Evaluation :
The first Context of practice module for me
was quite an interesting experience to say the least . One could say that I
never had much of a relationship with theoretical studies, going so far as it
being one of the reason I decided to study abroad instead of staying in
Vietnam. However , I found myself quite intrigued when it came to dealing with
Context of practice subjects, perhaps because of the more social and political
nature of it that encouraged to speak out more , especially in the current
political state of the world , with nationalism and conservatism on the rise
all over.
The topics itself is quite diverse I must
say , ranging anything from weird
abstract animation to semiotics to post-modernism. Weirdly enough , I always
managed to find someway to connect each topic to my relevant work, thereby
creating a substantial amount of reference material that were a major help in
doing my essay , particularly on semiotics where I found my academic writing
has improved dramatically since the days of my IELTS exams. Doing the essays
also opened me up to new views on the world , while also pushing to look for
competing ideas , thereby creating an objective non-bias understanding. On top
of that , it helped to coordinate my research in the most efficient and
sensible way , hence helping me a lot with any future essays.
If we go down to the more specific details
, the fact that the 3 essays have to tie in with each other in terms of using
the contents of other, this really got me to think about how to word each of them , as well as
making work hard to find the links between each essays and source material ,
rather than just go wild on everything ,which was the way we would do it back
in Vietnam where we had to do Literature writings. On top of that , visual
investigation takes it to another step by producing practical work objectives
that is based on theory , therefore we do not only just research with works,
but we also have to think visually , and applied all the skill that’s is
necessary as a animator to create the final product . So a very good bag of a
mixture of contents I must say . With all that said, if there is anything I’d
like to improve, is that I still limits myself to a small amount of reference
material when I do my writings. Perhaps its for efficiency and time management
sake , but definitely to like myself to break out of those barriers more, and
gathering more sources in the future.
With that said , for COP 2 , I’m looking
forward to continue improving my skill in academic writing and social research, perhaps by choosing a
more relevant topic to the current social situation, such as women’s rights,
which can tie in with animation via the generalization/sexualisation of women
in modern animation and society. I think that is something that is interesting
to write about ( me being a guy and all ) and have a good amount of source
material that I can draw from.
With that said , the question in focus for
Cop 2 :
Sexualisation of women in media and pop
culture
The topic of women’s depiction in media has
always been hotly debated , ranging from publicity to films to comic books and
animation. With this I’m aiming to start from the beginning , contextualizing
some facts about women sexualisation such as its origin that stem from old
social beliefs , then moving on identifying the factors that contribute to its
establishment , from the woman herself as well as external forces. Finally ,
moving on to the main subject of depicting sexualisation in the context of films, animation and comic, with the first
part being about western culture then moving on to Eastern culture represented
by Japan’s obsession with high school girls and the otaku culture. With this
I’m hoping to answer the following :
-
How far can you sexualize a
person ?
-
there an appropriate type of
sexualisation , say an equal representation of both gender and if so , to what
extent ?
-
How society is reacting /
combating it ?
Related subject #1: Sexualization of women in media
-Looking into the depiction of woman in
the modern media context , including journalism, films and television which
serves as a example of what a main-stream perception of woman is like
,especially for under pressure of modern feminist influence.
+ Examples could be US realities shows
like “Keeping up with the Kardashian” or “The Bachelor”
Book :
+Culture, Heritage and
Representation: Perspectives on Visuality and the Past
By Steve Watson, Emma
Waterton -2016
+Gender and the Media
By Rosalind Gill-2007
Quote :
“With the shedding of clothes comes
public licence to display sexual body for the sexualised gaze of others, be
they fellow tourists or , as in this case, television viewers.”
“In today society, our bodies are
bearers of symbolic values and some are worth much less than others- certain
bodes are out of place in our body conscious, highly sexualised world, thus in
the beach culture of these shows , ageing and over-weight women provide figures
of fun and disgust , whilst men’s bodies are seen to be unremarkable and are
unremarked upon , seemingly immune to the social scrutiny of the narrator and his audience”
-Steve Watson ,Culture, Heritage and Representation:
Perspectives on Visuality and the Past
Websites:
+Don’t Blame Girls for Their Own Sexualization- Huffington post :
+
Not an object : On sexualisation and exploitation of women and girls – Unicef
Related subject
#2: Sexualisation of women in publicity
-Explore
how the image of a sexualised female can be use an effective tool in
advertising a product .
Quote :
“Frequent exposure to media images
that sexualise girls and women affects how girls conceptualise femininity and
sexuality. Image of female bodies are everywhere. Women-and their body parts-
sell everything from food to cars.”
-Steve Watson ,Culture, Heritage and Representation:
Perspectives on Visuality and the Past
Quote :
“As far as cosmetics are used for
adornment in a conscious and creative way, they are not emblems of
inauthenticity: it is when they are presented as the real thing, covering
unsightly blemishes, disguising a repulsive thing so that it is acceptable to
the world that their function is deeply suspect. The women who dare not go out
without their false eyelashes are in serious psychic trouble.”
― Germaine Greer, The
Female Eunuch
“It is commonplace observation that
women are forever trying to straighten their hair if it is curly and curl it if
it is straight, bind their breasts if they are large and pad them if they are
small, darken their hair if it is light and lighten it if it is dark. Not all
these measures are dictated by the fantom of fashion. They all reflect
dissatisfaction with the body as it is, and an insistent desire that it be
otherwise, not natural but controlled, fabricated. Many of the devices adopted
by women are not cosmetic or ornamental, but disguise of the actual, arising
from fear and distaste.”
― Germaine Greer, The
Female Eunuch
=> This part can be
tied in with the glamour studies done for brief 1 in cop1 , with writers like
Virgina Postrel .
Related subject
#3: Japan’s obsession with young girls.
Extending
on the topic above , looking into how the “high school girl” image has became
one of the most utilised advertising image in Japan pop culture , going so far
as be popularized around the world and bleeds into the manga and anime culture,
hiding behind it a darker side of the industry where young girls are exploited
and the sexualisation is unchallenged –sometimes even endorsed.
Book:
+
Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential: How Teenage Girls Made a Nation Cool
By Brian Ashcraft
(2014)
+The SAGE Handbook of Modern
Japanese Studies (p.201-209)
edited by James D
Babb-2014
Related
subject #4: Fanservice in anime
- Linking
to the above, discussing Anime’s use of sexualised female images in order to
catered to their target audience of young adults, as well as its supposedly
overuse in the current anime environment.
Websites :
Anime fan service can be a minefield , Kotaku
+Looking at Female chracters in Anime and Manga through a Feminist lens-
Mary Sue
Book :
+Anime: A Critical
Introduction
By Rayna Denison (2015)
Related subject #5
: Women in Western popculture
-Look
in to how western animation and culture in general have portray the image of
women , from the era of Disney to DC , Marvel, and more, thereby comparing it
to Japan and answer the question , whether the west has changed for the better
.
Website
:
+Representation of Women in Japanese and American popculture
Book
:
+Good Girls and Wicked
Witches: Changing Representations of Women in Disney's Feature animation...
By Amy M. Davis (2007)
Girls Gone Skank: The
Sexualization of Girls in American Culture
By Patrice A. Oppliger
(2008)
