Triangulation: Within the art world, few have influenced and revolutionized our view art and the world. Among them is John Berger, with his famous text “Way of seeing”, published in 1972. Written as a direct response to Kenneth Clark’s “Civilization” - a 1969 TV series on Western art, architecture and philosophy. Based on the premises that what we see are dictated by our knowledge and beliefs, “Way of seeing” was a critical jab at western culture aesthetic and capitalist publicity and demonstrated Berger’s political and social ideologies. Perhaps this was highlighted best in this quote from the book, which will be the main subject of today’s writing: “Glamour cannot exist without persona| social envy being a common and widespread emotion. The industrial society which has moved towards democracy and then stopped half way is the ideal society for generating such an emotion. The pursuit of individual happiness has been acknowledged as a universal right. Yet the existing social conditions make the individual feel powerless, He lives in the contradiction between what he is and what he would like to be.” ( p.148 ) The key terms pulled from this are “Glamour” and “Envy. A general break down of this quote would be that glamour by its nature relies on envy to simply exist, and in the commodity culture / capitalist economy, advertisement and publicity push you to achieve an ideal life when the reality is that only the few privileged can. This is a perfect environment to generate envy, and in turn, fuelled the idea of glamour, which itself then create even more envy. This cycle is later on supported in the more contemporary works from Gundle and Castelli (2006,2008), but also argued against in some aspect by Postrel (2013) and Hughes (2007), whom works will all feature in this essay. Perhaps it is best to put Berger’s quote into context, as part of a bit on modern publicity and how “ publicity is the process of manufacturing glamour” (Berger, 1972, p.131). Within this, he examined the evolution of modern publicity, how it had change from a form of product that enhance one’s own value to a product that more or less makes people feel less then they should, then push
the spectator to better themselves by purchasing the product that it is selling. In his views, publicity is essentially a product to day-dream, where “the interminable present of meaningless working hours is balanced by a dreamt future in which imaginary activity replaces the passivity of the moment.”( Berger, 1972, p.149). In Berger’s view, glamour is a modern day invention made by the process of creating social envy and day-dreams among the masses. Stephen Gundle, in his book “The Glamour system” (Gundle, S and Trini Castelli, C; 2006 ) linked it’s history to the periods when aristocracy was eroding and the aura of its power were being reproduced for commercial and social ends. Glamour then became in the bourgeois society something that can be earned, bounding itself to only the wealthiest, who then were considered “glamorous”. This “glamour” of course, is fuelled by the envy of the other classes who was also lack the proper means to achieve it at that point in time. To refer back to Berger, this idea is supported through these quotes: “Being envied is a solitary form of reassurance. It depends precisely upon not sharing your experience with those who envy you” (Berger, J ,1972, p.133). Berger continue to criticise the notion of “you should be like this” that is propelled through the use publicity, which eliminates one’s free will to make their own meaningful decision, compensating it by consumption .This is supported by Gundle : “Glamour requires in order to exist , some sense of equality and citizenship, but not necessary democracy” ( Gundle , 2006 , The Glamour system , n.p). In a way, it is this more direct and blunt sense of “equality” that create individual/personal envy, which is what in her work on “Sociology” (2007), Christina Hughes acknowledged that is inevitable and is a part of universal psychological traits. (Hughes, C; 2007 p.5). Combined that with Gundle idea of glamour can not exist without mass involvement, we can draw the conclusion that indeed Glamour cannot be without social envy. For the most part, Berger’s ideas are reasonable and reflect the reality of society, but as Postrel explains: “Glamour does not always connect to social envy … as many of the resentments and hostilities of true envy are missing
from glamour”, (2013, The power of Glamour, p.31-p.32). Indeed there should be a distinction between the different sides of envy, between jealousy and admiration. Hughes (2007) acknowledged this fact, stating a research that pointed there are forms of envy that have no effects or can be beneficial to society which are split into emulative and benign envy, where it pushes people to achieve what they envy, which create a mobile and dynamic society that continuously thrive to best itself. If we extend Berger’s quote, it says: “Either he then becomes fully conscious of the contradiction end its causes, and so joins the political struggle for a full democracy which entails, amongst other things, the overthrow of capitalism; or else he lives, continually subject to an envy…”.( Berger; 1972; p.148) .One’s pursuit of personal happiness is a universal right, thereby having something that will push him to become what he wants in order to be happy, bridging that gap between what he is already and what he can be, should be enough justification for the idea of glamour. In a way, Berger’s quote has inadvertently put a limit on this human ability to achieve, an ability that has driven our race since the time of our creation. Overall, one can split the ideas presented by these writers to both sides of the fence, with Berger (1972) and Gundle (2006) both argue for the connection between envy and glamour and its ties to the darker sides of the capitalistic economy and culture, while Postrel (2013) defends the notion of glamour based more on a emotional aspect, along with Hughes (2007) more neutral and more scientific insight on the matter. Gundle sums it up perfectly when he described glamour as full of oxymoronic qualities. As a progressive, I can agree upon many of the facts stated by Berger in Way of seeing, but I also acknowledge the complexity of social ideas and the psychology behind it, and would definitely support the notion of having an “glamorous” goal that you can strive to achieve. After all, there’s nothing wrong with having a bit of glamour in your life
Bibliography :
. Berger, J. (2008). Ways of seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books.
