Friday, March 19, 2010

We All Walk in Different Shoes

Are we killing ourselves?



Before my spring break, my sociology teacher showed us the video "Killing us Softly 3" by Jean Kilbourn about how advertising affects women and how they see theirselves. It was a really good video but some of the images and arguments that she posted were far fetched and exaggerated, of course to prove her point. She was very convincing. This was the second time I had viewed the video & I had wanted to sound off on this before, but seeing it this time around made me see things differently.

For homework we had to find an ad in a newspaper or magazine that supported or dissagreed with her argument. At 1st I though that this assignment would be easy. I looked for pictures of women in suggestive poses, women with no clothes, women who were thought to be used as "sex objects" to sell the product. As I poured over my mother's issues of Vogue, I found myself reading into every image that I saw, wondering if it supported Jean's thesis. Then I had to stop myself and ask, "Wait, do I really agree with her, or am I taking the easy way out agreeing with her?" Seeing the video the second time made me put things in perspective. I saw her aim and what she wanted to accomplish with her agrument. With these arguments you want to bring up and showcasew the mose extreme information to support what you claim. She interpreted some of the ads how she wanted to, she was convincing. Which is why I tore out two pictures that supported her before stopping myself. One was of a breast implant ad, and the other was a women in a Disel ad only wearing underwear. I saw more pictures that I could've tore out but to tell the truth I wasn't offended or felt how

Jean Kilborn woul've felt if she viewed these images. I felt that these pictures were jus the vision and what the designer or company thought how to best sell their product. For the ads that are conterversial or out there, they're created that way to produce the reaction they want that will more than likely prompt the person to take a second look. I don't think they sit and think, "How can we best make women offended, mad or even feel like crap?" Like a line from my favorit show Secret Life of The American Teenager,"It's called SELF-esteem for a reason." Wome have to stop looking for ads or spreads in magazines that are going to build us up. These images are purely to show off the merchandise, the vision. The models aren't the focus, they're just a factor.
America as a country is so obsessed with images, dealing with the body and how we view ourselves. It's one of the reasons why we have so many eating disorders. It made me think: Why are other countries so comfortable with their bodies and what they think beauty is? Does this make them unorthodox, outrageous people because they view the human body and present theirselves differently? I look at human anatomy differently as well; it's art. Our canvas, our temple. When I get totally comfortable with myself and my body, I'm for sure hitting up a nudist beach overseas.

With all this running through my mind, I was better prepared to find an image that supported MY agrument. I came across a Kenneth Cole ad campaign from '08 where he picked everyday people who defied the norms.
The one that I tore out was of this transgender woman Nina Poon, she's gorgeous. I ultimately wanted to present something that I believed. I was happy I gave myself a chance to think about how I felt and not give into what Jean Kilborn wanted me to feel.
Our teacher made us come up and present our ads and made a tally after we stated our side. By the end, it was 18 1/2 supporters vs. 4 1/2 non-supporters. My friend Carolina who was in the supporting category said, " I didn't agree with her either but it was easier to find an ad." I understood what she was sayinh but I wondered how many other people other people took the same route.








Saturday, March 13, 2010

Something new..

Things need to change, I can feel it. Everything in my life needs an upgrade, a face-lift, whatever you want to call it. Including this blog. I may revamp it, delete the past entries and move forward, or I might just delete the blog and start all over. I've neglected this because of my crappy computer. I want to create a place where people can just see positivity through different art forms. That is my aim.

Video Visions

In a world full of the normal, short, non inspiring music videos, Lady Gaga continues to wow me with these mini movie concepts. I was kind of skeptical when I first heard that the video was released yesterday and that the video was a little over 9 mins! I took a chance and was entranced by the video. Even though the concept of her going to jail singing that she's in a club was kind of confusing but I really gotta give big ups to Lady Gaga, nobody's doing what she's doing right now. You can really tell that everything that she does creatively, she gives it her all and pushing the limits, that's something to be admired for. Genius!