critically on the minutiae of everyday life” (Galloway, 2006). It also includes the personal struggle and injustice of the work by the way the customers would get mad at the waitress if the food was taking too long or not give a tip for messing up the order. Later on in life when I actually became a waitress for 2 summers, my coworker and I would reminisce on those waitress games we used to play as kids. When we were getting tired, bored or stressed out during our shifts, we would say “just pretend we’re in the game and it will be fun.” This take away from a realist game exemplifies the Congruence Requirement that Galloway argues. The requirement is the balance between the idea that gaming realism is detailed by the extension of one’s own life and the Columbine theory that “games exert ‘realistic’ effects back into the gamer” (Galloway 2006). The congruence is that there is a relationship between the two though not causal and that the social reality in the game and in real life. The relationship my coworker and I had to the game was one indicative of this congruence requirement in that the game was an extension of the menial reality of a waitress but it also had effects back into our real world experience. Wii games are also indicative of this congruence as a goal for Nintendo, as explained in this article, was to get people to play together with friends and family in the same room, a form of exerting effects back in the gamer while also having the actions taken by the players hold implications for how the Wii game plays out. 

It is important to note the distinction between realistic representation and social realism. The waitress game did by no means carry any realisticness in the graphics but it did carry a great deal of social realism. This begs the question, does realisticness matter in a video game? My opinion in no, it does not. I believe it can add a certain feel and atmosphere that is appreciated in certain games but I believe that it is not crucial. For example, Photo 1 and Photo 2 below offer a drastic contrast of realistic graphics. In the waitress game (Photo 1) people do not attempt to resemble real depictions of humans, the levels of customer satisfaction is clearly articulated through the hearts over the heads, and the restaurant set up is overly simplistic. On the other hand, the graphics from the video game Horizon: Zero Dawn (Photo 2) are high quality and arguably realistic in that the body truly resembles a human, the nature backdrop is detailed and believable, and it evidently relies upon languages of preceding mediums like film. However, I personally enjoy playing games like the waitress game more because of how simple the graphics are. Where the waitress game loses in realisticness, it makes up for in social realism, an area that Horizon: Zero Dawn lacks.

Photo 1: Source

Photo 2: Source

Although I could understand the stress from waiting tables and dealing with angry customers, I find the physical aspect to be a primary reason why playing the game is usually a lot more enjoyable than actually waiting tables. The physical exhaustion and in person interactions with customers is lost in a virtual game. The article “Papers, Please: Exploring a hopeless dystopia through the mundanity of mechanics”, details the experience of the game “Papers, Please” in which the player takes the role of an immigration inspector in a dystopian society. Although the main premise of this article is to highlight how the game puts mechanics first and relies completely on its systems to deliver a complex set of experiences, the physical aspect is also relevant in this case. Spending all day waiting tables and going through identification papers while dealing with difficult customers is a lot more physically grueling than sitting on the computer or in front of the TV pressing buttons. This is another aspect of why the mundane tasks of the game is able to be enjoyable.

However, I think it is interesting to analyze Wii Sports as a video game that utilizes the physical aspect to enhance a game and make both realisticness and realism stronger. As seen in Photo 3, the participants move their bodies to move the characters on the screen. The characters themselves are not visually realistic humans but as the article “The False Economy of Photorealism” explained, “when developers solely concentrate their effort on the improvement of visuals, so many other areas of design remain stuck in a time warp” (Sawrey 2013). This article explains how by not focusing on making the design a more complex version of other games and by developing new aspects, Wii Sports was able to reach a larger audience beyond the normal gaming crowd. By choosing to focus on the area of design that aligns physical movements of the entire body with the action on screen, Wii Sports achieves reactive realism. For example, the tennis player you are playing against reacts to the specific shot by running to the area on the court in which the player angled the stroke. Wii Sports is a great example of how the visuals are back up with a realistic interactivity. One downside: the physical aspect discourages players from playing virtual tennis day whereas players can interact with Papers Please and The Waitress Game for hours on end!

