Wk04 - Barthes' Rhetoric of the Image

giovanni
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:27 am

Re: Wk04 - Barthes' Rhetoric of the Image

Post by giovanni » Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:28 am

Trying to accomplish this homework, before everything I had to retrieve some notes of a previous course about semiotics, that I attended some time ago.
As I was informed at that time, I’ve noticed some differences between some American and European semiotics concepts. Indeed, it seems that current semiotics comes from 2 different theoretical traditions: one who comes from the theories of C. S. Peirce, and another one so called “semiology” who comes from European structuralism of 19th century, beginning from linguistic studies of Saussure, Hjiemslev, Greimas and Barthes (who actually belongs to this current).
For what I remember, following developments as lead to a convergence of these original theories into the “interpretative semiotic” conceptualized by Umberto Eco in the 60’s, whence all subsequent theories, like social or textual semiotics, come from.
At the state of the art researchers are facing applications of semiotic theories in many fields like artworks, music, audiovisual and multimedial contents, theatre, literature and whatever could be considered a “text” as an object who “means” or “signify” and that could be analyzed.
This introduction is just to clarify my background and to say that I have decided to work on a previous exercise where I had to analyze a commercial by Hugo Boss. I’ve re-analized it with the “tools” seen in class, and I’ve tryied to compare it with the previous analysis I did, that was a little bit different.
hugoboss1.jpg
hugoboss2.png
The two images are for the fashion company “Hugo Boss", and particularly is a campaign for a line of perfumes for man and woman.

Linguistic

What is readable in both images is the headline “your fragrance, your rules”, and also there is a packshot in the right bottom corner with the logo printed on the bottle of perfume.
In the second image there is one more label, a baseline saying “for woman only”.
The text guide the attention on right side and is strictly connected with the movement of the card, also on the right, like a description of the action in the image.
The same happens in the second image where the text is in the top right, just next to the eyes of the girl and it seems illuminated by the light of the lamp.

Codec-Iconic

What is visible in the first image is a guy, sitted in a comfortable position (with open legs), dressed with
Blue jeans and a dark green monochromatic ordinary t-shirt , who throws a card against someone who is supposed to be in front of him, staring at him.
He has an easy casual style with a red bangle and a tattoo, cutted hair and well-groomed.
The bottle of perfume is out of the frame, that means that is not in physically in the scene.
In the second image there is a beautiful girl with an unbuttoned black shirt, a red belt and apparently no other clothes on legs (or just a short skin).
She has a light between her legs, red lipstick and red nails, the hairs not in a perfect shape and an aggressive and malicious gaze.

Non-coded iconic

In mine previous analsys this part was colled “plastic level” of the image and it is divided in 3 deeper levels:
- topological level = how the spaces are organized. The first picture is inside a frame who cut the scene, the card is inside (that could mean the guy is breaking the rules but staying in the limits), but the hands is bigger in perspective and it seems to go out of the 3d space, like an invitation for the watcher.
It’s interesting that the label is both inside and outside the frame.
- eidetic level = How the lines are organized. There are essentially straight lines and angles, but not hard edges, and there are some parallelism between the arm, the head and the card, and between the body and the bottle.
- Chromatic level = it’s evident the relevance of the saturated and bright red in the card, bangle, libs, the label of the bottle, and the text of headline.
The red has cultural connotation, it means passion and aggressivity (break rules, your rules) and contrast with the cold tones of the rest of the picture.
The second picture doesnpt have this contrast between red and cold tones, but has warm tones and connote a more erotic meaning.

Denotation

What is denoted in the first pic is the masculinity, with a guy who follows his own rules and not that ones of the society, but is not a rebellion, he is tidy and quiet.
In the second pic the girl is probably depicted as “ bad” and it is denoted that she strong and aggressive , and that she is “directing the game”.

