NAME: SEBASTIAN T
ESSAY QUESTION 3
In what ways do images construct identities? Discuss using specific examples.
In what ways do images construct identities? Discuss using specific examples.
Stuart Hall defines identity as an ‘already accomplished fact, which the new cultural practices then represent’. We should think instead of ‘identity as a ‘production’ which is never complete, always in process, and always constituted within, not outside, representation’ (Hall 1994 p.392). An individual’s sense of belonging to a particular group, thinking, feelings and behaviour can also be referred to as identity. One’s cultural image can construct identity; such features as hair, skin tone and height. History shapes our identity.
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Some people find their identity by reading a book, using myself as an example I did not know much about my country of birth until my father told me stories about Ghana and through my own reading and research I found out my identity and l had a better understanding about the culture.
According to Kellner, 1990 Identity can be forged out of products of media culture . While individuals or groups can be identified by certain clear cut features, they can also be given their identity by certain symbols. The use of racial stereotypes can help to identify an image or give the underlying message that an object conveys, in Barthes terms, what is its ‘’myth’’. (Hall 1997 p.228)
Figure 1: Matthew Mcconaughey perfume commercial for Dolce & Gabbana, one gentleman
The commercial shown in figure 1 is for a perfume called ‘the one gentleman’ which Matthew Mcconaughey a well-known actor did for Dolce & Gabbana, a trade mark for designer products. The commercial tells us that this is a body spray to use when one wants to be seen as a gentleman. In reality a gentleman is not a man who just uses this body spray, but a man is seen as a gentleman by certain attributes society sees as being acceptable. Commercials like these can really have an impact because the viewer wants to look like the person with the body spray, and themselves be perceived as a gentleman. The unspoken
The key issue of identity is addressed and how history as well as culture can be at the core of one’s identity, thus, this can be related to the health and physical education studies of the influence of identity. In year 8 students will complete a unit where they examine how traditions and cultural practices influence personal and cultural identities (Australian Curriculum , 2017).
Old Spice is very blatant in the way they attract their customers. An obvious example is The Man Your Man Could Smell Like commercial. In this advertisement Old Spice envisions their audience to be anyone who is in a relationship or trying to be in relationship. The more obvious targeted audience is the female audience. To attract the female audience they put an attractive man in the commercials and try to make it seem that if their “man” uses old spice body washes their “man” will be like him.
Identity can mean different things to different people, but for most people, it’s about one’s personality and experiences. The 21st century has seen young people in various parts of the globe have a preference for some desired identity, which they deem superior, rather than accept their own identities. For example, in Goin Gangsta, Choosin Cholista: Claiming Identity, Neil Bernstein makes a case on how a number of people have claimed ethnic individualities other than their own and this is not an evil obsession (Bernstein, 1995). In this essay, a girl named April and her friends (and by extension most young people) believe that “identity is not a matter of where you come from, what you were born into, or what colour your skin is, but it’s everything
Identity is a central concern of contemporary life. Identity plays a large part in societies and individuals lives; however it has not just become a central concern. For the last couple of hundred years identity has been a central concern. This central concern of identity is and has been portrayed, explored and discussed through art. In contemporary art there are multiple different art techniques, styles, codes, conventions and forms of art which explore and express identity. In the classical era of art the privilege of having a self-portrait created by
“’Identity has been increasingly used to refer to the social and historical make-up of a person, personality as a construct. Sometimes such identities are conceived narrowly psychological, individualist terms, as the cumulative result of personal experience and family history”
The world has become modern and global. Identification of the self is a complicated, though, an important problem of every individual. Self- identity is based on inner values and reflections on culture, politics and social interactions. The main point is that people label themselves to any particular group in the society (Worchel etc., 1998). According to Ferguson: “Identity commonly refers to which it makes, or is thought to make
Throughout history, identity is often viewed as a something inherently stable. However, I argue that identity should be viewed as something far more complicated than this – particularly if one articulates the modern notion of a fluid conception of identity. Identity is something that is constantly in flux. Then, identity is constructed of the vastly diverse geographies, histories, and the spaces and places that one inhabits throughout their life. To put it simply, identity defines who we are. Therefore, it is inextricably bound to notions of difference , where representations of people can change depending on the
