Questions para tu

1) In his first chapter, Paul Messaris, author of Visual Persuasion: The Role of Images in Advertising, attempts to discover, through research and analysis, the implication of iconicity for the uses of pictures in ads. As a starting point, Messaris discusses Henrik Dahl’s analysis of the fundamentals of persuasive communication and Dahl’s argument that “one of its central characteristics is the fact that it is typically unwanted communication” (Messaris 5). Messaris then states, “With the possible exception of those of us who have a professional interest in the subject, most people do not actively seek out exposure to advertising” (Messaris 5). I agree that, especially in our culture, people recognize advertising exposure as an unwanted component of daily life, and are often aware of, and frustrated by, the manipulative tactics used to persuade us. However, it’s a fact that “[…] real world vision is intimately connected with emotion, which, in turn, is tied to our functional needs as biological and social creatures,” and it’s also true that many of the tools advertisers use “[…] are derived from the principles of real-world, face-to-face interaction” (Messaris 4-5) That said, since advertisers often construct visual iconicity’s that attempt to fulfill, or respond to, our functional needs, we could be subconsciously, and/or unconsciously, seeking out chances for exposure to advertising. For example, when walking somewhere, do you ever find yourself taking the busier streets, like Broadway, which is filled with visual advertising? Do you agree or disagree? Why?
2) The major categories of visual imagery are also discussed in this chapter. Visual distortions, visual violations, and visual parodies are seen as major categories. Of these categories, which is most interesting and/or appealing to you? Why? Is your opinion of which category you prefer due to how well it actually persuaded you, or peaked your interest in a product? Or, is it because the category of images you find most appealing are the one’s where the ads image most stands out to you, but you can’t even remember what they were selling? If so, what does that say about visual imagery as persuasion?
3) In terms of identification, Messaris states that, “[…] the primary inclination of most female viewers will be to identify with the female models” and “[b]y identifying with someone else, we turn the observed consequences of her or his actions into lessons for our own lives” (Messaris 43-44). So, to strengthen our emotional involvement with ads, our tendency to identify with the models is used, and the images presented to us have models whose sexual or financial or other types of success “we may wish to emulate” (Messaris 44). But what about the consequences, for our lives, of these observed consequences of the models “life”? What do you think this does to our understanding of successes we were already striving for when other successes are linked to it, like the “successfulness” of a model's skinny-ness? For example, if, in my current life, I’m striving for success in business, and I see an ad for high fashion business attire with skinny female models who, as they wear the clothes, are shown (somehow) as being at an advantage and very successful, I’m suppose to recognize that the “consequence” of not wearing this brand of high fashion business attire is that I won’t be the type of successful, business-wise, that I want to be. There. The ad wins, and it’s done the job. However, it’s also added a new idea of female business-related success: the clothes worked for the model, but the model doesn’t look like me, as she’s long, skinny, and her face (surely) looks flawless. So, how is it that the image has the power to add a new type of desired success (of being thin and flawless) that I cannot relate to, but now see as a success, rather than just causing me to dismiss the entire brand and image, as the person I’m to identify with deviates from the norm? Do you think it could be because there may be two forms of identification occurring, as we may try to identify with the models character’s success, while also identifying with the model herself, and her life as a model for this ad?