Context of Practice 2 - Practical

As part of the practical side of the context of practice module, I decided to create a short analysis of female gender roles within Disney films and how they were portrayed. I collected a range of different clips from the films and paid specific attention to the words the characters used and they way in which they were designed and carried themselves with their actions. To understand the topic better, I researched into 'The Gaze' theory and also looked at books which studied the effect Disney films had on audiences (see list below).

In order to explain the clips and how the characters were represented, I recorded myself and laid this over the top of the clips. I made sure I had planned out what I was going to say before hand and tried to construct a balanced argument. I expanded on my essay by finding physical examples from the films and also introduced the idea of where Disney may be heading next, and if it will differ from their previous films.

Bell, E., Sells L. and Hass, L (eds) (1995) From mouse to mermaid: the politics of film, gender and culture, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press

Coward, R., The Look, in Thomas, J. (ed) (2000), Reading Images, Basingstoke: Palgrave

Mulvey, L. (1975) Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema cited in Badmington, N. and Tomas, J. (eds) (2008) The Routledge Critical and Cultural Theory Reader, London and New York: Routledge

Wells, P. (1998) Understanding Animation, London and New York: Routledge

Globalisation, sustainability and the media

Censorship and 'Truth'

The saying that 'the camera never lies' is in actual fact not true at all, it does lie, in the form of manipulation e.g either changing the way someone looks on a magazine through digital manipulation or being shown a view of something that isn't a true representation of that object or person. Within games, censorship plays a big part due to the violence in games but also how female characters are represented within them. Obviously everyone will have their own views on the subject, what one person may deem as inappropriate, another may find acceptable. People tend to make preconceptions based on what they already know and past objects that have a similar trait. For the female characters within games, it can sometimes provide a false image and portray them in a negative way by being overtly dressed. This is not to say that all games are like this, but most are given the preconception that this is the case, especially when someone doesn't play many games, or have knowledge of the wider range than just the ones that have come into speculation because of these traits.

Communication Theory

We had a similar lecture last year on communication theory where we were introduced to the different areas and how they could be used within our own disciplines. This year it was expanded upon and what I took most from it was how branding has come to use communication theory. Brands create logos and other visual cues, not only to signify its usage but the status. Nike for example is such a well known brand now that when you see it you know that product is reliable and well used. An unknown brand may not fare as well. The same goes for movies, when people see Pixar and Disney logo they know they are going to see a really good movie, that tells a great story and you won't be let down by it. Other films from smaller and less known companies may not do as well in revenue because they don't have that following, that status that comes with the branding.

That one image as a logo can either reinforce you as an artist or not. It's something that should be taken into great consideration if someone were to go freelance and brand themselves. People will relate that image to yourself and your work, so you would want something appropriate yet memorable.

Cities and Film - Writing Task

The city has long been used throughout art, photography and cinema, the first images appearing within illustrated journalism. Previously the main focus would have been landscapes and rural settings however as times changed and people moved forward, cities and urban life became more common, these rural landscapes did not provide enough information about urban life so this is where illustration took it further "It had created a visual culture embedded in the social reality of urban life and had urged visual art generally away from landscape toward cityscape, from stasis to kinesis." (Stout, 1999). From here cities were then included within photography and film. When looking within film, genre is always one of the main subjects and this can determine how a city is portrayed. A sci-fi film for example could make a city look more futuristic whereas a detective film, mysterious and dangerous, the city represents this to add to the specific genre. The city can also show the true reality of life, it may not in this case be a portrayal of a genre, but in fact a realization to the audience. "...the viewer confronts and subconsciously confirms the artist's perception of the reality of modern life." (Stout, 1999) What may initially be seen as just a movie and a storyline can bring up subjects that audiences may not have accounted for, it can provide self-reflection within the medium of cinema.

