Gold's Gym Photo (By Joseph Notch)

            Society today uses appearance and things that attract people visually.  Driving down the street, billboards and signs light up the sides of the roads.  These are there to attract people driving down the street to either come to their store or use their product.  Visual culture is a large part of society and people rely on it so much that it greatly influences our decisions.  People tend to look if it is visually satisfying a lot of the time instead of the facts, and also tend to look if a celebrity is being used in the visual culture.  Many of these visually satisfying things try to make people think that they can do it too

            Gold’s Gym is one of the most well known and successful gym in the United States. Gold’s has very good advertisement and on their website they have pictures that show off people’s bodies to represent the gym.  This specific picture, which is from their website, shows a women jumping and a man telling her what to do.  The woman is jumping onto a platform and is in a very athletic position. This makes the woman’s body look more toned and fit than the average woman to try and draw in a female based audience to think that if you go to Golds Gym, you can look like that.  The man, which appears to be a trainer, is standing in an athletic position with his legs spread out a little and his hands on his hips. He is in this position because it shows off all of his body and gives off a slight flex of the forearms. There is also a woman in the back working out with a kettle bell.  She is fit but not as toned and muscular as the woman jumping.   This photo is meant for both men and women, but mainly women.  It shows the if men come here then they can look like this trainer, muscular and fit. It also shows women that you can become very fit and athletic if you come here because you can have a trainer by your side, who has superior knowledge of working out, or you can workout on your own like the woman in the background of the photo, who is still fit and has a nice body.

Lollipop Chainsaw (Angie Taylor)

Lollipop Chainsaw is a video game that follows the life of Juliet, a zombie-killing, chainsaw-wielding cheerleader. The intro to the game is a brief summary of Juliet’s life and it is very obvious that this game is meant for a male audience. As one moves through the game there are obstacles of masses zombie clusters that require a special combo called Sparkle Blast, that when achieved is a scene of a chainsaw that is revving in the middle with lollipops and stars surrounding and sparkling. There is even a special that gives a player bonus points if they can get the camera focus to look under Juliet’s skirt.  The game is to give the male viewer control over her body and her actions.

                The game is very ecchi (Japanese term meaning naughty or dirty). It is also a one player game which means this is meant for a solo experience. This empowers a player and gives a sense of ownership of Juliet while killing hordes of zombies. Another sign is that at one point she cuts the head off her boyfriend, Nick, who got turned into a zombie and wears his head on her belt. Nick gives her directions at times and the player can throw his head as wrecking ball to shut him up as if the only person to control Juliet is the player. The use of her body is to give pleasure to a viewer both sexual and visual, which is very common in Japanese created games.

 Lollipop Chainsaw Game Trailer

The Intimate Exposé of American Apparel

Society has tested and pushed the very own boundaries which it has set over hundreds of years. Though to a modern-day citizen, the sexuality and vulgarity one sees everyday is nothing but average for “whatever sells” and the personal preference of attire for every person. However, in the past decade, the amount of skin and provocativeness revealed within advertisements, the media, films, and television, has dramatically increased even past the standards of what is considered taboo. Thousands of examples of this reality are present in front of the human eye and keep the entertainment industry well prospering. Unfortunately, in this game of life, one side loses while the other wins.

            One example of the adulteration done to the body image of the public eye is the work presented by American Apparel. This infamous company receives much publicity for the sexual exposure depicted in their advertisements. The currently provided exemplar serves the context of a bodysuit campaign image. This work is comprehended of the design of their newly released bodysuit design as well as the visual pleasure of symmetry and flow of contrasting shades- black against a strong tone of white in a symmetrical design. For some, this overall experience of an image is a senatorial phenomena for it provides an unusual movement and is in realistic depiction. The meaning of this work is interpreted as the intimate pleasure and will inevitably attract viewers of more exposing works. Undeniably, the form of the work is unique and magnets the eye towards the image with its peculiar anonymity and seeming suspense.

Its presence suggests of our contemporary the evident bluntness with sexuality and the importance of visual appeal to many consumers worldwide. There is a minimal regard to religious morals in this work by American Apparel, for its openness with sexual and graphic display is not censored nor minimized to any level. Though the photographer chose to keep the model of the bodysuit anonymous, the sexual appeal that can be mentally applied to any type of figure or ethnicity of a consumer of the product. Meaning of the work is impactful with a true demonstration of the risqué attire that many individuals are willing to carry upon themselves through the approval of trend and consciousness of taste. This freedom of expression and visual concepts keeps the innovation of mankind booming forward, and regardless of the pity in the moral degradation, art is an objective language with no finite end.

O Crack Consome

In this anti-drug campaign, masterminds create a compelling poster that visualizes the effect of crack cocaine on the human body, specifically the face. The poster is encased in glass and placed where drug dealers and users are notoriously found,  Gallery of Rock in Sao Paolo, Brazil. The poster itself is made of flour and upon it a picture of a regular everyday man with a blank stare. The picture is then eaten by larvae who feed on the poster, creating holes and craters on the mans face.  The words “O Crack Consome” can also be found atop the man’s face, which translates to “crack consumes”.

The ad personifies the horrors of crack cocaine, showing all who have seen the poster what happens after the usage of the drug. It delivers the clear message of how dangerous and destructive the usage of the crack cocaine is. It shows how the tiny meal worms slowly eat away the flour, similarly to how the usage of drugs slowly kills the body- thus creating the silent metaphor to the simple quote of, “crack consumes”.

