OUCA501 - Identity Theory/Brand Theory

History of identity; (Kellner, 1992)

- Pre-modern identity believed that identity was stable and was defined by long standing roles (like class structure etc.) This view dates before the 19th Century.

- Modern identity - Ability to choose which path or identity (20th Century +)

- Post-modern identity - 'fragmented' and constructed.
Zygmunt Bauman (a Polish sociologist) is one of the key enforcers behind this theory, claiming that identity is both "fluid" (society constantly changes) but is then "constructed" (by institutions such as The Church, monarchy, the government etc.)
Micheal Foucalt (a French philosopher) also thought this to be true in terms of identity being formed by the discourses culturally available to us. These included, class, age, gender, nationality, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, income, education etc.

2 opposing identity theories:

1. Post-modernism (as explained above).
2. Essentialism; this is the traditional approach in the sense that identity is believed to be fixed.  Psychologist Steven Pinker applies this through neuroscience and genetics implying that the mind and identity are separate "networks of brain systems". Essentially they are two different components within our brains which means that we are not utterly free to make choices when it comes to our own identities (resulting in a loss of ego).

How can identity theory be applied to brand identity?:
According to Wally Olins (The Brand Handbook) the audience has become a new wave of "information technology" and is inviting the corporations to essentially "come out of the shadows"(pg.13) and reveal themselves through brands. This way, the corporations can show whatever culture they feel apart of and in turn create a link (or bond) with it's audience (or in some cases, be recognised even by those it is not targeting e.g. Gucci may be aimed at the upper class, and a representation of Italian fashion, but its logo has become recognised worldwide by all class systems).

What is brand identity?:
"How a business wants a brand's names, communication style, logo and other visual elements to be perceived by consumers. The components of the brand are created by the business itself, making brand identity the way in which a business wants consumers to perceive its brands, not necessarily how it is actually perceived." (Investopedia.com)

Example:
La Sierra Mexican food company.

Created by Burgeff Co.

Art director & designer: Patrick Burgeff

Brief: "La Sierra, a Mexican food brand, called for an identity to promote Mexican food for export. The logo needed to "have a Mexican flavour, both visually and literally". The solution combines Mexico's three staple ingredients - beans, corn and peppers - along with a clay pot to form a logo" (Worldwide Identity by Robert L.Peters, pg.179)

This is a successful brand identity as it was immediately recognisable as a product from Mexico (even before reading the text). It hit the brief of promoting Mexican food worldwide (as being from the UK, I instantly thought of Mexico when seeing this logo) whilst still representing La Sierra as a traditional Mexican food corporation. It also represents Mexico in the choice of tradition (the peppers, corn and beans, along with the cooking clay pot) and in the colours used - all of which are from the Mexican flag (red, white, green and black)
The culture identity has been shown through brand identity.

Bibliography;
Kellner, D. (Author) Media Culture: Cultural Studies, Identity and Politics between the Modern and the Post-modern (1992) Routledge, England.

Bauman, Z. (Author) Identity (2004)

Anon (N.D) Micheal Foucalt [Online] http://www.michel-foucault.com/ 

Pinker, S. (Author) The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature (2003) Penguin Books, England.

Olins, W. (Author) The Brand Handbook (2008) Thames & Hudson, England.

Anon (N.D) Brand Identity Definition [Online] http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brand-identity.asp

Peters, L.R (Author) Worldwide Identity (2005) Rockport Publishers, Inc.

OUCA501 - Examples of The Gaze in advertising.

Rimmel London;
The gaze of the model is looking away. This usually gives the viewer permission to look upon her as much as they wish. Almost passive and typically 'feminine' pose with the expression on the face and placement of the hand; has seen something shocking but remains perfectly 'composed'.

Gucci perfume;

This image has a contradiction within it, in terms of the reflection and the gaze. The left reflection shows the model almost appearing to be looking at herself (once again giving permission for viewer to 'gaze' upon her). On the other hand, the right reflection is looking directly at the audience. Although this may usually symbolise confrontation, the open mouth and lowered eyebrows, suggests yet again, passivity.
(The use of reflection in The Gaze is constantly discussed as a means that if a woman is looking upon themselves, then therefore she can be looked upon).

