I have never understood the essential meaning to this repeated quote until today. I was in my history of photography class, which I am currently obsessed with, when my teacher repeated this phrase to me.
When you take a photograph (more so a candid shot), you are able to capture this particular person place or event in time and refer to it whenever you wish. If you fail to capture the shot, you loose the image and it is lost forever in history. How incredible is this idea? To re-live a sacred memory? Your memory's photographic counterpart is able to take you back to that time which you held so close to your heart. An image is so powerful becuase it allows us to see into our past, to a point where things have the capability to become to vivid. We literally re-live the memory in our heads while we gaze at the photo.
I raised my hand mid-way through my teacher's explanation and asked him a simple question. What if this photograph does not belong to our memory, rather someone else's? I paused and then resumed my thought process. How incredible is it that I can look at a photo taken by someone else at another time when I was not present and formulate my own memory that the photo belongs to? Now imagine 10 people or 20 people or 100 people looking at the photograph? Imagine how many memories can formulate from one photograph? This is the power of a photograph. It is a single image in time that provides its own narrative through the imagination of many different people.
Everyone views a photograph differently. A picture is worth a thousand words, or a thousand memories, depending on how many people are looking at the picture.
January 13, 2010
September 29, 2009
sex with an opinion?
In a modern world where sex sells, it is no wonder that one of most distorted demographics in the media is women. Labeled the more attractive gender, women are also unfortunate in this sense because of the overemphasis of their sexuality as the main focus of who they are and what they are about.
Since the 1920s, women have been used in advertisements and movies to provide a depiction of what a woman should be. In advertisements especially, women are portrayed as dependant on men, animalistic or innocent in their sexual nature, physically flawless, and lastly an instrument solely for man’s pleasure. Cigarette and Tobacco companies in the 1930s, for example, advertised women as classy and beautiful translating to the public that if you want to be as beautiful as her, smoke this. Today, the media is not as subtle in depicting women as it was in the earlier times because of society’s gradual acceptance of such a depiction. Women are portrayed as flawless, illustrated most commonly as dolls in an advertisement. They are interpreted as stupid-never having a voice and always needing the assistance of a man. They are revealed to the public as whiny especially with the marketing for their menstrual cycles. And lastly, a woman is only as good as how well she can play her pre-assigned erotic role.
A major area in which women have been depicted sexually is the music industry. Rap and hip hop artists use a woman’s body as their main focus in their music as well as music videos. They claim they are celebrating the body and beauty of a woman. However, reality tells a different story as their lyrics are completely sexual using extreme degrading language and their videos are practically pornographic.
These ideas of women are so commonly expressed through the everyday exposure to media that consequently the treatment and respect for women is extremely low. Men treat women as sexual objects, putting pressure on them to look a certain way and act a certain way. Likewise, women accept this treatment because in their minds, they believe this is how women have always been and will always be. It is an unstoppable hurricane as it continues to grow and affect all demographics. This hurricane leaves the greatest impact on the young female audience. There have been countless studies on how advertisements today are affecting young girls and putting pressure on them to wear more make-up, dress more mature than their age would allow, loose an extreme amount of weight to fit the skinny standard, and use sex as a tool to gain attention.
Similarly, the older female audience has an equal amount of pressure to stay skinny, flawless, and sexually appealing to charm men and society; it is as if they refuse to let go of their youth and let nature take its course because they are afraid they will lose their connection to the world. A woman is only as good as her physical and sexual nature. In a commercial world, a woman’s opinions are only secondary to her body and face. For some women, it is tempting to use the media’s constructed reality to their advantage. In other words, a woman often uses her sexuality to obtain whatever she needs or wants at the moment.
This brings up the subject of media placing women in a powerful category. Some media depict a woman as a sexual toy, while others show a woman as powerful and sometimes violent. Sometimes, there is a combination of the two which most women find flattering-a powerful, violent, sexual deviant who is out to claim and protect her rights and wrap the world around her finger with the use of her body and mind-a response to the predisposed idiotic, sexual drone. This is most commonly seen in movies with female super heroines. Always she is seen with a built body, big breasts, strong legs, long hair, and full lips with a cocky attitude, a quick sarcasm, and a mind equal to that of a man’s. The reason for such a contrast in the media’s female depiction is perhaps the complaints that a women’s voice was slowly loosing importance; and so the media, keeping the original idea of the sexy women, added her voice, instead of replacing her sexuality with her suffrage.
