Assignment 7 : In-dependence (Stage 3)

For the photo of the granny's hands, I found this place in kampong bahru when my dad drove past. I really like the nice blue windows and the interesting pinkish purple flowers so I thought I could try taking my granny hands at this place. I like the look and ambience of this place a lot. My dad said that my great grandfather used to live around this area. I thought the surrounding gives a nostaligic mood to the photo. Other than taking the hands, I wanted to capture a peaceful mood. Hopefully when people sees the photo, they can visualize an old lady living in this surrounding. Of all the shots, these 2 were my favourite.

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I had some comments to improve, maybe to desaturate the flowers so that they wouldn't look so pink and distract the attention away from the hands. I agree that the pink flower stands out in the picture as well. So I tried changing the saturation. But after doing so I thought the photo doesn't contain a certain essence which I wish to portray. Mr Reddy's said the pink flowers might be attention grabbing at the first glance but its presence provides some balance for the photo as well. I decided to keep it as it is. On a side note, I realize that sometimes when I play around with photoshop, I come to a point when I lose my judgment about my photo and get very confused over what I want. Guess its something I will learn more along the way. Anyway, I appreciate all comments given! :)

Assignment 7 : In-dependence (Stage 2)

After thinking about sense of comfort and how I could go about taking the photos in the Singapore context, I decided on 4D after more clarifications from Mr Reddy. In Singapore, 4D is quite prominent and even some young people engage in the activity. I think many people see it as a form of leisure and there are different sorts of dependence in this case.

-----------------------Distress'-----------------------

For someone who engages in 4D buying and depend on it to strike it rich, it has a tendency to become an addiction and as time passes, the level of distress increases when he or she doesn't win. For this photo, the 4D tickets are like fallen leaves and the unfeeling concrete floor doesn't provide any consolotion to the person in distress.

-----------------------Hope'-----------------------

Many of the older generation do not hanker after wealth desperately. Rather, buying 4D is something they have done for decades and when they reach old age, it is a different dependence. Buying it gives them a sense of comfort and hope. It is an anticipation that they get out of it. If they don't buy it for a week, they would feel some discomfort. Not because they are worried that they wouldn't win, but because there is nothing for them to look forward to. For my grandmothers, they would say "mai wan wan" (buy for fun) and if they win, it is a bonus to them.

-----------------------Miracle Numbers'-----------------------

Another interesting thing about 4D is what they call "zhen zi" (miracle numbers). As long as it is numbers, it has the potential to be a winning number. In times of disaster, such as an accident or fire, they would buy the numbers on the number plate of the car that got into a crash or the house unit that was on fire. I find it really amusing. 4D buyers seem to have a special eye as they see the mirable numbers everywhere, even the garbage dump.

-----------------------Frustrations'-----------------------

I found these vandalisms really interesting. It doesn't really make much sense and I saw the chinese characters which says "quit gambling". It seems to show someone who has no control over his gambling habits and rather scribble down his frustrations amongst other vandalisms.

After further discussion with the group over the flow of the exhibition, "hope" and "miracle numbers" would be on exhibit. But I would have to improve on the granny's hands to make them look more formalistic. For the miracle numbers, I like the first shot better personally. Some of them preferred my second shot maybe because it looks more fine arts. But to convey the message that the miracle numbers could be found even on garbage dumps some mentioned that the first shot could show it better. Mr Reddy said the first shot has more character and he suggested I could try cropping around to improve it visually.

Assignment 7 : In-dependence (Stage 1)

For the final assignment, after brainstorming and going through so many themes, our group's topic is " In-dependence" (note: not independence) which refers to something being in dependent of another thing. For the first stage, we did some rough shootings. I guess in-dependence usually gives the feeling of reliance on something else to make up for any shortcomings on the initial body. And for most people it is more inclined towards the negative side. For my interpretation of in-dependence, I thought of taking things that people depend on to give a sense of comfort to themselves. I thought of was religion-spiritual dependence. Here are two examples of my shots on spiritual dependence.

-----------------------Peaceful Benevolence`-----------------------

This shot was on guan-yin, the goddess of compassion and caring. I chose to emphasize on her fingers. I think it symbolizes peace, healing and comfort.

-----------------------A moment of tranquility`-----------------------

In some religions, joss sticks are offered to the gods and what I wanted to portray here was the feelings that people have when they offer the joss sticks. I see it as a form of dependence as I believe the moment when people pray would be the time when they feel the most peace within themselves. Thus, this form of spiritual dependence gives them a sense of comfort. I took many many shots of the joss sticks to capture the different patterns of smoke and this was the one I was most satisfied with. I also like the smoke in the second joss sticks photo but I thought the first one seems more peaceful because the smoke was not so haphazard.

-----------------------A puff of comfort`-----------------------

Another approach I took was smoking. This idea came when I saw cigarette buds places so neatly in a row. It is definitely unhealthy but I wonder what comes to the minds of these people when they puff away. Could it give them a sense of comfort? Seeing the cigarettes placed in these manner makes me wonder if the people faced many stresses and problems such that smoking allows them to forget about the worries for that short amount of time.

