NO LOGO |
04/02/16
|
Today’s seminar focused on the text ‘No Logo’ by Naomi Klein. The extract we read focused on how we consume messages of advertising delving into the works of culture jammers, adbusters and pranksters, all of whom subvert the meaning of existing adverts using combined techniques of low and high tech manipulation.
We began by watching a short film ‘They live’ which showed a man walking the streets. He would place a set of glasses over his eyes which would alter all advertising imagery around him to reveal the truth for instance a magazine may instead read “consumerism” when wearing the glasses. This reveal acts in the same way as Naomi Klein’s book, using her words as the glasses.
No Logo is written in such a way that it acts as cultural analysis, mall-rat memoir, political manifesto and a piece of journalism. She questions how the evolution of digital technology has impacted upon culture jamming and the distinction between this and graffiti.
Culture jammers themselves, according to Klein, range in backgrounds from those who have worked in the advertising industry and are therefore using an advertiser’s weapon against themselves to people who are extremist and simply have a message for the corporations they oppose.
Technology now allows culture jammers to create works which reflect the aesthetic of the original image. By using programmes such as Adobe Photoshop, jammers are able to recreate original works almost shape for shape, image for image, altering one aspect to make their point. By doing this, jammers are able to draw in the market for the original add as well as their fan base, using the momentum of the enemy and, in turn, raising the profile of their work. Quotes from the text include “if you spend time to make it cleaner, it will not be dismissed”. This suggests that jammers have a psychological awareness of their work on a similar level to the original advertisers and that, by producing clean work in the same way as the original adverts, their images will not be overlooked. In a sense, this humiliates the advertisers suggesting so called “pranksters” have the same skill and ability of advertisers who get paid many times the amount of any jammer suggesting a lack of worth on their behalf.
Further uses of technology for jamming include the hacking of websites. Jammers are able to access government and official websites, change one aspect of the page, and communicate their message. This proves far more difficult than remixing a billboard for example due to the intense security measures in place, though, if successful, the jammer could communicate their message to millions of people. Security isn’t so much of an issue for jammers who exploit billboards as artists like Rodriguez Gerada performs his culture jamming in daylight to prove he is not disobeying the law.
The widespread necessity of communication for jammers has been made simpler with the introduction of social media allowing them to post one image which can circulate an infinite number of times and influence an infinite number of people.
Unfortunately for culture jammers, advertising companies have begun to “take back what is rightfully their” by exploiting the methodology culture jammers use. Companies now attempt to humiliate themselves as a means of promotion meaning the work of culture jammers is less and less shocking. This shows how there becomes no real winner in advertising. Methods become recycled and messages lose value until the next shocking technique is found.
We began by watching a short film ‘They live’ which showed a man walking the streets. He would place a set of glasses over his eyes which would alter all advertising imagery around him to reveal the truth for instance a magazine may instead read “consumerism” when wearing the glasses. This reveal acts in the same way as Naomi Klein’s book, using her words as the glasses.
No Logo is written in such a way that it acts as cultural analysis, mall-rat memoir, political manifesto and a piece of journalism. She questions how the evolution of digital technology has impacted upon culture jamming and the distinction between this and graffiti.
Culture jammers themselves, according to Klein, range in backgrounds from those who have worked in the advertising industry and are therefore using an advertiser’s weapon against themselves to people who are extremist and simply have a message for the corporations they oppose.
Technology now allows culture jammers to create works which reflect the aesthetic of the original image. By using programmes such as Adobe Photoshop, jammers are able to recreate original works almost shape for shape, image for image, altering one aspect to make their point. By doing this, jammers are able to draw in the market for the original add as well as their fan base, using the momentum of the enemy and, in turn, raising the profile of their work. Quotes from the text include “if you spend time to make it cleaner, it will not be dismissed”. This suggests that jammers have a psychological awareness of their work on a similar level to the original advertisers and that, by producing clean work in the same way as the original adverts, their images will not be overlooked. In a sense, this humiliates the advertisers suggesting so called “pranksters” have the same skill and ability of advertisers who get paid many times the amount of any jammer suggesting a lack of worth on their behalf.
Further uses of technology for jamming include the hacking of websites. Jammers are able to access government and official websites, change one aspect of the page, and communicate their message. This proves far more difficult than remixing a billboard for example due to the intense security measures in place, though, if successful, the jammer could communicate their message to millions of people. Security isn’t so much of an issue for jammers who exploit billboards as artists like Rodriguez Gerada performs his culture jamming in daylight to prove he is not disobeying the law.
