CRAP, Plagiarism, and You

For this week, we are reading about the CRAP principles and how they relate to the final project. CRAP is a major component of graphic design, and stands for Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity. They are the ground rules that should be followed while designing something visual, and help to increase the quality of the finished work. Below is a link to a comedy short that demonstrates why not following these guidelines would be a bad move.

Cracked: The Most Terrifying Powerpoint Presentation Ever

This comedy short draws some of its humor from the lack of CRAP design principles in the protagonists PowerPoint presentation. The largest offense is the inconsistent font size and the apparent randomness of the word placement. Of course, there are other obvious aspects that could be improved upon, such as the general blandness of the color and font choices as well. However, there are some redeeming qualities of the presentation. 

Prompt 1: After watching the comedy short posted above, point out at least one of the CRAP principles the “TRUCK SALES” PowerPoint adheres to.

Another subject that is covered this week is the proper method of doing research. We are tasked with watching various infographics and videos that explain the basic concepts of academic research. One of the videos discusses what plagiarism is, and how to avoid it. Avoiding plagiarism is one of the main concerns while doing research for the final project, and careful steps must be taken to avoid doing it, intentionally or otherwise.

One famous case of plagiarism has to do with the band Led Zeppelin, and how they allegedly copied the work of other musicians. Some say that the band outright stole the music from past performers, while others claim they adapted the music into a different, more modern style. Above is a video comparing the work of Led Zeppelin to those they allegedly stole from.  

Prompt 2: This week we ask you to post other cases of plagiarism, famous or otherwise, and discuss whether it was intentional or simply a mistake. If it was a mistake, what could they have done differently to avoid plagiarizing?

Prompt 3: The quote by Herbert Simon listed on the homepage of UML’s Know How website states:“…the wealth of information means a dearth of something else; a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes. What information consumes is rather obvious; it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.” -Herbert Simon. What exactly does this mean to you? Do you agree or disagree? What are some examples that directly support his argument within the website? Are there other relative examples you can come up with on your own? Share and discuss your arguments and ideas.​

Here is a link to the Cracked video in case the above link is broken : http://www.cracked.com/video_18699_the-most-terrifying-powerpoint-presentation-ever.html 

Act of Looking: Difference, Representation, and Male Gaze in Media

Gaze and it's effects on the viewer is the subject for this week's readings, with a link to the MissRepresentation film in regards to how women are treated. The reading explains gaze, stating it “helps to establish relationships of power...awarding more power to the person who is looking than the person who is the object of the look.” (111) Being the viewer of the image grants authority over that which they are looking at, but also gaze within an image creates situations of dominance

“There is a long tradition in art of understanding the female nude as the project and possession of the male artist. In these paintings, the women are posed as objects of an active or ‘male’ gaze, and their returning looks are more often downcast, indirect, or otherwise coded as passive.” (123-124)

1) The following Calvin Klein ad, a classic representation of male gaze in media, features three men fondling a nearly nude woman. In this image, male fantasies of domination are projected on to a passive female, successfully asserting the prominence of male perspective in our culture.

Figure 1, Calvin Klein jeans advertisement

Retrieved from: https://mahagha.wordpress.com/tag/advertising/

Please respond to at least one of any of the following questions regarding Figure 1:

• “In systems of representation, meaning is established through difference” (111).

Only the men in the image are wearing the advertised jeans. What do you believe is the implication/purpose of this “difference?” What do you have to say about the ad’s disparities in representation--there being 3 men and only 1 woman? Does this say something about the ad’s intended audience?

• “The act of looking is commonly regarded as awarding more power to the person who is looking than to the person who is the object of the look” (111).

Who are we forced to focus on in this image--the three male figures, or the single female figure? Who is “looking” and who is the “object of the look?” What do you think this aesthetic choice says about gender roles, power and representation? Feel free to also draw on past readings such as Bordo’s "The Empire of Images", discussions we have had in class and on the blog, and the documentary we watched, Miss Representation.

2) “In systems of representation, meaning is established through difference.”(pg. 111) Essentially everything we understand about representation comes from knowledge of one side and basing the other side on it's opposite (in the sense that we know what culture is because it is the opposite of nature, or what Eastern countries are like because they are the opposite of our own Western ideologies).

I would like you, the viewer, to consider the following picture.

Figure 2, Opposite Sides (Illustration by Malcolm Evans from http://www.evanscartoons.com/index.php)

From understanding only one side of the picture, we start to make generalized assumptions of the other side. These assumptions translate into stereotypes, and eventually, these become common ways of viewing these opposite side (here, “white” or western culture versus eastern culture). Instead of ask your opinion on this, I implore you to look over your initial thoughts on images of other countries, cultures, and people different from you (that I ask you put here). What are these thoughts and where do you think they stem from? (I am asking you to open up a bit and be honest about your own possible bias toward other cultures, and explore possibilities as to why and how to correct them)

Sturken, Marita, and Lisa Cartwright. “The Gaze and the Other.” Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford Univ., 2009. 111-120. Print.