Connotation
What is connoted is that you break the standard rules, with this product you can be cool and trasgressive and there is a general erotic and passional message

Differently to this, my previous work was focused on the interpretation of symbolism (association between colors, shapes, lines and signifier), and the structure of the enunciation (narrator, distance, who is speaking? Who is listening/waching? Etc.)
4809198093_cae3ab65b4_b.jpg
ignudo tra i nudisti
Linguistic
In the picture is possible to read on the top-left the logo of BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, that is s a multinational banking group), with the label Service-at that indicate the presence of an ATM, in the middle on the main entrance of a building there is another logo ARPI probably from a nearness shop (fotography and video shop I guess), and on the the top right another neon sign saying "ARTICLES DE VIATGE" and "CASA SANCHE(Z)".
It is possible to catch many informations from this image:
- BBVA is a spanish bank, so this pic could be made in Spain or in another hispanic countries (but is a multinational so, this is not so sure).
- ARPI is not so useful
- Casa sanchez, suggest again that we are in a place with spanish idiom, and for who knows, "articles de viatge" means travel's articles, (or travel's gift, souvenir) in catalan, so we can assume to be in catalunya (Spain).
The are also some graffiti on a rolling shutter, the reflection of a neon sign n the blue car, a newspaper in the hand of the subject. and a blurred plate on a car but is not possible to read anything else.

non-coded iconic
In this picture is possible to see a man dressed with a totally white tuxedo, white shirt, shoes, hat and gloves, and also his face and hairs are painted.
He is supposed to be close to a busy road, whit some shops on both sides (neon signs and reflections) ad many people walking around.
The presence of a three suggest that he could be in a sidewalk in the middle of a big street or in a pedonal pavement.
He stand on plinth, litterally sitted on a toilet with a fake flush drain on top of his head, and the throusers pulled down.
From this information is possible to denote that he's a street actor or a busker, and considering the previuous clues (spanish label, catalan, pavement in a large road) is maybe possibe to understand that we are in the Barcelona's rambla.

coded iconic
On coded iconic is possible to say that the man is acting or performing, or making a protest or a flash mob, from the experssion of the man si looking or teasing at someone near to him.

samibohn
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Re: Wk04 - Barthes' Rhetoric of the Image

Post by samibohn » Tue Oct 30, 2012 12:49 am

Image
Ad for Shiner Bock Beer

The Linguistic Message: There are two linguistic messages in this image. The first is on the product itself, a bottle, which is turned toward the camera, though still not entirely readable. The readable portion is "Shine- Bock". The 'r' at the end of Shiner Bock is cut off by the curve of the bottle. No where else in the image is the name of the product. The second message is underneath the image. It reads, "'LIKE US' ON YOUR PORCH".

The Non-Coded Iconic: The image is a photo of a man, from the shoulders down, sitting on a weathered set of steps. Behind him is a door. He is wearing jeans, a plaid t-shirt, and is holding a beer bottle casually in one hand. There is a wide white frame around the picture.

The Coded Iconic: This picture is full of many details that a viewer with an American cultural background would associate with masculinity and ruggedness. The clothes are either casual or working class, with an unbuttoned plaid shirt and weathered jeans. Even the shoes seem grungy and well worn. This, along with the man's tanned arms, tell you that he spends a lot of time outside and isn't overly concerned with his appearance. We immediately see him as "down to earth" and accessible, just an average man. The way he loosely grips the neck of the bottle and holds his wrists tell us that he is relaxed. The wide stance of his legs repeat that lack of tension, while also enforcing the masculinity of his character. The background only furthers this image. The paint on the steps is old and peeling, and the porch and door don't appear new and clean either, though they are slightly out of focus. This tells us the porch in the picture could be anyone's porch, not just a porch in a photo shoot. Beer itself is a working class, masculine drink.

The white frame and textured edge around the picture as well as the subtle tonal manipulation and vignette on the photo give the image a vintage, snapshot look. This makes us feel nostalgic and once again, like this could be someone we know. Still, the way that the beer is turned and the casual pose still read falseness to someone who is bombarded with ads on a daily basis. We can easily see through the intentions of the photographer. Contrasting with the "vintage" look of the picture is the text, "'LIKE US' ON YOUR PORCH". "Like us" on your front porch is referring to Facebook, because of the parenthesis. "Like us on your front porch" would mean something else entirely. The reference to modern internet culture doesn't quite mesh with the illusion that this is a vintage photo. The writing itself looks like it was handwritten, like a note underneath a photo in a scrapbook. The use of all capitols is once again a masculine stereotype of bold handwriting.

Image

The Linguistic Message: The only linguistic message of this picture is a sign in the background that reads "Oranienburger Tor". This doesn't mean anything to your typical viewer, other than to establish that this is either a cryptic place name, or not located in the English speaking world.