The widespread necessity of communication for jammers has been made simpler with the introduction of social media allowing them to post one image which can circulate an infinite number of times and influence an infinite number of people.
Unfortunately for culture jammers, advertising companies have begun to “take back what is rightfully their” by exploiting the methodology culture jammers use. Companies now attempt to humiliate themselves as a means of promotion meaning the work of culture jammers is less and less shocking. This shows how there becomes no real winner in advertising. Methods become recycled and messages lose value until the next shocking technique is found.
VISUAL CULTURE OF PROTEST |
04/02/16
|
Today’s lecture focused its attention on how protest art has shaped society and become more and more influential with the increase of social media and technology. Street-art marks some of the first documented cases of visual protest dating back to the 18th century where artists such as William Hogarth (1697-1764) influenced public opinion through their use of graffiti and placards. This methodology of protest continues today in the case of Charlie Hebdo (2015).
Back in the 18th century, recurring themes of opposition were used through the symbolism of barricades though it wasn’t until post WW2 where language of opposition became popular. Protesters were seen as far left and formed as opposition to hegemony, the control of the dominant class in contemporary capitalism through mass media, the church, school and family.
Situational artist became popular following the use of oppositional language and in 1958, the Situationist Internationale magazine was set up by Guy Debord to raise awareness of art as representation and mediated imagery, touching on aspects of the image as truth.
From this came detournement, the retouching and remixing of mass media messages; the art of satire. Dadaists used detournement as protests in conjunction with other movements such as student and worker protests in France (1968) and the Atelier Populaire, a poster printing workshop whose silkscreen propaganda used posters as weapons placed in centres of struggle such as the streets and workplaces. Messages included “permanent education”, “people’s university” and “return to normality”. This method of printing provided anonymity but also marked the start of a DIY culture which questioned the economy and resources of the capitalist government.
In response to the Cold War (1945), the peace movement grew as threats of WW3 loomed over the world after the detonation of the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Protests grew against nuclear missiles and the peace symbol was born. The symbol as we know it today was created by Gerald Holtom and worked in conjunction with the Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament (CMD) (1960) which included the radical, graphic messages of Ken Garland. The peace symbol is recurrent even in today’s society where adaptations have formed in response to atrocities such as the Paris Attacks (2015) and are now an unofficial identification of shared solace. The use of symbolism marks the limitation of speech and oppositional language; symbols express what we cannot say.
Symbolism has formed a large body of communication and is over and over again, communicating images through association and memories. The Jarrow Crusade of 1936 shows Suffragettes using symbolism throughout their marches. In 2014, the ‘We Are Many’ march saw the biggest march in history take place with over 800 cities worldwide marching to raise the profile of the issue of war and disarmament. This mobilisation of many shows the communal spirit of protest and, throughout the 1960s, this spirit became a way of life. Attitudes of peace began appearing in everyday life through subcultures of Mods, Punks, Goths and Hippies who all challenged traditional social roles in dress, gender, music, drugs and even diet. For these people, their protest marked a route for escapism.
Antinuclear demonstrations rose again in the 70s with the help of Peter Kennard (1980) who’s work “Broken Missile” revaluated the issue, again using the well recognised symbol for peace. Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp (1983) protested again the use of nuclear power through endurance; the protest lasted from 1983 up to 2000 marking 17 years of fighting. This challenged the status quo and shows examples of environmental activism.
Many other protests fight for causes of a similar nature all in the name of improving our quality of life. The Newbury By-Pass protest fought against building roads and destroying our land. Anti-capitalist camps in London’s Occupy protest fought to counter terrorism. ‘Liberate Tate’ continues to fight again the use of oil. Other examples use protest to fight for a cause. Crafitivism and the Names Project Quilt (1987) use visual communication to raise awareness of AIDS victims.
Even typefaces have been made in protest such as Sang Mun’s font which is unscannable or Jonathan Barnbrook’s Nixonscript, “a font for telling lies”. This use of technology as protest is ever-growing and artists such as Banksy have been utilising its properties such as in his 2016 piece in London of a Les Miserable girl crying. A QR code sits to the rear of the image which, when scanned, directs a smart phone to a video of refugees being gassed in attacked in Cannes.
