While reading this case study my mind was racing with examples of western fascination with the other in both travel and fashion and notably most all of them could be traced back to my Instagram feed. Almost daily I scroll through images posted by everyone from Vogue Magazine and Conde Nast Traveler to a friend studying abroad and see just the type of exploitation of "the other" that was described in the reading. One example I immediately thought about while reading how people in "exotic" countries will dress up in traditional clothing and wait for a tourist to pay to take their picture with them, is when students go on week long service trips to third world countries and take pictures with the impoverished youth slap on a filter and then post the image to Instagram. In the case of posing for staged pictures with people in traditional dress, as Wells noted on page 242, tourists go into their travels expecting to see these mystical exotic images, so when they arrive they do their best to seek out the images for themselves to take home to show their family and friends that they had a successful and enriching trip. I feel as though something similar is happening with the students who share their photos on social media of their service trips. In posing with the impoverished youth that they spend a few days helping they are exploiting the children's suffering to put forth a better image of themselves as someone who is involved and conscious of international struggle. Not to say that these people aren't doing good and making a difference but there is a sharp disconnect for me when western youth place these pictures on Instagram and Facebook and collect "likes" and comments while the impoverished youth in the photo is left in essentially the same state they were found, soon be forgotten by the wester student's followers and friends.
When I reached the fashion section of the reading that discussed the sexualization of non-white woman in the fashion industry I immediately recalled a recent spread in Vogue magazine (images I first encountered on Instagram) of model Karlie Kloss in Peru. This spread is an interesting flip on the examples given in the book, rather than the non-white female being objectified it was the non-white male being objectified. Miss Kloss poses in Valentino among young non-white men dressed in traditional Peruvian equestrian garb. In many of the shots the men are used as background decoration, parts of their bodies cropped out of the photographs or their faces covered by their wide brim hats. Even their clothing subdues their image in the pictures, dressed in all white and beige Kloss over powers them in vibrant reds and oranges. There purpose in the spread is to add an air of exoticism while facilitating the means of making sure Kloss and the clothing take center stage.
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Case Study: Benetton, Toscani and the Limits of Advertising.
Nick Saccary
Toscani’s bold use of photography began with advertisements. Toscani went where no other ad photographer has ever been. In one case, Toscani portrayed a Russian boy in Benetton clothing and Soviet emblems in a way that was suggestive of the USSR being the reason for the arms race. Next to that photo, an American girl holds a model of the Statue of Liberty, symbolic of the U.S. being upholders of liberty. This, along with the other ads he did, became indicative of the companies ideological interests. In addition, portraying international children in ads grew international exports exponentially, even surpassing domestic productions.
After seeing how much attention Toscani’s tactics were getting, he began to use race as a playing card, experimenting with skin colors. In one ad, he portrayed a black mother nursing a white child which sparked an uproar because of the way it dehumanized the black woman. While it initially caused a decrease in sales, eventually it reversed and increased the Benetton’s sales. While I could go on listing Toscani’s groundbreaking and daring use of photography, the main idea that I took away from reading this is that the popular choice is not always the best. It is important to stray from the norm and experiment with ideas, even if it may be seen as “wrong” in others eyes.
Paige, something that hit close to home for me in your response was western youth’s exploitation of impoverished countries. Unfortunately, I have to agree with you that many western youth go out to make a difference and come back only to be reminded of the good that they did by the click of a mouse instead of the reality of the world. I feel as though the reassurance of “likes” is counteractive towards the cause of what they sent out to do in the first place. Yes, it is possible that someone may post an image of themselves with impoverished children to spread knowledge of their suffering and the cause they are there to help, but I feel as though once they are receiving “likes” from their internet "friends," they get a false sense of accomplishment, distracted by the fame of social media, deterring them from their initial interest of helping the cause.
To Nick,
It seems to me like Toscani, after breaking out of 'the norm', discovered how much a shock value or shock factor can popularize one's work. The ad with the black mother nursing the white child reminds me of the Cheerios ad that came under fire, just because the family was mixed race. I'm sure the Cheerios company got a TON of publicity through it, and sales probably went up as well.
Paige and Megan, I too am of the camp that feel as though people take advantage of others situations to improve their own. Whether it's make you seem like a good person (which could be the case) or if it is just to get more likes to make yourself feel better. I have been around a lot of people that get truly upset when their picture doesn't hit a certain number of likes and it is really hard to watch.
This post about taking advantage of people's situations reminds me of something a photo professor said to me that has stuck with me ever since. He told me that he never takes pictures of the homeless or looks at any work that is of them because, while it could make for a great picture, it is ultimately using them and disrespecting them. I thought that was really interesting and powerful and it has changed my way of thinking
I really liked Paige's point about Karlie Kloss’s photo-shoot in Peru. I had never seen the images before, but after reading your description, I decided to look them up for myself. Despite Kloss not being centered in many of the images, she is, as you said, still the center of attention. She is dressed in fancy red clothing, she is the only caucasian present, and the only female. The native men are used simply as a backdrop.
This reminded me a lot of a movie released in 2012 called “The Impossible.” The plot is based upon a true story of a spanish family vacationing in Thailand when the Tsunami of 2004 hit. While this family’s story was remarkable, the Thai people shown in the film were used as a backdrop for this story. At the end of the film, the family is reunited and sent home on a private airplane, never mentioning or commenting on the fact that millions of native people had lost their homes. As if that is not enough, the “spanish family” was casted as entirely white characters.
In both situations, the native characters are used merely as context. The center of attention is as personally detached from the culture and environment as possible. These images are almost blatantly saying that the white model or white actor is more important than the people or culture surrounding them. This was a clear decision made by the photographer and the film-maker, and in many ways is it offensive.
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