Article Response

Homosexual Stereotypes in the Media

            In Sheng Kuan Chung’s “Media Literacy Art Education: Deconstructing Lesbian and Gay Stereotypes in the Media”, we explore the issues in how the media portrays gays and lesbians and what we can do to prevent future generations from believing in the stereotypes presented to them. Chung notes that in our society children are presented with a plethora of advertisements from the media that portray gays and lesbians in such a way that allows the audience to form guidelines of how a homosexual person should look or act. Chung also points out that advertisements alone are not the cause of this stereotype but the seemingly harmless and entertaining television shows such as Will & Grace portray homosexuals as a collective ‘type’ of being rather than individuals. Chung points out that, for example, gay men in the media are portrayed as being fashionistas who love to shop and hit on tall, dark and handsome muscle men. On the other hand, Chung notes that lesbians in the media are portrayed as women who look manly and have no fashion sense; exactly the opposite of what the typical gay man is supposed to be.  After presenting this information, Chung further states that while it is nearly impossible for humans to get rid of stereotyping altogether, it may be possible to teach younger generations how to interpret ads or television shows from the media in order to understand them better and to help rid of the belief in those false portrayals of gays and lesbians in the future. In order to teach children how to interpret these media messages, Chung illustrates that the most effective and relevant way is through art education; an environment in which the education is relevant to the issue of media and the role that it plays in gay and lesbian stereotypes. However, as Chung points out, if we are to teach our children how to think for themselves and disregard the belief that the media portrays the truth, we must first deal with homophobic issues within ourselves and our teachers. In order for children to learn the correct way, without any bias, the art educators must set aside personal feelings towards gays and lesbians and teach children how to form their own opinions and dissect the messages, photos, and television shows that the media broadcasts.

            While examining this article, it is most important to keep in mind that Chung has his PhD in Art Education and has written and researched numerous articles about how Art Education can help students with social problems as well. While some could make the argument that Chung is a bit repetitive in his argument, he makes up for it when he presents a plan, in a way that he believes is most effective, in order to lay out a starting point for any art educators who would like to try to educate children on these cultural stereotypes. Because the media plays such a gigantic role in our lives, we must be careful of the messages that we put out and how we analyze or interpret the messages that are broadcast. It is very apparent, not just in the television shows that Chung mentioned, but in other hit television shows currently such as Glee, that a gay and lesbian stereotype still exists. Gay men are still portrayed as fashion obsessed, while lesbians are portrayed as masculine women with not much fashion sense. Chung also makes a very good point when he discusses how we should educate our children on how to interpret the messages that they see daily, even hourly, through the media. Gay and lesbian issues are already very controversial without the help of the media putting a stereotype into a young girl or boys head of how they ought to act if they are gay or straight. Our society has laid out very strict guidelines that many people base their judgment of another’s sexual orientation off of. We automatically assume, thanks to the media, that a feminine man must be gay, while a masculine woman must be a lesbian. If we continue to portray these images to our children without letting them know about the fallacies that are connected with the stereotypes, we are in turn breeding another generation that is not tolerant of those who are different from the stereotypical ‘norm’.

Works Cited

Chung, Sheng Kuan. “Media Literacy Art Education: Deconstructing Lesbian and Gay     Stereotypes in the Media.” International Journal of Art and Design Education    26.1 (2007): 98-107. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 February 2011.

Research Paper....work in progress...coming along

Extreme Editing: Trickery in Photojournalism

            As may be obvious, this topic will be focused primarily on editing in photojournalism and how harmful the effects of editing can be. The intention of this topic will be to unmask photojournalism and let the media’s audience in on what kind of work goes into photojournalism and how much editing is actually done. While we may see the products of photojournalists in the double or triple digits every day, we may never consider, while looking at the photos and passing judgment on the people or issues presented, how much editing was done to those exact photos before they were printed. Depending on what my research uncovers, this topic may change the way that my audience views the media and its photojournalists completely. I intend on focusing on a few specific photojournalists and/or magazines in order to go in depth with my research and expose just how much editing is done and what kind of editing is allowed or frowned upon. In relation to what we are currently studying, I feel that editing in photojournalism is a crucial issue due to the fact that if we are analyzing photos that have been tampered with, we cannot ever discover their true intent or meaning for they are fake or unrealistic. As I have already uncovered, photojournalists have a code of ethics that they must follow, however, during my research project I intend to discover if the code of ethics is as prevalent as it is portrayed to be.

