Women in Advertising

After reading Susan Douglas’s essay, “Narcissim as Liberation,” I was surprised at how much it hit home. It’s amazing how the media can sculpt such an image, and companies put hundreds of thousands dollars towards fueling it. Having never really thought about it before, I was intrigued by this idea of how looking good is a status, as putting money into looking good is a requirement. I appreciated Douglas’s sarcastic take on advertisments on television and in magazines.
While looking for pictures for this assignment, I found it very difficult to find advertisments in which a woman was not using her body to sell sex, beauty products, or anything of that sort. The task of this assignment was simple; find pictures of alternative representations of women in the media and post them. However, it was much more time consuming than I expected, which really proves Susan Douglas’s point – women are portrayed so superfically in the media, almost every advertisment is using a woman’s body to sell a product.

(photo from Dove.com)
This photo, taken as part of Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty,” shows a woman with a body that is not perfect – as contrived by the media- and supposed to be an inspiration to other women. While her legs are not as a thin as the media usually expects, or she is shorter than a supermodel, she is supposed to be an inspiration to other women, and thus, promoting Dove’s sales. While she does use her body to sell a product, it’s done in an almost reversed way than what Douglas discusses.

(photo from FoodNetwork.com)
This next photo, from FoodNetwork.com, uses the traditional “women-in-the-kitchen” role to sell cooking products. People can identify with this woman, the one who cooks dinner for her family, and uses to proper kitchen tools to do so. Identifying with the woman in the advertisment attracts other women to buy the products. This advertisment defininately does not use sex or body image to promote sales, although it does play off the traditional sterotype of a woman’s place being in the kitchen, or her job being to cook meals for her family.

(photo taken from Target.com)
This photo, used to get shoppers to open a Target credit card account, does a good job of catching one’s attention. Instead of using the woman’s body to attract viewers, it uses a fun facial expression and bright colors. The model looks so happy, trying to portray the idea that the consumer will be just as happy as she when they open an account at Target.

Questions for a Second Reading – “Ways of Seeing,” by John Berger

1. Berger spends a lot of time in his essay, “Ways of Seeing,” discussing history. It’s correlation between art and the present is quite deep, when one truly realizes what he is trying to convey. Often times, history is simply defined as “the branch of knowledge dealing with past events.” However, I feel that “history,” in terms of Berger’s essay, is meant to be more a story. The story is of people, the past, and its connection to the present.
Berger’s views are pretty straightforward, yet his point is quite valid. As viewers, we often take for granted what we see. “We only see what we look at. To look is an act of choice. As a result of this act, what we see is brought within our reach-though not necessarily within arm’s reach. To touch something is to situate oneself in relation to it.” Art allows history to speak. Often times, I feel, that we can learn more from looking than we can from speaking; every piece of art comes from a different time or era, and tells a different story. It is really amazing how much art can tell; yet everyone has assumptions about it. “Yet when an image is presented as a work of art, the way people look at it is affected by a whole series of learnt assumptions about art. Assumptions concerning:
Beauty
Truth
Genius
Civilization
Form
Status
Taste, etc.”
While all of the above can be drawn out of art, Berger goes onto explain about how these assumptions obscure the past. The “mystify” it, which is clever… all of the assumptions people make about art are extremely subjective. Therefore, I feel, they do little to show history for what it truly is. To learn about history from art, we must situate ourselves in it, which teaches us history. Instead of viewing art from a subjective point of view, if we look at it in it’s context, we are much more likely to learn about it’s history. As a result of this, Berger has “situated” us in history, or has returned a piece of history to us.

2. Berger argued that the account of the Hal’s painting is a case of “mystification.” I would agree with his statement, as he makes valid claims for support. His argument about what he sees as “really” there is valid, yet that brings us back into the argument of history. Almost everything that he drew out of that was from a historical perspective. He states earlier that, “The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe.” This is a perfect example of that, and he proves his point. Yet, he goes onto explain how the expert’s explanation is not necessarily fact, when a drama of “unforgettable contrast” takes place. A person who lacks sovereignty could take the painting to mean something completely different. Thus proves that knowledge allows for us to see and perceive.

