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Semiotics, Part IV-Images, modernism and postmodernism

This week we will study the concept of 'modernity' and explore its connections with the concepts of spectatorship and gaze (the act of looking), in particular as presented by the French philosopher Michael Foucault.

This photo shows the head of Michael Foucault on a street wall painting in Montmartre, Paris. The whole image is painted in tones of blue and black on a grey wall. He is looking at the front with a serious expression. He is bold and wearing glasses.

Task 5

Reading

Sturken, Marita and Cartwright, Lisa (2001) Chapter 3: "Spectatorship Power and Knowledge". In Practices of looking. An introduction to visual culture; Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 93-139.

Read this text and answer the question below.

1

Theories of the gaze and spectatorship

According to the text, the theories of the gaze and spectatorships are theories of address rather than of reception, theories that help us consider the ways that an image invites certain responses from specific viewers. What aspects of the looking practices should we consider?

  1. the roles of the unconscious and desire.
  2. the role of looking in the formation of the human subject as such.
  3. the ways that looking is always a relational activity and not simply a mental activity.
Check your answer

Viewing

Gilda (1946) is a black and white movie of the film noir genre. Film noir is a Hollywood film category that focuses on a crime and usually features a femme fatale, a sexy yet dangerous woman.

This is a black and white photograph from the film Gilda. It shows actors Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford looking at each other amourously. She is holding his head between her hands. She has long wavy hair, long painted nails, dark lips and a smart strapless dress. He has dark hair and is wearing a dark jacket with a white handkerchief showing from his pocket.

In this film, Rita Hayworth plays the character Gilda and in a famous "striptease" scene she both sings and dances to the shock, amusement and anger of the various characters in the film. The camera plays an important part in constructing the scene. Watch the Gilda clip (03:43 min) (opens in a new window) and think about how the camera objectifies Gilda.

Reading

Sturken, Marita and Cartwright, Lisa (2001) Chapter 7: "Postmodernism and Popular Culture". In Practices of looking. An introduction to visual culture; Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 237-277.

Read this text and answer the questions below.

2

Postmodernism

How do Sturken and Cartwright define postmodernism? How is postmodernism different from modernism?

Postmodernism is a cultural, historical and ideological moment where the concepts of universalism, truth and presence are questioned. Whereas modernism focused on the individual as whole and complete, a unified and universal truth, and metanarratives (grand narratives) postmodernism advocates a fragmentation and deconstruction of ideas, identities and metanarratives. Check your answer