1500 Word Essay Subject: Greenwashing

Greenwashing is a term used to describe advertising through false representations of being 'green'. In my area of graphic design I aim to look at consumer food retail graphic design in particular of packaging and branding where competition is most fierce and how their advertising and image is crutial to their turnover.

Is it effective? Subconcious? Are people aware? If so do they actively seek out consumer goods which reflect their ambitions to be part of something better than other products? Looking in particular at larger entities such as the Co-operative Group down to products such as Kenco's Refill packs, to which I aim to looks at its success and how greenwashing is applied. Recent documentaries such as Channel 4's Revenge of the Bin Men could be prevented with help from not just proper packaging but making consumers correctly aware.

[Below]: Recent advertisement for the Co-operative group showing their newest slogan 'good for everyone'.

Lecture 6: Globalisation, Sustainability & the Media

The three main focus points to understand of this lecture:

1. Globalisation

2. Geopolitics

3. Dream Philosophy

This Lecture seemed to have a deep political underbelly which I found hard to grasp. Globalisation can be seen in two ways, the Socialist point of view where societies work together in both an industrial and cultural way and Capitalist where restrictions on business are removed. But a large part of globalisation is influenced by western culture regardless. Culture globalisation of western ideas is especially controversial when it come to race, is it true that west is more dominant over east? We in the west seek to be more 'cultured' whereas the people in the east could seek to become more like the west due to their technological advancements. Western culture globalisation could be seen in race where skin lightening creams are used in asian culture to be more like white people, this would surely support ideas on the 'White Beauty Myth', which I recently looked at in a Channel 4 documentary. Culture globalisation especially in the way of technology is becoming an extension of our senses in the way how we human interact with the world around us today, everything is influenced by technology and in doing so has made us more aware of the world itself and our responsibilities. Through this economic rationalisation and cultural dominance of westernisation, our comodities are built without concern inspite of their 'good intent' and so we hear about these everyday, such as the cutting down of trees to make tissue paper or Ikea pencils. Hence the Global Village Thesis, information at your fingertips, the internet and information readily available at your fingertips, mass production and the world in a form of economic unity.

Eventually the lecture bagan to look at the theory of green washing a form of media ideology used to disguise the reality and appear more 'Green'. Mcdonald's is a fantastic example, their recent visual style turning subtley using greens now within their interior and exterior decor, to somehow appear more friendly to the environment, ultimately luring customers as an environmentally friendly option to their competitors.

The idea nowadays of using green on packaging especially in Graphic Design become less about what is real, most packaging is still harmful to the environment and ends up in landfill. to quote the richard in the lecture, "Most things are not designed for the needs of people but for the manufacturer of the needs of people." Simply using the term recycable somehow translates to people that something is good? Earth tones, sans serif type, unbleached paper, and emotional messaging are essential components of the deceptive marketing techniques employed by corporations that rebrand their products. "Be selfish while appearing progressive," the unknowing consumer. These ideals are western based and so through countries seeking to modernise through cultural imperialisation take on these western principles of being falsely 'Green'.

Lecture 5: Reality, Virtuality & Hyperreality

Out of all the lectures we have done this was the most hard to understand of them all, discussing the effect of the collapse of ideas of modern utopianism in the vietnam war, consumerism, colonialism,the cold war and the watergate scandal. In all honesty I did not understand.

The lecture looked at representation on the idea of a simulacra, an example would be paintings and religious depictions Jesus, which could be construed as an imitation of life looking at life beyond death, a sudo-reality. These depictions create icons which in graphic design terms could be used as a persuasion to make something appeal to a certain point of view, like in semiotics. The point being that inspite being unrealistic they are continuing depictions of iconography, wishful thinking. Another example of a simulacra is Disney depictions of life such as the castle, it is in fact a world of appearance where there is no visual reality, except of course for the real castle which is based on the fictional idea of the Disney castle. It is a version of reality which exists within a real world, yet its still remains fictional because it is not real. BigBrother could also be seen as a version of reality, the way we live our modern life can be viewed almost as if we were above in a different reality watching another.

Lecture 4: Communications Theory

For this particular lecture is focused on a variety of theories in critical thinking and some information seemed to prove useful on looking at methodologies of communication for the dissertation and the essay this year. It was interesting, the lecture was opened with the quote, "Who says what to whom in what channel with what effect." (Lassnfle's Maxim) summing up the lecture as a whole about picking out and understanding an image or form of communication.

The theories of communication that we looked at were:

1. Cybernetic Theory

2. Semiotics

3. Phenomological Tradition

4. Rhetorical

5. Sociopsychological

6. Sociocultural

7. Critical Communication Theory

Having looked at semiotics last year as an idea of studying hidden signs and such to convey images both consciously and sub-consciously I had a good understanding of this already, looking in the lecture at examples such as packaging of medicine and how the language and complex structures of wording make something seem more structured and sophisticated. Also looking at foreign food produce which when bought in britain seems to which the consumer believes is a more 'cultured' and sophisticated product, having looked at semiotics last year i feel i have a good grasp and appreciate the idea that signs and such may be hidden within advertising but as a consumer myself I find the idea that advertising contain hidden, sometimes sexual imagery, hard to believe.