Sturken, Marita, and Lisa Cartwright. “Gender and the Gaze.” 123-136 Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford Univ., 2009. 123-129. Print.

Realism in Images

A picture says a thousand words, but does Realism make the list? While photos are meant to portray unbiased truth, the myth of photographic truth still lingers in our culture today. Digital editing software allows normal photos to be altered in both positive and negative lights. According to the French theorist, Roland Barthes, “...myth is the hidden set of rules and conventions through which meanings, which are specific to certain groups, are made to seem universal and given for a whole society” (p.20).

Option 1: In Figure 1, Time magazine darkened the skin tone of then suspect, O.J. Simpson because of the “...historical convention of using darker skin tones to connote evil and to imply guilt” (p.25). At the time of the release of the Time magazine, Simpson wasn’t even on trial yet, and before he even had a fair chance, was viewed as a murderer because of his darkened skin tones, stereotyping him as a criminal. 

As a starting point, some of these questions may help you think about how color and digital editing affects our culture. Why do you think a world renowned magazine, such as Time, went to such lengths to darken Simpson’s skin tone? Do you believe the darker image makes him look like more of a criminal than that of the lighter image? Do you think American’s would have reacted more positively to Simpson had the original image (on Newsweek magazine) been placed on news stands? How do you think the colors affected readers of Time? If you saw this picture as an adult in 1994, would you view Simpson as a criminal? Why or why not?

Figure 1, Digital editing done by Time and real picture on Newsweek magazine

Retrieved from: http://jonmwessel.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/oj-simpson-time-magazine-cover-controversial-darkened1994.jpg?w=604

Option 2: "To explore the meaning of images is to recognize that they are produced within dynamics of social power and ideology. 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" (22-23). Looking back to last week, where we focused on how women are portrayed by the media, take a look at Figure 2, and apply this week's reading about images, ideology, and representation. Why is photoshop used to alter the appearance of models? What does it represent for companies, products, and society? This is a still taken from the below video, Figure 3, that goes through this process. What does this say about the ideology of our society?

Figure 2,  before and after photoshopping, still from video
Retrieved from: http://dslrs.net/dslr/dslr-photography/movie-shows-photoshop-body-retouching-taken-to-extreme/

Figure 3: Photoshop makes anything possible video

Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cPnfjwKfkSk

"Image Authentication and Forensics | Fourandsix Technologies - Photo Tampering throughout History." Image Authentication and Forensics | Fourandsix Technologies - Photo Tampering throughout History. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. 

Sturken, Marita, and Lisa Cartwright. "Images, Power, and Politics." Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford Univ., 2009. 1-46. Print.

Women in the Media and Society

So this week we are reading “The Empire of Images in Our World of Bodies” by Susan Bordo and we are watching Miss Representation in class. Susan Bordo discusses how images and the media portray ideals for women and girls. Plastic surgery and age defying methods are a focus at the beginning, but then she transitions to gender differences for toys and videos by talking about her daughter. Miss Representation depicts how society sees women and how the media portrays them. For example, how men see woman in politics and how women feel the need to compete with other women.

For this blog posting we have two options for discussion:

Figure 1: Halle Berry - Catwoman.
Retrieved from: http://tytempletonart.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/the-top-ten-catwoman-actresses-2/

Option 1: Miss Representation talked about women in film and television. The point was made that there are very few women protagonists that are complex or have story lines void of love stories or involving any men sexually/romantically. An argument could be made that Catwoman is an example of such a woman protagonist. Not only are there few women protagonists, but also few producers, writers, and directors that are women in the industry. We propose that you find an example of a woman protagonist who is not what the film deems the “bangable” hero or the chick flick heroine. On the flip side, we propose that you find a blatant example of such a “bangable” hero or a classic chick flick heroine. Try to post a video, image, trailer, or movie poster that you can find with one these women and discuss how they are an example of one of these stereotypes or not.

Option 2: In “The Empire of Images in Our World of Bodies” by Susan Bordo, there is a point about gender and advertisements along with consumer items. If you ever walked into a toy store there is a girl aisle and a boy aisle. The only aisles that sometimes you can find gender neutral toys are the baby aisles. We would like it if you could find an advertisement that is gender neutral for toys or any other consumer item. Or find one that is so completely stereotypical, that it is very obvious. On the other hand, find a toy or an example from a store that is gender neutral as well. Think about Susan’s article and make argument about how this reflects and affects children in our society. Below we've included commercials that we found are very gender specific, along with one little girl's opinion about toys and gender.

Figure 2: Nerf Strike Commercial. 

Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngjla695Ju0

Figure 3: Easy Bake Oven Commercial. 

Retrieve from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lreImESlrG0

Figure 4: Riley on Marketing.

Retrieved: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CU040Hqbas