22 December 2012

Notes on the Gaze by Daniel Chandler



    Several key forms of gaze can be identified in photographic, filmic or televisual texts, or in figurative graphic art. The most obvious typology is based on who is doing the looking, of which the following are the most commonly cited:

    • the spectator’s gaze: the gaze of the viewer at an image of a person (or animal, or object) in the text;
    • the intra-diegetic gaze: a gaze of one depicted person at another (or at an animal or an object) within the world of the text (typically depicted in filmic and televisual media by a subjective ‘point-of-view shot’);
    • the direct [or extra-diegetic] address to the viewer: the gaze of a person (or quasi-human being) depicted in the text looking ‘out of the frame’ as if at the viewer, with associated gestures and postures (in some genres, direct address is studiously avoided);
    • the look of the camera - the way that the camera itself appears to look at the people (or animals or objects) depicted; less metaphorically, the gaze of the film-maker or photographer.

    In her classic book, On Photography Susan Sontag referred to several aspects of 'photographic seeing' which are relevant in the current context (Sontag 1979, 89):

    • 'To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed' (ibid., 4);
    • 'Photographing is essentially an act of non-intervention... The act of photographing is more than passive observing. Like sexual voyeurism, it is a way of at least tacitly, often explicitly, encouraging what is going on to keep on happening' (ibid., 11-12);
    • 'The camera doesn't rape, or even possess, though it may presume, intrude, trespass, distort, exploit, and, at the farthest reach of metaphor, assassinate - all activities that, unlike the sexual push and shove, can be conducted from a distance, and with some detachment' (ibid., 13).
    The functions of photography can be seen in the context of Michel Foucault's analysis of the rise of surveillance in modern society. Photography promotes 'the normalizing gaze, a surveillance that makes it possible to qualify, to classify and to punish. It establishes over individuals a visibility through which one differentiates and judges them' (Foucault 1977, 25). Photography was used in the second half of the nineteenth century to identify prisoners, mental patients and racial types (Tagg 1988). However, looking need not necessarily be equated with controlling (Lutz & Collins 1994, 365).
    Both film and television, of course, involve audio-visual 'motion pictures' - which sets them apart from still photography - but it is important to bear in mind key differences between these two media. John Ellis argues that 'gazing is the constitutive activity of cinema. Broadcast TV demands a rather different kind of looking: that of the glance' (Ellis 1982, 50). Whilst there is a danger of such viewpoints reflecting a certain élitism about 'art film' versus 'popular television' it is clear that the conditions of viewing in the cinema are significantly different from the conditions of viewing in the home. For instance, in the cinema one watches a narrative which is beyond one's own control, in dreamlike darkness, in the company of strangers and typically also with a close friend or two, having paid for the privilege; it is hardly surprising that in the context of the nuclear family, with companions one might not necessarily always choose as co-viewers and with channels which can easily be changed, viewing is often more casual - indeed, many televisual genres are designed for such casual viewing. Ellis argues that the conditions are such that 'the voyeuristic mode' cannot be as intense for the television viewer as for the cinema spectator (ibid., 138).
    Film theorists argue that in order to 'suspend one's disbelief' and to become drawn into a conventional narrative when watching a film one must first 'identify with' the camera itself as if it were one's own eyes and thus accept the viewpoint offered (this is, for instance, an assumption made by Mulvey 1975). Whilst one has little option but to accept the locational viewpoint of the film-maker, to suggest that one is obliged to accept the preferred reading involves treating viewers as uniformly passive, making no allowance for 'negotiation' on their part. There are many modes of engagement with film, as with other media.
    The film theorist Christian Metz made an analogy between the cinema screen and a mirror (Metz 1975), arguing that through identifying with the gaze of the camera, the cinema spectator re-enacts what the psychoanalytic theorist Jacques Lacan called 'the mirror stage', a stage at which looking into the mirror allows the infant to see itself for the first time as other - a significant step in ego formation. Extending this observation to still photography, Catherine Lutz and Jane Collins observe that 'mirror and camera are tools of self-reflection and surveillance. Each creates a double of the self, a second figure who can be examined more closely than the original - a double that can also be alienated from the self - taken away, as a photograph can be, to another place' (Lutz & Collins 1994, 376).

COP Essay Proposal

Title of Essay

A Review of the Male Gaze through the Analysis of Film Posters

Through the analysis of film posters, I wish to review if there have been any changes in the male gaze and the way women are represented in film, in relation to Laura Mulvey's essay on the subject 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema'.

Sources being Used

Visual and Other Pleasures by Laura Mulvey
The Cinematic Society; The Voyeur's Gaze by Norman K. Denzin
Notes of the Gaze by Daniel Chandler


13 December 2012

Lecture Notes: Identity

Theories of identity
Essentialism (traditional approach)
Our biological make up makes us who we are
We all have an inner essence that makes us who we are
Post modern theorists disagree
Post modern theorists are anti essentialist

Phrenology
"Insert image"
The idea that there are certain percentages of character traits/aspects that make up a perfect human, if they are imbalanced it therefore becomes an imperfect mind which could indicate criminal tendencies.

