This reading was very in-depth to say the least and gave me many ideas and theories to think about. I can easily say that while reading my mind quickly wandered throughout each page, as I was sparked to certain ads or events that have taken place in my life. But now while trying to look back I feel overwhelmed by the insight this reading has provided me.
To break it down I'm going to start reviewing section by section:
*My first strong response was when our author mentioned Robin Williams; I thought it was reassuring to know that Williams was a large enough name in web design to be taken seriously and judged critically.
*My next strong reactions was to the idea the Williams book be self critical. Why must Williams give reasoning for her ideas of design? It seems simple to me to believe that the book could be derived from a study of and fine tuning of current design elements (despite the fact that they are categorized as timeless and neutral by our author).
*I had a strong response to the idea of noticing, really noticing bodies in visual text. Do we or should we see bodies as people or merely bodies, as a form of the universal human? And with that thought can one body actually be a universal representation of the human body?
* I strongly agree with Wysocki when she states that while visual forms are not neutral or universal they do help to shape our sense of self as well as what we are capable and not capable of in the world.
**Example: This older advertisement for a Kodak camera reenforces the idea that advertisements give us a strong idea of what we are capable of. Kodak example here
**Example: The Dove company has taken a strong interest in representing woman as “real” people. This means moving away from the conventional one way to see a woman. Instead Dove supports the a variety of traits can and do make a woman beautiful. No one woman holds the key to beauty, but in all woman beauty can be found. If you click on the link here you can go directly to the Dove Real Women page. If you notice it even offers a variety of countries, noting that not one woman or even one grouping of women can be universal.
Towards the end of the reading Wysocki makes several very important points:
*I found it nearly shattering to find someone had written what I have mostly heard denied all my life. She writes that “If we believe that to be human is to be tied to place and time and messiness and complexity, then, by so abstracting us, this desire dehumanizes us and our work and how we see each other.” To be human we therefore must accept our complexities and the variety among us. This makes me think of a bio-diverse community. The more bio-diverse on area is the better and more stable that community will be. This same theory should be applied to our everyday living. This lack of ariety I believe can be summed up as a great part of the dehumanization of or world today. It is often said that the internet disconnects and dehumanizes, as well as depressed members of society. I believe, based on this reading, that variety, complexity, truth in our lives, in advertisements, television and on the internet could correct this way of thinking.
*According to Wysocki we should figure out what visual forms would embody generosity, patients, pleasure and so on. We should find visual forms that connect with in-depth complexity, moving away from the blurred beauty. I find this idea extremely inspiring.
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What really struck me about this post was that you have a clear sense of what stood out to you among everything you read. You used asterisks to make them separate, which was good, because the separate points you are making can get lost in the shuffle of paragraphs put together. Other than a couple of small spelling errors in the last paragraph, you did a good job stating your case about the reading as thoroughly as you did. It was hard not to disagree with everything you said. Good work.
ReplyDeleteI wish I would have thought of advertisements I've previously seen while reading through this article - I think it would have helped out with understanding the text a whole lot more. Your example of Dove viewing all women as carrying beautiful traits helps identify Wysocki's idea that visual forms help shape our own ideas of ourselves. I had trouble with this reading, and didn't feel as if I grasped what she was trying to say too well, but I feel as if reading your post has helped out with that.
ReplyDeleteThose are some good examples - I was thinking of the Dove campaign while reading too. As to Williams, I think the point isn't so much that the book is flawed, but there is a concern that it lays out laws without giving any context for them. Knowing why something works is a good step towards knowing how to use it better, or at least that's my take on it.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm afraid your Kodak & Dove links are broken. FWIW, the Blogger post window lets you highlight text and click the link button (third from the left, two chain links on a globe) then just paste your URL into a pop up window. I tend to use that myself just because it's more convenient. :)
Thanks Patrick! I was able to fix the links :)
ReplyDeletelove the Kodak example--"advertisements give us a strong idea of what we are capable of"
ReplyDeleteanother way of saying it:
visual/verbal compositions carve out spaces for audiences to occupy while engaged with a text....
who does the ad think we are?
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ReplyDeleteI love the Dove campaign ad you used for an exampe. I find it very interesting that it even gives you the option to choose different countries, showing that beauty IS different for different cultures and not universal. I clicked a few different countries to see if just the language was going to be different on the page and the pictures of women were going to remain the same, but the pictures were different for each country. I like that idea, and I like that you said, "No one woman holds the key to beauty, but in all woman beauty can be found...not one woman or even one grouping of women can be universal."
ReplyDelete