Extreme Editing: Trickery in Photojournalism

            In John Taylor’s “Iraqi Torture Photographs and Documentary Realism in the Press”, we go beyond the surface level of photojournalism into the realm of the procedures many photographers must go through in order to get their photos published. Taylor mainly focuses on a particular situation occurring in May 2004 in which United States soldiers were shown abusing, sexually humiliating, and torturing Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison. He also focuses on another case that came out directly after these photos of British soldiers “denigrating” an Iraqi, which turned out to be fake photos that had been through quite a bit of editing. While focusing on these particular cases, Taylor digs into what types of editing are considered ethical in the photojournalism world and what types of editing can ruin a picture or magazines credibility. We also explore just how little of a difference there can be between ethical and unethical editing and how damaging a fake picture can be not only to the magazine or article but to the audience viewing the images. Taylor pretty evenly explores both sides of editing in photojournalism while giving a visual aid to help his audience along.

Taylor, John. “Iraqi Torture Photographs and Documentary Realism in the Press.” Journalism Studies, Volume 6, Number 1. (2005): pp. 39-49. Academic Search         Premier. Web. 9 Feb. 2011.

Moodle Post 3

When analyzing the opening sequence for The Man with the Golden Arm, we are exposed to a new and exciting art form being developed right before our eyes. As was noted in our text, when Saul Bass created the opening sequence for this film he ended up generating the future design for many opening sequences in movies. Because of the new, raw art at the introduction of this film, we begin to see the simple, yet effective artistic movements grow. For example, the introduction is set to a catchy, staccato jazz tune while the images that first appear are spaced apart and seem to almost follow the style of the background music. As the intro goes on and the music style and sound becomes fuller and more involved so do the images that appear on the screen. Instead of just being white block lines, we see the lines start to mold together and become thicker; eventually forming into a disfigured hand, which if there was any question up until this point, would connect the audience with the movie due to the title The Man with the Golden Arm.

Not only does the opening sequence match the music, but it sets the tone for the audience for the rest of the movie. Our textbook tells us that The Man with the Golden Arm is essentially about a poker dealer, Frank Sinatra, who has an addiction to drugs, specifically heroine. While the style of music has already set an alarming mood, the rigid, rectangular white bars also give the audience a hint that something is not quite right. Rigid movement will most likely make people nervous, unlike fluent, natural movement that might cause a relaxing, easy-going reaction. The abstract way in which the bars move also become unsettling, for they are never lined up perfectly or symmetrically and have a decent period of time on the screen. From our reading, we know that asymmetrical images are often portrayed as informal and cause a sort of tension in the viewers. This aligns with our expectations of the general plot outline of the movie perfectly, for we must assume that Sinatra’s character is going to be facing tension or some unfortunate turn of events in the film.

Yet another interesting factor noticeable in the opening sequence is Bass’s use of space. From our reading we understand that a lot of space in a frame means that the picture is classy or modern, while clutter represents a more traditional or serious look. Today, the jazz music in the background combined with the plethora of space would send the message that we are about to watch a classy or modern film. At the time that the film was created, this was most likely the case. The Man with the Golden Arm had new, modern features added to it and was most likely one of the classiest, most modernly made films around at that time. Not only could the rigid movement and use of space make the audience nervous but the crooked, awkward hand near the end of the opening sequence can also be quite troubling. Assuming the audience has a general idea of the plot of the movie, we can infer that the crooked hand symbolizes the harm that could be caused from Sinatra’s characters heroine addiction. (551)

Moodle Post 2

Setting aside what the caption tells me about this picture, the first thing that I noticed after reading chapter 6 is that the entire family in focus is not making any kind of eye contact with the camera at all. While there are many people in this photo, the two women, man, and young boy hugging are definitely the main focus due to the fact that everything surrounding this family is blurred out. While we have no real way of knowing if the family was aware that they were being photographed, it seems, from the lack of eye contact and raw emotional looks on their faces, as if they had no idea they were being photographed at the time. Even without the knowledge of the miner’s deaths we could gather from this photograph that the family is obviously mourning a loss of someone very close. The candles and surrounding people are a huge factor, however, if carefully observed we also see that the family is wearing the same jean jumpsuit that appears that it would only be worn in a ‘dirty’ job kind of scenario; such as mining. The little boy in the photo is also very significant, if not the most important detail, because he is wearing a miners hat, most likely his fathers, in addition to the worn jean jumpsuit. Not only are the clothes and lit candles significant, they stand out even more due to the background being that of a darkening sky outside that shows the dedication of the people to the ones they are mourning and also sets a sort of ominous mood or tone to the picture itself. We often see photos like this one when there is any sort of great tragedy where lives are lost. The media shows us a picture of people mourning their friends, family, and loved ones most likely in hopes of bringing out the pathos in all of us and connecting us with the story they are trying to present. However, there are definitely details that seem to catch my attention as out of the ordinary in this photo. While it makes sense for one family to be in focus, which eliminates an overwhelming amount of people to focus on otherwise, the people who are blurred behind the family seem to be calmer and more emotionally stable than the family in focus. This makes one wonder if the reason that this particular family was picked was not only to get the story out but to exploit the family’s emotional reactions in such a way to attract more viewers, and in turn, increase consumer attention. While this may be a stretch, the media’s intentions for printing photographs such as this one should be and is definitely worth looking at. (460)