Walter Ruttmann created a city where it was more of a vision, something that derived from his imagination. Cities within films can be a consequence of certain actions such as pollution and global warming or in other cases just a product of the imagination. It can be a way of conveying and introducing new ideas to an audience "His city - a combination of footage of Moscow and of a number of locations in the Ukraine - provides a metaphor, a projection, for the structure of vision and perception embodied in the 'eye' of cinema." (Donald, 2010) Film, along with photography also showed the darker side to cities, it made it more obvious towards audiences and made them see the city for what it really was. Where before viewers would look away from such dark images of the city, "...photography rivets the gaze on an unpleasant but inescapable social reality." (Stout, 1999) hopefully by being aware of these issues, the viewers may stand up and do something about it, but it's never the case. Instead it is a reminder of what is out there, right under our own eyes. A lot of films hold a deeper meaning, whether it be social or political or how technology is affecting our everyday lives "...the most compelling narrative strand concern forces which, once unleashed, have an unmanageable capacity for destruction." (Donald, 2010)

Donald, J. 'Imagining the Modern City: Light in Dark Spaces' in Bridge, G. and Watson, S. (eds.) (2010) The Blackwell City Reader, Chichester, Wiley-Blackwell, pages 323 - 329

Stout, F. (1999) 'Visions of a New Reality: the City and the Emergence of Modern Visual Culture' in LeGates, R.T. and Stout, F. (eds.) (2003) The City Reader, London, Routledge, pages 147 - 150

Panopticism - Writing Task

The Panopticon was designed by Jeremy Bentham as a new sort of prison which through it's architecture created a new form of observation and surveillance. A tower was the central object within the Panopticon where all the cells contained within the prison were built around, everything was open and visible which was drastically different to a dungeon where the main function of it was to deprive light and hide. "Full lighting and the eye of a supervisor capture better than darkness, which ultimately protected. Visibility is a trap." (Foucault, 1997) Being on display, with nowhere to hide allows a person to be fully observed, and this observation is constant due to the central tower which leaves the people thinking they are always being watched. There comes a point where over time this would lead to the person becoming reformed as why do something wrong if you are forever being seen, the main drive is to achieve something without being caught "...they know they are under surveillance but cannot control exactly when they are really being observed - would have to lose the possibility, and finally the desire, of doing wrong." (Kaschadt, 2002). The main objective for the Panopticon may have been a way to reform prisoners, however because of the constant observation this could also lead to assessing different people such as psychiatric patients. It could have been seen as a place of scientific experiments due to the reforming of individuals and correcting their behaviour. "...the Panopticon was also a laboratory it could be used as a machine to carry out experiments..." (Foucault, 1997).

The architecture of the Panopticon could be adapted to suit other types of function such as schools - no copying off other students and no noise, hospitals - where any contagious illnesses would be kept apart, work places - where there would be no distractions between the people. "The arrangement of his room...imposes on him an axial visibility...this invisibility is a guarantee of order." (Foucault, 1997). Theatres influenced Bentham's Panopticon greatly as there was a central platform where the actor would be viewed from. They undertook a similar design, the actor would be constantly visible yet they would also be able to see the actions of the audience, observation takes place from both parties in this instance.

Taking this into the modern day, though Panopticons may not be in use anymore, the idea of it still is around. Certain spaces are laid out in a particular way to achieve the best outcome, open office spaces where everything is on view makes the workers be more productive as there is always the feeling of being watched. When looking at CCTV cameras, these are always watched society, trying to deter crime but there are so many in the world not all of them can be constantly watched. Our actions are always seen but are they always watched "...one is totally seen, without ever seeing..." (Foucault, 1997) Comparing functionality to scientific experimentation, the Panopticon seems to be more of a place of observation and reforming where experimentation can take place. "Under the watchful gaze, criminals would gradually mend their ways..." (Kaschadt, 2002)

Foucault, M. 'Panopticism (extract)' in Leach, N. (ed.) (1997) Rethinking Architecture: A reader in cultural theory, London and New York, Routledge, pages 356 - 367

Kaschadt, K. 'Jeremy Bentham - The Penitentiary Panopticon or Inspection House' in Weibel, Levin and Frohne (eds.) (2002) Ctrl [space]: rhetorics of surveillance from Bentham to Big Brother, Cambridge Massachusetts, The MIT Press, pages 114 - 119

Identity

The traditional approach to Identity is Essentialism, this is basically our biological make-up - we are born with it in our genes, however this approach allows a lot of stereotypes and cliches. When looking at the historical phases of identity it tends to be that within pre-modern times, identity was stable; the modern age, there was more of a choice, there was a wider range of social roles and within post-modern this is where identity is created and constructed by ourselves and not determined by another.

