Week 08: Gazing

Merskin (2006) asks us to question where the line is drawn between fashion and pornography. She draws attention to the manner “sexual referents used in pornography are incorporated into mainstream fashion advertising” (p. 200). Although there are differing views on what actually constitutes pornography, Merskin defined it as “material that depicts men and women as sexual beings with the purpose of arousing mostly male desire in a way that reflects and helps to maintain the subordination of women” (p. 202). In essence, Merskin believes this form of pornography in advertising can be broken down into four elements: hierarchy, objectification, submission and violence.

The first example of this type of advertising which came to my mind was Lynx’s latest TV advertisement, ‘Even Angels Will Fall’ (AXE 2011). This advertisement presents the notion that if you use its product (deodorant), beautiful angels will fall from the sky in some sort of lustful frenzy to be with you. The connotation here is that these angels (women) have sexual desire for the man who is using the product. The angels smash their haloes and gaze at the man wearing Lynx deodorant with parted lips. This very much shows women in a submissive state. They have thrown away their precious purity (halo) to debase themselves for an earthly being (man).

American Apparel is a fashion brand which prides itself on its provocative advertising, stating “Controversial as they may be, we'll continue to give our core audience what they crave, a real and unadulterated look at the creative process … behind our brand” (American Apparel 2010). Their ads feature women with exposed breasts, buttocks and legs in sexually suggestive poses:

Personally, I find it difficult to look objectively at the clothes these women are supposedly advertising, when they look to me like they are doing an audition for a soft-core porn film.

Merskin (2006) speaks of the way “Breasts, buttocks, and lips as fetishes are particularly introduced as iconic devices for perfume, jewellery, clothing and hosiery” (p.207). I noticed an advertisement for Frangelico liquor which shows a woman’s lips, painted red, with a hazelnut dripping with Frangelico held between them.

This ad certainly objectifies the woman in it by representing her lips and mouth in a very sexual way. It’s interesting that a brand like Frangelico, whose origins are of a monk in Italy, chooses to advertise their historically “Christian” product in a sexualised way (Frangelico 2010).

What I found most concerning about what Merskin (2006) had to say was, “Sexual acts and sexual referents referenced in these ads are not only mainstream, but also mainstreamed, earning a place among other media representations as normal and natural interactions between people” (p. 214).

If what she says really is true, it seems that nothing will stay taboo forever and we may end up in a society desensitised to every kind of deviance imaginable.

References

American Apparel 2010, ‘Advertising’, American Apparel inc., viewed 21 April 2011, <http://americanapparel.net/presscenter/ads/index.aspx>.

AXE 2011, Axe Excite TV - Official: 30 Version, 24 February, viewed 21 April 2011, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J6ie2ZiCGI>.

Currie, J. W. 2010, ‘Frangelico: Print and Digital Campaign’, The Collab, viewed 21 April 2011, <http://www.thecollab.com.au/frangelico.htm>.

Frangelico 2010, ‘Story’, TJ Carolan & Son Limited, viewed 21 April 2011, <http://www.frangelico.com/info/default.asp>.

Merskin, D., 2006, ‘Where Are the Clothes? The Pornographic Gaze in Mainstream American Fashion Advertising’ in Sex in Consumer Culture: The Erotic Content of Media and Marketing, ed. Reichert, T. & Lambiase, J., Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers, Mahwah, pp. 199-217.

Week 07 - Watching

Michel Foucault (1977) describes Bentham’s 18^th century invention, the Panopticon, and how it is architecturally designed to successfully discipline and punish. The Panopticon imprisons individuals but “reverses the principle of the dungeon” which is to hide in the dark. Instead, it works to illuminate each cell and create full visibility for its captives, leaving them naked to the gaze of their supervisors. In this case, visibility becomes a trap (p. 200).

The two fundamentals behind the function of the Panopticon are that power must always be visible and unverifiable. This means the prisoner is always aware of surveillance but can never verify whether he is being watched at any given moment (p. 201).

In reading Foucault, I thought of the way Catholics seem to carry their guilt with them (Albertsen, O’Connor & Berry 2006). It must be a heavy load for an individual to bear through life, knowing that their omnipresent god is watching their every move. I also thought of my childhood, where my mother would warn me that she had eyes in the back of her head. I was convinced that she did and made sure to behave in her presence.

Something I couldn't comprehend until I was around 15 was why people paid for their petrol instead of just driving away with a free full tank. If the attendant doesn’t come out and ask you for money, why should you go in and pay? It’s because we know the cameras are watching and we know it won’t be long until the consequences catch up with us. The same goes for speed and red light cameras. If we weren’t so worried about the cameras that watch us and nail us with hefty fines, I’m sure the road would be a free for all.