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After Mr Reddy saw our shots, he mentioned most of us tried to show in-dependence literally. Thus most of the shots lacked emotions. Plus we need some link to Singapore and you can imagine what a big headache I had. I think showing dependence on something for comfort is so difficult and now I had to show some link to the Singapore context. I was basically stuck! I thought so hard and if I wanted to continue doing on in-dependence on religion, I would have to think of something to link it to Singapore. I really don't know how to because I am dealing with inner peace, something spiritual.

Singapore Culture

Singapore is made up of so many different races. I feel that it is the diversity which gives us a unique culture. Where else in the world do we have Chinese, Indians, Malays and other races living together and still regarding themselves as one citizen. I truly think this have made us more accepting of each other's different cultures and gives us a unique identity as Singaporeans. However, sometimes I do feel that there is so many other external influences from other countries which inevitably overpowers our own culture. I would say the Internet greatly facilitates this. Almost every young Singaporean have Internet access and be exposed to things like Japanese anime, Korean wave, Taiwanese Chinese pop music, Western hip hop and rnb music etc.

I think we have a flair for accepting influences from other countries and then incorporate our own styles into them. Take the coffee culture for example. It is so prevalent in America/Europe and eventually gets incorporated into the Singapore lifestyle. I forgot when (I think the early 1990s) but all of a sudden, Coffee Bean and Starbucks outlets sprung up over the island. It became trendy to drink coffee at these cafes, rather than our own kopi tiams (coffee shops). So which of our own styles did we integrate into the American coffee drinking culture? It is when you see students studying vigourously and holding project meetings at coffee bean, starbucks and macdonalds. It is quite interesting really.... A coffee cafe should be a place for relaxation and for catching up with friends with the cosy ambience. Yet we see Singaporean kids mugging in cafes. No wonder there is so much confidence in our education.

As for our own kopi tiams that has a strong local element due to a long heritage of the Hokkien traders who run them in the past, it is more common in the heartlands. We say "kopi-O" instead of black coffee. "Kopi-O siew dai" instead of black coffee with less sugar, "Milo beng" instead of ice milo as well as our "kaya roti" (kaya bread). Sadly, most people especially the young people would rather go to coffee bean than kopi tiams. Fortunately, kopi tiams with modern elements such as the "Ya Kun Toast" comes along to revive the good old time. Now people can enjoy their kopi in air conditioned places. I would say that Singaporeans have such good flexibility to adapt to different changes. However, this change in environment has totally altered the true essence of kopi tiams where people know one another and openly greet each other as they talk about things like the economy and politics. Sadly, it is a compromise that comes with commercialization. It is always a stuggle that is hard to maintain a balance.

As for traits that have been linked to Singaporeans such as kiasu (afraid to lose). It is quite sad that when we mention Singapore culture, many would rather talk about how kiasu we are. I feel that kiasu is not something that we are born with. Rather, something that we are shaped to become. We are shaped to be competitive and shaped to believe that we must not lose out. I guess we have been reminded too much that being a small country, we have to make it up by being more competitive. It shouldn't be over emphasized as being negative because we live in a country with a fast pace of life, sometimes it is inevitable that someone has to be kiasu. For a parent who has a family to support, kiasu means to work harder than others for the better of the family. In a society that places so much emphasis on academic excellence, it is also inevitable that parents are kiasu and want their children to be put in the best schools and have the best tuition teachers. I believe within kiasu-ism itself, there are so many underlying reasons. Thus, it would be biased to label it as a negative trait of Singaporeans.

In short, we have a rich culture of our own, however commercialization have led to a dilemma, whether to embrace the external influences for advancement or to hold on tightly to the lingering scents of local culture.

Assignment 6 : Photo Analysis

Assignment 6's Theme: Analysing a picture (group assignment - 2 students per group)

Select any image from one of the following genres of photograph from recent publication (news paper, magazine, online) - Photojournalism, Social documentary, Commercial photography

Analyse the picture: List how selected photograph might be read by target audience. Morris framework is a good starting point for analysing photographs.

----------------------------- Fake Sisley Ad`-----------------------------

Chosen Ad: A Fake Sisley's Ad (Published: June 2007)

Advertising Agency: Zoo Advertising, Shanghai, China

Creative Director: Alex Sean / Art Director: Stephen Zou / Copywriter: Sandy Sang / Photographer: Taurus

Slogan: Fashioin Junkie

Medium: Internet

I did this photo analysis assignment with Christina and the ad we chose to analyse was on the Benetton brand, Sisley. Apparently, this ad is fake! Benetton which is well-known for their controversial ad campaigns claimed that this ad is completely fake and that they have nothing to do with them. I thought it's pretty interesting because the first time I saw this ad, I also thought it was real. Maybe because it looks professionally done. Since there are so many speculations over whether its real or not, Chris and I decided to be detectives and find out the truth haaha.. just kidding... there's no way we can find out the real truth, but we can analyse how viewers might interpret the ad and whether you think it's real or not is up to your own interpretations. :)

----------------------- Analysis`-----------------------

1. Semantics

a. Signifier: White dress

Signified: Heroin

b. Signifier: Uncovered breast

Signified: Helpless and vulnerability

c. Signifier: Dark, enclosed room with metal grills

Signified: A confined space which shows compression- constrained by the drugs (fashion brand)

d. Signifier: Credit card

Signified: Spending power

2. Pragmatics:

The girls are presented as sniffing cocaine. (Junkies) However, the message the ad conveys is that they are fashion junkies. To illustrate their insatiable craving for the brand.