Combining what a woman is in the media and what she wishes to be-this sudden empowerment gives a woman a positive reality; it gives her confidence to take on the world, accepting her sexuality as a part of who she is but also knowing that her voice is equally important. This is what makes a woman different from a man, but keeps her at his level.
powerful+violent+sexy
Since the 1920s, women have been used in advertisements and movies to provide a depiction of what a woman should be. In advertisements especially, women are portrayed as dependant on men, animalistic or innocent in their sexual nature, physically flawless, and lastly an instrument solely for man’s pleasure. Cigarette and Tobacco companies in the 1930s, for example, advertised women as classy and beautiful translating to the public that if you want to be as beautiful as her, smoke this. Today, the media is not as subtle in depicting women as it was in the earlier times because of society’s gradual acceptance of such a depiction. Women are portrayed as flawless, illustrated most commonly as dolls in an advertisement. They are interpreted as stupid-never having a voice and always needing the assistance of a man. They are revealed to the public as whiny especially with the marketing for their menstrual cycles. And lastly, a woman is only as good as how well she can play her pre-assigned erotic role.
A major area in which women have been depicted sexually is the music industry. Rap and hip hop artists use a woman’s body as their main focus in their music as well as music videos. They claim they are celebrating the body and beauty of a woman. However, reality tells a different story as their lyrics are completely sexual using extreme degrading language and their videos are practically pornographic.
These ideas of women are so commonly expressed through the everyday exposure to media that consequently the treatment and respect for women is extremely low. Men treat women as sexual objects, putting pressure on them to look a certain way and act a certain way. Likewise, women accept this treatment because in their minds, they believe this is how women have always been and will always be. It is an unstoppable hurricane as it continues to grow and affect all demographics. This hurricane leaves the greatest impact on the young female audience. There have been countless studies on how advertisements today are affecting young girls and putting pressure on them to wear more make-up, dress more mature than their age would allow, loose an extreme amount of weight to fit the skinny standard, and use sex as a tool to gain attention.
Similarly, the older female audience has an equal amount of pressure to stay skinny, flawless, and sexually appealing to charm men and society; it is as if they refuse to let go of their youth and let nature take its course because they are afraid they will lose their connection to the world. A woman is only as good as her physical and sexual nature. In a commercial world, a woman’s opinions are only secondary to her body and face. For some women, it is tempting to use the media’s constructed reality to their advantage. In other words, a woman often uses her sexuality to obtain whatever she needs or wants at the moment.
This brings up the subject of media placing women in a powerful category. Some media depict a woman as a sexual toy, while others show a woman as powerful and sometimes violent. Sometimes, there is a combination of the two which most women find flattering-a powerful, violent, sexual deviant who is out to claim and protect her rights and wrap the world around her finger with the use of her body and mind-a response to the predisposed idiotic, sexual drone. This is most commonly seen in movies with female super heroines. Always she is seen with a built body, big breasts, strong legs, long hair, and full lips with a cocky attitude, a quick sarcasm, and a mind equal to that of a man’s. The reason for such a contrast in the media’s female depiction is perhaps the complaints that a women’s voice was slowly loosing importance; and so the media, keeping the original idea of the sexy women, added her voice, instead of replacing her sexuality with her suffrage.
Combining what a woman is in the media and what she wishes to be-this sudden empowerment gives a woman a positive reality; it gives her confidence to take on the world, accepting her sexuality as a part of who she is but also knowing that her voice is equally important. This is what makes a woman different from a man, but keeps her at his level.
powerful+violent+sexy
September 24, 2009
bubbles
So for my media and culture class, we had to choose an advertisement and talk about it. Everyone chose negative advertisements so I decided to pick an ad that sent a positive message. Below I have the explanation for the advertisement:
The commercial was made by the California Anti‐Tobacco Company and was sponsored by the California Department of Public Health. The commercial was created to promote a smoke‐free lifestyle and its target audience includes everyone who smokes and is affected by second hand smoking. People who may benefit from this message include those who smoke, those who are thinking about quitting, those who are affected by second hand smoke, and the environment; it encourages everyone to quit smoking and to advocate a healthy lifestyle and clean environment. Those who may be harmed by the commercial would obviously be the tobacco industries because it discourages the public to buy their product which in turn hurts the company economically and financially. The commercial may serve as inspiration for those who are having difficulty with the decision of smoking because it provides them with a positive perspective of a hopeful future where everyone is happy and healthy.