Even detournement is being opposed now, and subversive works appropriated by the mainstream media shows examples of recuperation. The war on protest continues.
Back in the 18th century, recurring themes of opposition were used through the symbolism of barricades though it wasn’t until post WW2 where language of opposition became popular. Protesters were seen as far left and formed as opposition to hegemony, the control of the dominant class in contemporary capitalism through mass media, the church, school and family.
Situational artist became popular following the use of oppositional language and in 1958, the Situationist Internationale magazine was set up by Guy Debord to raise awareness of art as representation and mediated imagery, touching on aspects of the image as truth.
From this came detournement, the retouching and remixing of mass media messages; the art of satire. Dadaists used detournement as protests in conjunction with other movements such as student and worker protests in France (1968) and the Atelier Populaire, a poster printing workshop whose silkscreen propaganda used posters as weapons placed in centres of struggle such as the streets and workplaces. Messages included “permanent education”, “people’s university” and “return to normality”. This method of printing provided anonymity but also marked the start of a DIY culture which questioned the economy and resources of the capitalist government.
In response to the Cold War (1945), the peace movement grew as threats of WW3 loomed over the world after the detonation of the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Protests grew against nuclear missiles and the peace symbol was born. The symbol as we know it today was created by Gerald Holtom and worked in conjunction with the Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament (CMD) (1960) which included the radical, graphic messages of Ken Garland. The peace symbol is recurrent even in today’s society where adaptations have formed in response to atrocities such as the Paris Attacks (2015) and are now an unofficial identification of shared solace. The use of symbolism marks the limitation of speech and oppositional language; symbols express what we cannot say.
Symbolism has formed a large body of communication and is over and over again, communicating images through association and memories. The Jarrow Crusade of 1936 shows Suffragettes using symbolism throughout their marches. In 2014, the ‘We Are Many’ march saw the biggest march in history take place with over 800 cities worldwide marching to raise the profile of the issue of war and disarmament. This mobilisation of many shows the communal spirit of protest and, throughout the 1960s, this spirit became a way of life. Attitudes of peace began appearing in everyday life through subcultures of Mods, Punks, Goths and Hippies who all challenged traditional social roles in dress, gender, music, drugs and even diet. For these people, their protest marked a route for escapism.
Antinuclear demonstrations rose again in the 70s with the help of Peter Kennard (1980) who’s work “Broken Missile” revaluated the issue, again using the well recognised symbol for peace. Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp (1983) protested again the use of nuclear power through endurance; the protest lasted from 1983 up to 2000 marking 17 years of fighting. This challenged the status quo and shows examples of environmental activism.
Many other protests fight for causes of a similar nature all in the name of improving our quality of life. The Newbury By-Pass protest fought against building roads and destroying our land. Anti-capitalist camps in London’s Occupy protest fought to counter terrorism. ‘Liberate Tate’ continues to fight again the use of oil. Other examples use protest to fight for a cause. Crafitivism and the Names Project Quilt (1987) use visual communication to raise awareness of AIDS victims.
Even typefaces have been made in protest such as Sang Mun’s font which is unscannable or Jonathan Barnbrook’s Nixonscript, “a font for telling lies”. This use of technology as protest is ever-growing and artists such as Banksy have been utilising its properties such as in his 2016 piece in London of a Les Miserable girl crying. A QR code sits to the rear of the image which, when scanned, directs a smart phone to a video of refugees being gassed in attacked in Cannes.
Even detournement is being opposed now, and subversive works appropriated by the mainstream media shows examples of recuperation. The war on protest continues.
AUDITORY CULTURE AND EXPERIMENTAL SONIC ART |
22/01/16
|
Today’s lecture focused on alternative approaches to art that include the remaining senses after sight. We mainly focused on the use of sound to create work.
There are many examples of how artists have used sound in art such as Fluxus, an international network of artists, designers and composers who are noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. Their works include the recordings of pianos on fire. The network was founded by Lithuanian-born George Maciunas as an attempt to “fuse… cultural, social, & political revolutionaries into [a] united front and action”. In addition to Fluxus, Cabaret Voltaire and Sensoria Festival further bridge the gap between art and music. The cabaret featured spoken word, dance and music. The events were often raucous occasions with artists experimenting with new forms of performance, such as sound poetry and simultaneous poetry which acted as a response to World War One. Further references include Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures album cover which shows the awareness of auditory culture through the sound contours in the design.
