In any group in today’s society, there are certain standards or ideals that people aspire to achieve. Every action that people take have political implications, no one is just neutral. By following the crowd, an individual is making a statement. They are either afraid to break out of the norm, or feel more comfortable following it.
The “radical” groups described in Pitt’s book perform extreme modifications that baffle other groups that view them. “Normal” individuals would not do flesh hangings or cover their entire body in tattoos. However, there are certain extreme modifications that are still seen as normal. These practices are used to fit in with the “norm” in an attempt to become the ideal. An example of an extreme act of the “normal” community is cosmetic surgeries. These are measures taken to achieve the ideal. For example, if a person wants to lose weight, they can have liposuction. If a girl wants to have more feminine features, she can surgically change those features. All of these surgeries have the health risks because something could go wrong. These are extreme steps that a person can take that seem “normal” in today’s society. However, these may have been very strange to people a few decades before. These surgeries have become so common that people don’t find them “radical” anymore. These practices may be just as extreme to the “strange” body modification of the “other” groups, but the majority of society has become more comfortable with these practices that they are longer a strange encounter.
I think that these “normal” acts have the same political potentials because most practices are strange when they are first introduced. However, once people become comfortable with the idea, it will assimilate into the “normal” culture. Therefore, the “radical” acts will not be radical once people become comfortable with them. This example occurred in the book with the bellybutton piercings and the Fraternity brandings. These practices started as “abnormal” and then became part of the “normal” culture.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Prompt 6
The formal writing done in class helps teach students how to effectively write and communicate in the professional world. This way of forming an argument and structuring papers helps set up a formula for students to follow. It is also a way to compare writing and see the improvement from the begging of school to the end. Everyone must learn to write this way in school. It gives a familiar platform for communicating when students leave universities and enter into the real world.
Communicating does not need to be through writing. People express themselves through the clothing they wear, their hairstyles, or body modifications. It is a way to fit into different groups, or to separate from a group. Also, people communicate through their talents. For example, music is a form of expression. People express their emotions through their instrument or voice. Music can illustrate how a person feels and can also make statements. The feminists from In the Flesh marked up their bodies to take control and make political statements about victimization. People, throughout history, have used music to communicate their political upheavals, and use it as a way to overcome these problems. The same idea occurs with other talents, which include painting or dancing. Almost everything that people do in life reflects who they are, consciously and unconsciously.
I do believe that there is always a limit to the amount of control that people have over the body. Society has created such rigid structures that it is impossible to break out. If a person steps out of the “normal” mode, he/she will fall into another mold with people like him/her. There is also a limit to the amount of modifications that people can do to the body. At some point, tattoos will cover the entire body, and there will be no space left for more. There are only so many surgeries that people can have before something goes wrong. There is a limit to everything, and no matter how much people try to separate themselves, they will still be in the boundaries set by someone that came before them.
Communicating does not need to be through writing. People express themselves through the clothing they wear, their hairstyles, or body modifications. It is a way to fit into different groups, or to separate from a group. Also, people communicate through their talents. For example, music is a form of expression. People express their emotions through their instrument or voice. Music can illustrate how a person feels and can also make statements. The feminists from In the Flesh marked up their bodies to take control and make political statements about victimization. People, throughout history, have used music to communicate their political upheavals, and use it as a way to overcome these problems. The same idea occurs with other talents, which include painting or dancing. Almost everything that people do in life reflects who they are, consciously and unconsciously.
I do believe that there is always a limit to the amount of control that people have over the body. Society has created such rigid structures that it is impossible to break out. If a person steps out of the “normal” mode, he/she will fall into another mold with people like him/her. There is also a limit to the amount of modifications that people can do to the body. At some point, tattoos will cover the entire body, and there will be no space left for more. There are only so many surgeries that people can have before something goes wrong. There is a limit to everything, and no matter how much people try to separate themselves, they will still be in the boundaries set by someone that came before them.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Prompt 5
The two different sources show different views of the body. The NPR program reflects the changing of the “norm.” The guy that they interview has a job in the business world and is successful, despite his tattoos. He large tattoos completely contradict the “normal” appearance of the workplace. This guy explains that times are changing, and one day what was considered weird will be “normal.” He gave examples of guys with long hair becoming a normal occurrence. Many things considered strange in the past became normal, like bellybutton piercing. The one thing that contradicted his beliefs was his action of removing some of his tattoos. I think that is taking a step in a negative direction. If he wants to help move society in a different direction by changing what people view as normal, he needs to stick by his decisions to have massive, non-discrete tattoos. However, National Geographic represents the body in a different way. It shows pictures that represent different groups of people with tattoos and other modifications. The website does not show cultures coming together, but shows different groups and their body modifications. There does not seem to be a change in the “norm.” It still separates people into the “us” v. “them” scenario all over again. It not only separates the conservative view of the body, but separates the many diverse groups labeled as “others.”
