Meaning of Interpellation,Taste and Kitsch

The role of interpellation with advertisements is to address their consumers and recruit them in a particular ideological position. The images that we see on television and magazines speaks to us and grabs our attention. An example of interpellation is the EAS commericals that I see on television. They have well-known athletes advertising powder drinks and eating protein candy bars. When you see these images you might think to yourself, "That's all I have to do is take these products and I can look and feel like this athlete on television." Personally, I know this is not possible, but when some people look at these commericals they think this can really happen just by taking the product that is advertise.

Taste is based on experiences to one class, cultural background, education, and other aspects of identity. Taste is also refer to one's middle class or upper-class background. High/low culture is also asscoiated with this concept. For example, high culture might be link to 60 mintues show and low culture can link to music videos. Kitsch is associated with objects that are often cheap. An example of this is the lava lamp.

Images and Ideology

I believe the image icon is connected to ideology by the strength and siginfanance of the image that is portrayed. Ideologies represents systems of beliefs that exist with in all cultures. Images helps generate belief and confidence towards a specific ideology.

I also found a few interesting paragraphs on page 24 and 25. They talked about portrait images and how they're used for personal indentification purposes. When you think about it passports, driver licenses, credit cards are just a few examples on how our government tracks us. The surveillance cameras are installed in public places such as banks, stores, and even at street corners. I understand that we have to keep our citizens safe, but our privacy is at risk at well.

Page 25 the book mentioned the O.J. Simpson 1994 arrest for the alleged murder. Simpson's image as a public figure has always been viewed as positive until this incident. He was in sports media, advertising, and celebrity news as well. Once that arrest happen and his mugshot photo was on Time magazine as well as other magazines covers, people opinions changed instantly. This goes to show you how much a image can persuade people judgements and opinions towards a individual. Even with a iconic figure such as O.J. Simpson.

Myth Of Photographic Truth

Roland Barthes made a valid point about the myth of photographic truth. "A photograph, unlike a drawing,offers a unprecedented conjunction between what is here now and what was there then". You have to wonder if the image you are looking at is actually the image it's suppose to be? With all the digital editing software and programs that exist it raises many questions.

Barthes Thoughts On Myth

Roland Barthes used the term "myth" in a variety of ways. He believes "myth is a hidden set of rules, which has meanings and are specific to certain groups. Myth also allows a connotative meaning or image to appear denotative. In one example,Barthes disagreed with the French advertisement for Italian sauce and pasta. They advertise the product by using concepts such as "Italianicity". Barthes believe this was a connoted message. This product wasn't for the Italians, it was specifically for the French audience.