There are many writers on Identity and each had their own view on the subject. Baudelair spoke of the gentleman-stroller as an identity how they would show themselves off within society. Simmel spoke of the Trickle Down theory where people would hide behind what they wore. Whatever the upper class wore, would trickle down into society and soon enough the lower class would wear similar clothing to try and fit in, but obviously at a lower standard. It was and endless cycle of wearing something new to distinguish social standing.

Foucault introduced the Discourse Analysis where identity is constructed out of the discourses e.g. age, class, gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, nationality. If you take class and look at the work of photographer Martin Parr - Ascot 2003 it could be suggested that is he making a social comment on class and the people trying to pursue a different identity. Are they upper class by just attending Ascot and dressing in a very formal matter? Under gender and sexuality the fashion industry where it is mainly targeted towards women, is actually the work of men.

The postmodern identity is constructed through our own social experience. We have the option of inventing our own identity, it is not something that has to be discovered. We have the means of technology to create our own identities in the form of social networks or within a virtual reality like Second Life. Virtual worlds provide environments for experiences however it can be an artificial representation of who the person really is. There are no boundaries within the virtual world, you can be whoever you want to be and this can actually lead to an alienation, a bleak life. People may end up living a lie, constructing a fake life and living it within a virtual world. To some people it's probably easier becoming who you want to be in that world than in real life. It is a form of escape.

Creative Rhetorics

The main thing that was spoken about in this lecture was creative flow. D&AD started a project with many famous creatives who would all share their approach to the dreaded 'blank sheet of paper' - The Blank Sheet Project. It's always a daunting thing, facing a blank sheet, where do you start? Will this idea be good enough? Will it be the best?

Renzo Rosso the founder of Diesel Jeans spoke of 'the next is always the best'. This suggests that no matter how good you think one idea is, your next one will be better. You have to nurture your skill and evolve it to progress in your field. It can also suggest that art is beyond definition, it's constantly changing therefore who's to say what's good and what isn't. Teamwork is key, without teamwork it is very had to get ahead. One person on their own isn't enough, it may be to start out with but to develop an idea, to push things forward you need a team. You need to be able to work well with others and collaborate with different creatives.

The creative genius is something interesting to look at, as artists we are the creator not imitator, we create new rules and should be empowering other artists like us and boosting creativity. Creativity is an individual decision so it is up to us whether we want to push ourselves or not. It is so easy to just give up and not reach our full potential but at then end of the day it is down to ourselves. If we do not have the motivation or passion why bother. Our creativity is something we should be proud of, it should be something we pass onto others to inspire.

Cities and Film

Throughout history, cities have developed and evolved to something that is quite substantial. Cities have great influence on social and cultural aspects of our lives. Take films for example, the majority are centered around cities, you could just say that this is the environment however it may have a deeper meaning and add to the actual story of the film. Don't Look Now (1973) was set in Venice and due to it's specific layout and architecture this weaved itself into the plot of the film - confusion, recurring memories.

Within games, cities are mostly a prominent feature, whether it's part of the map to explore or part of the storyline. L.A Noire is all about interrogation and investigation whilst reviving the past through the medium of games. The player would be transported back to the 1940's and this is emphasised not only through the characters and props but through the environment, the city. It almost replicates how cities looked in real like during that time period. All the missions within this game revolved around the environment in one way or another, you are either exploring the area, the missions take place within a certain place. Where L.A Noire revives the past, the film Bladerunner shows the future. Made in 1982 it gives a perception of what LA could turn out to be like in 2019. Cities will always be an integral part of films whether that be past, present or future, you could say there are no limits with it. They can be altered to a huge extent yet we as an audience will accept it as in our everyday lives, for the majority of us cities play a major part - working, living, spending time within the city.

Critical Positions on Popular Culture

When looking into Popular Culture you first need to understand Culture itself. It's a particular way of life, a set of ideas. Karl Marx came up with the concept of the Base and Superstructure, he divided society into two, the Base being economic reality, the employer relations that make up society. The Superstructure is the direct result of the Base which would be laws, politics, culture, the way we think of the world is direct result of the Base. All in all, the Base produces the Superstructure however the Superstructure maintains the Base.