Topman;

The very opposite of the previous advertisement appears in this male advert. Here, the viewer is directly looked at, and looked at with aggression. The facial expression and stance almost suggests that the audience has been 'caught' looking at this male, so much so, that he appears to have stopped walking in order to begin protesting against this 'uninvited' gaze.

Calvin Klein;
That is not to say that males are not exposed to The Gaze. In this instance, this male model is in a reclining position with his hand over his face. This connects with the idea of the gaze being blocked from the viewer, allowing them to look on undisturbed.

Lung Cancer Alliance;

Disruption from the two previous examples of woman and the gaze can also appear. The example given below by Lung Cancer Alliance shows a women who is uncomfortable with being looked upon. The raised head and tight lips along with the unwelcoming stance all brake the viewer from looking at her with ease.

 

OUCA501 - Summary of Jean Baudrillard's 'Simulacra and Simulation'

The Divine Irreference of Images:

- Essentially breaking down Baudrillard's views on 'dissumaltion' and 'simulation': "...dissimulate is to pretend not to have what one has. To simulate is to feign to have what one doesn't have."(pg.3)

- He then goes on to use it as an example within medicine and the army and how, if someone begins to simulate symptoms, (such as being ill  or 'crazy') that they may have not only convinced others of this, but may eventually convince themselves of these symptoms - and believe them to be true. (the gap between conscious and unconscious, 'real' and 'unreal' narrows): "...but why would simulation be at the gates of the unconscious?..."work" of the unconscious be "produced"...?." (pg.3)

Baudrillard then applies this to the topic of religion and the idea of iconography. Explaining how Iconoclasts ("a breaker or destroyer of images, especially those set up for religious veneration" - Dictionary.com) were the original 'predictors' of the simulation of the image of God and tried to stop this from occuring.

Examples of iconography being duplicated (simulacra):
     

- However, he also shines a positive light on those who continue to worship iconic images. Stating these "...icon-worshipers..." (pg.5) have the "...most adventurous..."(pg.5) minds, as although they may already know these images to "...no longer represent anything...", they still continue to
'praise' and not question the meaning behind their religious imagery as to not "...dissimulate the fact that there is nothing behind them." (they pretend to protect their faith). If the images have no story, then their faith may not be real either.

"But what if God himself can be simulated, that is to say can be reduced to the signs that constitute faith?...it is no longer itself anything but a gigantic simulacrum." - The constant replication on these iconic religious images may begin to lose the original meaning.

- 4 stages of simulacra;
First case - "good"/original
Second case - "evil"/copy
Third case - "being an appearance...sorcery"/copy of a copy
Fourth case - "no longer of the order of appearances, but of simulation"/meaning is lost.

- We begin to replace the meaning originally placed on the image with our "...lived experiences, resurrection of the figurative..." and therefore, turn this into a a panic of the "...production of the real..." in turn effecting the "...panic of material production.". Splitting the world of images into 3; "...the real...", "...the neoreal..." and "...the hyperreal".

Hypermarket and Hypercommodity:

- This chapter is looking at the way in which the hyper-markets are a smaller example of society and the rules and conventions, which it in turn tries to 'impose' on the larger, outside 'real' world.

- Baudrillard also seems to believe that it is a space that both contradicts itself and lacks any form of meaning. It is essentially a 3D depiction of simulacra. He notes this by mentioning the billboards hung around the stores that we look at by comparing them to the security cameras that watch us. Although we believe we are viewing the billboards,Baudrillard suggests that is actually us, we, the public, being viewed upon, which in some ways, then makes the cameras seem less intrusive; "...this sign can thus coexist with all the others, and even with the opposite imperative...huge billboards express by inviting you to relax...choose in completely serenity...in fact, observe and surveil you...as badly, as the "policing" television."(pg.76). They have therefore lost the meaning to "relax" you and have merged with the identity of the security surveillance to watch you. Thus, every symbol inside no longer has any relevance either, as it is constantly replaced so it has a never ending point, instead they are merely acting as "...successive signs" (much like the billboards).