The commercial provides the public with an insight into a world without smoking. It shows a variety of different people in various public settings: friends at a café, business people in front of a building, students next to school lockers, and everyday people walking the busy metropolitan streets; they are all blowing bubbles when in a realistic world they would be smoking. The ad encourages people to stop smoking and shows them how beautiful a world can be without it. At the end of the commercial it shows a father driving and blowing bubbles while his child plays with the bubbles in the back seat. It appeals to parents especially and non‐verbally communicates to them that their child should never have to be around the harmful toxins of cigarette smoke. In short, the commercial mostly targets the idea of second hand smoke. The ad is concluded with the line “Imagine a world without cigarettes.” It is a short and inspirational phrase. It can be applied to someone who has seen the commercial and the next time he or she thinks about smoking, this phrase may pop into their heads, and it could prevent them from lighting up because they wish for a better world.
The technique used in this commercial include symbolism with an emotional approach: music in the background, the happy faces on the people blowing bubbles, and the baby playing with the bubbles instead of inhaling cigarette smoke. Why bubbles? Bubbles are chosen to as an opposite of cigarette smoke because they represent everything that is fun and innocent; these bubbles present an extreme contrast to cigarettes because they remind us of our childhood and innocence. This is why a baby is seen at the end of the commercial to grasp the viewer’s attention‐to show him a beautiful and innocent image. Cigarette smoke on the other hand is a metaphor of our stolen innocence. This stark contrast is what evokes an emotion in the viewers. It sends a sweet message to everyone and really shows the viewer an admirable world in which everyone can exist healthy and in harmony. The ad is neither fact nor opinion, rather a perspective on something‐asking viewers to imagine. It does not force an opinion or state factual information. It takes a viewer into another imaginary world for a mere 30 seconds leaving them with a new perspective on something that is controversial.
The commercial was made by the California Anti‐Tobacco Company and was sponsored by the California Department of Public Health. The commercial was created to promote a smoke‐free lifestyle and its target audience includes everyone who smokes and is affected by second hand smoking. People who may benefit from this message include those who smoke, those who are thinking about quitting, those who are affected by second hand smoke, and the environment; it encourages everyone to quit smoking and to advocate a healthy lifestyle and clean environment. Those who may be harmed by the commercial would obviously be the tobacco industries because it discourages the public to buy their product which in turn hurts the company economically and financially. The commercial may serve as inspiration for those who are having difficulty with the decision of smoking because it provides them with a positive perspective of a hopeful future where everyone is happy and healthy.
The commercial provides the public with an insight into a world without smoking. It shows a variety of different people in various public settings: friends at a café, business people in front of a building, students next to school lockers, and everyday people walking the busy metropolitan streets; they are all blowing bubbles when in a realistic world they would be smoking. The ad encourages people to stop smoking and shows them how beautiful a world can be without it. At the end of the commercial it shows a father driving and blowing bubbles while his child plays with the bubbles in the back seat. It appeals to parents especially and non‐verbally communicates to them that their child should never have to be around the harmful toxins of cigarette smoke. In short, the commercial mostly targets the idea of second hand smoke. The ad is concluded with the line “Imagine a world without cigarettes.” It is a short and inspirational phrase. It can be applied to someone who has seen the commercial and the next time he or she thinks about smoking, this phrase may pop into their heads, and it could prevent them from lighting up because they wish for a better world.