In alignment with one of the key points from the previous section, which denies the integral and unified account of identity, this section elaborates the discursive view of identity. In order to understand this shift in conceptualising identity, we will revisit the simple definition of identity from Longman dictionary (section 9.1.1). The later part of this definition, specifically, the second key phrase “different from other people” brings about the discussion of the discursive approach to identity. Departing from the essentialist viewpoint of identity as a stable core of self, later literatures have advocated a close relation between the processes of intersubjectivity and the crucial role of ‘the others’ in identity construction (Hall, 2000). As a nature of human beings, the process of identification is seen as a universal need to belong to a group, to reflect on others, thus define themselves and others. In other words, it is to say that identity is constructed through ‘difference’ and experienced by contrast (Benveniste, 2000). Specifically, “[i]n common sense language, identification is constructed on the back of recognition of some common origin or shared characteristics with another person or group, or with an ideal, and with the natural closure of solidarity and allegiance established on this foundation” (Hall, 2000:16). The common origin or shared characteristics here do not adhere to the essentialist viewpoint of identity as an identical and unchangeable stage of
For example many people who live in Britain do not necessarily identify as British, nationality is a matter of allegiance and cultural affiliation. While culture may be optically distinguished as ‘lived experience’ shared by a group of people who relate to one another through prevalent intrigues and influences, identity is concerned with how people optically discern themselves, or are visually perceived, in relation to others (Storry and Childs, 2012:3-4). After having lived through colonial and post-colonial Jamaica but also in Oxford, Stuart Hall came up with theories about the relationship between migration and identity. He says that after moving to Oxford, he always identified himself as a migrant that was different from the majority of British people, however instead of him feeling marginalized, he actually believed he was modern. By that he means that by being so scattered and fragmented comes illogically, to be the symbolic modern experience, he explains that this helped him understand something important about identity which he says: “I’ve been puzzled by the fact that young black people in London today are marginalized, fragmented, unenfranchized, disadvantaged and dispersed. And yet, they look as if they own the territory.” (Hall, 1996: 134). Stuart Hall describes that there are two
Intersectionality in the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle Intersectionality is the study of intersections between forms or systems of oppression, domination and/or discrimination. Intersectionality is a feminist sociological theory first brought forth by Kimberle’ Crenshaw, where she defined it as a methodology of studying the relationships among multiple dimension and modalities of social relationships and subject formations. (Taylor 2015) With identity being social and historical constructed concept, individuals figure out their own identity and the identity of others through interactions with family, friends and especially the media. The media reflects our constructed concept of identity with images, works and characters.
When looking at ones identity many thing can come in to play. Where are your family from? What are your religious believes? What is your place in society? These thing make up who someone is.
Toni Gatrell Ms. Tantlinger AP Literature 17 September 2017 A True Identity An identity is something people struggle to discover who they are as an individual. For some it takes years to invent their own identity. Which is why it’s better to know one's indigenous origins to create a true identity.
Deeply driven by our sense of self, humans place a fundamental importance on creating and preserving individual identity. Comprised of many aspects, such as age, cultural beliefs, equality, gender, race, social class, etc., identity can be defined as “the qualities or beliefs that make one person or group different from others (www.websters.com).” In exploring Culture and Identity in the literary works, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hasberry, Everyday Use by Alice Walker and Etheridge Knight’s A Poem for Myself, several outside forces can be found shaping the identity of the respective characters. The most recurrent theme found among the aforementioned works was the impact racial divide made on their identity and how they have either evolved or failed to evolve as a result.
On the notion of Masculinity in The Man Your Man Could Smell Like Old Spice’s 2010 Commercial The Man Your Man Could Smell Like paints a truly unique image of masculinity. On the one hand, the ad’s uninterrupted shot and the actor’s nonchalant demeanor and wit leave us in awe. On the other hand, though, it also begs its viewers to sit back and reflect: “Wait…what did I just see?” The ad markets Old Spice deodorants to female as well as male audiences by directly associating them with the idea of hyper masculinity, insinuating that men who use Old Spice deodorants possess the capability to accomplish virtually anything.
In defining identity as well as building an identity, the other has often been sought to make comparisons and use contrasts in order to make definition. The concepts of the other and foreigner have helped communities to set their own boundaries. In conjunction with the setting of boundaries, stereotypes and prejudices emerge in the representation of the other in cultural hegemony. Especially in the representations of the other in the media, which is a means of public communication reaching a large audience, the formation or consolidation of prejudices is quite