Jameson and a Postmodern Mona Lisa

Jameson would argue that this picture is a perfect example that reflects postmordern work. Postmodernism was created to act out against modernism and it would often target “traditional or classical elements of style” and rework it into a new image. In order to rework a new image one must start out with an old or original image or idea. This means that although the artist can be creative and use different methods to convey a certain message and meaning, it lacks originality since it is based off and in a way mocking the original picture. Here we see Matt Groening’s version of the Mona Lisa. Jameson would argue that this form of art has no depth- it lacks emotion and a narrative between the viewer and the creator which the original picture of the Mona Lisa (which is what this is obviously playing off of) has. This Simpsons character in place of the woman strips the aura and adds a new type of aura- a more bland one since it has taken out the history that was once written into the original painting. By doing this the meaning is more impersonal. Postmodernism is into popular culture and the cartoon character shown looks similar to those on the hit television show The Simpsons. The influence therefore is not high culture but it is instead a flashy pop culture look in which the subject’s depth and history is now striped from meaning. The picture was created with no sense of an individual, we do not see the presence of the creator in this replica and the picture is rather simple as far as the image’s aesthetic makeup however in the Mona Lisa we do see a relationship- there are very minute details and brushstrokes within the picture. The picture is clearly pastiche or a mixing of historical forms, periods, and a play with history. If it weren’t and the picture was just placed in this period without following da Vinci’s work, then there would be an even greater lack of meaning. Jameson would be very upset with this work and would think that we are moving into a world where we don’t have a value system because we have lost this history of the painting. People today look at both pictures with a different feel. The original Mona Lisa is very small and shows detailed work of an artist- it comes with a history and aura, this makes this piece or work exciting. Groening’s work is also exciting, it shows something that we are used to and are familiar with. It brings something foreign and out of date to become something recognizable. The picture is not as intense and gives off this relax, fun feel to it because of the random pop culture reference.

 

Public Sphere- Habermas and Daily Kos

The public sphere according to Habermas is “a realm of our social life in which something approaching public opinion can be formed” and “access is guaranteed to all citizens”. The sphere is an area in social life where people can get together and “freely discuss and identify societal problems” and through that discussion “influence political action”. As Habermas puts it, it is a “discursive space in which individuals and groups congregate to discuss matters of mutual interest and where possible to teach a common judgement”. Usually the public sphere is seen as “a theater in modern societies” or a sphere of spoken words however there are public spheres that are formed through written word as well. We can find this especially on the internet and an example is the Daily Kos at http://www.dailykos.com/. This website is aimed at political issues and thoughts. Any one can participate in the discussions by creating an account. The information presented is not just opinion but includes a lot of information and facts through discussions, diaries, and comments. I do not know if the website takes down any comments or threads that they do not agree with. If that is the case then it is more of the sphere of public authority. The site shows a lot of ads which makes me think that is run under some type of authority or institution which will not allow anything someone wants to say, be said.

The page’s motto I believe is “The State of the Nation” which indicates people can get information of where our nation is politically at the moment. Currently there are 2.5 million visitors per month to the site and 215,000 registered users. Clearly the large number shows that is not a private sphere where it is “comprised civil society in the narrower sense, that is to say, the realm of commodity exchange and of social labor.” Not only are the underclass and middle class citizens of America writing on this site but also “on the site are President Jimmy Carter, Senator Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and dozens of other senators, congressmen, and governors” who talk about what they are doing. By having people in politics writing on this website it creates more of a public sphere which mediates between the “private sphere” and the “sphere of public authority”.

Anyone can comment on the website if they have an account however there is a set group of writers and editors. However I do believe this is a public sphere even though it has limitations. It can influence political action since politics use this website and in the influence is mentioned under the “About Daily Kos” section which states “Even more exciting than that however, are the hundreds of thousands of regular Americans that have used Daily Kos to shape a political world once the exclusive domain of the rich, connected, and powerful.” 

Rhetoric of the Image- Sopranos Ad

Barthes writes in his essay Rhetoric of the Image that in “advertising the signification of the image is undoubtedly intentional” and because it is intentional it ““straightaway provides a series of discontinuous signs.” The signs all come together by the viewer making meaning of it through denotative and connotative messages, which involve both the image and text. Therefore everything we see in the ad was not placed there because it looked nice or added flavor to the image but rather everything was chosen to be in a specific spot, be a certain height and color, because it has a larger meaning which develops through all of the signs being put together. For example, here we see the ad for the last episode of the Sopranos television show and by looking at this image through the lens of Barthes we can see how we can make meaning of the image therefore recognizing its “intentional” messages.

