Here I am feeling out my first paper. Using Penn's prescription for photographic analysis, I plan to break down two images by denotation and references to their connotations, cultural and aesthetic. By doing so I am "investigating the workings of particular myth structures" (237). I plan to analyze the photographs using this method in order to gain a deeper, though possibly subjective, cultural understanding of the meanings behind the images. I am interested in how our cultural myths have shaped the images and how the images continue to reproduce those myths in modern times.
In reference to images 3 and 4 from my previous post...
#3
A denotational inventory:
Five women, nude, sitting, embracing themselves and each other, looking straight at the camera.
Four Caucasian, one Black.
In an empty corner of a room with white walls, wooden floors.
Stephanie, Cindy, Christy, Tatjana, Naomi. Hollywood 1989. By Herb Ritts.
Connotations:
The cultural knowledge needed to analyse this photo is that the women represented are international supermodels.This photo was taken by Herb Ritts, a well known celebrity portrait photographer.
The women are close, if not emotionally, at least physically enough for this pose.
The faces suggest a sensuality, with brooding eyes and pursed lips.
The pose is provocative in that it suggests femininity, sexuality, and yet hides the essential body parts related to those ideas.
In this image, each woman's face is important. Each one is clearly recognizable in its angle. The title of the image is nothing more than a list of the model's first names. This suggests that a face and a name are all the information necessary to appreciate these women.
The women in this image are reminiscent of the Vestal Virgins, women priests of the Roman Empire. These women were free of typical female social obligations, were given luxurious accommodations, and were responsible for maintaining the sacred fire belonging to the Emperor and in the service of the goddess of the home.
The Virgins too were known by their first names and images of their faces are shown in Roman sculpture and paintings.
Though the Vestal Virgins embodied feminine purity through their vows of celibacy and modest clothing, the supermodels embody current ideals of femininity through the exhibition of their bodies, while maintaining a sense of modesty in the pose.
The myth represented in this photo is that of the sacred feminine. The image recalls the classic ideal of women in their ability to use their sexuality (even if that is celibacy, for that is a root of conversation about feminine sexuality) as a means of gaining power and respect. This myth is relevant today in the narrative that places the supermodel in a position of authority in regards to feminine idealism.
#4
A denotational inventory:
Nine women and two babies, in traditional Amish dress, standing close together,
some looking down, some looking at a point out of the frame, one looking at the camera, the children's faces are hidden.
Looks of disdain or anger on the women's faces.
Set outside, unfocused location.
Amish Women in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania 1985. By David Turnley.
Connotations:
The cultural knowledge needed to analyze this photo is that these women are part of the Amish Mennonite religious and cultural community in Pennsylvania. To be a member of the Amish community is to abide by rules of code, conduct, and appearance. For women, this requires the dress seen in the image.
Traditionally, the Amish life is one of hard labor, in that work is done by hand, without modern conveniences such as machinery and electricity.
The women are familiar and comfortable with each other.This is seen in their physical closeness and likeness.
The women are unhappy. Their faces show expressions of anger or disdain, though the source of these feelings is unknown, as the object of focus is out of view.
It appears as though it is this frustration that binds them.
Some of the women's faces are obscured, and some are hidden completely. In this we see a value placed on coherence as a group as opposed to individuality.The title of the photograph is 'Amish Women in Pennsylvania'; again, suggesting the importance of the culture of the group and not of the individual women.
The image provokes ideas of traditional femininity in its depictions of modesty and child rearing, as well as the classic idea of women as prone to hysteria.
This image embodies centuries of tradition, including an adherence to custom and the choice of a lifestyle outside of the modern norm. The Amish woman's life is one of physical hardship and social containment. This image works to exemplify the difficulties inherent in their lifestyle, though not necessarily the only aspects they experience. In representing these women in this moment of despair, in their modest garb, and fulfilling their family duties (in child rearing), the image works to reproduce the stereotypes constructed by the societal majority and placed upon the women in this community.
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