- Hypermarkets are viewed as taking away from the old  "...traditional market..."(pg.77) where people came to "...rub elbows..." and instead creates a whole new section of society, which Baudrillard labels "the metro area" or "metropolitan area". Instead of making itself part of the community it has placed itself within, it stands out and controls it. He explains this by talking of how the outside of the hypermarket 'merges' with the "...highways that surround and feed it." and therefore "it is the the hypermarket that establishes an orbit along which suburbanization moves." It creates it's own social rules or 'norms' which we then unknowingly try to apply to the outside world. The hypermarket is a form of "...controlled socialization."(pg.76)

- KEY EVENT: May, 1968, France.
"In France, the May 1968 crisis escalates as a general strike spreads to factories and industries across the country, shutting down newspaper distribution, air transport, and two major railroads. By the end of the month, millions of workers were on strike, and France seemed to be on the brink of radical leftist revolution" (History.com)
These protests nearly caused the end of the factories and universities (which Baudrillard also believes are 3D representations of simulacra) and could have, in some ways maybe prevented the hypermarket; "There, a new, original violence was born in response to the orbital satellization of a model...who referential is lost."(pg.78)

The Implosion of Meaning in the Media;

- Three hypotheses:
1. "Information produces meaning" - but meaning is lost too quickly. "Antimedia"(pg.79) needs to take place to correct this.
2. "Information has nothing to do with signification" We don't need to have a meaning to everything. Like the example of the genetic code - that exists on it's own, we just add in the meaning to try and make sense of it.
3. Correlation between 1 and 2 - by not having meaning at all, it adds to loss of "...information...media and the mass media"(pg.79).

- "Information devours its own content"(pg.80) for two reasons;
1. Pretending, like an act, to create meaning within itself. We like to believe that media creates a channel of communication which therefore gives it meaning, but Baudrillard insists it doesn't. It is one circular simulacrum, in which we are lured in through emotion and therefore plant our beliefs in to; "...in each one of us, corresponds to this simulation of meaning and of communication in which this system encloses us."
2. Deconstructing the idea of the social - mass media no longer creates innovation but instead "...total entropy." It takes a medium and uses it to manipulate the real, creating a hyper-reality, where everything loses its meaning. (Using McLuhan's medium is the message as a counteract) (pg.83).

- Implosion of meaning essentially means the "...absorption of one pole into another."(pg.83). Everything is brought in on itself and is completely without any logic, reality or meaning. Distortion at a mass level. The word "implosion" however, does not signify that this will eventually come to an end, but simply that it will become so much the norm that we will no longer recognise this lack of meaning.

- Does the media control our meaning, or do we control it by simply taking it in, and ignoring it? Baudrillard is questioning whether the fascination with media comes from media itself or from us, and our ability to remain silent on the mass amount of information we take in almost daily; "This absence of a response can no longer be understood at all as a strategy of power, but as a counter-strategy of the masses themselves when they encounter power."(pg.84). He does not believe that ignoring it is a sign of us necessarily being in control, in fact, it is the very opposite, we are losing the ability to communicate, we are losing the meaning; "Thus the strategic resistance is that of the refusal of meaning and of the spoken word..."(pg.84)

Absolute Advertising, Ground-Zero Advertising:

- Advertising comes and goes, so has no deeper meaning; "...it is instantaneous and instantaneously forgotten."(pg.87) and is therefore "...the lowest form of energy of the sign."

- Talks about propaganda as one of the first worst forms of pretending to have meaning via advertising. Baudrillard states that political agenda through the form of advertising was only used as a quick way to hit many. It wasn't used to create a great advert, it was used as a "...vehicular model of the only great and veritable idea-force of this competing society; the commodity and the mark."(pg.88) - it got what it wanted, the quickest and easiest way it could.

- This then took the social in to advertising as a way of "...trying to impose..." itself as a "...trademark image."(pg.88). Advertising began to be reproduced again and again, everywhere and we, the public, the society, didn't stop it; "The social as a script, who bewildered audience we are."(pg.88)
We let it destroy the meaning behind it all; "...it does not offer signifieds in which to invest, it offers a simplified equivalence of all the formerly distinctive signs, and deters them..."(pg.89)

- However, this is not the most terrifying drive behind the loss of meaning in today's society. This, Baudrillard, places in the hands of "...the languages of computer science."(pg.89). By this he talks about how digitalisation and "cybernetic languages" are ruining the grip on true language and communication and eventually reality and meaning at a quicker and wider scale than advertising could ever have imagined possible. Seeming to suggest that this may be the end of advertising; "...that is already putting an end to the reign of advertising."