Nowadays, sound is far more narcissistic with people roaming the streets with their ears plugged with headphones. Despite the public appreciation of music in nightclubs, shops and gig venues, sound has become personalisable. Composers such as Brian Eno created a series of pieces entitled “Music for Airports” which included ambient, calming noises in attempt to defuse tension and anxiety in such atmospheres.
In examples such as the 9/11 Twin Towers atrocity, hearing is said to have become 2nd to visual. The event was dominated with visual ephemera across networks. Short GIFs and animations were also created with no sound as the planes struck the buildings on loop. The power of this example shows how we perceive sound as inferior to sight even though sight can be altered nowadays with the use of Photoshop and other editing programmes. If we think about it, hearing is far more reliable and smell even more so.
Despite sound seeming less important, films and moving image continue to utilise music and sound effects in their production to the extent where sounds become associated with events. For example, the film Apocalypse Now features the use of helicopter blades often as a symbol for death and destruction which, when played over a piece of music, gives a sense of eeriness and danger due to the association.
Sound is becoming more widely used in a variety of fields including that of security. When we think of security, we immediately return to the common security camera though in some cases, such as the Panopticon, prisons are rigged with audio surveillance systems to allow guards to hear every area of the prison. On further consideration, it is easy to identify other areas where sound is crucial such as emergency vehicles and alarms.
Overall sound and auditory culture is ever-growing and has the ability to change our mood at the click of a button.
There are many examples of how artists have used sound in art such as Fluxus, an international network of artists, designers and composers who are noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. Their works include the recordings of pianos on fire. The network was founded by Lithuanian-born George Maciunas as an attempt to “fuse… cultural, social, & political revolutionaries into [a] united front and action”. In addition to Fluxus, Cabaret Voltaire and Sensoria Festival further bridge the gap between art and music. The cabaret featured spoken word, dance and music. The events were often raucous occasions with artists experimenting with new forms of performance, such as sound poetry and simultaneous poetry which acted as a response to World War One. Further references include Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures album cover which shows the awareness of auditory culture through the sound contours in the design.
Nowadays, sound is far more narcissistic with people roaming the streets with their ears plugged with headphones. Despite the public appreciation of music in nightclubs, shops and gig venues, sound has become personalisable. Composers such as Brian Eno created a series of pieces entitled “Music for Airports” which included ambient, calming noises in attempt to defuse tension and anxiety in such atmospheres.
In examples such as the 9/11 Twin Towers atrocity, hearing is said to have become 2nd to visual. The event was dominated with visual ephemera across networks. Short GIFs and animations were also created with no sound as the planes struck the buildings on loop. The power of this example shows how we perceive sound as inferior to sight even though sight can be altered nowadays with the use of Photoshop and other editing programmes. If we think about it, hearing is far more reliable and smell even more so.
Despite sound seeming less important, films and moving image continue to utilise music and sound effects in their production to the extent where sounds become associated with events. For example, the film Apocalypse Now features the use of helicopter blades often as a symbol for death and destruction which, when played over a piece of music, gives a sense of eeriness and danger due to the association.
Sound is becoming more widely used in a variety of fields including that of security. When we think of security, we immediately return to the common security camera though in some cases, such as the Panopticon, prisons are rigged with audio surveillance systems to allow guards to hear every area of the prison. On further consideration, it is easy to identify other areas where sound is crucial such as emergency vehicles and alarms.
Overall sound and auditory culture is ever-growing and has the ability to change our mood at the click of a button.
REGARDING THE PAIN OF OTHERS |
07/01/16
|
During the seminar, we continued the discussion from the lecture using the text Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag. Even the title of this article suggests aesthetacising empathy.
We began by discussing how the word ‘propaganda’ immediately resonates a negative view of war due to its association to the deceptive nature of censoring throughout WW1. The word was not used at all during WW2 for this reason.
The article discusses the act of looking. The front cover forces the viewer to make a judgement and aesthetecises war into something beautiful “beauty will be convulsive, or it will not be” - Andre Breton. Strangely, no images appear in the entire article even though Sontag discusses how words have little power in comparison to photographs; “The war has used up words; they have weakened”.
We discussed our memories of the 9/11 atrocity. It seems that, due to our age, we are becoming less and less connected to the events and therefore remember the time through depictions in the media, images we’ve been shown and things we’re told. We questioned if this is a reliable account of the event and I think not. I also found it difficult to remember if I can remember the event or whether I think I can remember it due to the large amount of ephemera I’ve seen regarding the event.
