Picture for Images and Ideology

I thought that this image was a perfect icon for hatred. I picked this photo in particular because I thought that it showed a great deal of emotion and meaning. I like photo or images that have meaning to them and this one shows what hatred can do to individuals first hand. I like how it shows the aftermath. And what extremes humans will go to when emotion such as hatred is involved.

Images and Ideology

From reading Images and Ideology, I learned alot about things that I wasn't aware beforehand. I learned that Ideologies are systems of belief that exist within all cultures. Images are an important means through which ideologies are produced and onto which ideologies are projected. Ideologies are thought of as propoganda. I also learned that Ideologies were like Barthe's concept of myth, connotations that appear to be natural. Also, ideologies premeate the world of entertainment. Also the more everyday realms of life that we do not usually associate with the word culture:science, education, medicine, and law. I read that images are used for the categorization and classification of peoples for identification, as evidence of disease in medical screening and diagnosis, and as courtroom evidence. I found it interesting to hear how after photography was developed in Europe in the eraly nineteeth century, private citizens began hiring photographers to make individual and family portraits. Back then portarits often marked special events such as births, marriages, and deaths.
This bit of information lead to the first image to appear in this reading assignment. Carte de viste of George Armstrong Custer, 1860's. I read how this was pretty much like a post card now days. I then learned how important photographs were back then. And what different rolls they played. they were used as toold for science and for public survelliance. They were also used in hospitals, mental institutions, and prisons to record and study populations and such. Today they do similar things by recording our fingerprints for personal identification on our passports, drivers lisence, credit cards and ID cards in school and for welfare programs.
I then went on to read about OJ Simpson and how Newsweek and Time magazine used the same photo but Times altered the color of OJ's skin to make him appear more evil, as many people did often times back then.
I then went on to read about how we negotiate the meaning of images. I thought it was interesting to learn how comventions are like road signs, we must learn their codes for them to make sense, and the codes we learn become second nature. Company logos operate according to this principle of instant recognition, counting on the fact that the denotative meaning (the swoosh sign equals Nike) will slide into connotative meanings (the swoosh means quality, coolness) that will then boost sales.
I then read about image codes, which lead to the image of the smiley face. Which then lead to the painting BUTTERFLY. The painting kind of creeped me out I have to be honest.
The next image was the antismoking ad. Which I liked the whole idea about masculinity and marlboro. But I really liked this ad I found it to be entetaining. I liked how they both looked so serious and manly and they were supposed to be talking about there health.
The next image was THe Veil. A comic strip which I liked alot. This went on to explain about representaion, and iconci signs. I like when artists take serious problems and make them somewhat comical. It also hleps some people understand the situation more I think.
The next image was the car advertisement. Which then went on to explain about symbolic signs. I found it very helpful in understanding how the book explains it as this, someone who does not speak English can probably recognize an image of a cat(an iconic sign), whereas the word cat (a symbolic sign) will have no obvious meaning. I think anyone who has difficulties understanding this concept should read this segment from the reading and it will help them to understand it alot more easily.
The next image was a painting by van Gogh called Irises. I enjoyed this one the most simply because I adore van Gogh, I have a Starry Night purse, as well as a big display as my wallpaper on my computer. But this was used to describe the value of images. Which I cannot believe that some people are willing to pay so much money for soemone elses art work. It also went on to explain authenticity. I found it crazy that someone tried to throw a rock at the Mona Lisa! But the next imkage is one of a group of tourists who are seeing the Mona Lisa. Which by the way is kept in a climate controlled room behind bulletproof glass to protect it from any potential vandals among the six million or so people who view it annually.
I then went on to read about image icons. The images of the student at Tiananmen Square were so powerful. This is my favorite type of pictures, ones that either capture something historic, powerful, or meaningful. It goes on to explain how powerful this one picture is and how this image has worldwide recognition, befor they even had TV.
The next few images were paintings, or pictures of mothers with their children. This too explained image icons. The photo of the mother and children struggling threw the great depression in California is much more meanignful to me than the paintings. This captures so much feeling and emtion, you can see how the mothers is feeling and how everyone in that time period must have been feeling.
Next I went on to read about Andfy Warhol and his images of Marilyn Monroe. Marily Monore was well known to be an image icon so this was a good way to show the power of images
The next image was a black women nursing a white baby. I personally love this picture and found it to be ridiculous that it was banned from American magazines. Because Americans are the ones who abused others, and actually had wet mothers.
Lastly there was a photo of Madonna, a true icon to many. Not to me personally though. I understand that she wanted to be a sex symbol of whatever and she got that title. But some may see her as the title of the photo Blonde Ambition.
After reading I can say that an image icon is connected to ideology by how people view both things. An icon is an image (or person) that refers to something beyond its individual components, something or someone that acquires symbolic significance. Icons are often percieved to represent universal concepts, emotions, and meanings. Ideology is the shared set of values and beliefs that exist within a given society and through which individuals live out their relations to social institutions and structures. Ideology refers to the way that certain concepts and values are made to seem like natural, inevitable asects of everyday life. Image icon is soemthing that is learned, and so is ideology. They are both taught to us the same way, as we are children. Like how we are taught that the image of a red octogon with the word stop on it means to stop when you are drving a vehicle. Or when you are taught that our photograph, our image of our face is to represent us on our ID. These are just things that you are taught when you are young, the concept sticks and you don't think about it too much anymore throughout your life. Until now of course.

