Ad buster

     This advertisement is soliciting very expensive clothing to men and in some people's opinion sex.  In my opinion, not sex, rape.  The underlying message in the ad, to me, is that you wear Dolce & Gabbana, or you are less than those who do wear.  In this particular case, wear their clothes or lose your manhood.  The intended audience are for men from their mid twenties to men in their late thirties who are wealthy, metro sexual or gay (given the naked man and the situation that may happen next in this particular scenario).  This advertisement is not geared toward women or children in any way, shape or form.  Sex sells, but this type of sex does not sell to women, beside the fact that the clothing is for men.  When I first found this ad, I experienced severe discomfort and disgust.  I was not disgusted because the men are looking at the naked man, I was disgusted because I felt that the unconscious man was about to be raped by the man undoing his trousers.  This was my response, and I believe that most people would also have feelings of discomfort.

     I added words to the very spicy advertisement to try to change the meaning of it.  I added "Whoa! He shaved that with a straight edge?  Around Dolce & Gabbana I added:  Even <Dolce & Gabbana> men use BiC, and the words BiC razors in the bottom left corner.**  I felt that is I was so uncomfortable looking at this ad, I needed some humor, STAT!  Now, the message being put forth is, BiC is a darn good razor!  It will make other men who see how fabulous the shave is, to want to use a BiC razor right away!  (Hence, the man undoing his pants.)  The new add is geared mostly toward any man (rich or poor) who want or need a great shave.  Some women might want to see what the fuss is about, but it is mainly an ad intended for men.  The audience being left out are any male without facial hair (or other hairy areas) and women (except the curious ones) and children.  Hopefully, the emotion being exploited in the viewer now, is humor and curiosity.  Are Bic razors really that good?  Should I buy some?  Is this something me and my guy friends can do together before playing poker in our tighty whities?  Why not!



**I do realize that a straight edge razor is not the same thing as a single blade Bic razor, but the line sounded better using the words "straight edge".  Also in my opinion, BiC is not the best razors out there, and I thought it was more humorous using BiC.

Personal photography/The body in photography

No unborn babies were harmed in the taking of these photographs!

Project Statement

I chose to explore things that some women do (and they shouldn't do) when they are pregnant.  I brainstormed about what women are not supposed to do when they are pregnant.  There are women that I know who smoke cigarettes, smoke marijuana, drink alcohol and lesser offenses to the pregnancy such as drinking coffee (I am guilty of this one).  I also am interested in the reactions that a photograph of a women lighting a joint would get.  I showed my sister-in-law, who is also pregnant, and she was appalled.  She knows that I do not do drugs or drink alcohol, but the sight of it even though they are just being acted out, she was not only offended, but also a little upset.  Specific ideas connected the body in photography is desire and disgust.  I used my body, my pregnancy, to put in front of people things that might make them uncomfortable if they were to see a pregnant women doing.  I know how I feel when I see pregnant women smoking or drinking and there is a certain amount of disgust.  Knowing the repercussions to her actions.  This idea of the disgust/desire part of body photography was almost inspiring to me.  Maybe by seeing these photographs, I can stop one women from doing things to harm her unborn child.  Nan Golden's personal photography was of specific interest to me.  She put herself in situations that were abusive, sexual and personal.  It is the in-your-face photography that interests me.  Nan Golden just told her story and it is hard to look at sometimes, but it is her reality.  The particular photography that inspired me is Nan Golden's Nan After Being Battered.  The feeling I get when I look at the photograph is not a good feeling.  But, it evokes a response in me and I can't look away.   I wanted to try to take photographs that would give others this "feeling".  I was immensely influenced by her in this project.