Ah yes, an advertisement..the classic interpretive image. Well, I can make out some of the kanji and the hirigana, but not enough to read what it is advertising. I also (for hopefully obvious reasons) do not have an interest in modern female fashion in Japan. But, I will take a stab at it.
There are four female models and what appear to be some kinds of sweet treats in the bottom left hand side of the picture. One model looks like she is wearing a wedding dress while another wears an outfit that looks like it was inspired by sailor fuku (once again, I am probably wrong). If this is an advertisement for cakes or sweets, than the signifier is not the food, but the models. The signified (at least from a man's point of view) is that even these gorgeous women eat these treats, so if you eat them, women will like you. However, this probably also has a significant meaning to women. Girls will probably interpret the signified as saying that eating these snacks won't make you fat. I mean, COME ON, look at these gorgeous women! They're not fat!! They are everything that you want to be and yet are not!! They can eat these treats and not even have to worry about becoming unattractive!! It's the perfect snack for the girl who wants to fit in with the popular crowd of skinny, perfect-bodied girls!! Buy now!! Because not even the high sugar and fat content in these snacks will make you fat!! BUY!! BUY!! BUY!!!
...ahem...at least...that is what I think it signifies...
Hey Claire! When we were talking about this the other day in the library, I seriously did not realize at the time just how ridiculous the images of the women are – you pointed out in particular the foremost face’s flawlessness and lack of pupils, but now I see it more as a sell-out. The figures in the image indulge themselves with a European-American aesthetic, right down to their dyed-brown hair. I wonder what opinion you have, as an American, as to the implications of this imitation. I’m sure that you found it noteworthy, because you made the decision to take the image back with you. Westerners might find it funny, since to us it appears to be overkill, rather than just imitation.
In terms of what the poster advertises, I’m more inclined to believe that it’s trying to sell perfume; it may be a weird assertion, but stick with me for a moment. For one thing, the focus is primarily on the women / models in the poster, rather than the flowers around them or the four or five cakes - if I were selling food (or any other product) I would have that product on full display. Meanwhile, many perfume or cosmetic ads that you find in magazines follow a format close to that of your image above; that is they make NO logical sense (i.e. lack of pupils) and they feature beautiful women. Another thing that I found very interesting was the French-ish, almost ‘couture’ tone of the poster, broadcasting the Western ideal of fashion and elegance. And while the “New Version Up” in the lower right hand corner seems more like a video game phrase, the fact that the poster’s creator chose to have it in English rather than Japanese, adding allurement to their advertisement by introducing the exotic.
This does relate to "This is not a pipe" as it is not a collage of "美人" but a photo of that collage. Of course, we have the context of the photographer, so we can guess that this photo was taken out of intrigue of the depiction of the ideal Japanese beauty.
What I like about the collage depicted is the way it really drills that image into the receiver's head. The word 美人(びじん) and the kanji for beauty (美) are relentless in stressing that this is what beauty looks like. And Megan, I agree with some of the things you said - I mean, we all know that advertising these days follows little particular logic, but those cakes are kinda funny... But I digress... There's a lot packed into that collage, but since this is not about the collage I will end my comment here.
Ah yes, an advertisement..the classic interpretive image. Well, I can make out some of the kanji and the hirigana, but not enough to read what it is advertising. I also (for hopefully obvious reasons) do not have an interest in modern female fashion in Japan. But, I will take a stab at it.
ReplyDeleteThere are four female models and what appear to be some kinds of sweet treats in the bottom left hand side of the picture. One model looks like she is wearing a wedding dress while another wears an outfit that looks like it was inspired by sailor fuku (once again, I am probably wrong). If this is an advertisement for cakes or sweets, than the signifier is not the food, but the models. The signified (at least from a man's point of view) is that even these gorgeous women eat these treats, so if you eat them, women will like you. However, this probably also has a significant meaning to women. Girls will probably interpret the signified as saying that eating these snacks won't make you fat. I mean, COME ON, look at these gorgeous women! They're not fat!! They are everything that you want to be and yet are not!! They can eat these treats and not even have to worry about becoming unattractive!! It's the perfect snack for the girl who wants to fit in with the popular crowd of skinny, perfect-bodied girls!! Buy now!! Because not even the high sugar and fat content in these snacks will make you fat!! BUY!! BUY!! BUY!!!
...ahem...at least...that is what I think it signifies...
Hey Claire!
ReplyDeleteWhen we were talking about this the other day in the library, I seriously did not realize at the time just how ridiculous the images of the women are – you pointed out in particular the foremost face’s flawlessness and lack of pupils, but now I see it more as a sell-out. The figures in the image indulge themselves with a European-American aesthetic, right down to their dyed-brown hair. I wonder what opinion you have, as an American, as to the implications of this imitation. I’m sure that you found it noteworthy, because you made the decision to take the image back with you. Westerners might find it funny, since to us it appears to be overkill, rather than just imitation.
In terms of what the poster advertises, I’m more inclined to believe that it’s trying to sell perfume; it may be a weird assertion, but stick with me for a moment. For one thing, the focus is primarily on the women / models in the poster, rather than the flowers around them or the four or five cakes - if I were selling food (or any other product) I would have that product on full display. Meanwhile, many perfume or cosmetic ads that you find in magazines follow a format close to that of your image above; that is they make NO logical sense (i.e. lack of pupils) and they feature beautiful women. Another thing that I found very interesting was the French-ish, almost ‘couture’ tone of the poster, broadcasting the Western ideal of fashion and elegance. And while the “New Version Up” in the lower right hand corner seems more like a video game phrase, the fact that the poster’s creator chose to have it in English rather than Japanese, adding allurement to their advertisement by introducing the exotic.
This does relate to "This is not a pipe" as it is not a collage of "美人" but a photo of that collage. Of course, we have the context of the photographer, so we can guess that this photo was taken out of intrigue of the depiction of the ideal Japanese beauty.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about the collage depicted is the way it really drills that image into the receiver's head. The word 美人(びじん) and the kanji for beauty (美) are relentless in stressing that this is what beauty looks like. And Megan, I agree with some of the things you said - I mean, we all know that advertising these days follows little particular logic, but those cakes are kinda funny... But I digress... There's a lot packed into that collage, but since this is not about the collage I will end my comment here.