Blade Runner

The suggested reading does not appear to be in the Course Reader. I have e-mailed my tutor seeking guidance.

Have now watched Blade Runner - the Director's Cut Version.  Not a film I would have chosen for my personal entertainment before viewing and even less likely having sat through it. We are asked to consider whether Deckard is a human or a replicant.  There is insufficient information provided to make a well-informed decision but if forced I would argue that he is human. There is one moment in the film when one of the replicants accuses Deckard of being irrational. Irrationality is not something that we, in our present state of knowledge, would ascribe to a robot. There are also the fights that Deckard has with all the replicants where they are superior in strength. Both these factors would suggest that Deckard is not a replicant. However the replicants he has set out to destroy are Nexus 6 that are presented as the latest version. Deckard could be an earlier and less sophisticated version and does not have the abilities of the latest versions. The only way that a replicant can be distinguished from a human by contemporaries in the film is by the use of a machine that measures minute changes in the pupil size. We are not offered this information about Deckard.

A question that has exercised the minds of a great many philosophers and others is how we can tell whether the object we are facing is human or a robot/replicant. Alan Turing suggested a test that would allow someone to make the distinction. However the test has been challenged on a number of grounds. For a comprehensive discussion of the 'Turing Test' see http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/turing-test.

A question that is implicit in the discussions  is 'How do we decide that the object in front of us is an intelligent human being?" We can only guess based on the information (both visual, verbal and behavioural) that is presented. We also rely upon our belief that such beings as replicants as shown in the Blade Runner do not exist and that computers are incapable at the present time to appear humanoid even in the most primitive sense. We gain a great deal of information from conversation but where this is not available to us (e.g. we are in a foreign country whose language we do not speak) we make the assumption that because something looks and behaves like a human it is human.

Illusion only is sacred, truth profane part 2

Annotation

1 Note the simple font used and the wording "Syrup and Extract"

2 Described as a cure for all "nervous affections" suggesting that it has medicinal properties

3 The inclusion of the word 'chemist' designed to re-assure the customer that it is in some way scientifically prepared.

Annotation

1 Use of the dove to suggest 'peace and harmony' referring back to a very successful TV commercial "I want to teach the world to sing..."

2 Rainbow indicative of sunshine in the rain -  a promise also of a crock of gold at the end of the rainbow.

3 Bottle presented, balanced on the head of the clown, (?subliminal message of the a well balanced drink) . The 'light' links the bottle to the rainbow and through that to the dove re-inforcing the message.

4. The choice of colour and the inclusion of bubbles not only refers to the 'fizziness' of the drink but also is suggestive of something that is clean and healthy.

5 The main figure is the clown suggesting that the drink is linked with a fun lifestyle and makes people happy.

6 the placement of the bottle, the simple use of the word 'coke' the universal shorthand for Coca-Cola (there are other Colas but only one Coke!) strengthens the overall message.

7. Finally the now well known font of Coca-Cola advertising.

The claims made in the first advert would no longer be allowed under legislation designed to make advertising more honest although my cynical side thinks that were the legislation not there such claims would be made explicitly or implicitly. The staid printed advert has now been replaced by colourful and exciting imagery that through symbols and suggestion links to all previous adverts thus ensuring a consistent and powerful message.

Annotation

1 Each corner has an image representative of a particular age emphasising that the soap is for all ages despite the heavy reliance upon the image of children used in nearly all Pears soap adverts

2 A young white boy suitably dressed for bathing a child (suggesting a superior relationship with the other human in the advert), is offering the soap to a young black boy in the bathtub.

3 The young black boy looks wonderingly down into the bathwater one supposes what miracle is about to happen.

4 Placed in the middle of the advert is the name of the product clear for all to see and offers a 'time' barrier to allow for the transformation to take place

5 The writing that is difficult to see is an endorsement of the product by a famous name in this case Lily Langtry.

6 The black boy has miraculously become white skinned where he has been washed by the soap

7 The white boy holds up a mirror so that his friend? can see the benefits of using Pears soap - it washes away all those stains that we do not want.

{Comment - I still cannot believe that this advert is 'real'. The undisguised racism is breathtaking and it is difficult to believe that any company at any time would wish to be associated with such beliefs}

Annotation

1 Here the packaging is used to provide a simple message for the potential purchaser and shows the 'new 'soap in its different form

2 The second package uses a similar message but this time it refers to thew original form of the soap - the one that is well known to those who use it.

3 The soap is taken out of the package to show that it is indeed the original that remains unchanged

4 Here is the new soap - different shape and now wrapped.

Pears attempted to introduce a new version of its much loved soap. As a public relations exercise it was a disaster akin to the problems faced by Coca-Cola when they attempted to introduce a newer more up to date version of their drink. However, compared to the pre-war advert the modern advert is simpler, cleaner and makes no false claims. Again the existence of legislation that would ban the content of the pre-war advert makes it difficult to judge whether such advertising tricks would still appear in an unfettered advertising world.

1 A frightened/scared woman reflecting the human form of the problems mentioned in the narrative.

2 A direct reference to a possible medical condition that may be 'cured' by the drinking of the product.

3 Name of the product clearly displayed.

4 Here the reader is told what she needs to overcome all the problems suggested in the remainder of the advert. There is no doubt expressed in the efficacy of Ovaltine nor any evidence to support the claims made.

Annotation

1 Here there is no claim made about the effect upon the person drinking the beverage but there is the suggestion that the goodness of the countryside is contained in the drink and that 'goodness' will in some unspecified way be felt by the consumer.