“Today at the level of mass communications, it appears that the linguistic message is indeed present in every image as title, caption, accompanying press article, film dialogue, comic strip balloon. Which shows that it is not very accurate to talk of the civilization of the image - we are still, and more than ever, a civilization of writing, writing and speech continuing to be the full terms of the informational structure.” Here Barthes notes that we should not separate the text from the image because they play off one another. Each tells us something that the other doesn’t. In the Sopranos image it says “The Final Episodes – APRIL 8^th, 9PM” where as the image does not give a time and date in fact the image is a picture that is taken in daylight not night and the text let’s the viewers know it is the last episode. Barthes says “there is a further information pointer, that which tells us that this is an advertisement… from the emphasis of the labels)”. Having APRIL and PM in capital letters suggests how important that part of the image is and it is the only part that does not appear through a symbolic image within the ad, it is just shown in the text. Under that line of text is another line of text saying “Made in America” in red letters. This clearly connects with the image since the viewers can see Ellis Island in the background which is New York City (America). With this viewers make a mental note that the television show is most likely not only made in America but is for Americans. The text is in English which adds more to this notion. Because of this textual information viewers can bring in their own experiences of what it means to be from America along with the background they know about Ellis Island and other cultural things. Foreign viewers may need to take into consideration this cultural impact or else they will not come up with anything near the same meaning. However since it is an ad the intentions for the meaning remain the same, the advertisers just want people to tune in to watch the show. 

Before going into the cultural impact of viewing an image lets take a look at what everyone no matter where they are located on a map, what the time period may be, or how old they are can all recognize the image to be the same. This Barthes describes is the denotative meaning where it has been “cleared utopianically of its connotations, the image would become radically objective, or, in the last analysis, innocent.” The image is only seen as the image with no meaning behind it. The first noticeable thing is the color, or lack of color. The ad is mostly in black and white. There are two lines of text on the top left corner. The text is bold and block like, the first line being in black and the second in red. In this ad we see a middle aged man with a suit more towards the right of the ad. He is balding and looking over his right shoulder. In the background on the man’s left there is some kind of island with a large statue, this image is relatively far away from the man. On the right of the man there are birds flying in the air in the direction away from him off the page but also more in the distant background. In this description of the ad, there is no meaning made of the images and text just what is literally there, the denotative message. Clearly this means that viewers make meaning of the signs bys relying heavily on the cultural impact that the viewer takes in with them while examining the ad.

“We may say immediately that the literal image is denoted and the symbolic image connoted.” The culture this ad was intended for is clearly Americans. Since the text is at the top left corner of the image we read this first. Shown through the text is “Made in America” and the image of it taking place in New York City. By placing who it was intended for the viewer can place that cultural influence in the ad and get the connoted message or symbolic message. The ad being in black and white suggests that it is something surreal and dreamlike since photographs and television today in the 21^st century are normally seen in color. The lack of color gives of a strange vibe that something is not right and by looking closer at the picture this vibe grows stronger. The look on the man’s face is one of interrogation, suspicion, or just simply thinking. Since he is wearing a suit the viewer can assume that this is a sign to let us know his occupation- a detective. By showing him without a full head of hair implies that he is older and therefore in our culture along with many others means wiser. Following his glare the viewer can see Ellis Island in New York City. This is a place where foreigners first came to America, the start of a new beginning with the Statue of Liberty showing this new beginning as something great- liberty and freedom. But there is clearly something wrong it is far off in the distance- not tangible to this man for some reason. The birds are in a group and look for the majority of them that they are flying away from this island that stands for something great. In America when there is some kintype of surreal picture being presented and the person is thinking, a classic show of an angel on one shoulder and the other shoulder holds the devil. This is suppose to represent someone’s conscious and the angel is on the right shoulder. In this surreal image the man is glaring at/ over his right shoulder and we see the Statue or Liberty and all these signs that in America represent great things. However with all of these signs and images coming together the viewer can imagine that something is distorted or corrupt in New York City. The water is choppy and what pops out the most is the second line of text in red “Made in America”. The people that came to Ellis Island were not originally from America that is why they came. All of these signs point out that something is wrong and this Final Episode we can assume will reveal not only what is wrong but how it is resolved since the “final” of something in America usually gives a solid conclusion.

Just like Barthes we have now “successively, then, we looked at the linguistic message, the denoted image,and the connoted image.”