The Non-Coded Iconic: Two people are standing together, a man who is on his cell phone and a woman who is leaning against him. The man doesn't seem to notice the photo is being taken, while the woman is posing her face and the glass in her hand. The man has a Mohawk and is wearing a backpack, hooded jacket, and gloves with skull fingers printed on them. He also has a lip piercing. The woman is wearing a hooded jacket as well as a leopard print scarf. The image is high contrast and entirely black and white.

The Coded Iconic: When we see this photo, we immediately draw conclusions about this couple based on their clothing, hair, and accessories. Most people would consider their "look" to be punk, or alternative. Skull gloves are not commonly worn in everyday life outside of Halloween, but they go with the rest of what he is wearing. The way that the man and the woman are leaning up against each other tells us that they are familiar. The way that she leans her head back against his shoulder is intimate, trusting. The way that he casually speaks on the phone tells us that he is comfortable with their closeness. Also since they are both wearing casual hooded jackets and a similar style of clothing, we put them in the same social group. The backpack we associate with students, or travelers. The woman is holding a glass with a certain shape, and we can see the darkness and the foam of her drink, either beer or coke. The way that she is leaning with her head thrown back and her lips pursed and eyes rolled to the side gives us a clue to her personality. She comes across as whimsical and fun.

Once again, the black and white "vintage" quality of the image contrasts with the content. You can tell by their clothing and the modern cell phone in the picture that this is a recent picture, taken since the invention of color photography. Therefore the color choice must be a filter of some kind. As part of modern culture, we are aware of the current fad of "vintage" style photography, for example the popularity of the Instagram App. This also explains why the beer ad was created in this manner.

aleung
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Re: Wk04 - Barthes' Rhetoric of the Image

Post by aleung » Fri Nov 09, 2012 9:23 pm

Image

This is an ad for M.A.C. makeup.

Linguistic:The linguistic message in this ad is quite sparse. There are only four words and those words are "M.A.C. OPULASH OPTIMUM BLACK" All the letters are capitalized. Capitalizing the letters seems to make the words stand out more and pop out at the viewer. The words are also in white on a dark background so they pop out even more. The really big letters “M.A.C” is the company's name. There are dots after the letters so that probably means those letters are acronyms. The medium sized letters spell out the word “OPULASH” and that could be suggested as the name of the makeup. The first part of the word “OPU” is not quite understandable but the second part “LASH” makes it clearer that the makeup is probably for the eyelashes. The smallest sized letters spell out the words “OPTIMUM BLACK”. Optimum means best so it can be presumed that it means the color of the makeup is the best of the black there is, or that could also be the name of the color of the makeup. The audience that are familiar with makeup and makeup brands will recognize this ad and that the ad is trying to advertise mascara but for the audience that are not familiar with makeup, this ad will be rather foreign to them.

Denoted: The denoted message is a zoomed in image of a head and it undoubtedly is the head of a woman. It is very feminine. The woman is very beautiful; she has flawless skin, big round eyes, nice little pointy nose, luscious lips, healthy-looking black wavy hair, and cleanly shaped eyebrows. Looking closely, you can see that she has a mole on her cheek and moles in that particular area are considered to be a beauty mark. The image is pretty dark but only one area is lighted and focused on. This area is her left eye with almost all of her eyebrow and a little bit of her hair. She is not looking at the camera, but into the distance. She is quite emotionless, similar to the expressions of a robot.

Connoted: The connotated message is that this type of makeup will make your eyelashes long and full. For those people who lack eyelashes and want to fix that might see this ad as a solution to their problem. Because of the pressures to look beautiful, on women especially, they will always be looking for ways to enhance their looks, which will lead to a high demand for beauty products. Companies in the cosmetic industry are the chief suppliers of these products and millions of new products come out every year. Today, the global cosmetic industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, with American consumers alone spending roughly $10 billion US dollars annually. Makeup is a pretty miraculous product. It can change the looks of someone instantly. Some may think that it is the cheaper alternative to cosmetic surgery. This ad can also brainwash people into thinking that this is what beauty is and that long eyelashes are beautiful and what is socially accepted. The expressionless image of the model makes her seem like a robot, as if she was not a human. This can translate to humans are not perfect and there will never be a perfect woman. Any woman that seems perfect probably have been altered in many ways with either surgery, makeup, or Photoshop.