Modern panopticism is evident on the internet where ISPs are able to track users’ activities and then sell on this information to corporate advertisers. One of the ways people react to this abuse of power on the internet is through hacktivism. This is often accomplished by overloading servers and taking websites offline. The most famous hacktivist group started online on the 4chan website (2011) and call themselves ‘Anonymous’.  They first became famous for protesting against scientology but have had many other projects since. Their latest target is Sony, who they are threatening to send offline if a pending lawsuit against one of their hackers isn't dropped (Baker 2011).

Famous people such as politicians and celebrities spend their lives modifying their behaviours for the camera. Even if they are holidaying on the other side of the world there is a chance that paparazzi or journalists have followed to catch them in their worst light. Famous people, much like the prisoners of the Panopticon lose their invisibility. They are forever recognised by the public and are therefore also naked to the gaze of the public.

Panopticism is a frightening concept as it appears no single person in the modern world is completely immune to its all-seeing gaze.

References

4chan, 2011, ‘Press’, viewed 11 April 2011, http://www.4chan.org/press/.

Albertsen, E., O'Connor, L., & Berry, J. 2006, 'Religion and interpersonal guilt: Variations across ethnicity and spirituality', Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 9, 1, pp. 67-84.

Baker, E. 2011, ‘Anonymous Hacktivists Wage Web-War on Sony’, Ninemsn, viewed 9 April, 2011, http://digiknow.ninemsn.com.au/internet/internetfeatures/8233471/anonymous-hacktivists-wages-web-war-on-sony.

Foucault, M. 1977, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, translated by Alan Sheridan, Penguin, London.

Week 06 - Speaking & Listening

Papacharissi (2002) argues that although the internet is not a public sphere, it serves as a new public space which has the potential to evolve into a public sphere. One of the reasons it can’t be acknowledged as a public sphere for democracy is that only a small percentage of the world own computers and can access the internet. This group of people are more likely to come from an educated and privileged background as it is the richer countries in the world that have the highest levels of internet access (p. 14). This point brings us back to the origins of democracy in ancient Athens where “only adult male Athenians who were the legitimate offspring of lawfully married Athenian parents were eligible for citizenship” (Jones 2008, p. 34). This original Athenian system excluded minors (persons under 20 years of age), women, foreigners and slaves from citizenship and therefore any democratic rights (Jones 2008, p.34). Still now, in Australia, there are many people prohibited to take part in the democratic process: minors (persons under 18 years of age), those of an “unsound mind”, and those with criminal records or anyone that does not hold an Australian citizenship (AEC 2011).

Papacharissi poses the question, “how do we recreate something online, when it never really existed offline?” (p. 20). This makes us reflect on whether we believe the internet will take a new democratic shape of its own, or if it will just mirror what we have already created offline (p. 21).

Personally, I found Papacharissi’s reading tedious. The overall message conveyed was interesting but I found myself becoming confused in the repetition.

Papacharissi’s reading did lead me to think of the Italian movie I cento passi (2000). It is based on the true story of a young activist, Peppino Impastato, who lived in Sicily in the seventies -a time when the mafia dictated the laws. Impastato became frustrated watching his people cower under the rule of the mafia and decided to speak out against it. He created a public space, a small local radio station, where he could publically expose the Mafia crimes in his area and encourage others to come forward. Unfortunately for Impastato, no-one (including politicians) would acknowledge the existence of the mafia and he was kidnapped and killed by the mafia for his political efforts.

This makes me question the real freedom of democracy. Sure, people aren’t killed in Australia for speaking out against organisations or politicians, but I wonder if their voices are really heard? It seems that to make a difference in the political system, you need to have monetary backing and know the right people. Can we say that there are levels of democracy? Or if we resort to looking at democracy in levels, does it even count as democracy?

I find it hard to believe that a refugee or a person of ‘unsound mind’ would agree with the term ‘democracy’.

References

Australian Electoral Commission 2011, ‘Enrolment Eligibility’, Australian Government, viewed 4 April 2011, <http://www.aec.gov.au/Enrolling_to_vote/Eligibility.htm>.

I Cento Passi 2000, motion picture, Mosca, F., Sicily, Italy.

Jones, N.F. 2008, Politics and Society in Ancient Greece, Greenwood Publishing Group, Connecticut, USA.

Papacharissi, Z. 2002, The Virtual Sphere: The Internet as a Public Sphere, New Media and Society, Vol 4, No. 1, pp. 9-27.