The Truth Behind Images

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In today’s society this image would be seen as normal or common. Cigarette smoking has been accepted by many Americans and others around the world. In some countries, smoking is part of their custom. Some might look at this picture and just think it is just some woman smoking a cigarette. In this image the artist puts emphasis on the cigarette while the woman’s face and fingers blend in with the background, being that both are neutral.

The Cancer Stick : Cigarette smoking accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths.

Now that we know these facts and have read this caption about cigarettes, they do not look so appealing or so harmless anymore. With text added to this picture, it is more than just a woman smoking. Smoking is now associated with negative effects such as death, health problems and cancer. Cigarette ads in magazines, commercials, and movies have made smoking a style that is suppose to portray an image of coolness. For example, in the movie “Grease” directed by Randal Kleiser, Sandy, the leading female actress, was a sweet and innocent girl from Australia who liked this cool kid of the school named Danny. At the end of the movie, Sandy changes her whole persona to being sexy, cool, and bad. This is represented in the beginning of the last scene when she is wearing all black and smoking a cigarette. If you do not smoke then you are not “in”; well at least in Grease you weren’t. Tobacco companies use a technique called form or what Barthes (French philosopher) calls writing. Form manipulates the conventions of style for a desired effect. (Barthes) This is true, especially when it comes to tobacco industries. Tobacco industries want their commercials to have the effect of coolness so that people will want to buy them. They use such things as sexuality, celebrities, or any trends that are in at that point of time.

My Very First Blog

I am not use to the whole blogging scene but it seems very interesting. I have created this blog site for my Writing Through Media (ENG1131) class and for the next several weeks I will be posting blogs every Friday. The blog's content will mainly deal with our discussions in class and assigned topics. Surprisingly, I have always wanted to make a blog but I never took the time out to make one or even learn how to. I like to express my ideas and thoughts to others and see their feedback and how they feel about a certain topic or issue. I’m fascinated by what some people have to say and interested in learning from them. So please do feel free to leave your comments on my blogs and tell me what you think.

Writing has not always been my best subject area but I like how this course takes a different approach to writing. It brings out the creative side in writing, making it more appealing. I am excited to do the different projects throughout the semester; I have a good feeling that they will be fun! There are no limits to creativity. Creativity allows you to do the unusual and opens your mind to new ideas. I am not a very creative person in an artistic sense but I do enjoy taking pictures. Pictures capture life’s moments, express ideas, and can have multiple meanings. I like how pictures have the ability to evoke emotions and have different affects on different people. I think it is neat how pictures can be a variety of things. Most importantly, pictures save memories and allow people to keep them in some physical form. I love being able to look back at photos and remember that day or moment in the picture. Pictures are a wonderful part of creativity!

I posted this picture because I feel it depicts the many different outlets and opportunities creativity has to offer.