Questions for a Second Reading – “The Loss of the Creature,” by Walter Percy

1. Percy moves rapidly through his essay, providing examples of each point or idea. Each example is different, yet all of them help to provide the support that Percy’s point requires. A complex train of though is presented through these ideas, by moving from one example to another, or from tourists to students. While all of the examples Percy discusses support the point, they all vary in reference to how he conveys them. When he discusses how to “recover” the Grand Canyon, for example, he provides four ways in which it may be done. The first, leaving the beaten track, elaborates upon how one should see the Grand Canyon by avoiding facilities provided for seeing it. Looking at it in a different way, rather than what the experts or designers expect you to see it, provides a better outlook on the site.
The second way to recover the Grand Canyon is through a “dialectical movement.” In other words, a visitor may look at the Grand Canyon, but from a different view than everyone else – realizing that they are all looking at it the same way, and refusing to conform. Another way is to note what the experts want the visitor to see. Resisting to conform to that can also help to “recover” one’s visit. Lastly, a national disaster can help to recover the Grand Canyon. People who view it in the wake of a disaster see it in a completely different light; what is typical to some is normal to others.
Through the previous four examples, Percy established his point, but did it in a very intelligent way. All of his examples back up, or support his main theme, yet they are not repetitive. Switching from tourists to students simply helps to further his explination of how people often become “consumers of knowledge,” and almost always conform to the preformed symbolic complex of a situation.

2. Percy’s topic of “loss” comes through numerous times in his essay. He discusses the loss of sovereignty, the loss of the creature. We, as readers, are invited to share in his concern. His main point here is to beware of becoming consumers of knowledge – he reiterates this statement over and over, providing examples in various situations. The interests of the common people are represented here, as he is discussing typical situations, that, more often than not, we have been in. For example, in touring the Grand Canyon, Percy discusses how the experts have a plan for the way they want a vistor to view the Canyon. They set up trails, donkey rides, and looking stations to provide a viewer with a good (yet also typical) experience. This means that the visitor sees the Canyon in the same way that everyone else sees it – it is not as special or meaningful, since he is expecting to have it look a certain way. It is a struggle for a person to view something in their own way, rather than following the way others see it, yet it is beneficial in the end. Of course, everyone has preconceived notions when they view something as magnificant or popular as the Grand Canyon, yet it is important to ensure that an individual can view it for what it is. The media and public alike have shaped these notions, but it is important for one to not simply consume knowledge, for then, it is a loss. “The measures taken are measures appropriate to the consumer: the expert and the planner know and plan, but the consumer needs and experiences.”

3. Percy’s method of using stories to anectodes to convey his point worked, however he did not use first-person accounts of actual visits. While hearing a first-person perspective might have helped to make a few of his points easier to understand, this method shows us a good example of his writing style. He does not simply use quotes from other people, or situations that he has experienced before to prove his point. He takes solid scenerios, describes them thoroughly, and uses that example to support his main point. While this method is powerful, it does have limits. For example, when Percy discussed the student studying biology, a first-hand account may have made the situation a bit easier to understand. I felt that his method was not as strong in the second section of the essays as it was in the first – his examples were difficult to understand.

“The Loss of the Creature,” by Walter Percy

1. What questions did the reading leave you with?
“The Loss of the Creature,” by Walter Percy, did an incredible job of painting a vivid picture in the mind of the reader. The situations described, such as being a tourist, are something that pretty much everyone can relate to. The investigation of conforming to the way that people are supposed to view things was so true. However, the reading did leave me with a question about the flow of the essay. I felt that it could have been written a bit differently in order to get the same point across. For example, the first section of the chapter discusses the Grand Canyon, and people’s expectations about visiting it. They conform to how they think they should view the Grand Canyon, similiar to the way one views it on a postcard. Visitors also tell their friends after a trip about how they thought of them while they were on a trip, almost to verify that they truely were there. The second part of the essay switches to a student, and how they view their work. While I can understand how the two topics tie in together – taking an example from the essay, “The situation of the tourist at the Grand Canyon and the biology student are special cases of a predicament in which everyone finds himself in a modern technical society – a society, that is, in which there is a division between expert and layman, planner and consumer, in which experts and planners take special measures to teach and edify the consumer. The measures taken are measures to appropriate to the consumer: the expert and the planner know and plan, but the consumer needs and experiences.” Aside from the flow of the essay, I would also be interested to know how Percy came up with some of the examples he did. They were all very detailed and impressively backed up, but also somewhat random.