Photo 3: Source 

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Branding Blackness

Simone Browne’s piece “Branding Blackness” describes the painful history of branding slaves in America in an effort to track blackness as property. Browne illustrates this practice in order to make a point about modern day biometric technology used for surveillance and the identification of bodies. The argument is that branding in the era of slavery was actually a form of biometric technology and the beginning of mass surveillance in the United States. However, branding in the transatlantic slave trade was particularly used to ascribe the meaning of a commodity onto the black body and then after arriving in the colonies, brands would maintain the enslaved body as black. A notable aspect of this branding would be the mark of the skin or the epidermalization, the inscription of race on the skin. The first thing that came to my mind when I thought of branding was The Scarlet Letter and the “branding” of Hester Prynne. As depicted below, she was “branded” with a red, felt A on her dress to signify her Adulteress status.  Although this worked as a mark of meaning, the brand was not a permanent facet on her skin that gave meaning to her color but instead a superficially laid marker on her dress. In other words, her “branding” was not attached to her whiteness in the way that the branding of the slavery era attached meaning the the literal color of the skin. Understanding this distinction allows for a comprehensive analysis of remaining points Browne makes regarding the implications of branding.

Photo #1: https://sites.google.com/site/scarletletter520/hester

From using humans as resources to be bought and sold in the slave trade, to marketing in the colonial era, to modern day billboards, the concept of commodification of race has seen various forms throughout history. Browne notes one early version of the Banania brand package as having a carribean looking women pouring the product on a rejoicing French crowd. This marketing choice implies that the exotic region of the Caribbean is willfully giving the colonies and white people their resources. In reality we know this is not the case and that the nature of colonization was nothing but forceful. Similar representation has been seen today in billboard campaigns. For example, the picture below depicts a playstation advertisement promoting the release of the new white colored playstation with a powerful white women forcefully holding the face of a black person. This is overtly reminiscent of colonization and what Browne notes as the “white racial frame”. The frame which gives way to an anti-black frame categorizing difference where blackness is deemed unruly, needing to be tamed, as portrayed in the Playstation advertisement.  As for the slave era, this was the justification for branding and characterizing blackness with negative characteristics in order to rationalize the violence.

Browne also brings up the point that certain memorabilia from the slave era has been commodified like the branding tool or certain historic photographs. As the amount of channels available for exposure has increased, commodity culture continues to show signs of branding blackness. For example, Nike’s campaign with Kaepernick and the various merchandise that came out of Angela Davis’ history as a power icon, show that branding the pain that black people endure is still relevant and pervasive and popular culture. To read more about the problematic act of branding black pain and these two specific cases, visit this site.

Photo #2: https://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-most-racist-ads-of-the-modern-era-2012-6#burger-king-and-mary-j-blige-got-blasted-for-this-fried-chicken-commercial-4

Branding blackness and the construction of prototypical whiteness also have consequence on surveillance and the practices of biometrics in regards to the recognition and verification that accompanies these practices.From the linear fashion in which artificial boundaries are regulated within biometric technology causing false identifications to the facial-scan system by video cameras being optimized for lighter-skinned users, I agree with Browne that as long as biometric technology relies on probability, surveillance in the US will remain racial and flawed. Once again reminiscent of the transatlantic slave trade when black people were separated by category of fit, people under surveillance are separated into stringent linear categories that deny subjectivity. From living in South Central Los Angeles, a predominately colored neighborhood, I know that this reality gives way to an inequality of surveillance as I note the frequently present helicopters technologically surveilling the streets from above. Will Smith’s quote in Browne’s article also notes that awareness of being under constant surveillance is an enduring condition of Black life. Furthermore, this article states that the government has reported its use of extensive surveillance resources to identify black activists they deem “extremists”. The article states that the “FBI thinks it can identify security threats by scrutinizing people’s beliefs and speech.” (Talbot, 2017) This is yet another example of people in power can socially construct someone’s identity and employ negative consequences in response. What frustrates me the most about this point is that surveillance technologies are known to advantage whiteness even though communities of color are surveilled more frequently. 

To conclude these various arguments, Browne wants us to use these examples and realities of blackness to critically think about our history with punishment and torture as the borders of biometric technology increasingly close in on us.