. Gundle, S. and Trini Castelli, C. (2006). The glamour system. Basingstoke [England]: Palgrave Macmillan . Gundle, S. (2008). Glamour. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
. Postrel, V. (2013). The power of glamour. Longing and the art of visual persuasion ,New York, Simon & Schuster . Christina Huges (2007) “The equality of social envies” –“ Sociology” vol.41 no.2 Sage publication ltd
Animation analysis : The tale of Cinderella is a story of glamour and envy intertwining, where the story of a girl escaping her hardship to achieve her dream life has been the subject of envy for many in the real world. An adaption of Charles Perrault’s work in 1679 (a period when social ideas were vastly different), produced with Walt Disney own personal 50s-era ideology, “Cinderella” is affected by gender stereotypes, where women’s goals of security and escape still lies with the wedding ring, and were still considered a glamorous dream. Breaking down Cinderella among the deep structures that are stated by Paul Wells in his book, Understanding animation (2002), Cinderella is an animation that is defined as a visual adaptation of a fairytale, hence, the forms and style of animation that is used caters to it, carrying an aura of fantasy for the story, and did so through the image of the fairy god-mother figure and the talking animals. It is this mixture of realism and fiction through the medium of different animation style that forms the “formal” genre of animation. Alongside that, it also has a clear portrayal of what is “good” and what is “evil”. This lead to the other genre of animation that Cinderella would fit in: political where the story of Cinderella seeks to glamourize that the good is always more beautiful than evil, and that in the end, good always beats evil. Going into more detail, this separation between good and evil is effectively portrayed through the use of signs and symbolism .Take the image of Cinderella herself, she is described as all in all the standard of beauty. Alongside that, the fairy god-mother whose old features, roundish figure symbolized her kind and loving nature or the carriage and horses that Cinderella rode to the ball, which carries an aura of nobility and glamour. This syntagmatic relationship in the end forms the glamorous face of the “good” within the story.