2. What parts of the reading did you struggle with? Why?
I struggled with comprehending some of the examples provided to support Percy’s point. Especially in the second half of the essay, I found the example of the biology student somewhat hard to understand. I think that Percy could have used a more straightforward approach in trying to convey his message about the struggle about lost sovereignty and struggling with thinking.

3. Can you relate this reading back to our discussion of cliche?
I found that the first half of the essay was more closely related to our discussion of cliche than the second half. Percy’s discussion of the tourist and what he does to conform seemed very cliche. “Seeing the canyon under approved circumstances is seeing the symbolic complex head on. The thing is no longer the thing as it confronted the Spainiard; it is rather that which has already been formulated – by picture postcard, georgraphy book, tourist folders, and the words Grand Canyon. This just goes to show the way in which people conform their views of things, no matter how big or small, to what they think is “right” or the “correct” way of seeing something. “Where the Spaniard arose from his penetration of the thing itself, from a progressive discovery of depths, by the degree to which the canyon conforms to the preformed complex. If it does so, if it looks just like the postcard, he is pleased; he might even say, “Why it is every bit as beautiful as a picture postcard!” He feels he has not been cheated. But if it does not conform, if the colors are somber, he will not be able to see it directly; he will only be conscious of the disparity between what it is and what it is supposed to be.”

The Undergraduate Experience

There are numerous aspects that make up a well rounded college experience. Different pieces make up the whole; from classes to clubs, from sports to new friends, all of these help to balance out the collegiate experience, which varies for every person. Everyone comes to school with different hopes, goals, and expectations. It is extremely important for one to use time effectively and wisely, especially when exploring new and unique areas of learning or interest.
College is an exciting time, and the undergraduate experience at a liberal arts college such as Mary Washington is unique. Many things on the UMW campus represent a true liberal arts school and give it a “college feeling.” When I think of what a liberal arts college is, I think of a gorgeous campus, with ivy growing up buildings and around metal gates.

(photo taken by Avenue44)
Gates such as these are a symbolic welcome to the campus. As the gates open, the academic journey has begun. Beyond these gates lies a world of books, friends, challenging yet informative classes, and many memories. It’s also a way to enclose many different people, languages, and backgrounds into one common place; a melting pot, almost, to learn how to live and interact with one another. I also think of a cozy campus, lit up at night to illuminate the Gregorian buildings in all their glory.

(photo taken by Cyprien)
The best season for a liberal arts college is autumn, when the air is crisp enough to sit outside on a bench and read. The amphitheatre is also a good example of a unique aspect of UMW. It’s rich history has made it known and interesting to students. Not only do friends meet here, but some classes take place here as well. It is another example of how the liberal arts college experience is not as structured and strict as traditional colleges. Thinking “outside of the box” allows for so much development and introspection.

(photo taken by Avenue44)

(photo taken by TWLoughlin)

(photo by Cyprien)
College sparks thoughts of coffehouses and book readings, and acoustic guitar concerts in intimate cafes. Events such as these exhibit the freedom of mind and expression that college allows. With a faculty that supports each and every student in what they excel in, talents are nurtured and skills are developed. Instead of trying to make every student fit a certain mold, whether it be vocational or just as a person, a liberal arts college embraces differences and new ideas.

(photo by Elena777)
Through a liberal arts education, you are able to combine knowledge and creativity in ways that you never thought possible before. It opens the mind to new ways of learning, which holds the key to endless intellectual adventure and exploration. New ways of thinking, interacting, and understanding are developed through a university such as Mary Washington, and everyone who embarks upon the journey will come out of it being more well rounded and better suited for the vocation that awaits them, no matter what the field.