That’s Questionable. March 14, 2008

I know we discussed this topic in class, but the more and more I think about it, I still disagree. Let me start from the beginning, Lester said that every visual image has a historical background “story” to it. In Dylan’s blog, he pointed out that there would be no such thing as originality if that were the case. We talked about his blog in class and Professor Lenert analyzed a photo of a rose saying that the photo as simple as it was could be analyzed historically as well.

When I left class yesterday, though, I still had a very difficult time grasping this idea. Last semester in my philoshophy class, we learned about how one of the philosopher’s theories was that every moment is original and that no moment is alike any other. While some photos may relate to the past, I refuse to believe that everything is just a re-creation of the past. Don’t pictures lose their uniqueness if we look at them in this light? Is it EVER possible that someone can make something original then?

Lastly, I do believe in overanalyzation. Someone pointed out Ernest Hemingway’s book The Old Man and the Sea and how Hemingway just intended for it to be about an old man and the sea. When we think too much about things, I think we lose sight of its simple message which could be much, much more powerful than that of what we have convinced ourselves of it being. Sometimes a flower is just a flower and a little girl sleeping is just a little girl sleeping. As much as I see the rationalization of Lenert’s purpose of creating six steps in analyzing a photo, I do think that they can potentially hurt the photographer’s intent of the photo. Some things are so simple and can not be explained. Personally, I think the mystery that is captured in a photo is what makes it so beautiful and so meaningful. The fact that sometimes you can not make sense of something that you are seeing is the essence/purpose of the photo. I think the best photographers are those that do not make you think, but instead make you feel. When we make things complicated and refuse to accept the fact that we can not know everything, we lose sight of the beauty in not knowing - something the photographer may have been trying to get at. Sometimes, I think, all you need is step one to “get” it. Bringing in all these other steps proves to me that people like to make things complicated. In doing so, I think they do themselves a disservice because they may just clear “hidden” message.

Essential six steps? Totally questionable.

Reno Style: (Caucasian) Hip Hop Sub-Culture March 10, 2008

As you can see, they are trying to make the letters “BLC”. This stands for “Biggest Little City.” :) I was attempting to show thier sub-culture through this picture since the “hip hop” group is known for abbreviating ideas, places, etc. and creating their own slang.

BLC:

I looked up “hip-hop” in Wikipedia and this is the definition it provided me with:

Hip hop is a subculture, which is said to have begun with the work of DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, and Afrika Bambaattaa.

The four main aspects, or “elements”, of hip hop culture are MCing (rapping), DJing, urban inspired art/tagging (graffiti), and b-boying (or breakdancing). The most known “extended” elements are beatboxing, hip hop fashion, hip hop slang.”

So, there you go, a little bit of background on the hip-hop sub-culture.

My friend, Trevor, is always listening to rap music, using rap slang in conversations, and attempting to beat box. Most people would associate “hip hop sub-culture” with people of African descent. Trevor does not have the slightest hint of relation to an African American. He is the person on the far right on the picture in the blue zip up sweater. As you can see, he is the “whitest” Caucasian in the photo!

So, in a sense, I am attempting to display the “new” sub-culture in Reno that I see much of myself becoming more and more popular. It is the one with Caucasian, “white” people seriously attempting to become apart of the sub-culture that African-Americans gave birth to in America, “hip-hop.”

Personal

My personal reaction to this photo is one that stimulates me. They are all jumping around in the picture suggesting they are playing around and having a good time. Their casual clothing suggests they are laidback and down to earth. The fact that one of the guys pants is down suggests they are wild and not typically “polite” or “proper.” Their open body language shows me they are confident and proud. Lastly, the fact that they are all wearing hoodies also shows me they (their sub-culture) have a common trend in their style.

Historical

As I stated earlier, according to Wikipedia the supposed “fathers” of the sub-culture of hip-hop are  DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, and Afrika Bambaattaa. Since I am not familiar with any of these names, I decided to educate myself about these “founders” so I could understand the historical background of their sub-culture.

This is a picture of D.J. Kool Herc. I learned he is a Jamaican Hip-Hop DJ who began brek-beat DJing.