Image

Linguistic: The linguistic messages in this photo are shown on a board and a tablecloth. The visible words on the board are “ RUSH αK∆Φ LARGEST Asian American interest wide”. The visible words and letters on the cloth are “ta Phi est.2001” These words and letters are towards the bottom left of the photo and one can tell that there are other words being covered.

Denoted: This photograph was taken outside, hence the trees and pavement. It was taken during the daytime as one can see that the photo is bright. Ten people can be counted in this photo but only four seems to be the main subjects, but if one looked closer, it can be seen that there is a fifth person added as a main subject. The main subjects are all girls and they all seem to be wearing shades of blue. These girls all have their bodies arranged in a certain form. Some of the girls are looking at the camera and smiling while some are looking away from the camera. The rest of the five people in the photo are in the background with either their backs turned or walking towards the camera. Two canopies can be seen, one purple and one blue. The majority colors in this photo are blue, purple, green, and a peachy color. Three of the girls are posing in front of letters and one is behind the letters.

Connoted: The girls posing in front of the letters can suggest that they are trying to arrange their limbs to the form of the letters. Although, one of the girls look like she is just standing there. Her facial expression can insinuate that she is confused or not willing to participate. The second girl from the right looks as if she needed help with completing her letter, and that’s where the hidden fifth girl comes in. This can show that these girls are all willing to help each other out and lend a helping hand when needed. The girl to the very left is not posing in front of any letters and the letter she is trying to imitate is not quite visible in the picture and she is also not standing like the other three, so one may presume that this letter is lower-cased. For those who are familiar with Greek letters and Greek life, it will come automatically to them that this is a sorority and it is their rush week. It can be assumed that this is their rush week because there are huge letters that spell out “RUSH” and they have a lot of their things displayed to get their name out there. The information on the board informs the audience that they are that largest Asian American interest sorority. The comprehensible information on the tablecloth can suggest that their sorority started in the year 2001. These girls look very young but since sororities are only in college, it implies that these girls are college students. For those who are not familiar with Greek life can probably see that these girls are part of a group and are having an event of some sort. The blue hue of their clothing can suggest that the dress code for the event is color-coded.

aimeejenkins
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Re: Wk04 - Barthes' Rhetoric of the Image

Post by aimeejenkins » Mon Dec 10, 2012 8:00 pm

Charlize-Theron-In-New-J’adore-Dior-Commercial.jpg
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This advertisement by J’Adore Dior features the ravishing Charlize Theron. Her beautiful attributes capture audiences throughout the world. As an affect this perfume has been sold throughout the world. Roland Barthes wrote on the nature of photography. His criticisms gave rise to the notion of individualist thought and opposed adopting bourgeois ideologies. The study of semiotics and signs supports his interrogations of the bourgeois society. For Barthes, it lacked concern and awareness for languages. If read correctly, Barthes supposes, “A photograph will offer three messages; a linguistic message, a coded iconic message, and a non-coded iconic message.

The advertisement I chose immediately yields a linguistic message. The images support is the label inserted into the scene. Cultural knowledge is the only prerequisite for readers to understand this message. It text reveals plenty of information about the focal point of the advertisement. It fixes the floating chains of signifieds and combats the terror of uncertain signs. It no longer guides the identification but the interpretation that holds together connoted meanings. Through a process of textual analysis, readers actively create the meaning. However, selected labels imply new meanings. Reading differ depending on the knowledge invested in each image. The perfume label is the only visible text in the image. It does nothing to influence the iconography of the image. It relates to the product sold, not the image. Viewers assume this perfume makes you “elegant” and “luxurious” similar to the woman in the ad.
If we subtract particular signs from this image, it still retains informational substance; and serves as a site of resistance to meaning. The image is representation. It is packed with implied meanings to infer naturalistic truths. In “Rhetoric of The Image” Barthes asks; “Can [these] analogical representation (the “copy”) produce true sign-systems?” He says no. “The rhetoric of the image is subject to the physical constraints of vision.” A good example is when a popular magazine says a ‘blouse’ is ideal for work; Societies naturalize this idea and accepts it as true, even though the actual sign could be easily interchanged with a suit.

