“A picture is worth a thousand words”, they say. It is incredible how images, whether they are taken in a studio or out in the streets, can shape our perspectives on reality. We see magazine adds all of the time, where there is a picture of unrealistic beauty ideals (obviously photo shopped but we always tend to forget this it seems like), hypersexualized people/celebrities, and skewed messages that tend to make our priorities in life more superficial. It is so important to understand these underlying meanings behind advertisements and even journalistic photos that cause us to feel and think a certain way. Photographs can sway the public in subtle ways, or sometimes by drastic means.
The first image is from an advertisement by SISLEY, where we have two women apparently, uh, snorting some…clothing? I think we can agree that the clothing symbolizes something else here in this case. That’s interesting. So, why? Well, that’s what I’d like to know. Why are they using this symbolism as a means to sell their clothing? Maybe as a way of saying "hey, you really need this dress and our fashion is that addicting and desirable"? Are these women supposed to look sexy like that? Because it’s definitely not making me want that dress. But it makes you wonder why they went this route. I think of kids who may stumble across this add in a magazine and not understand the obvious theme, and pass it off as a norm.
For my second photo which includes a journalistic image that conveys a message, I chose a picture from a Trump rally. You may know me for my “affinity” for Trump by now, so I might as well be on a roll here. Objectively speaking (regardless of my personal opinion of him and his ideals), I chose this picture because it is controversial in itself. Here, you see a seemingly large crowd standing by Trump, claiming that the “silent majority” stands with him. The nature of this picture gives the impression of vast majority standing up for what they personally believe to be a noble and valid cause. There are American flags in the background (and pretty much a lot of elderly Caucasian males…sorry just stating a fact here). The underlying message this photo conveys is a sense of universal patriotism for an ideal that is so opposed by many, even though one would not know that if he or she only saw this picture.
Sad.