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From Brain Imaging to Ultrasounds: The Cultural Implications of Visual Technologies

https://www.instagram.com/beyonce/?hl=enDavi Johnson Thornton’s piece on brain culture analyzes the various ways that the visualization of the brain has influenced how the brain is used and conceptualized. More specifically, Thornton focuses on the rhetoric that is born from these visuals and their implications on cultural life as a set of discourses rather than a material thing. For instance, Neuroscience and brain imaging are defining both personal improvement and public policy. The idea to consistently “work on your brain” for self optimization of various aspects of life is particularly interesting to me because of the dichotomy of determinism and agency being that the brain is responsible for what you do but you are responsible for taking action to guarantee brain health. This complexity of control but also lack of control is what makes games like “The Brain Age”, that Thornton touches on, so fascinating because it tells consumers that certain brain exercises can play a causal role in how active and functional your brain and therefore your life can be. This claim is supported by the visual images of an active brain. The rhetoric around this game is prevalent in the cover art of The Brain Age seen below.  As Thornton noted, connected nodes of energy illustrated in a person’s head represent activity. Similarly, on the cover of The Brain Age the yellow rays emanating from the head full of brain exercises represent the power of whatever is contained in the brain to affect the outside world. This form of advertising was influenced by the social contexts formed by persuasive brain images circulating the modern era.

Source of Image #1: https://cashinculture.3dcartstores.com/Brain-Age--Nintendo-DS-Video-Game_p_1423.html

Another notable piece of this argument is how discourses around psychiatric medicine and mental health has been influenced by brain imaging.  The growing trend of commodifying antidepressants and bringing the topic of mental health to the coffee tables is due to the fact that brain imaging is able to show the biological basis of such experiences. For example, there are scales and spectrums of colors or “hot spots” that can be seen in scans of the brain that show areas of action, inaction, development, or underdevelopment. Similar to Thornton’s discussion of mental health in regards to stress, depression, and self esteem, I found interesting information about how the brain reacts to the feeling of love. The image below of the 6 brain scans show the difference in “hot spots” of areas activated in the brain from subjects who are in love and subjects who are not. The fact that scientists found noticeable differences between the brains suggest that these instances can actually be tracked by neurological events depicted through visuals. A further description about what happens in the brain when someone is in love can be found in this video that dives into the changes in dopamine and cortisol levels. It is also important to note that the linked video is very visual and through these illustrations, the brain’s activity and functions are easily comprehended by the average viewer.

Source of Image #2: https://www.medicaldaily.com/what-love-mri-scan-reveals-what-stages-romantic-love-youre-brain-map-326080

Stabile’s piece about Fetal Photography also demonstrates how visuals can influence the social context and cultural implications of an issue. In Stabile’s discussion, she focuses on how the visuals of fetal autonomy have had the power to serve a certain political agenda. She also argues that through fetal visualization has come the erasure of women’s bodies. In other words, the maternal space has disappeared and is now only a place that the fetus occupies comfortably. This translates into the abortion debate through the argument that fetal rights are stronger than women’s rights. What I found the most frustrating in this article was how the magazines would show images of imperfect or dead babies that had been surgically removed to show “life” or showing pictures of embryos and fetuses at stages further along than what the corresponding description would indicate.

My main critique of this piece is that it is too critical because in my opinion, the tone implies that women do not want this system to happen inside of them but that is obviously not the case. Stabile uses a tone that assumes that the reproductive abilities of a female are a negative connotation and although I strongly agree that a woman shouldn't be reduced to only those capabilities as they have historically, the style of her argument implicates that this piece of womanhood is only a bear. Towards the end of the piece, the author starts to address the positive views from women toward pregnancy but the tone throughout the piece remains negative. For example, regarding the paragraph about the recommendations and restrictions given by doctors to keep a baby healthy, she claims this intervention is oppressing to the woman and uses words like “bombarding” and “scrutinizing”. Although I can understand the argument that the involvement of the woman can be wrongfully excluded from the experience, the tone is which this was written implies to me that interventions to keep a baby healthy through term is a negative bombardment of the woman’s autonomy.