Charlize Theron, the actress photographed, poses in a luxurious dress, rich in material and finely crafted. She gazes into the camera with her sexy shoulders revealed Not only do people admire her beauty, but also her success and talent. People are drawn in by her radiating skin tone and elegant facial features. She is a clear distraction when the focus of the ad should be the perfume. J’Adore Diore intentionally left this advertisement up for interpretation. This ad connotes a variety of messages depending on ones opinion about the actress and product. Some women feel her risky attire exploits their gender in an inappropriate fashion. This opinion stems from society's negativity toward overtly sexual displays. However, here sexuality is utilized to promote feelings of desire. Her facial expression allures audiences worldwide.

The personal photograph I chose was of my brother and i at our high school graduation. I picked this picture because it always reminds me of how great that day truly was. The advertisements scene juxtaposed to my personal photograph share nothing in common. This photograph displays happiness and the affection I have towards my brother. There is no apparent linguistic message in this photograph. No explicit text tells us what’s going on in the photo.

My mother took this photograph outdoors on the football field of our high school. My brother and I are smiling because we’re that we were going to receive our diplomas we worked for. Our gesture and embrace are identical. My mother wanted to record this memorable event in our lives. We now can look back and remember how glad we were at that particular moment. Our blue caps and gowns suggest we are at a traditional gradudation. Blue was one of our school colors. Although the photo is in black and white, you can tell that my brother’s hair is than mine and that he is taller than me. It’s obvious it is daytime and people surrounded us. The perspective of the image suggests the photographer is standing eye to eye with us.

The parallels in our clothing and mannerisms suggest that we are close in relationship and age. Looking from one figure to the next creates a strange sensation of looking at two identical being. I’ve noticed how long we’ve come since that very moment. Our actions are intentional and the atmosphere is merry. This photo shows us acting alike even though we have nothing in common. Overall the image conveys our physical resemblance and similar tendencies when in fact we have very distinct personalities.

This photograph transmits (literal) information’ without altering discontinuous signs and rules of transformation. In this photograph, the relation between the signified and signifiers are not of ‘transformation but of registration.” The absence of code reinforces the myth of photographic “naturalness; the scene is there, registered mechanically, but not humanly.” The absence of code de-intellectualizes this photographs message because it institutes in nature signs of culture. Photographs serve as an ongoing reflection of the complicated relations between subjectivity, meaning, and cultural society. It institutes, not a consciousness of the thing’s being-there, but a consciousness of the thing’s having-been there.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/0 ... 50364.html
http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/n ... paign.html
http://www.mat.ucsb.edu/~g.legrady/acad ... 0Image.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Barthes

maerine
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Re: Wk04 - Barthes' Rhetoric of the Image

Post by maerine » Fri Dec 14, 2012 8:12 pm

Image

This photo is an advertisement by Bally Switzerland, a shoe company that has expanded in fashion, for their 2012-2013 line

Linguistic: The linguistic message in this photo is minimal, but very prominent. Featured in the center toward the right is the name “Bally” in bold with “Switzerland” written in a smaller font right underneath it and “1851” written above inside a seal suggesting that the company was founded in 1851 and therefore a well established name. “Switzerland” suggests the location and the area where the company was founded while “Bally” suggests the last name of the founder. The name of the company can also be found on the handbags that the women are holding and on the shoes of one of the men and one of the women, to let the viewer know that shoes and handbags are what they are primarily trying to sell. The fact that only the name is provided on the items may imply a craftsman like touch. The location of the written message toward the right was to avoid it being distorted in the crease of the magazines that it ran in. The location of the name in the center and visibility of the name on the select items suggests that name is well respected and that these are good items to have. The name's locations also implies that the items, while attractive enough, are about the way that Bally makes them and their usage.

Non-coded Iconic: Two men and two women in their twenties or early thirties are depicted on a red sleigh attached to a woolly black draft animal. The ground is covered in snow and the Swiss alps are in the background. The sleigh contains a few furs and women and man in the sleigh have fur accents, both women wear fur caps. The people in the sleigh also hold handbags as though they are their luggage. The women wear similar dark outfits with light touches and the same shoes with their legs angled toward the viewer. The men also have similar dark outfits. A man and a women couple are located on either side of the sleigh; the women are seated and the men are standing. All of them are smiling. Everyone's faces are toward the man on the right although the women on the left is looking away from him. Everyone's body is angled to varying degrees toward the viewer. The group of people smiling are the focus, while the mountains and snow provide a background.

