Visual Journal 8

I learned that there is more than meets the eye with any work of art. 

I learned that there is beauty all around us, we just have to open our eyes and look. 

I learned that a picture is worth a thousand words, you just have to be willing to read it. 

I learned that sometimes you don't have to know the significance of a picture to know that it is significant. 

Dyer Reflection

Reading the Dyer essay, the biggest thing that I took away was how people like to stereotype people into set social categories but the reality is that these categories are actually fluid. It made me think about how someone would categorize me if they just saw pictures of me. If they saw these pictures, would they think that I am a jock and therefore probably not smart? Would they see that I am going to a good college and therefore are most likely smart? Would they see that I am playing Division 3 sports and think that I am not actually a good athlete? Would they look at me and say that I am too short or too white or not skinny enough and therefore not beautiful enough? I think Dyer makes a really good point that these categories are fluid because any number of these things could actually be true all at the same time and I think if everyone realized this then we would in turn realize that we are all more alike than we think and are differences are not what divides us but what can make us stronger together. 

Visual Journal Entry 7

When I think about misrepresentation in the media the first thing that comes to mind is the misrepresentation of women in ads. There are so many companies that use the idea of "sex sells" to sell their products, and sadly it works. But they are not just selling sex and their product, they are also selling the idea that women are subordinate and are here to please men. This has been a common theme for decades and it limits how people see women and what they think that they can accomplish in their lives. No only does it misrepresent what women can do, but it also misrepresents what women look like. In all of these ads, the women all look the same. They are skinny, beautiful, lengthy, dark haired women. This is not the average woman yet this is the woman that we see the most. This is the woman that other women compare themselves to and it sets an impossible standard for representations of beauty. 

Visual Journal Entry 6

Bell Hooks Reflection

Hooks' reflections on her father's photo and its importance to her made me think of this photo of my grandparents. I was obsessed with my grandfather growing up and he was my best friend but he died when I was 6 so I really didn't get to learn that much about his life before my mom and uncle came along. Looking at this picture not only reminds me of all the good times that I had with him but it makes me think about the great life that he must have lived before I even knew him. It a little weird to think about but he was my age once and seeing how happy he is here makes me think that he was just as carefree and loving as me when he was a young adult.

Visual Journal Enty 5

Reading the essay and thinking about how Hooks cherished her image of her in her cowgirl outfit because it represented her and her true self and who she liked to think of herself as, I thought of the image of myself that I think those things about. The first image is how I really feel inside. I am a outgoing and wild and crazy girl with a loving family but I think sometimes that gets lost with all the stress of everything going on in my life. Looking back on it now, it makes me smile and makes me hope that one day I can get back to being that girl. 

The second picture is important to me because it shows me how photography can turn back time and allow you to remember even the smallest of details. When I look at this picture I remember everything about that day. I remember I caught more fish than my sister and that it was cloudy and there was a nice breeze so I didn't realize that I was getting the worst sunburn of my life and that I fell asleep on the car ride home in my Perry the platypus hat. This picture made me realize the importance of photography in preserving time and memory. 

Barthes Response

When I read the essay I thought a lot about advertisement and how a lot of times you need the words to figure out what they are trying to sell. I thought about this fragrance ad and realized that if it were not for the words "fragrance for women" I would have absolutely no idea what this ad was trying to sell. It looks more like it's advertising apples than a fragrance so this image really does depend on the words included on it.
On a denotation level we can tell that there is a man and a woman and apples, one of which is obviously fake. We can also tell that it is a fragrance ad because of the print "fragrance for women" printed on the ad.
On a connotation level we can tell that the advertisers are trying to sell attractiveness and sex. The look and in the woman's eyes and the way her mouth is parted along with the way the man is gazing at her suggest lust. The use of the apples also adds a seductive aspect, mirroring Adam and Eve. The advertisers are not just trying to sell a fragrance, they are trying to sell the idea that wearing the fragrance will make men more attracted to you and lustful towards you.