Myths

As I began reading 10-22 i was impressed with the pictures that they had in the reading. Normally when you have to read something from a textbook for school the picures in the textbook are cheesey or lame. But the pictures in the reading, every one seemed to be real, true, and they showed great emotion. The first picture, of the women and children seeing the dead gangster wasminteresting because of all the different reactions in the photo.Some looked disgusted, others looked sad, others look shocked or excited.
As I went on to read, about Weegee, the man who captured this photo you learn that he actually has a portable dark room in his trunk. I thought that was very neat. i went on to read about Emmet Till. Hearing stories about hate crimes or prejudices always give me a stomache ache. In this photo you see a picture of a black man after a group of white men were done beating his to death for whistling at a white women. When I was reading this i couldn't help but wonder, where was the white women when all this went on? Why didn't she try to stop it? Anyways, so The picture of Emmet Till goes to show that pictures hold truth, and they can show you things or let readers know way more then just simply telling story.
On a happier note, I went on to read about still life and saw the beautiful paintin by Henri-Horace Roland. Still life is one of my favorties and this picture is just gorgeous. But as I went on to read I saw how Marion Peck had done a little spin on it and I loved the outcome. I thought that this painting was awesome! i loved the detail and all the little faces on each object on the table.
I then went on to read about the pipe. I thought that this is true, the painting is not a pipe, but this is why I am not an artsy person, because I don't see the menaing in going threw all the trouble of painting a picture perfect pipe, and writing on it "this is not a pipe". I just this it is silly. Of course we should all know that it is not actually a pipe.
I went on to read about the myth of photographic truth. "he french theorist Rolnad Barthes noted that the paragraph, unlike a drawing, offers an unprecedented conjunction between what is here now (the image) and what was there then (the referent, or object, thing, or place)."page 17, last paragraph. As you read you begin to learn that sudium, a term Barthes used , means to descibe this truth function of the paragraph. It goes on to explain how photographs hold truth. a statement which i agree with. However some people may see things differenlty and this is why photographic truth is said to be a myth. Then you go on to see one of your last pictues. By Robert Frank, Trolley. It is a picture of a trolley with half white people in the front and the rest are back, in the back, you get to see segregation at its finest. All of the white people look miserble, and the blacks terrified. it is really a scarey picture to me because you can see the truth on everyones faces. how everyone actually felt at the time,and how they were treated.
To answer the question What is the myth of photographic truth? I think that the myth to photographis truth is that people will see what they want to see. Two people can look at a picture, and see different things. If a old rich white women looked at the photo Trolley, she say see nothing wrong with is . Where as if a black man or women looks, they may see segregation. I think that people block what they really see with their own thoughts and feelings.
Lastly, the different ways tht theorist Roland Barthes uses the term myth is, torefer to the cultural values and beliefs that are expressed through connotation. To Batrthes, myth means a hidden set of rules and conventions through which meanings, which are specific to certain groups are made to seem universal, and given to a whole society. Myth allows the connotative meaning of a particular thing or image to appear to be " denotaive, literal, or natural"pg 20, last paragraph.

The Power of Pictues

I think that the power of pictures is incredible. The messages you can get across using pictures is more powerful and shocking then that of words. I am a firm believer in the sayings "a picture is worth a thousand words" and "actions speak louder than words". Pictures are simply a moment of time within an action. If you think about it whenever someone is successful in making there point or explainging something they always use some form of media.