This is a picture of the other founder, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, of the hip-hop sub-culture. I noticed that the photo also sends out an energizing vibe. They are all laughing and having a good time. It is similar to the photo I took in that way. Also, they are all wearing clothes that are casual, but yet each individual has their “twist” to the same outfit. This photo is surprisingly similar to the one I took! It seems as though the one I took is just an “updated” photo with Caucasian individuals.

I then looked up Afrika Bambaataa. I found out that he is a DJ  community leader from the South Bronx. He was infleuntial in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1970s.

Here is a photo of him:

As you can see, he is wearing a mix of a colorful scarf and black and white t-shirt. I like to think that Trevor’s colorful, blue sweater comes from Afrika’s colorful wardrobe. Also, the black and white hoodie Jeff, the second guy from the left, is wearing also originates from Afrika’s black and white t-shirt. I feel as though the black and white t-shirt trend has just been “upgraded” to the black and white hoodie trend in their sub-culture. Yes?

So there is some historical background that I found interesting. I hope you did too!

Technical

Looking at the picture, it is obvious that the main key light is coming from the right of the photo. It is obvious that the photo was taken indoors since you can see the walls and carpeting.  Jeff’s hand in the air acts as a graphic vector, however, loses its influence because there is so much going on in the picture. If I had just had the other guys doing nothing with their bodies it would have been a more successful graphic vector. The signifier would be the “BLC” the guys are making with their bodies. If the viewer knows about how the Hip Hop sub-culture is known to abbreviate ideas, places, etc. and create their own slang, they would be more likely to understand the signified. The signified is the use of slang and abbreviations in the sub-culture.

Ethical, Cultural, Critical

An ethical consideration of the photo would be the fact that one of the individuals has his pants down. He pretty much caught me by surprise on that one! I kept it, though, because I feel it potrays their surprising, outrageous nature. Obviously, a man wearing pants down to his ankle can be sexually suggestive. Therefore, this photo can pose many ethical questions. Do they degrade women? Are they homosexual? Do they respect their bodies? These are just a few questions that can arise from a viewer looking at this photo. 

The cultural meaning of this photo would be one of contradiction. For the most part, I think our society associates hoodies, rap, and beat boxing with the African American community. In this photo, however, not one of the individuals are African American. They do not even look slightly from that culture. Therefore, I feel as though the viewer may feel a kind of “critical reaction” to this photo. They may detect that something is “wrong” or “missing” in the picture. In reality, though, it is a new culture that is emerging. I see it to be very popular in the Reno community. Also, African Americans do not see them as mocking their community. On the contrary, I feel as though Caucasians’ interest in encouraging the African American “Hip Hop” sub-culture serves to make “peace” amongst the two sub-cultures (Caucasian Hip Hop and African American Hip Hop).

Question mark. March 6, 2008

In class we talked about “zeitgeist.” Our assignment this past week was to pick out a particular “zeiteist” that reminds us of our high school or early college years. As you can see, I chose the poster “Mean Girls” because it reminded me of what high school was like in the beginning for me. However, this was not the only image that came to mind. There were many others and much of which contradicted one another with what they suggest. As a result, I question if there really can be a “zeitgeist” for any particular time at all.

For example, images of September 11th come to mind when thinking about early high school as well . This image has a sad connotation to it, therefore, suggesting a sad “zeitgeist.” However, I don’t remember every single day of that year as being sad. Another zeitgeist for me would be an image of concerts or images that show “first love.”These images have happy connotations associated with them. Both the sad and the happy images would take me back to my high school years. So the question is: Can one image really sum up an entire time period? Also, can one “zeitgeist” be similiar to the entire nation, let alone world? I don’t think so.

 Lastly, one event can give people contrasting feelings. For example, when George Bush won the election, it was a sad time for Democrats and a happy time for Republicans.

All in all, I think the idea of a “zeitgeist” is extremely questionable. Personally, I don’t think one can really exist.