One of the other subjects that I thought of as interesting which was new to myself was Cybernetics Theory. This design this theory although quite hard to explain looks at effective communication in design and how the process from design, to media outlet to audience is made. One of the key elements which was discussed was the concept of 'noise' which can interfere with the process and often confuse or create a different perception. Whether this be deliberate and link to the idea of greenwashing I thought this was quite interesting how the idea of noise and deliberate side-tracking could be used to disguise reality.

Phenomological Tradition and Rhetorical both deal with some degree of personification and are theorys which i found very interesting and somewhat agree with. Relating specifcally to the viewer and particular personal experiences i am very interested in design that is personal but in mass production which somehow forms a unique connection to the viewer which is made to entice. Rhetorical theory where use of propeganda is used to persuade people through point of view useing rhetorical imagery such as charities where a sympathy vote connection to the viewer is used. This connection can be used even though it may bear no connection to the actual viewer an example would be playing an advert about the RSPCA dog appeal even though the some of the audience doesn't even have a dog it automatically taps into audience by creating links from previous experience or memory maybe not even to do with a dog but even a pet cat.

Among other theorys the lecture was really interesting.

[Below]: Tapping into a sociocultural use of advertising, Yorkshire being the definition of a sociocultural context associating the product with a place which creates 'good' association of the brand based on the audiences personal experience. It is how the world shapes us and how the world is perceived to us.

[Useful External References]:

Semiotics - The language of Medicine - B.E Litowitz (1991), Semiotic Perspectives on Clinical Theory and Practice: Medicine, Neuropsychiatry, and Psychoanalysis (Approaches to Semiotics)

Cybernetic Theory - AdBusters - https://www.adbusters.org/

Rhetorical - The Star - The Inescapable sales pitchhttp://www.thestar.com/News/Ideas/article/304289

Lecture 3: Psychoanalysis & the Gaze

For this particular lecture I have decided to post up my notes, the lecture as a whole relied on the presumption of understanding Freudian theories and unlike some of the other lectures I found some of the content difficult to grasp.

Psychoanalysis refers to the theories of the mind in particular about how through the conscious we can study the sub-conscious. Looking at the ego and how it is derived into several different categories, our ego being what we show to everyone else, our super-ego which is the conscience and the I.D. which is our natural human behavior and drives such as sex and death. What we aimed to look at in the lecture was how through the regulation of behaviour in a similar sense to the theories on Panopticism, how the subconscious, your social morals and repression of instinctual behaviour we fit in with society.

The opening scene of Notorious (1946) by Alfred Hitchcock.

The Gaze looks at the power of looking and in similar to last weeks lecture on looking at how the media protrays the sexes, the lecture looked at how we achieve narcissistic identification (imagining a more perfect version of yourself) through viewpoint and perception but also how it can be used in media to confuse and protray different meanings depending upon its context. In modern context the gaze can be seen in the Peep Show where you become literally in the body of another and your feel a certain power, sympathy, sadness, anger etc for that person whom's emotions are being reflected in that first person view. Viewpoint can also give an understanding based on these theories about the viewer how he/she may prefer to be in the first/third person on screen, whether they are scopophilic and may enjoy looking at people as if they were objects, in essence the thrill of watching could tell of some sub-conscious element in the viewer's mind. In short, the Gaze evokes different structures of power in the subconscious mind, psychoanalysis identifies and aims to interpret these feelings.

100 Word Piece of Critical Writing on the theory of Understanding Media Ideology

On Popular Music

by Theodor W. Adorno, with the assistance of George Simpson
Originally published in: Studies in Philosophy and Social Science, New York: Institute of Social Research, 1941, IX, 17-48.

"The conditions for this function of glamor are entirely different from those of frontier life. They apply to the mechanization of labor and to the workaday life of the masses. Boredom has become so great that only the brightest colors have any chance of being lifted out of the general drabness. Yet, it is just those violent colors which bear witness to the omnipotence of mechanical, industrial production itself." (Theodor W. Adorno, 1941) Here he describes how through buying into the glamour of popular music do we escape from our mundane existence. This truly illusrtate our vision of pop culture that exists today and how we buy into things because of the illusion that we can slip into the existence of another. To be elite, to be more that what is considered the working class to which even to some extent could affect even the upper classes, even if you seemingly have a perfect existence the way we use popular music could be a way of slipping into someone else's existence to escape our own demons or reality. It is anti-Marxist which in effect promotes Marxism, the way we buy into a group of music with intentions that we are escaping from the mass culture yet it is mass culture.