I think that I have a mixture of these two arguments. I do think that some modifications will blend into the “normal” culture. However, I do not think that every “strange” modification will fit in. There are too many strong beliefs in this country to keep practices, like flesh hanging, out of the normal everyday occurrences. I do think some piercings or tattoos will start to mesh with the normal culture. This is already seen with earrings, bellybutton rings, and nose rings. People are scared of change and what is not familiar to them. Once people get used to the ideas, they will slowly incorporate them into the “normal culture.
I think that I have a mixture of these two arguments. I do think that some modifications will blend into the “normal” culture. However, I do not think that every “strange” modification will fit in. There are too many strong beliefs in this country to keep practices, like flesh hanging, out of the normal everyday occurrences. I do think some piercings or tattoos will start to mesh with the normal culture. This is already seen with earrings, bellybutton rings, and nose rings. People are scared of change and what is not familiar to them. Once people get used to the ideas, they will slowly incorporate them into the “normal culture.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Prompt 4
The Dove “Real Beauty” campaign tries to rewrite the definition of beauty. Through mass communication, the definition of what is truly beautiful has become a lie. Most women view themselves as plain or ugly because they do not look like the models in the magazines. Dove tries to reinvent how people view true beauty by placing ads to question people.
The first ad, the picture of the older woman with the questions “Wrinkled” or “Wonderful,” tries to change the definition. Women of the “normal” definition are supposed to be young and vibrant. Usually women try to hide their age because it is not the “norm.” This woman defies these ideals because she seems to be happy about who she is. She makes others identify with her, and they feel better. This ad definitely hits on emotions to make people think and discuss what “real” beauty is, rather than what the media portray it as.
Another example of their campaign is their “Evolution” video. This video shows that true beauty does not actually exist. It takes a plain looking woman and shows her transition into a gorgeous model on a billboard. This is an excellent example to make people really think and step out of the standard definition. This should guide people to step out of the boundaries that society has set up and realize that “beauty” today is technology generated, not real.
Both of these ads help separate these women from the “normal” definition. They may not fit the stereotypes made in society, but they are happy to be who they are, and the picture represents that with their joyful expressions.
Overall, I think the campaign really makes people think, but I don’t think it will make any real changes. They are trying to sell products! Their whole philosophy is that every woman is beautiful and that they don’t need the products to be that. However, they contradict themselves by stating this, and then they try to persuade people to buy their beauty products. It does not seem to make since. They also cannot make change because they are just one company. The rest of the world still markets beauty as manipulated images. It is so set in society that I doubt it will ever change.
The first ad, the picture of the older woman with the questions “Wrinkled” or “Wonderful,” tries to change the definition. Women of the “normal” definition are supposed to be young and vibrant. Usually women try to hide their age because it is not the “norm.” This woman defies these ideals because she seems to be happy about who she is. She makes others identify with her, and they feel better. This ad definitely hits on emotions to make people think and discuss what “real” beauty is, rather than what the media portray it as.
Another example of their campaign is their “Evolution” video. This video shows that true beauty does not actually exist. It takes a plain looking woman and shows her transition into a gorgeous model on a billboard. This is an excellent example to make people really think and step out of the standard definition. This should guide people to step out of the boundaries that society has set up and realize that “beauty” today is technology generated, not real.
Both of these ads help separate these women from the “normal” definition. They may not fit the stereotypes made in society, but they are happy to be who they are, and the picture represents that with their joyful expressions.