In stark contrast to that, we have the step-mother who is considered by many to be the most terrifying villain, yet the most normal among them, having no power or magical ability. She is portrayed as always wearing dark high-neck dresses, with piercing eyes and a darken aura that spread over her in the scenes she appears. Her pointed chin and big nose reminisce that of an evil witch, yet she always carrier a proper lady-like form. This is a symbol for her antagonistic nature – one who is vicious and calculated. Then, we have the step-sisters , whose rounded faces and big noses are more of a symbol for arrogance and idiocy and signifies their spoiled nature. This is why they served a more comedic role for the story: “The stepmother’s purpose in the film requires her to be more realistic in design because she has to be a believable character that you relate to on the level of a real human being.’ The same with Cinderella and the Prince,… The stepsisters, the King,
and
the
Grad
Dauke
are
largely
comic
characters,”
( Solomon,2015, p. 61.) This clear and distinct separation of good and evil ultimately serves one purpose, is that to glamourize the “Good”. If we go back to the start of the topic, the qualities that forms the bases for the genre that Cinderella (the animation) would be, put Cinderella ( the character ) in the position of glamour in the view of the audience through aspects like the way she is animated, her personality and and most prominently, her appearance (the shimmering effects that is seen on her dress and heels literally makes her the physical description of being glamorous ) (figure 2), all constitute to building her as a figure that is enviable. Moreover, there is the struggle where in the end, Cinderella achieves the dream and live happily ever after which then again put her in the position of being enviable. In the story itself, it is her glamorous traits are what had captured the attention of the Prince in the first place. If we look back and take Berger’s quote into this context: “Glamour can not exist without personal /social envy being a wide-spread emotion..” so you see a single subject of envy ( that is Cinderella ) , being placed
as the center attention causing mass interest and envy no doubt. The envy are present more clearly within the step-family, where the 2 step sister tried their hardest to fit the slipper, linking back that to Berger: “He lives in the contradiction between what he is and whet he would like to be.”. The sister here doesn’t know what they actually lack. They want to be the apple in the Prince’s eyes yet they lack the proper grace, qualities, and the physical attractiveness that one should have. Instead, they are fed by the glamour which their step-mother had groomed into them which convinced them otherwise The opposite can be said for real life where Cinderella is adored by her audience, who sees her as representation of a dream life that they want to have. People strive to be their own Cinderella, but we rarely see they’re condemned for that, although it is safe to acknowledge that the glamour of Cinderella can hardly be replicate as it is accomplished by “magical” forces and therefore represent only the idea of it, albeit a noble one ,just like Postrel explains: “Glamour does not always connect to social envy … as many of the resentments and hostilities of true envy are missing from glamour ” (Postrel V, 2013, p.31-p.32). This type of envy would be along the line described by Christian Hughes (Hughes, C, 2007) as benign and emulative envy. The idea of the competing forms of envy once again present itself as a counter to Berger’s point of view. Another would be to applied Berger’s point of people becoming fully conscious of the contradiction, and in turn overthrow of the establishment that created it (Berger,1972, p148) to the context of the step-family . By this definition, It is the step-family that should rise up to overthrow the governing system present them with more equality which of course obviously would not work at all from a moral standpoint. Having said all of this , it should come as little surprise that the modern corporation would take advantage of people’s desire to become their own Cinderella, presenting themselves the fairy godmother who would bestowed on masses the “magical transformation” they so desire,
through magic like “fast fashion�(figure 4). And truly, what better figure is there to represent this than Cinderella and her tale.
DISNEY, W., et al. (2005). Cinderella. Burbank, CA, Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Bibliography :
. Berger, J. (2008). Ways of seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books.
. Gundle, S. and Trini Castelli, C. (2006). The glamour system. Basingstoke [England]: Palgrave Macmillan . Postrel, V. (2013). The power of glamour. Longing and the art of visual persuasion ,New York, Simon & Schuster . Solomon C (2015) , A Wish Your Heart Makes: From the Grimm Brothers' Aschenputtel to Disney's Cinderella , CA , United States , Disney Editions .Wells P (2002) , Understanding animation , London and NY , Wallflower. . . Christina Huges (2007) “The equality of social envies” –“ Sociology” vol.41 no.2 Sage publication ltd
Reflections: Without a doubt, John Berger’s “Way of seeing” has been one of the most influential work on art and the modern society as whole, within it, his exploration and explanation on what is glamour and envy , their connection to each other and to the use of modern publicity , portray a harsh but realistic look at the current world, and serves to criticize it for the majority of the text. Influenced by this, it is quite natural to produce a wide range of visual investigation into the matter of glamour and envy, as at is simplest form, glamour are delivered to the audience visually , whether that is through the small screen or the giant billboard on the high street. Having done this, I was compelled to produce a narrative that explores this influence that publicity has on us as consumers, and in doing, seek to provide some depiction of the never-ending cycle that is glamour and envy that it drew us all into. What I aimed for was to provide