Culture is a product of the Base so Popular Culture could be classed as inferior to culture as it is made from the masses for the masses - popularism. Before, it was all shared 'culture' it was and always had been produced by the rich. They would determine and define what culture would be  and this could easily be turned to high and low culture - culture doesn't have politics, anything with an agenda isn't culture - Matthew Arnold 1867. The Frankfurt School however argued that popular culture actually maintained social order and perpetuates it, strengthens. There is an endless stream of popular culture so much so that it promotes a false consciousness, it's very limited. When looking at the  contemporary culture industry there are many things that actively disguises the real world and exploits people below them, such as The X Factor. It teaches us nothing so in the end real world problems never get solved and the radical ideas get dissolved.

The problem with popular culture is that today it is getting mass-produced without a care in the world to try and make it different in any shape or form. The movie industry, mass movies yet only slight alterations between them. The plot becomes predictable and we as viewers have seen it all before - movies recently have been moving towards making adaptations from books which shows in a way that the movie industry are running out of good ideas for plots. The music industry is almost the same, selling exactly the same thing but slightly different. The thing is, it's easy to produce and easy to consume, and endless chain of consumption.

The Gaze in the Media - Writing Task

This piece of writing aims to compare and contrast Mulvey and Coward's essays on 'Visual Please and 'The Look'. Both Coward and Mulvey look at how as a child, there comes a certain age when we finally acknowledge our own image "...recognition of himself is joyus..." (Mulvey, 1975). Mulvey goes on to explain that even though the child's recognition is joyus, it is overlaid with mis-recognition, this reflection the child sees mistakes it for more of an ideal ego, a superior projection of himself. This ideal ego can be linked towards the portrayal of a male movie star. Where women in movies are displayed as "...erotic object for the characters...and as erotic object for the spectator..." (Mulvey, 1975) the men, are seen as more perfect and more in control, a more powerful ideal ego.

When looking into contemporary media, the camera is a reoccurring object that can be used "...as an extension of the male gaze at women on the streets." (Coward, 2000) Women are constantly scrutinised through the way other women are portrayed in advertisements, film, photography and television. Through these mediums it gives birth to the 'ideal' woman which men can then judge and come to conclusions based off these visual interpretations; however because of this judgement it makes women feel vulnerable and powerless to look back at men in the same way. "Advertising in this society builds precisely on the creation of an anxiety to the effect that, unless we measure up, we will not be loved." (Coward, 2000). Women feel the need to better themselves, to reach this standard that has been set by the 'ideal' woman where in actual fact, this is a false representation of the real woman. Mulvey (1975) argues however, that within psychoanalytic terms it is the man that can hold the anxiety "...her lack of a penis, implying a threat of castration and hence unpleasure." This links back to the castration complex brought up by Freud, where there is the fear of loosing his penis. To avoid this the male unconscious has to come up with a way of escaping, one of which is to objectify the woman, to make her physically beautiful, something that will satisfy.

The woman is never in control, especially when voyeurism comes into play, looking rather than being close to something, similar to a Peeping Tom. "And Peeping Toms can always stay in control...distanced he may be, but secure he remains." (Coward, 2000). This looking at a distance is mens way of defending their judgement of women, their scrutiny.

The problem is that the male gaze is not something that will disappear anytime soon. It is a way to advertise and sell, however this male gaze has developed to become somewhat of an anxiety within women. Because of this anxiety women feel the need to perfect every part of their body "...preparing the face to meet the faces that we meet." (Coward, 2000) and that in itself boosts sales of certain products. People have expanded on what once was 'sex sells' to manipulating the scrutiny of women.