The article mentions the idea of a shock factor and how the shock reaction of an image determines its success; the more shocking the better. This may be due to the fact we have seen a great deal of horrific images so some may seem like everything else we’ve ever seen and therefore doesn’t provoke as much of a reaction as if the image was more shocking. This wasn’t the case for the Falling Man which showed a man falling from a window of the Twin Towers as he risked his life to avoid being trapped in the falling building.This image was removed and instead replaced by images of heroism as firefighters rescued people from the rubble. Again, this doesn’t show the true horrors of the day.
Why was the Falling Man image removed?
We discussed reasons as to why the image was removed and came up with a variety of conclusions. We decided this image is more relatable than an image of dead bodies; it is more likely to happen to us. Perhaps the image suggested a weakness in the USA in that the event could have been prevented so, in a way, the image humiliated the country and was removed for that reason. The image has a narrative. In our minds we know what the result was and we can empathise with the decisions the man had to make; he decided that jumping was safer than remaining in the building to be crushed. The fact also that he is alive in the image could be a factor.
We can relate all of these ideas to more recent events such as the Paris Attacks. Images of a similar nature such as people climbing out of windows and risking their lives to prevent getting shot aren’t too dissimilar to the Falling Man. Was there a censorship of the Paris images also? Many of the images I can remember showed the aftermath with people being taken in ambulances and reports from the desolate streets. The recollection of the band who were playing at the Bataclan is the most real piece of evidence in my opinion though this could easily have been censored and has clearly been edited together.
We began by discussing how the word ‘propaganda’ immediately resonates a negative view of war due to its association to the deceptive nature of censoring throughout WW1. The word was not used at all during WW2 for this reason.
The article discusses the act of looking. The front cover forces the viewer to make a judgement and aesthetecises war into something beautiful “beauty will be convulsive, or it will not be” - Andre Breton. Strangely, no images appear in the entire article even though Sontag discusses how words have little power in comparison to photographs; “The war has used up words; they have weakened”.
We discussed our memories of the 9/11 atrocity. It seems that, due to our age, we are becoming less and less connected to the events and therefore remember the time through depictions in the media, images we’ve been shown and things we’re told. We questioned if this is a reliable account of the event and I think not. I also found it difficult to remember if I can remember the event or whether I think I can remember it due to the large amount of ephemera I’ve seen regarding the event.
The article mentions the idea of a shock factor and how the shock reaction of an image determines its success; the more shocking the better. This may be due to the fact we have seen a great deal of horrific images so some may seem like everything else we’ve ever seen and therefore doesn’t provoke as much of a reaction as if the image was more shocking. This wasn’t the case for the Falling Man which showed a man falling from a window of the Twin Towers as he risked his life to avoid being trapped in the falling building.This image was removed and instead replaced by images of heroism as firefighters rescued people from the rubble. Again, this doesn’t show the true horrors of the day.
Why was the Falling Man image removed?
We discussed reasons as to why the image was removed and came up with a variety of conclusions. We decided this image is more relatable than an image of dead bodies; it is more likely to happen to us. Perhaps the image suggested a weakness in the USA in that the event could have been prevented so, in a way, the image humiliated the country and was removed for that reason. The image has a narrative. In our minds we know what the result was and we can empathise with the decisions the man had to make; he decided that jumping was safer than remaining in the building to be crushed. The fact also that he is alive in the image could be a factor.
We can relate all of these ideas to more recent events such as the Paris Attacks. Images of a similar nature such as people climbing out of windows and risking their lives to prevent getting shot aren’t too dissimilar to the Falling Man. Was there a censorship of the Paris images also? Many of the images I can remember showed the aftermath with people being taken in ambulances and reports from the desolate streets. The recollection of the band who were playing at the Bataclan is the most real piece of evidence in my opinion though this could easily have been censored and has clearly been edited together.
VISUAL CULTURE OF WAR |
07/01/16
|
When thinking of war, we often refer back to memories of images we’ve seen in the media, especially if we weren’t there at the time of the event. We are constantly bombarded with images of war from Syrian children fleeing their houses or the Hiroshima bomb cloud which we appropriate with the event itself and refer back to when discussions arise.