Before & After (By Sebastian Ortiz)

           There are a multitude of advertisements online (like these the one on the left) that are viewed millions of times a day that depict a sad looking, overweight female or male standing next to an image of that same male or female person in “fit” shape looking ecstatic to finally be the “ideal weight”. Sometimes these images are Photoshopped and most of the time the person in the “After” photo isn’t even the same person. The person in the “Before” picture usually looks as if they had run a mile and hadn’t slept in days; on the other hand, the person in the “After” picture is shown “dolled-up” and with a body that’s posed in a different position that accentuates the “thinning” down of said person. Another difference between the images is the fact that a change of clothes can really make a person look bigger or smaller. In the “Before” image, the person can be wearing a horizontal striped sweater (which usually accents the wideness of a person), while in the “After” image, the person can be wearing all black (which in turn can hide certain curves and shapes). The person in this image (below) is wearing white underwear and looks as if he just woke up from a coma.

These advertisements obviously target the overweight for being overweight by labeling the first picture as “Before Our Product!” and the second picture as “After Our Product!”. They want people to feel bad about being overweight. Once said person feels terrible about their weight, that person looks into the advertised product to try and change who they are to be more accepted in society; or so they think. All of these advertisements are constantly going after insecurities of the many to take advantage of a potential sale. Will advertising like this eventually change due to people accepting who they are, or will these advertisements always see the light of day due to the attack on insecurities? Is it smart advertising or is it controlling the idea of normalcy?

Aztec Calendar (By Raven Nunez)

The Aztec Calendar, is a calender system discovered in Mexico City in 1790 after found buried for over 300 years. This stoned carved calendar was once used by the Aztecs and then leading off to the peoples of Central Mexico. The Aztec Calendar is an object of religious expression in everyday material culture.Now in honoring the Aztecs, the Aztec calendar remains on display in the Western Tower of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City.

As a whole, there are two cycles in which work together to for a 52-year "century" called calendar round. The first is the solar calender (day count) which represents the 365 day cycle we have in a year. This was highly favored by the Aztecs as it became very helpful for planning ones farming and the prediction of weather. The second is the sacred calendar (year count) of the ritual cycle that is divided within the gods. The circular object is set to follow the planetary and solar events that occur in the important decision making in everyday life. Within the object, there are 20 signs and 13 numbers aligned clock-wise along the circle which detects the direction and daytime. The outer rim has two snakes that meet face to face to tell and represent the chief of the Aztec god and the 52-year century. 

The object has a diverse aspect of geometric shapes. As the center of the object acts as the center point, the piece is highly decorated with symbols, shapes, spiritual/tribal pictures, and animals. The center of the stone itself is a face with its tongue sticking out that presents sacrifice. The face symbolizes the sun. The sun is acknowledged as the blood when bleed in battle and the remembrance to stay strong. Connected around the face, are four squares that represent a jaguar, rain, water, and wind. 

There are several purposes why the Aztec calendar is used culturally, religiously, and ritually. Created by the Aztecs who were located in Mexico, established the foundation of civilization and captured the idealization of the expansion of warrior like individuals to the city but as well as capturing the attention of females. By doing so, men would appeal to have a muscular physique, and appear fearless when coming across a conflict with an individual or rival. Females would then give themselves away to their desired warrior by being placed in their arms and carried away.

Now in our time, people mostly of the Mexican decent culture, permanently tattoo this calendar to acknowledge and commend the god-like Aztec warriors. As people get this tattooed, the purpose is to stay close and true to their religion as well as their beliefs within their culture. As a pride to carry on with them and defining their identity, one can truly be proud of the creation of what the Aztecs have done and accomplished for them. People continue to get this tattoo to embrace the connection between religion and culture in addition to the sacrifice given undergoing the numerous hours per tattoo session for something so symbolic.

Cosmopolitan's Valentine 2014 (Kasey Ventura)

Cosmopolitan, one of the world's most successful magazines targeting the “modern” female 18 to 35 years old with advice on love, sex, fashion, and popular culture. Often featuring classically beautiful women in revealing clothes, this year's February Valentine's issue displays 20 year old break out singer Ariana Grande. In this midshot that pans from her head to her knees, the singer is dressed in black mini skirts paired with a black crop top that revels her mid drift and overall slim physique. She is accessorized with a couple of small trinkets finishing her look with a blown out hairdo posed in a slight bent position. Being that this image is a magazine one would expect several headings and words but the one's that are emphasized due to sheer size and fonts are the title, a heading stating “we're obsessed”, and a subheading that reads “let's get naked! Sex! 26 ridiculously hot movies”. There are of course other headings that mention articles that covers sex, working out, finance, and love.

Grande who gained fame on Nickelodeon's television programs before releasing her hit single in 2013 can explain her somewhat less provocative look as compared to other covers this organization has featured. The fact that these articles are targeted towards women and that the model is young lady can further back up that hypothesis. However Cosmo may not want to completely erase sexual appeals as it does display some skin and a sub headline stating fantasy sex. The title that most connects to the cover however is the one claiming “we're obsessed” which either implies that Cosmo as whole legitimately has interest in her, wanted this photo to ride on her rising popularity, or Grande's team paid for this feature to market her image (possibility 2 or all 3 scenarios). Her outfit of course reflect articles of clothing that are rising in woman’s fashion that when worn by someone of interest (like a singer) it may appeal to an audience to purchase the items. Overall this image reflects a slight sensual young lady that still upholds a means of innocence it order to not alienate the audience that aided in her success. But there is some questions that pops into my head: does a woman have to be sexual in order to be marketable and sell to mass audiences? Most big female celebrities take photos similar to this cover some even more scandalous: what does that say about our culture? What does it say about our thoughts concerning the female form and a person in general?