Overall, I think the campaign really makes people think, but I don’t think it will make any real changes. They are trying to sell products! Their whole philosophy is that every woman is beautiful and that they don’t need the products to be that. However, they contradict themselves by stating this, and then they try to persuade people to buy their beauty products. It does not seem to make since. They also cannot make change because they are just one company. The rest of the world still markets beauty as manipulated images. It is so set in society that I doubt it will ever change.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Short Writing 2
The picture shows a young boy cleaning himself for his morning bath. Each element of the picture defines this person and explains who he is. This boy is the main focus of the picture because of his arrangement or placement in the center of the picture. The background’s lack of focus or soft focus allows every glance on the picture to move toward the boy in the center.
The picture captures a boy’s morning bath, but it does not seem to make him very clean. He bathes in dirty water outside and his unkempt hair amplifies this idea. This is different from the “normal” body discussed in class. Cleanliness, the norm, expresses confidence and a healthy lifestyle. This body expresses the opposite, presenting shy or weak characteristics. This boy is very thin, which could represent an unhealthy, dirty body.
This body expresses shy, unconfident attributes by not looking at the camera. His face is pointed toward the ground, not at anything in particular. When figures look at the audience, there is a connection with them, and that subject exudes confidence. However, this young boy does not protrude confidence because of his lack of attention to the audience. Facial expressions help understand how people are feeling and answer many questions about who they are. This boy is covering up many answers to questions with his hands over his face. This again could represent a shy demeanor. Straight body posture also represents confidence. Again, he represents the opposite idea by his completely bent over posture.
Looking at the background, the boy is the main focus. The setting around him has a softer/ blurry focus. This could mean many different things. This technique helps focus the viewers’ attention on the subject. The blurry background could represent time moving on. The progression into a modern era arrived, and the times are moving faster than this boy is ready for. Normally in the morning, people are very sluggish when getting ready for the day. This moment represents the idea that the boy is slowly moving ahead, while the world around him develops much faster. If this picture represents the same time period as discussed in class, it is a perfect example of the transition from a separate world of Native Americans to a combined world with Europeans.
The boy also lacks ornamentation, along with his absence of clothing. This Native American is barely wearing anything, which represents a less modest body. He obviously is not embarrassed, and finds it normal to not wear anything except a tiny piece of fabric.
Overall, this body represents the same ideas presented through documents by the Travel Writers. There are a few differences, but many features captured in this picture are basically the same. Every aspect of the picture, from the background to clothing, defines this Native American Body.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12295975@N05/2230298031/
The picture captures a boy’s morning bath, but it does not seem to make him very clean. He bathes in dirty water outside and his unkempt hair amplifies this idea. This is different from the “normal” body discussed in class. Cleanliness, the norm, expresses confidence and a healthy lifestyle. This body expresses the opposite, presenting shy or weak characteristics. This boy is very thin, which could represent an unhealthy, dirty body.
This body expresses shy, unconfident attributes by not looking at the camera. His face is pointed toward the ground, not at anything in particular. When figures look at the audience, there is a connection with them, and that subject exudes confidence. However, this young boy does not protrude confidence because of his lack of attention to the audience. Facial expressions help understand how people are feeling and answer many questions about who they are. This boy is covering up many answers to questions with his hands over his face. This again could represent a shy demeanor. Straight body posture also represents confidence. Again, he represents the opposite idea by his completely bent over posture.
Looking at the background, the boy is the main focus. The setting around him has a softer/ blurry focus. This could mean many different things. This technique helps focus the viewers’ attention on the subject. The blurry background could represent time moving on. The progression into a modern era arrived, and the times are moving faster than this boy is ready for. Normally in the morning, people are very sluggish when getting ready for the day. This moment represents the idea that the boy is slowly moving ahead, while the world around him develops much faster. If this picture represents the same time period as discussed in class, it is a perfect example of the transition from a separate world of Native Americans to a combined world with Europeans.
The boy also lacks ornamentation, along with his absence of clothing. This Native American is barely wearing anything, which represents a less modest body. He obviously is not embarrassed, and finds it normal to not wear anything except a tiny piece of fabric.
Overall, this body represents the same ideas presented through documents by the Travel Writers. There are a few differences, but many features captured in this picture are basically the same. Every aspect of the picture, from the background to clothing, defines this Native American Body.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12295975@N05/2230298031/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