- Advertising is now the social, because it created it. If it stops being this, on the other hand, then it ceases to exist. It is now latching on to itself; "the social must be saved just as nature must be preserved; the social is our niche...it has fallen into the register of supply and demand."(pg.90)

- In order to save itself, it must re-write the languages it is using to create an illusion that it is 'empowering' the public, rather than creating it. "...with a mocking liberty, proving the social while denying it."(pg.91)

- Seduction causes saturation (Las Vegas has turned its adverts into "retro" even though Baudrillard feels that these 'deface' the architecture, and lend no support to a deeper meaning of the city - pg.91-92).

- Semiology is useless; "...That is why...it is useless to analyse advertising as a language...to which neither linguistics nor semiology corresponds...they function on...meaning..."(pg.92)

- The Forum des Halles which Baudrillard considers to be a perfect example of how our community has become consumed by advertising; "And it is something like the Forum that best illustrates what advertising has become..."(.pg.93)
(The Forum des Halles is show to the left, originally a wholesale market called Les Halles De Paris, this building was destoryed in 1971 and replaced with an underground modern shopping precinct, the Forum des Halles). He describes it as a almost 'boring' building - "Everything there is...white, black, salmon marble...in deep, snobbish, dull black.."(pg.93)


Bibliography:
Baudrillard, J. (1981) Simulacra and Simulation. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
Anon (N.D) Iconoclast [Online] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/iconoclast.
Anon (N.D) Protests Mount in France [Online] http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/protests-mount-in-france
Anon (N.D) Les Halles [Online] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Halles

OUCA501 - Summary of Jessica Evans and Stuart Halls 'Visual Culture: The Reader'

Living in the wake of the withering signified.

- Quote; "The public does not want to know what Napoleon III said to William of Prussia. It wants to know whether he wore beige or red trousers and whether he smoked a cigar".
This immediate introduction somewhat represents what is to be said throughout the article. The public doesn't always need a story to enjoy an image.

- Talks about the exhibition held at the Photographer's Gallery near Leicester Square, London - from the 19th April to 18th May.

- Exhibition is essentially a 3D version of magazine The Face (a British fashion, culture and music magazine that could be purchased monthly. First published in 1980 by Nick Logan).

- Split into "five categories corresponding to the regular sections around which the magazine itself is structured..." (pg.107) these include Intro, Features, Style, Expo and Disinformation.

- Touches briefly on the Second World ideologies and how this in turn applies to the magazine itself; "The Face is not read so much as wandered through...a text to be 'cruised' as Barthes - a leading Second World spokesperson...used to say."

- This then leads on to a more detailed explanation of the differences between the First World and the Second World (although in this article they are labelled as "Planet One" and "Planet Two" pg. 108)
- Divides between these two 'worlds'?;
In terms of photography, the contrast seems to be around the involvement of text or the 'story' behind the image. Using examples such as John Berger (a First World critic) and the Second World People of the Post, this article shows how First World photographers believe that photos should be encased within a text "...in order to make the image 'tell' its true story." (pg.108) whereas Second World critics believe the very opposite; "...but rather to liberate the signifier from the constraints imposed upon it by the rationalist theology of 'representation'." (pg.108).

- Goes on to suggest that First World philosophy is essentially 'outdated'; "...perpetuating submission to an outmoded and disabling metaphysic." (pg.109)

- When continuing on, I think it is being suggested that the People of the Post (Second World) are potentially trying to 'undermine' the views implicated by the First World, as it seems to be saying that these opinions are more controlling than 'enlightening'; "...the Post identify the centralised source of this oppressive power...which is seen to hover like the ghost of the Father behind all First World discourse guaranteeing...the order of things." (pg.109) Therefore, the Second World is "refusing all law and demanding a subjectivity without guarantees." (pg.109)

- However, it recognises a similar theory of that written by Baudrillard - when a symbol (or in this case, a photo), is constantly reused and replicated, it beings to lose its meaning. If we no longer have a 'story' behind a photograph, it can soon find itself in a state of simulacra; "First the referent (the world outside the text) disappears. Then the signified...left in a world of...'empty' signifiers. No meaning...just a ceaseless procession of simulacra." (pg.109)
It even goes on to mention Baudrillards radical views on the state of 'reality', in which it is said that he believes that this constantly changes and "flickers". Our memories and desires always blur into one and therefore "...'we' never did exist...thus 'I' is nothing more than...an optical illusion" (pg.109) We lose touch with what is 'real'.