the broadest view as possible, so that a wide range of audience can, to an extend, sympathize and relate to the story , which would be critical if this were to be a serious attempt at broadening their views on society and if possible , change it. Hence, the pseudo-main character of this story was designed as only a silhouette of a woman, symbolizing a figure in society that can be any member of the audience that is viewing, of course in this case limiting to female members. Reason for this was the fact that just basing from the research done and personal experience, ladies seems to be more susceptible to the influence of publicity, as there generally have more requirements and needs to assert themselves within a world that generally held men in higher regard. And so , our story would begin with a lone silhouette of a seemingly fashion model, standing on a pedestal , covered in the most luxurious of brand names and surrounded by images of publicity ( Slide 1). This was a very straight forward portrayal of how publicity depicts the world for us – a fantasized version of reality where you , the consumer are “glamorous” and literally be put on a pedestal as signifier of being in higher regard / enviable, thanks to of course, the “dress” of products that are being advertised – where having that
product means that you can be better. Zooming out , it only became more clear as only a depiction of reality when the entire page are shrunken to the small screen of the TV (slide 2 ) , surrounded by the envious and craving audience reaching to grab a piece of it, among whom are our main character. Green was used to symbolized that envious nature , as it has been throughout history, to quote Shakespeare: “O, beware, my lord of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on.” It also attempts to portrayed the important role that technology and media plays in in delivering glamour, as detailed by Gundle ( 2006, p.7 ) : “Glamour became more important as modernity spreads and the mass media developed. Popular magazines, cinema, radio and later, television, provided opportunity for staging, represent and inventing people, events and commodities.”. On a smaller note, having the first scene within the seconds creates a connection for the narrative and a smoothness in transition. Following that, we go down deeper into the underlying messages of publicity, which is where a lot of Berger’s criticisms focused around. Here, stylist L’wren Scotts links enhancing physical appearance to enhancing self-confidence, which plays along very well with what publicity wants you to believe. It is true that in such a condensed society like this, one would want to be unique and different- to be glamorous and enviable to those around, on top of that going back to the idea of woman having to assert themselves in a men-dominated society, it is no wonder why publicity has done so well for itself to this point. “Publicity is effective precisely because it feeds on the real” (Berger J. 1972, p. 132). This then leads up to the modern consumer chasing the trends in hope of finding something to satisfy this need, through the means of unprecedented consumerism ( slide 4 ). Whether it is ripped jeans, the newest lipstick color or a 300$ pair of fur boots, it all serves to illusion that the buyer is being more and more glamorous which each thing she puts on. As for the construction of the slide itself, the booth contraption, both serves as a magical gate for our buyer and a reference to consumerism in general as a vicious cycle of work, buy , consume that is such characteristic of the modern “efficient” and standardized society. Ironically enough, when all people chasing the same trends in hope of being unique, they turn out more or less
the same as each other - a buying machine with little individuality and humanity, as portrayed by the characters sharing the same colors and poses. Gundle also shares some similar points in his discussion: “Once the privileged attributes of a given class, they became commercialized and available for public consumption through the mass media and mass production. Rita Felski (1995, 20 ) argues even a woman loses her aura in an era of technical reproduction since femininity in nature is demystified. “ (2006, p.9 ). The following scenes, then portrays the road to glamour as a literally uphill battle for our consumer girl, supported by the ever increasing resources that had been the focus everything all along – money, cash, the works (slide 6). With each “steps” disappearing , new “steps” rises in front for our character , symbolizing the constant flow of resources out of the consumer pockets until one day where you seemingly reach the top – The glamorous pedestal that you had ever so desired , only to find out that there would always be someone that is “more” glamorous in their mind, and the mind of all around you, as Postrell explains: “ Glamour is not something you possess , but something you perceive, not something you have but something you feel. It is a subjective response to a stimulus. One may try to construct a glamorous effect , but success depends on the perceiver’s receptive imagination.” ( 2013 , p.12 ) . A subjective imagination – a thing that is bound to change. As a conclusion, to go back to Berger for the final slide was rather appropriate, as his quote on publicity never being satisfy with present, combing with the layout of the characters mimicking that of slide 2, really hammers in on fact of portraying the ever turning cycle of glamour and envy that is being spun around by modern society. The simplicity in design of character and layout, combine with a simple but relatable story makes for something that can be perceived widely and effectively , and in that sense, I think I have done a decent job on it.
Bibliography :
. Berger, J. (2008). Ways of seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books.
. Gundle, S. and Trini Castelli, C. (2006). The glamour system. Basingstoke [England]: Palgrave Macmillan . Postrel, V. (2013). The power of glamour. Longing and the art of visual persuasion ,New York, Simon & Schuster
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