Many images of war focus on victory and the victors themselves. For instance, sections of the Bayeaux Tapestry persuade people to see things from the perspective of the successors which in turn implements a bias view.
Propaganda – a deliberate attempt to influence the public opinion of an audience through the transmission of idea
Discussion into why propaganda was so powerful in the 20th century can be broken down into three main sections; technology, audience and communication networks.
TECHNOLOGY
The circulation of war imagery was made far easier with advances in technology. Photography and film ensured images were viewed by large groups of people reaching the masses. Cameras themselves changed the way war was seen and stored for historical purposes. Leaflets, posters and illustrations served a similar purpose.
Posters were a popular method of persuasion as they were easy and cheap to produce and apply to walls and other surfaces. They allowed for the advertising of a message as well as a product for instance, posters during WW1 advertised the idea of morale as well as objects and advertisements t enlist in the army.
The most famous poster of the war was Alfred Leete’s ‘Your Country Needs You’ advertisement which showed Lord Kitchener’s pointing finger and strong eye contact encouraging men to enlist in the army. As a result of this, over 1,000,000 men enlisted. Other posters referred to the ideas of pride and a duty to their family tugging at the heartstrings of many.
In addition to enlisting men into the army, other posters were aimed at the women’s efforts while their husbands were away fighting. Posters were used to promote jobs, munitions and the overall effort and morale of women.
Personification was a common technique within propaganda posters with John Bull as a representation of the UK and Uncle Sam personifying America. These characters gave the country a sense of community and became symbols which were used to illustrate the country in posters. Other ideas used the metonymy of the flag to suggest countries. By personifying countries, themes of hatred could be displayed on posters. Many posters feature Adolf Hitler’s face to portray the enemy, in this case, Germany. Hitler’s face is continually used to the present day as a symbol of hatred and is used in campaigns irrelative of the war at all. This hatred aimed to rile hatred towards the enemy and develop motivation to fight and win.
Exhibitions were also used to communicate with the public. Abram Games created statistical charts which featured at exhibition. His charts communicated the idea of ‘maximum meaning, minimum means’ encouraging people to be self sufficient. He used pictograms and symbols in an info-graphic nature to quickly and recognisably identify objects.
War artistsschemes communicated opposing ideas of success and focussed more on the desolate lands left behind after the war. Paul Nash’s The Void of War (1918) showed a graphic display of flooding and broken, burnt down trees. This representation shows a more realistic depiction of war which may otherwise have been censored by the government. Artists were sent to the front line to illustrate the war through the Recording Britain Scheme and official artists such as Linda Kitsen and Langlands and Bell are employed to illustrate various conflicts. Many artists used watercolours as a medium due to its immediate and transportable qualities. Memories of war therefore became romanticised and again an untrustworthy representation.
Photography and film play a big part in the depiction of war. Journalists are used to record history however, during the war, no photographers were allowed on the Western Front due to government control. This raises questions of the validity of images of war. After 1918 photographs could capture scenes of war and soldiers themselves began using compact, pocket cameras themselves. Many of these images captured the true horrors of war such as Miller who sent back images of concentration camps. Companies such as Picture Post (UK) and Life Magazine (US) showed Britons going about their everyday lives in attempt to inspire feelings of connection overseas and from the front line back home. This saw the beginning of a documentary style photo.
The Crown Film Unit (1943) produced works such as Listen to Britain, Fires Were Started and Diary for Timothy. Diary for Timothy documented the war for a young child and made personal points towards each character in order to attempt to relate to each viewer suggesting everyone is united and everyone’s efforts contribute to the success of the war.
Nowadays it is difficult to determine truth from fiction due to fictionalised accounts of war which seem realistic. It is hard to tell what information has and hasn’t been censored. Photoshop also allowed for the post editing of imagery and leads to the suggestion that digital photography cannot be trusted due to the manipulation of content and composition. Drone vision is also a modern view of war which seems to ‘gamify’ the view of war. 1991 Operation Desert Storm is an example of this and has been copied in many games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops and many others. Simulations have also be used as trickery to fool opposition such as during the Gulf War when the Shock and Awe Campaign was implemented using a large firework display to scare the opponents.
We see examples of the media covering conflicts digitally almost every day. 9/11 was covered live all over the world on television. Osama Bin Laden was shown talking via video link suggesting another form of digital communication of war. All these methods can be said to be untrustworthy due to their potential censorship by the government.
