Fenton vs. the Hipstamatic

After reading this article I have to say that our generation is beyond spoiled. Rather than fully devote all of my time to this blog assignment I've been distracted by my awesome iPhone which happens to take way cooler pictures than poor Fenton would ever have been able to accomplish. He certainly didn't have the latest application that I've obtained: the Hipstamatic. And it's not that he didn't have the necessary skills or talent, he merely was without the amenities that are available to us now. With that being said I have to point out how fortunate we are that we even have any sort of pictorial documentation of past events no matter how poor the quality.

It is only because of the recent exposure to Tennyson and his "Light Brigade" work that I'm even familiar to the disastrous events that took place. It's fascinating to partner up the history with the art work and photographs that are available. It makes everything seem more real, even though a lot of the pieces are staged. The Houston article we read states:
"The Crimean war is today less compelling,and the generic conventions
Fenton used to naturalize the scenes of war seem contrived or empty.
The very conventions that make these photographs difficult for us to
read were,however,what made them appealing to a Victorian audience
that desired to possess history."
I have to say that I agree, contrived could certainly be used to describe some of the photographs, but empty...no way. There's something beautiful in the staging of the works. Both the photographer and the subjects new that they were documenting history and for them to have taken the time to create the picturesque representation of the events is pretty profound and overwhelmingly important. Through these photos we don't get a play by play of the Crimean War but we do get to see who was involved.
Check out these proud subjects for instance:

I think these photos capture what Houston meant when she claimed "Victorian audiences understood it[photograph] as primarily truthful and documentary" and photos began to take the role of "souvenirs" which hasn't changed much. We take photos today to keep as souvenirs and documentation only now technology makes things much more accessible. I must mention that as morbid as it would be to see pictures of dead people I think it should have been included in Fenton's paid work. It would help people understand the impact of the Crimean War plus it would appease my naturally perverse sense of curiosity.

Check out my hipstamatic photos, they certainly aren't as important as war documentation but they are pretty sweet regardless of their lack of historical content. I like to think of these as souvenirs from my day today, it sounds nice.

Whitman is my Homeboy

I'm apologizing before hand: I'm still not feeling well plus I'm sleep deprived. Regardless of my illness, I still went and saw the midnight showing of Alice in Wonderland. Hopefully I can write something creative and pertinent...

I hate advertising therefore I watch no TV and never listen to the radio. I'm more of the free streaming online type for my necessary shows and my mix CD's and satellite radio keep me company in my vehicle. I find product placement, billboards, magazine spreads and all other types of media advertising a waste of my time simply because if I'm in a store and the product jumps out at me, then and only then will I purchase it. And it definitely has nothing to do with Oprah's suggestions. Last time I took her advise I read an "autobiography" that ended up being entirely fabricated. That Million Little Pieces guy is an asshole.

As far as whether or not I agree with "McCracken’s claim that advertisers now play the cultural roles that poets played in earlier eras" I have to admit that I somewhat agree with him. Because of advertisers our generation will forever be familiar with "Where's the Beef?", "Got Milk?", and "Leggo my Eggo." And seriously "I've fallen...and I can't get up" still kills me, and I'm pretty sure I was in 2nd grade when that geriatric alarm system came out. Advertisers certainly have skills of creativity and persuasion but again, I hate advertising. I think it's hard to contrast the previously mentioned catchphrases with the insanely awesome Walt Whitman. That "America" commercial is genius. Whitman is a genius and the corporate execs at Levi are geniuses and I actually felt inspired to go buy some jeans. I didn't though, I bought some Van's for my little bro's b-day instead.

So back to McCracken's claim: it's hard to disagree with him because, although to me, there is nothing poetic about commercials, these messages that are sent to the public reach out to us and speak to us as a whole community and try to meet the needs of the generic and mass population. Whether the product is necessary or not, the masses are educated about them and even though I never owned a 'ShamWow' I always wanted one and I was really sad when Billy Mays died. Hopefully I'm making my point a little bit. Advertising along with current movies, music, television, the arts and literature encapsulate our current world and it's trends.

Now with the Levi's ads, I honestly thought they were beautiful. The "America" one in particular was insane. The shots, the people represented, the feel and Whitman's voice heard over the scratchy recording was a stunning collaboration. But what was different is that it felt as though it wasn't advertising jeans. It felt like it was advertising people. I felt as though it was utilizing Whitman's words to celebrate all types of people, which works well because Levi has all types of jeans and other finely crafted products.

I think that even Whitman himself would be pleased with their efforts. He tended to be a little on the pursuasive side when it came to his work. In his "Preface to Leaves of Grass" he writes "The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem." He's advertising the diversity and the beauty of the country. If Whitman were still alive he would be one of the biggest advertising execs in the world. Just look at some of his sayings that would be killer slogans for different companies,

"The fruition of beauty is no chance of hit or miss...it is inevitable as life."
"Nothing is better than simplicity..."
"Great is the faith of the flush of the knowledge and of the investigation of the depths of qualties and things."
"Whatever satisfies the sould is truth."
"Faith is the antiseptic of the soul."
"The known universe has one complete lover and that is the greatest poet."

All in all, I dig Whitman and I give Levi a valiant A for knowing their shit. They encapsulate a great American to rejoice in the greatness of the American people, all while they are fashionably attired.

Just for funsies...some commercials I do like.