- There is also a paragraph between this that quickly summarises the Third World. Apparently this group believes "...we are free to serve whatever gods we choose...to play in the blank, empty spaces of now." It appears to be an option in-between the First and Second World, neither telling us to believe in a higher power or not, but simply stating that we have the right to choose our realities.

- Coming back to Baudrillard, the article begins to use an analogy for his opinion that we are just acting out what we are being told or feed by media. We are no longer in control, but we still have the chance to be...""like the heads on a video recorder, we merely translate audio and visual signs back and forth from one terminus (the tape) to another (the screen)...'by' is the unspeakable preposition...it suggests that there's still time...for intervention...somewhere left to intervene" pg.110.
If we don't do anything, on the other hand, then "...we are - all of us - merely stations on the endless, mindless journey of the signifier; a journey made by nobody to nowhere..." (pg.110)

- This is then applied to the world before and after war. ("industrial to a 'post-industrial...society") where the process of production changes along with the amount of production. Narrowing everything down again so that it is highly refined and delicate ("'etherealised'.")

- Using philosopher, Karl Marx, as another example to this theory, this article ends on the note that 'hypercapitalism' and the "capital mode of production" has "...'abstracted' production..." to a scale that has left us not questioning what is going on far further than that of Marx's previously thought out scale for the future. We are worse than he had predicted.

Bibliography:
Evans, J. Halls, S (editors) Visual Culture: The Reader (1999) Sage Publications Ltd.
Anon (2013) The Face (magazine) [Online] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Face_(magazine)

OUCA501 - Summary of Plato's 'The Republic'

Allegory of the Cave painting by Jan Saenredam (1604, Vienna).
Shown in lecture on 02/10/14.
(Found on Wikipedia)

The 'Story':
Setting: An underground chamber (much like a cave), 
Within the cave are prisoners who have occupied it since childhood. Tied by their necks and legs, they are restrained so much so that they can only look ahead. 
In front of them is a curtain wall which stands in front of a fire. Between these, is a road which many people carry many objects down and indulge in conversation with one another. This then creates shadows on the walls of the cave for the prisoners to somewhat 'unwillingly' watch. 
("...like the screen at puppet shows between the operators and their audience." pg.317)

Due to the early aged imprisonment, these people have become to believe that the shadows they see are actually the 'real world' or the 'true reality'. They have stopped questioning what is shown and have decided for themselves what is real.
The shadows are their world. The shadows are what exist.
The twist comes when one of the prisoners escapes and stumbles upon the 'real' world. 
Not ever experiencing sunlight before, the escapee is left temporarily blind, slowly and gradually adjusting to the bright light and all of the new sights of this unusual world. (although he could have easily rejected these new things as 'untrue' due to the discomfort the new world was bringing, the story continues with the escapee excepting that this was the world of 'true reality', unlike the cave...)
Once he has regained his sight, however, he is then left with a new dilemma.
Should he return to tell the others in the cave of the wonders he has discovered? To show them that the world they believed in was only being kept alive due to their unquestioning minds? Or to never return to the darkness of the cave and continue living within this 'reality'?
The outcome could only go one of two ways - the other prisoners would believe their friend to be true and follow him to 'reality' ("...he would congratulate himself on his good fortune and be sorry for them...certain amount of honour and glory to be won among the prisoners..." pg.319) or, they would label the escapee as a liar, a madman and kill him as soon as they had the chance. ("...visit to the upper world had ruined his sight...they would kill him if they could lay hands on him." pg.320)
There is no certain end to this part of the story. Instead we, the reader, are left with a philosophical message to think of...