Zeitgeist March 5, 2008

1. Personal:

I chose the poster of the popular movie Mean Girls for my “zeitgeist” of high school. Growing up in Las Vegas at a private school, I was familiar with many “mean girls” similar to the characters in this movie. As much as I have come to love my school, it was not exactly the most fun growing up in it. The majority of students in my school came from incredibly rich parents. While I was driving my “blue baboon” 1992 Caprice Classic, my classmates were coming to class in BMWs and Escalades.

The girls in my class were very materialistic, vain, dramatic, and judgmental. I relate to the Lindsay Lohan in this picture. As you can see, she looks as though she is almost hesitating about her decision to wear the “rebel” shirt. I can relate because I can still remember the yearning to be accepted and how tempting it was to be amongst the “in crowd” in the beginning of high school. I remember the nature of “second-guessing” yourself and being insecure.

Another thing that I relate to in this is picture is that as much as it looked tempting to be “popular”, I eventually decided I was going to “rebel” by not caring. I dropped the cheerleading team and hung out with people who were labeled as “not cool” because they didn’t have “cool” things, etc.  I didn’t care, I thought they were cool!

Like I said, my gut reaction to this picture is remembering the feeling that I felt walking through the hallways my first year of high school.

2. I am not really sure what the historical analysis of this picture would be. I would appreciate any input!

3. Technical:

Technically speaking, this photo looks as though it was taken in a studio meaning the poses and wardrobe was premeditated.

• lighting and color

        In this cover, it is obvious that the lighting is high-key lighting. The lighting seems to be evenly distributed in the picture. I could not pinpoint the key light.

        The intensity of light is high.  The color of the background atmosphere is white. This white backdrop directs the viewer’s attention to the four, colorful subjects. 

• composition and framing

      In this picture, the three girls in the backgrouns is the main subject. Lindasy Lohan (the girl with “rebel” shirt) is the secondary subject that serves as a graphic vector. As you can see, her eyes are pointing toward the “mean girls.” Through this visual technique, she diverts the attention of the observers to the ”mean girls”.

        As for framing,  it is obvious that this element was thoroughly considered and applied. The picture is positioned around the subjects, the four girls. The photographer chose to put Lindsay Lohan to the left of the picture. He also chose to take a close-up picture of her. He chose to put the three girls in the back of her. I think this was done for a symbolic reason, but I could be wrong. See, I think the three, “mean” girls are positioned behind Lindsay puposefully to illustrate ”talking behind her back.” Not only does Linday’s eyes in the picture serve to be a grpahic vector to the three girls, but it also can serve a symbolic purpose of showing how she is “watching her back.” If the photographer had changed the positioning in any way, the meaning of the photo would have been altered as a consequence. 

Speaking in “signifier” and “signified” terms, one signifer could be the poses the girls strike in the background. The signified of the poses is confidence. Lindsay Lohan’s body language, on the other hand, is fidgety. This could be another signifier and the sidnified would be insecurity.

4. Ethical, Cultural, Critical:

The moral and ethical repsonsibility that the producer had is to “keep in check” with the girls’ wardrobe and what it could suggest. Obviously this is a picture of girls that are supposed to be in high school. Also, the main subject, Lindsay Lohan, was a huge “hero” or idol to the young, “tween” population at the time the movie premiered. Consequently, the producer had an ethical responsibility to control what kind of image he was sending out to girls that looked up to Lohan. The producer had to consider the kind of trends he was promoting upon the adolecent population.

In this picture, the skirts of the girls’ are short. However, they are not “too” short meaning they do not suggest anything sexual (in the Western culture anyway), but they do not suggest ”innocence” either.  Which brings me to the next perspective, cultural. In this photo, the girls depict girls in the Western culture. Therefore, the producer  had to consider the culture of teenage girls in America. The high heels and color coordinated clothes show girls’ value of fashion. The close-knit pose of the three girls in the background of the picture demonstrate girls’ “need” to be in a group. It shows their value of friends and acceptance from others at this particular time period in their lives.

The photo (and movie) mocks teenage, girl “culture.” The point of the movie is to awaken girls to their stupidity. Unfortunately, it also reflects America’s values.