Coward, R., 'The Look', in Thomas, J. (ed.) (2000), Reading Images, Basingstoke: Palgrave pg 33-39

Mulvey, L. (1975), 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema', in Badmington, N. and Thomas, J. (eds.) (2008) The Routledge Critical and Cultural Theory Reader, London and New York Routledge, pg 202-212

Un Chien Andalou

Un Chien Andalou is a surrealist silent film from 1929, created by the Spanish director Luis Bunuel and artist Salvador Dali. The whole film is set out to be a dream-like sequence and there are many areas within the film that can be related to psychoanalysis, the imagery used and ideas and concepts that are portrayed through this. The film starts off with with a woman's eye being slit open which is then juxtaposed with a similarly shaped cloud, the cutting of the eye is the abject - a physical fear rather than a psychological one. It adds horror into the scene in a more obvious way.

Throughout the film the Id and the Superego seem to be a recurrent theme. The idea that the Id is our unconscious where fears and irrational wishes lie and the Superego being the social order where things have to be acceptable. This is shown through the sexual desires of the man in the film, he battles between his irrational wishes and the acceptance of it within society. The woman fights against him and this is also representational of the Id and Superego as in the end she succumbs to his groping before pushing him off. "...in the former the ego, in the service of reality, suppresses a piece of the id, whereas in a psychosis it lets itself be induced by the id to detach itself from a piece of reality." - (Freud, 2007). The ego is our conscious mind, our thoughts and perceptions so the quote from Freud's 'Fetishism' text explains that because of our conscious, our ego, it suppresses part of our id - the irrational thoughts, our unconscious. In the film however the room where the majority of it takes places, could be the conscious and within the conscious there is safety so the irrational wishes and thoughts can be shown.  The man tries to corner the woman however picks up two ropes and drags along two grand pianos with rotting donkeys, stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments and two priests. This could be a representation of religion and culture and the actions this man is trying to carry out is not acceptable in society.

Another idea you could look at is the actual title of the film, Un Chien Andalou which is translated to The Andalousien Dog. This can relate to animal instincts and in some way shape or form you could say that we as humans, all have an animal instinct within ourselves. The id is the instinctual part of ourselves within our subconscious. This is not only represented through the title of the film but also through the actions of the man. Is the man the dog?

There are many different ideas and concepts that you could look at within this film with it being based on dreams and created by a surrealist artist. Only by covering a few, it already is obvious that a lot of the ideas present within the film, revolve around the idea of our conscious / subconscious and unconscious all of which are Freudian Models.

Freud, S. , 'Fetishim', in Barnard, M. (ed.) (2007) Fashion Theory: A Reader, Abingdon: Routledge, pg555

Panopticism

Panopticism is the control of conduct, behaviour and performance. It derives from the word Panopticon. Jeremy Bentham designed the Panopitcon as a way to create a disciplinary power and society. They could be used as hospitals or schools amongst others, however the majority that were built were as prisons and asylums. The Panopticon was a circular building full of individual cells, open from the front with bars and lit from the back via windows, each cell looked towards the centre where there would normally be a tower that could hold guards or doctors depending on the institution. The inmates could never see each other only the constant presence of the guards. This created a mental effect and soon the inmates would behave in the way the supervisor would want them to behave without having to actually do anything. It was the constant reminder that you are always being watched. The inmates were permanently isolated which caused a psychological issues, almost as a form of torture. Foucault (1975) stated that power functions automatically.

The Panopticon wasn't just about a form of control and discipline but also about watching, observing, scrutinizing and classification. It was a means of surveillance, to confine but also study the insane. Panopticism is a new form of power, that you are always being watched in some way, shape or form. An open plan office is an example of this, you are constantly seen by others so it changes your behaviour. We live in a surveillance society where every single action we do is watched in some way. There are countless of CCTV cameras around so it becomes self regulation, we are controlling ourselves for the fear of being caught doing something we shouldn't. It is similar within the social media aspect, everything is observed by someone so it can make you behave in a certain way to how you normally are, which could in turn shape an identity. Foucault describes it as a mental process yet it is not physically conforming.

The Gaze & The Media

The Gaze is something that has been used a lot in advertising, art, film and games and the theories behind it can be used to explain certain aspects. The 'Birth of Venus' by Cabanel can be looked into further using theories of 'The Gaze'. The pose that the woman is in is used a lot in advertising, other paintings and photography. With her hand/arm covering her face and eyes there is more of a concentration on the body than anywhere else.

