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This is my final project of the year. I hope you enjoy =]

In class we watched a part of Dreamworlds called ‘Ways of Looking’. The documentary discusses the way female artists are viewed in todays music videos. Music videos in contemporary music represent women as sexual objects. The way the camera captures them and paces their bodies reflects how men might look at them. The women themselves view their sexuality through the eyes of the male culture. We seem to live in a world that is dominated by the male way of looking. However this is not to say that in real life all women are looked at the same way. The sad thing is that music videos don’t show a different side of women. There is little focus on their individual personality and the things that separate the artist. Instead female artists are trapped in the pornographic gaze. I hope that one day music videos can look beyond a female artists sexuality and focus more on their individual nuances that make them so unique.

The film “Precious” is based on the book “Push”, a story of a young black girl who is abused by her mother and is pregnant  with her second child. The story is very shocking since most people do not have to deal with so much stress. However, once we look past the initial situation we realize that maybe this story is a racial stereotype. Maybe this was not done on purpose, but the universal struggle and dreams to succeed are present. Its just the way that the movie is executed makes us believe that the situation Precious faces is a common one in black families.

According to Felicia Lee, writer for the New York Times, mainstream news media and serious critics ignored other black culture films because they were not “negative enough”. However I do not believe that mainstream culture looks to paint black culture in a negative light. Much has changed since the civil rights movements of the 1960s and to me it seems somewhat ridiculous that “Precious” had to incorporates so many stereotypes. But I do not believe it gained more popularity because of these stereotypes. To me the main story is about a young overweight girl who is trying to live like anyone else and overcome all odds to become successful. What better represents the fight for the American dream?

This is my business card design. This was done with a little help of photoshop. Hope you enjoy!

To Errol Morris photography is a very influential and effective device. Whether a photo was digitally altered or not does not take away from it’s impact. Errol Morris argues that altered photographs can be just as realistic as a real photograph. He uses examples like the “Irani Missles” photo and the satellite photos that sparked the Iraq War to prove his point. Even though these photographs were mislabeled or photoshopped their impact remains. Whether there are four missiles or three missiles the threat still remains and in the end that is what matters most.

This photograph was published in 2004 after the Tsunami tragedy in Asia. This photo is one of many fakes that were published after the 2004 Tsunami. This photo in particular may have not been photoshopped but is mislabeled. What you are looking at in this photo is not a shot of the real 2004 Tsunami but a predicted tidal bore that occurred in Thailand in 2002. Even though this photo is a fake it was published in newspapers all over the world.

This photograph supports Errol Morris’s argument in “Photography As A Weapon”. Though the photo is a fake, the photo still has an impact on the viewer when labeled “2004 Tsunami”. The people running away and the huge tidal wave in the background portrays fear. The viewer is thus able to catch a glimpse of the real Tsunami that occurred in 2004. The fact that many fake photos like these were used to represent the 2004 tsunami show that the public’s reaction to these photos were still very real.

This Camel Lights advertisement is a very successful one. The advertisement reminds me of fun times with friends because it . The ad successfully makes one believe that if they smoke Camel Lights they will have a fun time. The Camel ad creates a powerful illusion of reality. Since the Camel in the ad is having fun the potential consumer may have the illusion that he/she will also have fun when smoking Camel Lights. The advertisement does not rely on any background knowledge making it very easy for the consumer to accept it. Camel uses this type of ad in many of their advertisements. Camel incorporates their ‘camel’ character into most of their advertisements. By looking at the ‘camel’ character one can tell that Camel is targeting a young adult audience. Overall this is a really successful ad because it implements elements that give the audience an illusion of fun and enjoyment without distracting from the product.

This cWc advertisement is an example of a bad print advertisement. The visual elements are not very strong and do not remind the potential consumer of anything other than the product. However, cWc seems to make the consumer believe that their product is good for any occasion. This advertisement applies to the principle of ‘visuals are conveyed through both form and content’. Since the advertisement is very simple and straightforward it is easy to tell that it was designed to be conveyed in a simple manner. This advertisement requires no background or historical knowledge. cWc usually makes more interesting ads that portray the mood of their products. Unfortunately this ad is one that does not successfully convey a good mood or convince the potential consumer.