Identity

Zygmunt Bauman

Zygumnt Bauman is a polish sociologist who moved to England in the 1970s when he was driven out of Poland by the communist governments anti-Semitic campaign. Bauman was a professor of sociology at the University of Leeds and is considered to one of the most renowned social theorists of issues such as modernity, post modernity, consumerism and liquid modernity.  

The text is taken from a section from Zygmunt Bauman's book on 'Identity', where he writes from a sociological viewpoint. He writes about the way identity used to be mostly determined by social aspects such as class, religion, gender, race etc. Although, social identities are no longer as relevant in modern society as they used to be. Stereotypes have changed especially with aspects such as gender. Women and Male roles are not as they used to be. 

Bauman then continues on to talk about the way in which technology has a great impact upon our identity. The use of mobile phones or music devices has increased a lot over the years and has cut us off from the rest of the world creating a barrier, this makes physical relations more difficult. These virtual friendships offer an illusion of friendship or intimacy. 'We parade our detachment from the street we walk, no longer needing the elaborate etiquette. Switching on the mobile, we switch off the street. Physical proximity mp longer collides with spiritual remoteness.' (Bauman, 2004) 

Referencing:
Quotes taken from section of Identity: Conversations with Bendetto Vecchi- Zygmunt Bauman

Zymunt Bauman (2004). Identity: Conversations with Benedetto Vecchi. London: Polity Press. 24-29.

Rationale of work; Consumerism

This image I staged specifically for the title 'Consumerism', as I wanted to represent how people define their image buy what they own. For example in this instance, I wanted the subject to feel/look like they are powerful and that they are greater than others through having expensive items such as a car or a weapon. I decided to hide the identity of the subject as this made it less about the person and more about how everyone acts in the same materialistic way.

Rationale of work; Cities & Film

This image was taken while in Berlin. I decided to take this image as I felt that the posters, notices and other signs represent part of the city and in a way represent the chaos of the city. I also wanted to make the colours in the image vibrant, linking to the vibrant lights and colours of the city. I felt that this final image works well as it is not an obvious image and not many would usually link with to the city, however, I feel as though I have captured it well.

Rationale of work; Subculture

Subculture

I decided that I wanted to focus on street life for the Subculture genre as i felt that they are a misrepresented culture. This gentlemen that i photographed was a street artist in Berlin and as a first impression looked quite unapproachable and withdrawn, however, the longer i stayed watching him draw, the more relaxed he became. I decided to focus on mainly the artwork and show only little of him, as i felt that this represents their daily life; their art is seen but they are not. People merely walk by admiring his talent, but not acknoweleging him.

Rationale of work; Identity

Identity

For this title, I decided i would like to focus on mental illnesses, in particular Schizophrenia. An illness like this is part of a persons' identity, something they cannot escape or treat as easily as any other illness. Therefore, i decided i wanted to portray this within the image. I experimented with long exposures as I wanted to create the impression of struggle and a fight between the personalities. This is the final image I have chosen to submit.

I feel that this images works well as the two expressions are very different to each other. One personality is calm and collected, whereas, the other person is angry and is trying to escape.

Citizen Photo Journalism

 These images are screenshots taken from a documentary about 9/11 called "102 minutes that changed America" which shows all the unseen footage from citizens/tourists of New York that were there at the time of the attack. Most footage is captured on mobile phones, and are either pictures or videos. The footage seen on this documentary is very real and very vivid and shows exactly what it was like for the people who were caught up in the attack. This very real footage could not have been seen if it weren't for citizen journalism as i feel that the news and reporters who are paid to do a certain job and focus on certain things sometimes hide the brutal truth from the viewers. Therefore citizen journalism helps us to see it for what it was.

Gender Ads

www.genderads.com

"This Web site is focused on the cultural intersections of gender and advertising. Its goal is to promote greater awareness of the relationships of gender and advertising as well as an understanding of the social, cultural, political, personal, psychological and other effects of gender and advertising."

This is an advert under the section of "Objects - Bodies" on the Gender Ads website. It is supposed to be a advert based on cigarettes, showing a female smoking a cigarette in a very sexualised, provocative manner, lifting her shirt up. The fact that the picture focuses more on the female and less on the cigarette itself, suggests that she is supposed to be the main subject, objectifying her and putting her under the gaze upon the audience. As well as this, the slogan read "An ugly butt can ruin a great body" which is play on words with the female body and the "body" of the cigarette. However, this slogan is very degrading and suggests that for females to be attractive, they must have a great body. 

This is another ad from this section that also focuses on the female body. In this case, it is a beer advert reading "Things had better body back then…" with a nude female underneath. This suggests that they are focusing on the fact the 'norm' for a 'perfect' figure has changed through time and it is saying that females were more attractive back then. This is another very degrading representation of women, that they are all body and nothing else, something very objectifying towards them.