John Berger identifies The Male Gaze through paintings and compares them those that hold similar attributes or subject matters, such as Titan's 'Venus of Urbino' and Manet's 'Olympia'. Both paintings have a similar pose produced by the woman, however there are small subtle things that really distinguish one from another and in turn creates a different view. 'Venus of Urbino' is more inviting, a more traditional nude painting, the woman's face acknowledging the presence of a viewer but not phased by it. Manet's 'Olympia' on the other hand is more stern, there is a harsher look to the painting than Titan's. The woman seems to hold more power and her own gaze is quite harsh.

Rosalind Coward, another theorist to The Gaze says that there is somewhat of a normalisation towards nudity/semi-nudity in the street, on billboards etc, it never seems to be noticed fully or it is but in our subconscious. The Male Gaze is prominent in our society however switching men for women in advertisements or art is not a way to challenge it. The quantity of male orientated ads is far less than women. There was an advertisement by Dolce & Gabbana where, instead of women they used men as a celebration of bodies. It was a challenge to the gaze, something you don't get with women advertisements.

When it comes to the media, The Gaze can be a powerful thing. The media holds power over people, the can portray people in a specific way and the viewers will accept this. Paparazzi for example take pictures of celebrities and high status people, not just because it's their job but more so that there is a demand, almost an obsessive perception. With reality television it gives the viewer an all-seeing eye, the power of the gaze.

When it comes to games The Male Gaze seems to be quite prominent, most female characters tend to be overly sexualised. Lara Croft for example was a turning point as she was the main character of the game, an active character. Men normally would drive the story during the 50's and 60's so having a female lead was something different, however even though she drove it and was powerful she was still overly sexualised. You could say it was almost a fantasy for some people, the fantasy of her destruction. There needs to be a shift within games as there is a trend with more girl gamers and not all of us want to be playing as a character in skimpy clothing. There should be customisable characters, you should get a choice.

Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is not only a form of therapy but is also the theory of the mind and a theory that can be applied to other objects and processes. This can be a way of catergorising and understanding certain desires, motivations and dreams. We ourselves are not controlled by logical or even reasonable thought, there is far more to it than that and our unconscious mind will play a big part in our everyday lives.

Sigmund Freud created this idea in the late 1890's, he used psychoanalysis as a form of treatment for hysteria patients. Through psychoanalytic theory Freud came up with the dynamic conscious, this would be created through infancy to protect our conscious selves from events, ideas and thoughts that would be unsuitable otherwise. Our unconscious is chaotic in a way, it has no order or language yet makes itself present through slips and tricks - Freudian Slip - accidentally saying something but not consciously planning to. Freud looked into how the child goes through stages of development in order to become a fully conscious being. The child must experience and overcome mixed feelings and misconceptions that come under psycho-sexual identity through the Oedipus Complex of 'to want' vs 'to be wanted', the Castration Complex and Penis-envy, all of which can possibly create negative feelings but they must overcome this.

Freudian Models layout the Id, Ego and Superego. Id being the unconscious where our fears and irrational wishes lie. It is our primary process thinking, our instinctual part of ourselves. Ego is the conscious, our thoughts and perceptions, our own personalities and secondary process thinking. The Superego being the social order where things have to be acceptable, no irrational wishes. The Pre-conscious is all of our memories and stored knowledge, it all happens naturally like language, it is our subconscious.

After Freud's Death Jacques Lacan presented his own brand of psychoanalysis where he re-conceptualized Freud's findings. The child must identify itself outside of his self, but because of this identification the child will become split and alienated so the Ego is created to fill this gap, it creates personality and an identity for ourselves. There are other theories and models Lacan came up with such as the 'orders of reality' where it goes over the 'real', 'imaginary' and 'symbolic' which can refer to our conscious, subconscious and unconscious selves.

There are so many parts that come under psychoanalysis, different theories and models, some that are easier related to subjects than others. You can use psychoanalysis to help understand the human mind, how better to sell things, advertising/promotion wise. The Uncanny is something that is unnatural yet has a sense of familiarity to it. The boundary between fantasy and reality breaks down. Films have used the Uncanny, mainly in the Horror genre, they would use the essence of familiar but the overall feel would be foreign. There have also been films that reference psychoanalysis and the theories behind it.