Coded Iconic: The photo was shot in early 2012 at the Chalet de A'drien, a ski resort surrounded by the Swiss Alps. While the photo looks like a casual group of friends on a sled right on a ski trip together the image is carefully constructed to give of the sense of “fiercely sophisticated style and understated luxury” according to the Bally company's statement on their website. The fact that they are so high in the scenic alpine mountains and the word “Switzerland” suggests that they are in a remote but very luxurious part of Switzerland. The “Europeanness” of the men's looks and the groups attire alludes to european aristocracy and high culture. The crest with the 1851 date helps to further this notion of a well established aristocratic tradition. The fur caps and rough cut furs that adorn the sleigh refer to worth of furs when people used to struggle with cold winters as well as the pointing to a more Northern Eastern European culture.

Everyone in the sleigh appears to be having a good time with their broad smiles, yet still well poised giving off an effortless elegance. A man and women sit on either side of the sleigh suggesting a pair of couples that are good friends. The women are seated while the men are standing, suggesting that they are probably working the sleigh or are more outdoorsy than the more classically feminine women. The women sit with their legs crossed angled slightly toward the viewer while the men are in active positions with their bodies turned toward the viewer suggesting that the viewer would be able to join and fit into the group; all they need to do is bring their belongings in a Bally luggage bag and load up into the sleigh. The text covers the couple on the right and the focus of the people in the sleigh reflects the importance of this. The “B” in Bally is on the man on the right and is the focus of most of the groups attention due to their faces all being angled toward him in approval. “ally” covers the blonde women who is more noticeable because of her hair then the other women, and one may see even more attractive in this particular photograph. The admiration for the man that the “B” for “Bally” is covering may suggest that the viewer is supposed to see the man as the kind of guy that Bally would be and is holding up the tradition of Bally and the others are following his lead and seeking his approval by having Bally luxury and shoes with noticeable labels and taking their items with them. The couple not covered up by “Bally” look similar, but not as interesting, suggesting that “Bally” gives you character and charisma.

Image

This is a photograph of my brother and me at a look out point in Yosemite National Park during the summer of 2009.

Linguistic: The only linguistic message is the name of the company that produces my brothers shirt, “Billabong”. The literal meaning is Australian English for a still body of water next to a creek or river. The company, founded in Australia, is well known for surf, skate and snow wear and is attached to surf/skate culture. The label is the only embellishment on the shirt suggesting that my brother wants to portray that cultural image and/or that he likes the clothing that the company sells.

Non-coded Iconic: My brother and I are posed for a photo at one of the lookout points of Bridalveil Falls in Yosemite National Park. The sun appears to be in our eyes and there is someone cut off in the photo on the right that has a backpack on one shoulder and hiking clothing on. The water fall is very small in the photo, but there is a very scenic view of the forested valley and mountains that make up the Park. My brother and I are leaning/seated on the rough man made stone wall that is similar in color to the mountains in the background. Both of us have smiles on our faces, but we are squinting so hard that it is hard to tell. Both of us are dressed casually, my brother is wearing blue and white clean nike shoes with his billabong shirt and some shorts and I'm wearing converse shoes, black jeans, a plain green shirt and my hair down. A couple of tree tops are very close to the ledge of the wall that we are sitting on.

Coded Iconic: My brother and I are seated close together suggesting our relationship as siblings. While we look close in age, my demeanor suggests that I am the older sibling and that I'm putting more effort into posing well for the picture. While we are making some effort to pose for the picture, our wincing faces and half-hearted smiles gives the viewer the feeling that we are tired and just want to get the photo over with. The lack of real interest shows that the photo is not really for us, but for someone else, our mother. While the photo does not necessarily show that she is photographing us, one can infer that it is our parent and more likely our mother since mothers are usually the ones that are assumed to enjoy taking photos of their children and are more insistent upon it. Neither of us look ready for a hike, let alone camping in the woods due to our attire, especially compared to the man cut off in the photo. This unpreparedness and uncomfortableness sitting on a man made viewing point suggests that we were dragged by our mother to look at the scenery and create a family memory in picture form. We are only mildly interested in what the park has to offer, but are willing to make our mother happy and meet her need for this photo and to spend family time.

http://experience.bally.com/news/2012/0 ... ign-2.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bally_Shoe

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