Ad Buster: Victorias Secret Fashion Show

For the Ad buster project I chose to subvert the meaning of a Victorias Secret advertisement from the catalogue.  The meaning of this advertisement is obviously to promote the Victorias Secret annual fashion show in order to sell Victorias Secret products. However, the underlying message being put forth is the idea of sexuality and desire in our society.  I believe this advertisement is targeted to people of all genders and ages, but especially young women.  As I discussed in my body project, I am fascinated with the way in which fashion magazines and catalogues appeal to adolescent men and women.  In our society, we have he image of “the perfect body” and I believe this advertisement is one of the many that promotes this idea.  The main emotion being exploited in this advertisement is desire.  These models are who every guy wants to be with and who every girl wants to be.  When young women look at this advertisement, they are bombarded with ideas of what they “should” look like.  They begin to believe that this body is attractive and realistic.  The advertisement also appeals to the sexual desires of young men.  It makes them believe that this is what women should look like, as well as how they should be looked at, as objects rather then people.  With my Ad buster, I wanted to subvert the meaning of this advertisement to show that there is no “perfect” body and this idea is not normal or healthy.    

When researching this topic more, I came across an interview with Victorias Secret model Adriana Lima discussing her diet before the Victorias Secret fashion show.  Lima stated that for nine days before the show, she lives on only protein shakes, no solids. Then, 12 hours before the show, she doesn't drink anything at all.  Lima told the paper "No liquids at all so you dry out, sometimes you can lose up to eight pounds just from that." The idea that young girls praise Lima as their idol is an appalling thought to me.  Her eating disorder has become not only acceptable, but completely normal in the eyes of young girls striving to achieve “perfection”.  This quote was so profound that I decided to incorporate it as part of my Ad buster.  I hope that this quote, showing that the strict and disgusting regimen of a Victorias secret model is far from natural or perfect, would allow the advertisement to take on a whole new meaning.  The idea of the “perfect body” is far from attainable and completely unhealthy.  Are the women who go to these extremes really “perfect”?  

Body Project

For the photography projected I wanted to explore and challenge our society's obsession with personal image.  Like we discussed in class this week, our society is constantly bombarded with images of "the perfect body" through various forms of media.  Men are pressured by society to appear strong and masculine.  Often when they are physically small, they are viewed as weak and feminine.  Women feel the pressure to have the perfect body even more so then men.  Images  in fashion magazines put pressure on women to be extremely thin and delicate, this is viewed as feminine and attractive.  Unfortunately, these images are unrealistic and unattainable yet people still strive to achieve the perfect body through physical fitness.  Attaining this goal has become an obsession for some people.  Sometimes this obsession can be dangerous, leading to eating disorders and over exercising.

The bombardment of images through the media is similar to what we have discussed in class surrounding Edward Said’s experiences with the Middle East.  We see images that are unrealistic and we believe them to be reality.  Two examples of this would be altered and manipulated advertisements in fashion magazines and stereotypical portrayals of Muslims.  Our society views these images through a lens which distorts the actual reality.  Women and men in advertisements do not represent the majority of people in our society, similar to the way in which stereotypical images of muslims do not represent the entire muslim population.  Edward Said’s work was an inspiration for me to challenge the images around me.  We have become complacent as a “spectacle society” accepting whatever images the media feeds to us.  

I approached this project by choosing a subject that I wanted to challenge, which was the idea of the “perfect body” and how it is portrayed in our society’s media.  I wanted to challenge the idea that “the perfect body” is not really attainable, yet people strive to achieve it anyways.  I was especially interested in how the “perfect” female and male body was visually represented in our media.  This “perfect body” is almost impossible to achieve because the models in advertisements are manipulated and photoshopped.  Even though they are not real, people believe these images represent reality.  I chose to photograph students exercising at the gym because I felt that it perfectly demonstrated the affect that media has had on our generation.  The massive amount of people at the gym shows the influence of the media on our youth.  People have become so aware of their body image.  They are obsessed with the way their bodies look and are constantly striving to improve themselves, attain perfection, and appear more attractive.  They believe the way to achieve this image is through physical fitness.  Exercising is a normal and healthy habit, but in some cases the media can influence people to take it to the extreme.

Documentary Photography Project: The Boardwalk

People consider Los Angeles California the city of opportunities.  It represents the diversity in American culture as well as the "American" lifestyle.  For the documentary photography project I decided to photograph the L.A. boardwalk.  I focused specifically on Venice Beach and the Santa Monica Pier.  The boardwalk was an important concept to photograph because it represents recreation in America.  People go to the beach and the Santa Monica Pier in their free time for fun and entertainment.  Through my photography, I tried to capture our society's idea of recreational activities, such as surfing, eating, and bike riding.  I think these photographs would appeal to a wide audience.  It could serve as a reflection to the American public as well as represent the "American" lifestyle to foreigners.  My pictures reveal that free time is very important to our society.  The American culture is very diverse and we are lucky when we can get away from our busy lives to enjoy it.