Many images of war focus on victory and the victors themselves. For instance, sections of the Bayeaux Tapestry persuade people to see things from the perspective of the successors which in turn implements a bias view.
Propaganda – a deliberate attempt to influence the public opinion of an audience through the transmission of idea
Discussion into why propaganda was so powerful in the 20th century can be broken down into three main sections; technology, audience and communication networks.
TECHNOLOGY
The circulation of war imagery was made far easier with advances in technology. Photography and film ensured images were viewed by large groups of people reaching the masses. Cameras themselves changed the way war was seen and stored for historical purposes. Leaflets, posters and illustrations served a similar purpose.
Posters were a popular method of persuasion as they were easy and cheap to produce and apply to walls and other surfaces. They allowed for the advertising of a message as well as a product for instance, posters during WW1 advertised the idea of morale as well as objects and advertisements t enlist in the army.
The most famous poster of the war was Alfred Leete’s ‘Your Country Needs You’ advertisement which showed Lord Kitchener’s pointing finger and strong eye contact encouraging men to enlist in the army. As a result of this, over 1,000,000 men enlisted. Other posters referred to the ideas of pride and a duty to their family tugging at the heartstrings of many.
In addition to enlisting men into the army, other posters were aimed at the women’s efforts while their husbands were away fighting. Posters were used to promote jobs, munitions and the overall effort and morale of women.
Personification was a common technique within propaganda posters with John Bull as a representation of the UK and Uncle Sam personifying America. These characters gave the country a sense of community and became symbols which were used to illustrate the country in posters. Other ideas used the metonymy of the flag to suggest countries. By personifying countries, themes of hatred could be displayed on posters. Many posters feature Adolf Hitler’s face to portray the enemy, in this case, Germany. Hitler’s face is continually used to the present day as a symbol of hatred and is used in campaigns irrelative of the war at all. This hatred aimed to rile hatred towards the enemy and develop motivation to fight and win.
Exhibitions were also used to communicate with the public. Abram Games created statistical charts which featured at exhibition. His charts communicated the idea of ‘maximum meaning, minimum means’ encouraging people to be self sufficient. He used pictograms and symbols in an info-graphic nature to quickly and recognisably identify objects.
War artistsschemes communicated opposing ideas of success and focussed more on the desolate lands left behind after the war. Paul Nash’s The Void of War (1918) showed a graphic display of flooding and broken, burnt down trees. This representation shows a more realistic depiction of war which may otherwise have been censored by the government. Artists were sent to the front line to illustrate the war through the Recording Britain Scheme and official artists such as Linda Kitsen and Langlands and Bell are employed to illustrate various conflicts. Many artists used watercolours as a medium due to its immediate and transportable qualities. Memories of war therefore became romanticised and again an untrustworthy representation.
Photography and film play a big part in the depiction of war. Journalists are used to record history however, during the war, no photographers were allowed on the Western Front due to government control. This raises questions of the validity of images of war. After 1918 photographs could capture scenes of war and soldiers themselves began using compact, pocket cameras themselves. Many of these images captured the true horrors of war such as Miller who sent back images of concentration camps. Companies such as Picture Post (UK) and Life Magazine (US) showed Britons going about their everyday lives in attempt to inspire feelings of connection overseas and from the front line back home. This saw the beginning of a documentary style photo.
The Crown Film Unit (1943) produced works such as Listen to Britain, Fires Were Started and Diary for Timothy. Diary for Timothy documented the war for a young child and made personal points towards each character in order to attempt to relate to each viewer suggesting everyone is united and everyone’s efforts contribute to the success of the war.
Nowadays it is difficult to determine truth from fiction due to fictionalised accounts of war which seem realistic. It is hard to tell what information has and hasn’t been censored. Photoshop also allowed for the post editing of imagery and leads to the suggestion that digital photography cannot be trusted due to the manipulation of content and composition. Drone vision is also a modern view of war which seems to ‘gamify’ the view of war. 1991 Operation Desert Storm is an example of this and has been copied in many games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops and many others. Simulations have also be used as trickery to fool opposition such as during the Gulf War when the Shock and Awe Campaign was implemented using a large firework display to scare the opponents.
We see examples of the media covering conflicts digitally almost every day. 9/11 was covered live all over the world on television. Osama Bin Laden was shown talking via video link suggesting another form of digital communication of war. All these methods can be said to be untrustworthy due to their potential censorship by the government.