Another notable aspect of this piece is the visualization of the pregnant woman. The general argument is that it is easy to show a fetus in utero through fetal photography but not to show a bare pregnant woman. The example Stabile uses is the Vanity Fair cover of a very pregnant Demi Moore. Although this picture and the reactions that followed its release deserves significant analysis, I think Beyonce’s photo when she was pregnant with twins really demonstrates Stabile’s point about the female being reduced to strictly a reproductive role. The picture Beyonce posted on Instagram is of herself wearing a veil surrounded by a halo of flowers, evidently representing the Virgin Mary. As stated in this Op-Ed article referring to the photo, “Beyonce’s beautiful re-appropriation of Virgin Mary iconography offers a biting critique of this supreme exemplar of feminine whiteness and the ideology that constructs and perpetuates it.” (Edwards, 2017) Not only is this an example of the oppositional gaze we discussed last week, it is also a example of feeding into the oppressive function that women are only reproductive beings since the Virgin Mary is first and foremost an icon of reproduction, praised for giving birth. However, in my opinion this is not necessarily negative especially since Beyonce, in her usual bad-ass fashion, also challenges other social contexts with this photo. For an interesting analysis of the pictures and how it stands against racial and sexual stereotypes, read the Op-Ed article linked above!

Source of Image #3: https://www.instagram.com/beyonce/?hl=en

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In Laura Mulvey’s piece, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, she provides a psychoanalysis of the factors that create the fascination of film in regards to gaze. More specifically, Mulvey dives into how the patriarchy has constructed film and the ways in which the silent image of the women makes the female a bearer of meaning rather than the maker of meaning. This notion is embodied in many films that carry an erotic tone such as the 1960 psychological horror-thriller film “Peeping Tom” directed by Michael Powell. Throughout the film, the main character, a male murderer and scopophilic, plays the role as the maker of meaning through his camera that captures his sinister gaze. As noted in this article, the women actors positioned themselves the way the men would like to view them since the point of view is intended to be from that of the camera owned by the man. This idea that both men and women see women as men see women emphasizes Mulvey’s point that “The determining male gaze projects its phantasy on the female figure which is styled accordingly” (Mulvey, 837).  In addition to the concise analysis in the article linked above, this video in The Slate provides a more specific study of certain scenes in the movie to further analyze the male gaze in film.

Stepping away from film, many of Mulvey’s arguments can be utilized as a framework for interpreting current popular culture including advertisements. At first glance, one would not assume that the attached image of the shirtless blonde haired girl would be an advertisement for used BMW’s. However, mainstream images, as Murvey noted, has “coded the erotic into the language of the dominant patriarchal order” (Mulvey, 835). The gaze is evidently from the male perspective as its expresses the control of the active role of the male and the passive role of the female. This is most aesthetically done by how close the girl is in the frame and the gaze that comes from above the woman, looking down upon her as if engaging in an intimate moment. Furthermore the aspect of guilt in scopophilia, the pleasure in looking at erotic things, is apparent in this advertisement as the girl chosen looks to be very young, creating a sense of wrongfulness about looking on at female this young with a sexual gaze. The statement on the image, “You know you’re not the first”, implies the girl is not a virgin but that it does not matter in the same way that if a BMW looks good it does not matter that it is used. This illusionistic narrative is yet another way that the male gaze and visual pleasure dominates the various modes we look through and at. More frustrating instances in which the automobile industry uses sexual inference and the male gaze in advertisements, through associating cars with sex, can be found here.

I want to expand upon the recurring point regarding the privilege of looking and the opportunity of spectatorship. In the piece by Bell Hooks, black female spectatorship is analyzed with the background of when the gaze of black slaves on white owners was denied. Hooks introduces the same point through the lens of a child getting reprimanded, as illustrated in the attached image. I think this is a particularly powerful example to understanding the privilege of looking because of its relatable nature. Often times, the subjects we are discussing happen subconsciously but in this scenario, I can personally claim that I recognize the feeling as a child of not being able to look my scolder in the eyes. When a child lacks the power in a situation of this nature, the child lacks the sheer privilege of looking, mainly out of fear. The person with power, in the case of this picture, the parent, and in the case brought up by Hooks, the slave owner, is the only actor able to know their expression and not find fear in their own look.