2 The woman is holding a tin of the product making a direct connection between the obvious health of the person and the tin that she is holding.

3 The image is of a woman brimming with health and happiness. The sheath of barley and the eggs in the basket are there to show that the product is the result of the combination of two of nature's natural bounty.

4 The image is backed by easily recognisable 'country' scenes including cows for milk and the collection of the harvest.

The first advert which is pre-war makes similar claims to the health benefits of the product as made for Coca-Cola. Again these claims would not be allowed under present legislation. The second advert makes no direct claims but uses symbols that the reader can use to connect the product with a desired end.

General comment: I looked at quite a few adverts and the thing that struck me that the pre-war adverts would be banned under present day legislation. This suggests that it was felt there was a need to curtail the activities of the advertisers who made claims that could not be backed up by evidence. One is left wondering how far advertisers would go if there constraints were removed. Is it possibly the case that the reason for the changes are little to do with the era and more to do with the drive to make adverts 'honest'

Illusion only is sacred, truth profane

The first advert is taken from the magazine Vanity Fair April 2012 issue. The tag line "Be the Woman you want to be" suggests by wearing the clothing from this company that such an aim is achievable. In order to make the model used anonymous the face has been replaced by a mirror. Anyone looking into the mirror would see themselves thus linking what can be seen with the promise in the tag line.

The second advert is from the April 2012 issue of Vogue. The tag line "Wear the Shoes Rule the World" invites the viewer to believe that by the simple act of wearing 'fitflop' shoes she will be in command of all that she desires. Again the model has been made anonymous by the face being hidden by her hair.

The third advert is taken from the April 2012 issue of the magazine Vogue. The product is aimed at those who wish to remove/reduce the signs of ageing. Although difficult to read the 'small print' is an interesting exercise in implying 'greatnbess' without telling a lie. It reads:

• The multi award-winning Sisleya Global Anti-Age has been Sisley's No 1 selling skin care product since its launch. Formulated to address all signs of skin ageing in one single cream. It contains Sisley's choice of the best anti-wrinkle, regenerating and stimulating plant extracts nature has to offer. It gives the skin the indispensable elements need for its beauty. Skin is smoother, more luminous, plumped and radiant. 

A close reading of the claims shows that they only refer to the world of the seller of the product. There is no outside confirmation.  The final sentence describing the effect upon the skin may or may not be true and as it is a subjective view is not open to challenge.

It would seem at first glance that adverts for beauty/fashion products are not subject to the strictures of the Advertising Standards Authority largely because there is no objective evidence to support or deny the claims. In the adverts above, primarily aimed at women, the unstated result of using the product is to enter into a new world where the image presented to the world is aligned very closely with the image the person believes to be the desired aim of everyone. The illusion is all.

One of the things that I noticed whilst scanning the magazines for appropriate adverts were the very large number where only the makers name was included with the image. Nothing was said or claimed about what it means to have these products. Here the 'name' has reached the point that simply to mention it conjures up a world where simple ownership of the product is all that is needed. Is this not the ultimate illusion?

The concept of Reality

Started this, the final part of the Course by reading the set passage in the Reader. Having struggled to understand the series of statements that appeared to be unsupported and not necessarily connected the thought occurred to me that perhaps this is the way that thinkers like Guy Debord establish their image. It is though they are driven to use language and its structure in a way that sets their works apart from the rest of the world. In this way they create an 'image' that they are deep thinkers and if you cannot understand what they are saying the fault lies with you and not with the writer. They create a very small group relatively speaking, of those that can, or pretend that they can, understand the dialogue. It is better if it is so obscure that any interpretation can be stated to be wrong. In that way the writer cannot be challenged and he can dismiss from his group of followers (as Debord was very quick to do - as evidenced by his actions with the Situationist International) on the grounds that they did not understand the nature of his argument or that their interpretation was subversive of the group and an unworthy attack upon the master by one of his disciples.

If this is the case then the the image is illusory and has no basis in reality; if there be such a thing as reality.

I was also puzzled by the statement in the text of the Course (p 61) that suggests that the obsession with image arose in the late 20th Century. Whilst it is the case that the technologies that came to fruition in this period allowed a greater and more rapid distribution of the 'image' it could be argued that the obsession with image has always been there. During the Course we have been asked to examine works of art for symbols that give a clue to the artists and the person commissioning the work message. The way that the family group is portrayed and the dress worn together with the background (often indicating the family estate and house) are clearly understood messages that underline the image that the family or individual wish to portray. Evidence can also be seen in the many grand houses that the aristocracy and then the nouveau riche built that were grandiose in the extreme and were a message that said "look how wealthy I am".

Fashion has always been a statement by the wearer and was designed to give to the wold the image that the wearer wished to convey about his status, wealth and daring. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that man has always been obsessed with the exterior he presents to the world and that advertising has simply used this phenomenon to make their wares more desirable.

Assignment 4

Spent the last 10 days after coming out of hospital deciding on my approach to the assignment and then researching the necessary material to make sense of it all.

Decided to use the film "Battle of Algiers" as the hook to hang my assignment on. The background had piqued my interest and my feelings about the approach of Dyer (see previous blog) that I feel is over-simplistic (blackness/whiteness) also provided some of the motivation to complete the work. As always heavy reliance upon the internet to find the necessary background reading and the opportunity to follow interesting leads in linked topics. Sometimes I think that it would not be possible to do this Course without access to the internet because relying upon the local Library to find the resources necessary would have meant me camping out there. Even so I seemed to spend a great deal of time finding and reading the necessary material.