"The most immediate implication of this component may be the following: the moment the listener recognizes the hit as the so and so — that is, as something established and known not merely to him alone — he feels safety in numbers and follows the crowd of all these who have heard the song before and who are supposed to have made its reputation. [...] The connecting reaction consists partly in the revelation to the listener that his apparently isolated, individual experience of a particular song is a collective experience." (Theodor W. Adorno, 1941)

Inspite of the fact that his writing were made over 60 years ago his desciption of what is popular music is blurred, describing how opera music could be considered elitist as oppose to jazz is completely subjective, the theory works both ways and is always about perspective. The way people would buy into popular genres of music today such as indie where new bands are constantly sought after and sound the same in maybe rhythem or lyrical is a depiction of popular music and capitalism. How buying into the brand and being recognised by that kind of music would some how make you more elite or more politically aware, is how Adorno describes being, "lifted out of the general drabness," inspite the fact there are another million people following the same indie music. A classic example of this is Madonna's Material Girl, depicting not only the female for as an object to be desired but as passive, aesthetical and as a sexual object, illustrating a role model which people can identify with and idolise. And the way Adorno describes music as being identifiable, you would listen to this and idolise that character because you were feeling that same way. This is of course theory, music is subjective through taste and it should not be ruled out that it is possible to like something because of the sound. As it is possible that although you may not like or appreciate a certain type of music, through listening of it often or through peer pressure you could in fact become accustomed to it or even come to like it.

Lecture 2: Understanding Media Ideology

Lecture Aims:

1. The critical definition of Ideology

2. The principles of Marxist Philosophy

3. Understanding Mass Media and its effects

This lecture was again really interesting but i found a bit more difficult to grasp, ideology is a system of beliefs made to disguise the reality of the situation, masking this reality help to re-enforce power relationships through a creation of false consciousness, the most abundant example of this is through politics where politicians disguise from the reality with hopeful ideas.

looking at the idea of capitalism, it aims to control the means of production in private hands, a market which uses money as a means of exchange and people become commodities by competition in the market. Marxism is a political manifesto which looks at turning this capitalist approach into a communist, through the concept of a Base/Superstructure. I believe the idea that they feed off one another, the way we are the base (the working class) whom are depended upon and driven by the upper class but it is a mutual benefit.

In a similar sense to the structure of the base/superstructure this image illustrates (below) the capitalist social hierarchy. This system of things can be viewed in modern day life such as religion, where it is pressured that doing work, charity and general acts of goodness will get you into heaven but is ultimately fueled by a church greed. This is reenforced by the threatening force of armies which also acts to stop domestic extremism where by the teaching and realisation of the subjects could provoke an outbreak of anti-capitalist behaviour, but because of this threat we , like in panopticism, regulate our behaviour in the idea that we are better safe in the system of things.

So ideology offers false but seemingly true resolutions to social ambience. through the media these ideas can be seen and again in the similar way of panopticism dictate our behaviour and how we interact with media itself. These systems also create specific behaviour in terms of gender roles, by dictating almost very subtly how women and men should behave, this can be seen through advertising where the role of the woman is the caretaker, the cook, the cleaner and should do these things. the role of the men is the opposite, the businessman whom bring in the money and expect the home to be taken care of by the wife, he is the dominant in the household. Advertisements strengthen capitalism through these roles by dicating women as being the objects of purchase and desirable e.g. Calvin Klein and Men being the dominent and whom should care about the figures and money.

Through the mass media capitalism and the roles of people in society have strengthened, but mass media like people changes where the punk phenomenon in the late seventies through to the eighties revolted against capitalism, in becoming like a 'fad' or becoming popular it became capitalist by buying into the punk such as t-shirts and music. Media back then suggested that was punk was wrong and has yet turned this in the twentieth century into yet again a 'fad' demonstrated in fashion and music magazines which people buy into, to conform to that look and support capitalism. Turning authentic culture into mass media, were it becomes standardised, and which alter the behaviour of people to regulate and produce docile bodies.

the lecture also looked at commodity fetishism and how through mass cultureand this idea of capitalism do we see value on something hidden in the commodity is an illusion of something that we own. These meaningless commodities are predicatable and homonogenic the way for instance popular television shows Big Brother and the X-Factor are churned out in the same format, not for talent but for the money. The way that the talent is so similar each year would lead us to think how they dictate role models and the perception of the sexes. Justin Gignacchallenged the perception of seling something as an illusion of a commodity in his Garbage of NYC collection where though the idea of owning something he creates value even though the product is something that is useless and meaningless.

[Useful External References]:

http://www.buynothingday.com/

http://www.thecommonplace.org.uk/

Socialist Appeal - http://www.facebook.com/

http://bnp.org.uk/

http://nycgarbage.com/