URL:  http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2038041_2220371,00.html

Research Paper Idea? ...Work in Progress

Editing in Photojournalism

            In the NPAA code of ethics for photojournalism, they cover the guidelines that are expected of all photojournalists to follow. In these guidelines, one can easily see that the editing of any photo by a photojournalist is considered unethical and even harmful depending on what the photo was supposed to portray and what it may have been changed to. In order for a photojournalist to deserve any credit, he or she must make sure that the photos they take are portrayed in a truthful manner, which can hardly be done if they decide to do any sort of editing on the photo. The way that the code of ethics is laid out for photojournalists implies that while they are making a living of photographing the news and telling a story, they must not take advantage of the power that they hold within the media and must stay as truthful as they can when doing their job. This code of ethics may be the most important tool that a photojournalist can possess, for it outlines what is acceptable or unacceptable when it comes to how they handle the photos and information that they gather.

Source: http://www.nppa.org/professional_development/business_practices/ethics.html

Moodle Post 1

 

I’ve found a picture that encompasses what was discussed in most of chapter 4. This is a picture, like many shown on television, of a child who is starving and needs our donation to survive. I feel that this represents shock value perfectly due to the fact that not many ‘normal’ people would be able to look at this photo and not instantly feel grief for the child and, in turn, be compelled to donate their money. However, I am not sure that we should necessarily take offense to shocking images such as this photo. In our Visual Communication book Oliviero Toscani said, “Advertising can be used to say something that is real about things that exist”. In many ways, Toscani is correct. By using shock value to get information out to the public and raise money to help others, we are making the world more aware of the very real, harsh conditions that some children grow up and live in. This photo shows the harsh reality that the child faces, which is also high-lighted in the text, lighting, and angle of the camera from the way that I view it. The color of text for Donate Now most likely would not stand out if it did not have the white, angelic color surrounding it. It stands out even more because the lighting in the photo seems as if it has not been tampered with at all so that the view we have of the child is harsh or grainy and very real like an everyday photo that we might take. We are also viewing the child from above as if he is looking up to us to help him. All of these things make the child seem more vulnerable and add to the shock value of the picture. While this photo may have been pulled from a commercial, it seems that from the still shot they could have made it more effective or shocking by adding in the boy’s name, story, or even location in which he lives. If all of this information was added in, the photo would be appealing to our pathos as well as our logos. Our book mentioned that if we are going to persuade someone to do something, such as donate money for the children, we must provide people with solid information or facts as well as show them something that will appeal to their emotions. I feel that this picture does a really good job of appealing to a persons pathos, however, without both pathos and logos, the picture is most likely not as effective as it could potentially be. (437/423 without quote)

URL : http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://media.worldvision.org/email/200601/prospect/premium_worship_child.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.shaunanicholson.com/blog-action-day-2008-what-can-online-communities-do-to-help-poverty/&usg=__dfmjeJBbLsJ8l78ZlSAUZ6G2z2A=&h=224&w=220&sz=16&hl=en&start=51&zoom=1&tbnid=686pKTiEC1BwMM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=137&ei=wT9FTZ3XDc6_gQffzrXPAQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dadvertisements%2Babout%2Bstarving%2Bchildren%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1TSNA_ENUS414%26biw%3D1291%26bih%3D471%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C1542&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=507&vpy=172&dur=31&hovh=179&hovw=176&tx=130&ty=117&oei=nz9FTeLRPJPogQe70qzvAQ&esq=5&page=5&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:51&biw=1291&bih=471

Done!

I've set up my blog. :)