The technique used in this commercial include symbolism with an emotional approach: music in the background, the happy faces on the people blowing bubbles, and the baby playing with the bubbles instead of inhaling cigarette smoke. Why bubbles? Bubbles are chosen to as an opposite of cigarette smoke because they represent everything that is fun and innocent; these bubbles present an extreme contrast to cigarettes because they remind us of our childhood and innocence. This is why a baby is seen at the end of the commercial to grasp the viewer’s attention‐to show him a beautiful and innocent image. Cigarette smoke on the other hand is a metaphor of our stolen innocence. This stark contrast is what evokes an emotion in the viewers. It sends a sweet message to everyone and really shows the viewer an admirable world in which everyone can exist healthy and in harmony. The ad is neither fact nor opinion, rather a perspective on something‐asking viewers to imagine. It does not force an opinion or state factual information. It takes a viewer into another imaginary world for a mere 30 seconds leaving them with a new perspective on something that is controversial.
September 18, 2009
we havn't had that spirit here since 1969
So for my independent film class, my quirky teacher required us to write a proposal for a movie we are going to be creating throughout the semester. The proposal is like the summary of the movie so I thought I would put it up because it's something I always thought would make a great film-partly because I'm a sucker for films staged in the 60s and 70s. I hope you like it. Tell me what you think:
The proposal for my film has the theme of the coming of age for five friends, each with diverse personalities and experiences. The film is set in 1969 in the deserts of California. The five friends [initially 4 boys and 1 girl] have all just graduated junior college in San Francisco and decide the best way to celebrate is to take a road trip down to Southern California. They all leave Northern California confused about exactly who they are and what they want from life. During their trip, they encounter an old 1920s hotel on a desert road that overlooks the ocean and decide to stop and spend a couple nights there. In the course of their stay, they became familiar with the staff of the hotel as they are their only customers. The members of the staff gather every night for dinner in a large hall and each night a staff member tells a story about their life. Our five main characters find themselves consumed with the stories of their first two nights there so they decide to prolong their stay at the hotel.
Every night for dinner, they learn more and more about the lives of these hotel workers and discover something about themselves and their purpose for life. After nearly two weeks of their stay at the hotel, they depart and spend one last night together on the beach. When the five return to San Francisco, they decide to call the hotel and thank them for their hospitality. They have trouble locating the hotel number and the names of the staff. One day, one of them uncovers an old newspaper article that dates back to the 1930s and they all learn that the hotel had suffered a serious earthquake during the Long Beach Quake of 1930 and all the members of its staff [the people they had met and spent their stay with] all died in the hotel. It was a hotel full of ghosts who had helped these characters! Sound familiar?
The film is inspired from the 1977 Eagles classic “Hotel California.” It is not meant to be a story of horror or thrill. It is simply telling the tale of five young people who are fresh in the real world and have trouble discovering themselves and the meaning to life. It is a place we all find ourselves in at some point-which makes the movie completely relate able. I want the audience to be reminded of their young selves [or at least understand their young self] a little better after they have watched the movie. It is filled with an inspiring 60s soundtrack and a location that is truly beautiful. This movie is meant to move you in a totally realistic way. The title I thought would be appropriate was of course Hotel California.
September 16, 2009
keep an open mind
I want to permission to delve into the mysteries of the writing world. I think I might have a future in successfully writing my mind because I have mastered speaking my mind. I am an architect major currently residing in the city that definitly sleeps at 10pm: Los Angeles. I have high hopes for pursuing the remainder of my BARCH in san francisco because the space is so urban and so condensed so I am more likely to meet an interesting person everyday. I prefer the artistic side to architecture rather than its technicalities. I might have an obsession with architectural theory so keep your fingers crossed because nothing would make me happier than to work for a architectural journal/magazine. I really enjoy modern art but I remind myself to never forget the appreciation for more traditional painting. I like all music but the best kind is the one that takes me to another day, another time-when things were much simpler-but then again I think most of us prefer this type of music above all others no matter what genre it lies in. I believe in the simple idea that everything is constantly changing so rid yourself of close minded thoughts and open your heart to the possibilites of a new world that could be much more interesting than the last. I really believe in the power of individuality and the power to think for oneself. no one should be considered another brick in the wall. the more diverse the people, the better! I dont think I will ever fully understand myself and that is what bothers me most-but really-who ever truly wants to know themselves completely? its what keeps you believing in the mystery of yourself. And now I think this blog has distracted me enough so back to reading the essays of micheal hays and colin rowe. I think my brain has officially overloaded on the autonomy of architecture…
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