Meaning behind 'Simile of the Cave':
The 'story' of the cave described is actually a 'story within a story' (French call this 'mise en abyme'), being told between Plato's brother, Glaucon and his mentor, Socrates.
The cave is simply a simile for Socrates to explain his theory to Glaucon, that we the people, (or in this instants, the 'prisoners') do not control or know reality, but that there is a higher power beyond us that does (Socrates calls this the "...intelligible region." pg.321).
Much like the prisoners and the shadows, this idea can be applied to today's world through devices such a movie theatre or even TV. The viewer no longer questions what they are being shown, but simply applies their own labels or experiences to the staged situations they are witnessing.
The reality becomes blurred and distorted through us, so therefore we cannot surely be in control.

Applying 'The Cave' to 'real' life:
This theory of a higher power becomes applied and explained once again towards the end of the chapter/verse by Socrates, when he gives us another alternative example of the distortion of 'reality', this time through the idea of government (whom he labels "...excellences.." or "...intellectuals..." pg.322/323). The difference with this example, however, is that Socrates also offers a 'solution' - which he believes could potentially help the distortion on 'reality' to be 'minimized'; Philosophers are the closest minds to "intelligible region'' and should therefore govern. ("...we shan't be unfair to our philosophers...better qualified to combine the practice of philosophy and politics." pg.324).
In summary, Plato (using the identity of his mentor, Socrates), is claiming that we, the "lawgivers" (pg.323), give power to those who are only in it for rewards, rather than those of the 'enlightened' and 'good' mind (such as philosophers), allowing for our 'realities' to become untrue. ("...society will never properly be governed by the uneducated...the intellectuals..." pg.323)
We are essentially prisoners believing the shadows, when the real world is somewhere else.
No better lines explain this than the last of these on page 325:

Socrates: "Who else, then, will you compel to undertake the responsibilities of Guardians of our state, if it is not be those who know most about the principles of good government and who have other rewards and a better life than the politicians's?"

Glaucon; "There is no one else."

Bibliography:
Plato (Author) The Republic (Translated by Desmond Lee, 2007) Penguins Classics.
Anon (N.D) Story Within a Story [Online] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Story_within_a_story
Anon (2014) Allegory of the Cave [Online] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave

OUCA501 - The challenges of responding to a creative brief that involves representing different 'national identities'

National identity:

"National identity, at the basic level, is an awareness of difference, that is, a feeling and recognition of 'we' and 'they.'' (Psychologist Yoonmi Lee)

...a sense of a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language. (Oxford Dictionaries Online)

Pros:

- A national identity can make individuals feel like a part of group. If many people share the same views and opinions, then these can be used to represent the brand or product you are intended to advertise, grabbing the attention of a sometimes large scale audiences (making a brand/company/product potentially popular over night).

- Insightful: researching into different national identities gives you a new, open perspective on how others behave, think and feel on multiple subjects such as brands and products, among other topics (e.g. political and ethical opinions).

- A well constructed advertisement/campaign could highlight the similarities between many national identities that many may not have previously thought existed. (an example could be shown through sport. The top sport played in both Russia and USA is basketball, which could provide a link between two very different cultures).

Cons:

- Stereotyping; using one particular bit of information and applying it to a whole nation.
It's hard to understand how a whole national identity behaves if you, yourself have not experienced the culture, views, beliefs or lifestyle of the particular nation. This could end up with an offensive advertisement or even an 'overly polite' advertisement (which may be easily forgotten).

- Although many studies have shown that the majority can affect an individual, it has also be evidenced that an individual can influence a group. Unless you have a very narrow target audience within a wider sector of people, it is hard to represent many through one advertisement.

- A product/brand may not be popular in one culture but may be in another. There may be multiple reasons behind this and finding these out may end up costing a lot of money and time. (e.g. seafood may be more popular in places such as Japan and Korea rather than the United States of America as the fish typical used within seafood tend to be found in the waters surrounding East Asian states - therefore, these two nationalities have very different diets resulting in separate views. This, however, is only one aspect behind the statement).


Bibliography;
Lee, Yoonmi (2000). Modern Education, Textbooks, and the Image of the Nation: Politics and Modernization and Nationalism in Korean Education: 1880-1910. Routledge (published 2012). p. 29. [Accessed 12/10/14]

Anon (N.D) http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/national-identity [Accessed 12/10/14]