LECTURE 3 : PANOPTICISM

COP : TASK 2 - the gaze in the media

The above image is the front cover of GQ magazine, featuring Beyonce as the main focus. The image of Beyonce is very much sexualised, even more so than normal, and this is due to the image being for males and also controlled by males, as Rosalind Coward states,

'..entertainment as we know it is crucially predicated on a masculine investigation of women, and a circulation of women's images for men.' pg33 Rosalind Coward

GQ is a magazine that is generally read by males, so this image is for a male audience and is a representation of how men want to see Beyonce, she is the main focus on the page and is posing in a suggestive manner and pandering to the male gaze. 

'The camera in contemporary media has been put to use as an extension of the male gaze at women on the streets' pg33

Men looking at this image of Beyonce hold the power they can look at her, but she can't see them do so, but she is returning the look of desire that she wants them to look at her, she is just an object of sexual desire for the male. Where as women on the street will not pander to the male gaze they will usually try and ignore the male attention and not accept and become an object of their desire. Beyonce has created her look on purposes to appeal to men, thus accepting that they have power over her,

'Man the hunter, a sort of cross between a rutting stag and David Bailey, roam the street, pouncing on whatever appeals to his aesthetic sensibility. Women, meanwhile, cultivate their look, make themselves all the more appealing and siren-like, and lure men to a terrible fate – monogamy and the marital home.' pg34 Rosalind Coward

This states that men have the power, that they hunt down the woman, but that women also hold a bit of power, that they themselves make themselves beautiful so they can find a partner, but at the same time they lose the power as they are conforming, without realising, to what the male wants, and are actually doing it for the benefits of the man.

One of the main reasons why men like to look at women on billboards and in magazines and images like this example of Beyonce, is that they hold the power. They can look at the image in a very voyeuristic sense. It gives men the control, he's looking at her, and she wants him to look at her, the man will not get rejected or his ego hurt. 

'Perhaps this sex-at-a-distance is the only complete secure relation which men can have with women. Perhaps other forms of contact are too unsettling.' pg34 Rosalind Coward

If Beyonce was to walk down the street, or be sat in a cafe, the men who view her would not approach her in a way that she is an object for their sexual pleasure, they would be intimidated by real life beyonce and feel less of a man due to her power and the fear or rejection. Men prefer the fantasy, as in the fantasy the power and control is all theirs.

 Women who view these images of women see them in a different way. As this image of Beyonce is obviously disreble to men, women will look at it and want to look how Beyonce looks, they will want her figure, her hair, her clothes, whatever males in society think is desirable women will then want it, as that is what is deemed attractive. 

'Women's relation to these cultural ideals, and therefore to their own images, is more accurately described as a relation of narcissistic damage. Even women's relation to their own mirror image is retrospectively damaged by that critical glance of the cultural ideal.' pg38 Rosalind Coward

Women feel they don't compare to these 'perfect women' who men idolise, so place themselves under scrutiny and try and change themselves, to be more appealing for the man, although they will probably say they are doing it for themselves, they want to feel good, look good etc. This is how powerful the male gaze has become in society, women conform to making themselves look good for men, without even realise that, that is what they are doing, as the better they make themselves look the more attention they will get from men, even if they don't want it.

SEMINAR : THE GAZE

COP : TASK 1 - CENTURY OF SELF

Century of self:


- Edward Bernays is Freuds nephew from america, was the first person who used Freud's pyschoanalysis and applied it to manipulate the masses.

- Edward Bernays used psychoanalysis to manipulate the self through the unconsious mind, for the use of advertising, to make people want things they didn't need, by linking the mass produced goods to their unconscious desires

- Bernays after the war realised the power of the war campaigns and decided to use this technique

"If you can use propaganda for war you can use it for peace"

Edward Bernays

But Bernays decided that the word propaganda had too many bad connotations from the war so came up with a new name - Public relations.

-  To see if Freud's psychoanalysis works, Bernays carried out experiments on the minds of the popular classes, one of his experiments was to try persuade women to smoke. There was a taboo at the time against women smoking and cigarette companies wanted to change that as women were half of their market. Bernays went to a psychoanalysis to find out what the cigarette means to women and was told that it represents the penis, and of male sexual power. and if Bernays could convince women to smoke it would be a way of challenging men, as women would have their own penis. Bernays staged an event where he got women during a parade to light cigarets and then informed the press that he had heard that  a group of women were staging a protest and smoking what they called, torches of freedom. It worked,  and Bernays made it socially acceptable for women to smoke.

- By manipulating minds using psychoanalysis irrelevant objects become powerful emotional symbols of how you wanted to be seen by others. 

- Once out of the war America had a worry about mass production, they were frightened of over production that there would come a time when people have too much goods and would stop buying. They realised they must shift America from a needs, to a disires country, people must be trained to want things, to disire new things even before the item is deemed 'old'. Mans disires must over shadow mans needs. Bernays was responsible for the change.

- Bernays was one of the first to practice product placement. He would link famous film stars to his clients products, and those famous film stars would also be his clients and the magazine a client of his also. He began to put product placement in the movies. He would dress the famous at the premiers in clothes of other clients he represented also.

- Bernays maniplulated the mind by attaching goods to peoples ornate irationale desires, creating a false need for things and also adding an emotional need for it too, so the consumer wants to item but will also feel better for having the item

- Bernays used consumerism as a way of social control. By satisfying peoples inner selfish desires you make them happy and therefore docile

- The growing wave of consumerism helped created a stock market, which Bernays was envolved in, promoting the idea that normal people should buy shares, borrowing money from banks that Bernays represented. People listened and did as Bernays said. Bernays had control of the masses and thought of people never as one person he thought of people in groups of thousands and thousands.