3. Colours

Colour tones have great symbolism, it creates different moods and describes different emotional states. Each colour expresses the wavelength of light that in turn produces sensations on our mind. The colour tones in this ad are mainly dark.

a. Black colour symbolizes sorrow, hopelessness and depression. However it can also depict sophistication and style. Black is widely used in fashion as it can be considered a stylish colour. For this ad, black might be used for that purpose.

b. White is known for peace and unity. It shows how the white dress satisfies their craving for fashion.

c. The use of a violet dress is really interesting. Violet is a well known colour for majesty and richness. In this ad, the model is wearing a violet dress to represent the rich taste of wearing the clothes brand.

d. In another ad under the same series, red was used. It is the colour of love, passion, excitement. (For the brand). It can also symbolize aggressiveness. The red cloth which spills out from the glass and close to the model's lips represents alcohol addiction.

4. Metaphor

For the slogan, "Fashion" is spelled as "Fashioin" - made to sound like "Heroin". It is to show the addiction for the brand.

5. The recumbent positions

Note: the body positions, lowering of the heads, lying on the floor. Acceptance of subordination/submissive. The level of our heads are also lowered. Though in addiction, the gaze of the model on the right demonstrates some control. In most fashion ads, the recumbent positions are used. In past sisley ads, we spotted this trend as well.

6. Syntatic

After discussing the different signifiers and their meanings, the colour tones and the slogan, we see a strong link between them. The underlying message in the ad is to illustrate the insatiable addiction for the brand. Their target audience which they refer to as the fashion junkies would be able to relate their love/craving for the brand just like how drug addicts fall helplessly for drugs - they cannot do without them. We feel that the colour tones gives the ad a stylish look, suitable for a fashion ad. It also does much to justify their message about addiction. The slogan helps to reinforce their message of "fashioin junkies", people who are addicted to fashion.

The ad has suffered much criticisms such as it has a bad influence on teens. For myself, I do not really feel so strong about it. Looking at a pict like that wouldn't influence me to take drugs. I guess it really depends much on an individual's background and discipline. In fact, I think the slogan "fashioin junkie" is quite innovative to illustrate the addiction for a brand.

So are the ads genuine or fake? There have been doubts and speculations on the Internet. It is still unclear who was behind the circulation of these offensive and misleading images and what reasons he or she had for doing it. As quoted by fashion critic, "why would anyone go through the time and effort to produce the fake ads? is this a double bluff? Grab the attention, then deny involvement?"

If you guys are interested in Benetton's past campaigns, you can find them here. They have concepts that evoke strong emotions, like showing a priest and a nun kissing etc. They are well-known for controversial campaigns. Personally, I feel that some of these ads are quite interesting. Very often, featuring controversial things like sex and drugs often spark debates and some people say that it is a bad influence on young people. I guess very often we try to hide from certain issues, however censoring them doesn't mean that it doesn't exists. Being open about them and talking about it might be better?

----------------------- After thoughts`-----------------------

During the class presentation, Mr Reddy commented about Ivy and Michelle's photo that umbrellas can be interpreted as being indifferent and cold. Like how in some movies umbrellas are always related to passerbys. I think this is an example of how people from different cultures interpret signs differently because for the Chinese, when someone passes away, the relative or family would carry an umbrella during the funeral to shelter the spirit of the dead. Therefore, when I look at the photo which Ivy and Michelle presented, I feel quite strong for it, like as if the different umbrellas represents the spirits who are also part of the protest.

In buddhism, the Umbrella or parasol embodies notions of wealth or royalty, for one had to be rich enough to possess such an item, and further, to have someone carry it. It points to the "royal ease" and power experienced in the Buddhist life of detachment. It also symbolises the wholesome activities to keep beings from harm (sun) like illness, harmful forces, obstacles and so forth, and the enjoyment of the results under its cool shade.

I find the different interpretations very interesting.

----------------------- Peer Evaluation`-----------------------

I thought that Meimei and Paul did well in their photo analysis. The part on the different relationship between king and queen vs queen and jack was so interesting. To be frank I didn't know that there were so many meanings behind each card. They also had many other photos to backup their analysis which was very good and I could see lots of effort put into it. I give them 10/10. Jialin and Karen's analysis of the ad on Nagaraya Nuts was also detailed, plus they did a part on analysing how the filipinos would interpret the ad, which I thought was good. I give them 9.5/10. Like them, Mark and Natalie also mentioned their Volvo ad in relation to Saudi Arabia.

----------------------- Self Assessment`-----------------------

I would give the two of us 8.8/10, more room for improvement as I thought we could have analyzed it more like how different audiences from various cultures would interpret or see the ad like how some other groups did as well as analyse it in relation to more supporting photos.