Lecture 06: Cities and Films

George Simmel was asked to lecture on the role of the life in the city but reverses the idea and writes about the effect of the city on the individual. At this time Freud writes about psycho-analysis -  resistance of the individual to being levelled, swallowed up in the social technological mechanism. Lewis Hine 1932 photo shows an individual building a skyscraper, all the rules of the city had to be learnt even crossing the roads.

Louis Sullivan the creator of the modern skyscraper, this was an idea that the taller building represents upward mobility showing that the sky is the limit.

Charles Scheeler was an advertising photographer for Ford. He photographs the plant in a modernistic way which shows the factory as a collection of shapes rather than a plant. Fordism - mechanised labour relations, the factory is so repetitive that the person becomes part of that routine. This is shown in Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times" film.

First Things First Manifesto (1964/2000)

Written in 1963 and published in 1964 by Ken Garland along with 20 other designers, photographers and students, the manifesto was a reaction to the staunch society of 1960s Britain and called for a return to a humanist aspect of design. It lashed out against the fast-paced and often trivial productions of mainstream advertising, calling them trivial and time-consuming. It's solution was to focus efforts of design on education and public service tasks that promoted the betterment of society.

The influence of the manifesto was quick to reach a wide audience and was picked up by The Guardian, which led to a TV appearance by Garland on a BBC news program and its subsequent publication in a variety of journals, magazines and newspapers. It was revisited and republished by a group of new authors in the year 2000 and labeled as the First Things First Manifesto 2000.

In groups of five we were appointed the task of comparing 1964 manifesto with 2000 revisited manifesto. 

Similarities and Differences

Both talk about a reversal of priorities in favour of a more useful, lasting and democratic forms of communication.  It condemns the products that graphic design works to sell as 'trivial' and hopes that society will tire of them.

The 1964 edition caused more of a stir then as it was published in The Guardian, Ark. In comparison to the revisited one as it was only published in graphic magazines. 

The 1964 edition was idealistic, consumerism could still be changed, whereas 2000 edition it was realised that consumerism was here to change but we still need to adapt and change. 

Another difference between 1964 and 2000 edition is that it lists cat food and dog biscuits. Dog biscuits are not a necessity but cat food is. 

The 2000 edition was signed by a lot more well known and successful graphic designers, unlike the first one. Names such as Erik Spiekermann Teal Triggs etc. 

Both manifestos were written in financial  booms. 

First Things First offers a compelling narrative of designers withdrawing from a consumerist culture and changing the world for good. However, it massively oversimplifies the issue. 

COP Lecture: Identity

Phrenology is a pseudoscience primarily focused on measurements of the human skull, based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localised, specific functions or modules.

Physiognomy is the assessment of a person's character or personality from his or her outer appearance, especially the face. The closer to the vertical your brow, chin and nose is then the more intelligent you are. It is used to legitimise racism with stereotypical facial features.

Charles Baudelaire the 'painter of mental life' Above Gustave Caillebotte paris street rainy day. The painting above is about the upper class distinguishing themselves by their fashion/posture. 

Martin Parr, Ascot

Lower class attempting to fit in with upper class at Ascot. 

The above photos were taken by Humphrey Spender in Bolton of the working class,  who works for mass observation, the project called 'work town' (1937) documentary photography. He captures the working class of the 1930's using film photos. 

Sexuality

Tracey Emin controversial tent piece titled 'everyone I have ever slept with'. However it is actually just the people she's shared a bed with for a night, the names include her Grandma and Grandad and friends etc. However the piece produced a lot of controversy for girls being  named  'sluts'  etc, however, if boys sleep around they are a 'lad'.

Study Task 01

Symbolic Interactionist Theories of Identity 

Identity, the fact of being who or what a person or thing is. 

Sheldon Stryker's Theory of designations and definitions (1980) explains that our human social behaviour is organised by symbolic designations of all aspects of the environment. This means that our identity is a result of environmental factors not our biology. Sheldon describes that we conform to social norms eg, gender, job roles etc. We control ourselves depending on our social standing (environment) and expectations that go with it. For example, you might swear with your friends but not around your Grandparents. 

Stryker reasoned that identities are parts of a larger sense of self, such identities are organised into a salience hierarchy (most important/relevant). This is important in identity theory because the salience we attach to our identities influences how much effort we put into each role and how well we perform in each role. The hierarchy is formed as the individual gets positive responses from the people that they are interacting with. The higher up the hierarchy the more self-esteem relies on positive reinforcement. Validation builds self-esteem which affects the salience if identity roles. According to the salience hierarchy our  identity is based on the views of other people, thus we are more committed/greater dependance with a particular identity. 

In comparison with this George J. McCall and J.L.Simmons' Theory of Identity (1960) believe that identity is improvised as individuals seek to realise their various plans and goals. Identity is a driving force of behaviour. This occurs mostly within the mind, controlling the way one acts according to whether it pertains to a particular role that one wishes to achieve. However, people also need the approval (through both positive responses and expectations) of these role performances. Validation comes more from self than others, in comparison with Stryker's theory where validation comes from the views of other people. 

Relating these two theories with Graphic Design, I believe Stryker's theory would be a more passive form of design, thinking about the target audiences wants and needs whereas McCall and Simmons theory would be an aggressive form of design eg, how you want the design to look rather than thinking about the audiences needs.

Id, ego, and super-ego are the three parts of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche; they are the three theoretical constructs in terms of whose activity and interaction our mental life is described. According to this model of the psyche, the id is the set of uncoordinated instinctual trends (instant gratification); the super-ego plays the critical and moralising role; and the ego is the organised, realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego. The super-ego can stop one from doing certain things that one's id may want to do.

I suppose you could relate the Id (instant gratification) with McCall and Simmons theory of identity, identity being a driving force working on passions and aggressions. Possibly Stryker's theory could relate to Ego, the ego operates based on the reality principle, which strives to satisfy the id's desires in realistic and socially appropriate ways. This could relate to constant need for validation and approval. The reality principle weighs the costs and benefits of an action before deciding to act upon or abandon impulses. 

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