- Bernays instigated politics being involved in public relations. Bernays used to same technique he used to promote a product, to promote a priminister by getting celebrities to visit the whitehouse and to be seen with the president

In the above two adverts for Camel cigarets are aimed at advertising smoking to men. on the surface they a relatively simple adverts just featuring a man smoking in the wilderness, but underneath they are laced with connotations relating to psychoanalysis, advertising using the art of manipulation. The advert works on many different layers by making men look at the advert and think that camel is a manly cigarette and if he doesn't smoke he'll be less of a man and if he doesn't smoke the brand camels he will  be even more less of a man. The adverts feature a man who is on his own traveling which will connote to the man independence, power and control of being on his own. The advert on the left features a dog and the advert on the right features a plane. Both these things the man has dominance over, dogs are obedient animals who the man controls and has power over, they obey him and submit. The plane is a mechanical object, it is powerful and big, but man is needed to control it, man has the power and the machine is obedient and does what man wants. The tag line of 'Camel where a man belongs.' is stating that a man belongs in this situation where he is in total control and power the complete scene of masculinity. All these feelings of power and control and dominance all relate back to the penis, and this is represented by the cigarette. The cigarette is an extension of his penis, it represents his masculinity and power of being a man, being the more dominant and powerful gender, and all the connotations of power, dominance, control, apply to the power over women as women don't have a penis, so therefore can not be all the things the man is in the advert.

LECTURE 2 : THE GAZE AND THE MEDIA

The Gaze and the Media:

Misquoted Berger quote is ofter misunderstood as people thing it means women are vein but actually means that it is difficult for women to no see themselves and means women constantly servery there femininity

Hans Memling 'vanity' the angle is incorrectly rendered, the mirror wold not be reflecting her full face. The mirror is placed in her hand as a devise to justify her looking, we are allowed to look at her as she is not looking back she is also looking at herself

This method is also used in advertising. It makes it OK for us to look at her.

'birth of venus' very mythological representation of woman, goddess from the sea, looked over by cherubs. interesting because of the position she is reclining in, she is covering her face and eyes, most of the picture is taken up by the naked body the concentration of the painter is her body. This means that the viewer can't help but look

Also happens in advertising. more overtly sexual position, more contemporary. for these reasons the advert was too much for advertising, so they turned it around as vertically there's is more concentration on the face and horizontally more on the sexual position

Venus of Urbino, traditional painting, head turned eyes up knowledge of presence of viewer put not fazed. she covers herself with her hand but it's very casual

Manet Olympia. same take on picture before but with small differences the hand is pushing down on the leg, it is more of an aggressive hand. also is a prostitute due to the flower in the hair, she's got a nice throw which means she's wealthy. She lifts her head as if she is addressing the viewer

guerrilla girls not allowed due to object in girls hand is 'too sexual' sexual connotations.

Manet use impressionist painting and reinterpret them the back and forth of the gaze. a woman stands at the bar and is almost ready to serve us. whats strange is the reflection is is an unachievable reflection and allows us to see her from two viewing points at once. the man in the picture who is talking to her is 'us'. society in Paris was seen as a hall of mirrors as it was an unreal society.

Jeff is a similar take on it the guy is there to remind us of our gaze, repetition of the the mirred panels.it all draws us back into the studio. rather than us being the invisible spectator we are reminded that this is a studio and this is an arranged shot

Coward semi naked figure unaware and unnoticed by surrounding people it is 'normal' 'untoticed' that a Lady is stood in the street in her underwear. The use of sunglasses means the woman cant look back and we feel we can look and she cant look back.

Eva herigova Wonderbra. traffic stopping campaign. figure that is looking down and the normalisation of her being in the street

Coward R movie about a guy who spy's on woman watches the getting unchanged. films woman as he is filming her.

for men it is the same.it is not a way of challenging it by swapping it around.

Male bodies are often posed in a sporty way compared to the relaxed delicate way woman are. They guys are also looking at the camera saying i know your looking at me but i don't care.

looks are narrative spectator film

the cinema is the perfect viourist cinema. its dark and no one can see. voirism is seen is active Man and passive woman.

men lead the story woman just accessorise the actor.

character like Lara cross change this slightly as she is the powerful one

artemissia it is a very phycial image , it is an alternative female role .she looks for alternatives to the art history

Cindy Sherman,a female that is reclining a reclining image, we look at the character face, there is a rirro there is no reflection she interrupts the gaze , we don't know where to look .

Barbara Kruger the figure is turned away. and there is a type of iolent from the way the text is written

Sarah lucase photographs herself eating a bananas, has sexual connotations confrontational look as if to say wah =t t
makes refernce to fried egg phrace of small bos

Tracey Ermin makes picture to say it is a bad thing to earn money for such things

Joan smith  watched over the court case for Amanda knox she was described at a with


Knoxx casre picture she does not look stuned

there is a gaze of the media they have the power to make you think and feel thigns

there is a real impact on this voyarism of life which i shwn though reality tv. It maje us feel like we are in power.

The trumans show is an investication of what it would feel like to have your whole life is a reality show in real life

Big bro we are offreve the mail and the female. voyarisms begins the become the everyday. peole offer thmeselfs up for a passive look. The want people to look

SEMINAR 1 : PSYCHOANALYSIS