Visual Diary 2013 by Simone Phillips

University Assignment Semester 1: "...The collection and organization of found or constructed material which reflects the concerns of the lecture series."; Brief: For maintaining an 'exploring eye', collecting influences from experiences and observations; A resource bank to extract ideas, 'visual treatments', and media; An ongoing commentary. Apply communication and design theory (semiotics) to cultural artefacts. | # Week 1: Berger -Semiotics |# Week 2: Freud | #Week 3: Marx -Class | #Week 4: Barthes/Green -Advertising | #Week 5: Hall -Race | #Week 6: Levy -Gender | #Week 7: Monaco -Film | |# My Posts |# Collections |# Image Posts | |#Video Posts |# Text Posts |# Gif Animations |# External Links |

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In fact this whole series of images for the Karen Walker Jewellery campaign is informed by the Pastoral Myth appealing to nostalgia's yearning for a simpler life in a complex, contemporary lifestyle of jewellery-purchasing.

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Here in the Karen Walker jewellery campaign, the rings are symbols of 'the warfare of courtship", where a man can 'win' [a fight] for a women's heart by buying her jewellery. The man's pose is an index of combat, and the rings replace boxing gloves on this hands as the primary re-signification or the icon of the rings.

The vintage photograph is also an example of nostalgia in the pastoral myth, romancing the past, creating a familiar/fond recognition/identification with older generations of consumers that yearn for a 'simpler past'

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Further myths about men 'being ruggered like machine' in a campaign for Workshop Denim

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There are some horrible myths used at the beginning of the film Aladdin here, marginalizing Arabic trade practices. 

"Will it break?" poses the pedlar. (Top Image) "...it broke." (Bottom Image)

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Singing in the very opening sequence to the film Aladdin are the lyrics: "It's barbaric, but hey! It's home" This is a terribly racist conception that Arabs are 'barbaric' and it is their 'home' lifestyle. When in reality they would believe in peace just as much as the next person. This sort of myth creates misconception, fear, and false opinions and assumptions about a foreign people.

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Just saying that the city is a place of 'mystery' and 'enchantment', already sets the perspective to that of the Western Culture and how they plan to convey their view of Arabia via this film. 

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Aladdin enacting a prince in order to win the affections of the princess, because that's what he thinks she wants

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In the film Aladdin, by Disney Pictures, the character Aladdin falls in love with the princess and pursues her affections by assuming "what she wants in a man", which is pure ideological myth about class and worth. 

Aladdin is a peasant who "steals to eat, and eats to live" but also exercises compassion on those even more less fortunate [than him].  Being of those lowest class in the social heirachy, he dreams of one day living in the palace. This expresses the ideological view that the poor should all strive to be rich despite their lot in life.

However Aladdin comes to realise at the end of the film that the character Jasmine (the princess) whom he is in love with, is in love with him too - but the 'impoverished' him - the humble Aladdin that displays compassion, kindness, thoughtfulness and good humour - qualities that none of the 'rich, noble suiters' that had previously south Princess Jasmine's hand in marriage, did not possess.

An illustration of yet another myth that 'money cannot buy you love', or a parable, if you will - of a moral story; the myth continued to state that 'rich nobles', on the contrary, possess bad character.

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Second example, following the 'dress as cocaine' image, but in this image the object of addiction is red wine signified in the icon of a red dress

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Utilizing the iconic signifyer of 'white' 'on a table' to represent cocaine (but it's actually a dress) to communicate their message their fashion brand being 'as addictive as drugs'

The dress (bearing the connotative value of drugs), is also an indexical signifier in that drugs here, symbolize addiction [to the fashion brand]

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Excercising the myth that 'woman are curvy' and applying it to their campaign, following their 'Neanderthal-like', simple-sentence dialogue

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Another myth about 'women being oblivious' of their own beauty or effect on men, reinforcing ideological naivety; If a woman is ignorant a naive/young, she is more easily controlled by man

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The caption is making reference to colloquial myth about 'pearl necklaces' being a metaphor/indexical signifier of sexual encounters to demonstrate understanding of it's target audience's view/also appeal to cynical perspectives of high fashion by addressing it with humour. But this also reinforces the myth of promiscuity in women; the gesture of hand-to-mouth is also arguable Freudian in nature, appealing to the orally fixated.

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Continuing dialogue of pointing out the male gaze and other cliche's/myths about ideological gender roles of women, such as 'mysterious girl' mysteriousness adding to attractiveness/appeal

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The question engages the viewer, to bring it to the attention of their target audience; "men need not pay attention to this"; "if you are a woman - listen up"

Emphasising the myth that women shave their legs, "therefore our woman is a real woman, and wearing our clothes, so buy our clothes to be a real woman..."

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The captions in these refer to myths about the social behaviour of woman (L) and the 'male gaze' theory about how when woman are photographed for editorial, they look at the camera in a way that suggests they know men are looking at them; that they are aware of their voyeur, so there is a connection between them, but she's knows it's all about her, so she keeps on posing, commanding the attention (R).

I suppose the image on the left may be making a statement about the common facial expressions on fashion model's faces often looking 'bored', so is bringing attention to that myth by humouring it. (With the statement "Dance or something", to engage the viewer).

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Now time for 'the woman'