Physiognomy
Cesare Lombroso (1835 - 1909)
Founder of positive criminology - the notion that criminal tendencies are inherited
Physiognomy legitimised racism by suggesting that people with typically 'white' english/german features were intellectually superior, whilst anyone with more pronounced, ethnic features were of minimal intelligence. This idea was furthered by the nazis who wanted to create a super race of people with aryan features (blonde hair, blue eyes, anglo facial features)

This idea has been present in society for centuries, which is evidenced in many historical and religious paintings. 
'Hieronymous Bosch / Chris Ofili'

Historical phases of identity
Douglas Kellner
Pre modern identity - personal identity is stable - defined by long standing roles
Modern identity - modern societies begin to offer a wider range of social roles

Pre Modern Identity
Institutions determine identity such as marriage, the church, monarchy, government, the state, work etc.
All of these institutions provide a secure identity for the individual. These secure identities are related to the institution which has a vested interest in the identities. 

Modern identity - 
(19th and 20th centuries)
Gives rise to a new working class that becomes increasingly self aware of where they fit into society. 
Important writers of the time on this subject - 
Charles Baudelaire - introduces the concept of the flaneur (gentleman stroller, has no place to be so simply observes the city, and is observed)
Thorstein Veblen - 'Conspicious consumption of a valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure'
Georg Simmer - Trickle down theory - The system where the upper classes where expensive clothing and objects that display their wealth, the working classes then aspire to be like them, and begin to emulate the upper classes clothing, attempting to bridging the gap. The upper classes will then seek a new fashion to distinguish themselves, creating a cycle. Simmel suggests that because of the speed of modernity, individuals withdraw themselves to find peace. 

Post modern identity - 
Discourse analysis
Foucault suggests that identity is structured out of the discourses culturally available to us, such as race, sexual orientation, age, income, gender, nationality - all of which influence who we become, but also give way to stereotypes. 

Class, nationality, race/ethnicity, gender/sexuality have become 'the other' 

Humphrey Spender / Mass Observation 'Worktown project' 1937
Middle class men photograph the town of Bolton.
Loaded images with their own perceptions of how the working class live.

Fashion - Alexander Mcqueen / Vivienne Westwood

Las Vegas

Race and Ethnicity
Chris Ofili - Black British Artists
Draws attention to his race and ethnicity through his work to represent what is considered 'the other'.
No Woman No Cry
Captain Shit

Gillian Wearing 'signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that say what someone else wants you to say' 1992-3
Subscribing to and perpetuating stereotypes?

Gender and Sexuality

The Postmodern Condition
Identity is constructed through our social experience
You can structure your identity
Goffman saw life as theatre, made up of 'encounters' and 'performances'.

Zygmunt Bauman

11 December 2012

ISTD Research: New Order


Rising from the ashes of the legendary British post-punk unit Joy Division, the enigmatic New Order triumphed over tragedy to emerge as one of the most influential and acclaimed bands of the 1980s; embracing the electronic textures and disco rhythms of the underground club culture many years in advance of its contemporaries, the group's pioneering fusion of new wave aesthetics and dance music successfully bridged the gap between the two worlds, creating a distinctively thoughtful and oblique brand of synth pop appealing equally to the mind, body, and soul.
New Order's origins officially date back to mid-1976, when guitarist Bernard Sumner (formerly Albrecht) and bassist Peter Hook - inspired by a recent Sex Pistols performance - announced their intentions to form a band of their own. Recruiting singer Ian Curtis and drummer Stephen Morris, they eventually settled on the name Joy Division, and in 1979 issued their landmark debut LP, 'Unknown Pleasures' on the now-legendary Factory Records label.
After completing sessions for Joy Division's follow-up, Closer, Curtis hanged himself on May 18, 1980; devastated, the remaining trio renamed themselves New Order and added keyboardistGillian Gilbert. With Sumner assuming vocal duties, the new group debuted in March 1981 with the single 'Ceremony,' a darkly melodic effort originally composed for use by Joy Division.
The LP 'Movement' followed a few months later, and when it too mined territory similar to New Order's previous incarnation, many observers were quick to dismiss the band for reliving former glories. However, with its next single, 'Everything's Gone Green', the quartet began adorning its sound with synthesizers and sequencers, inspired by the music of Kraftwerk as well as the electro beats coming up from the New York underground; 1982's 'Temptation' continued the trend, and like its predecessor was a major favorite among club-goers.
After a year-long hiatus, New Order resurfaced in 1983 with their breakthrough hit 'Blue Monday'; packaged in a provocative sleeve designed to recall a computer disk, with virtually no information about the band itself - a hallmark of their mysterious, distant image - it perfectly married Sumner's plaintive yet cold vocals and abstract lyrics with cutting-edge drum-machine rhythms ideal for club consumption. 'Blue Monday' went on to become the best-selling 12" release of all time, moving over three million copies worldwide.
After releasing their brilliant 1983 second album, 'Power, Corruption And Lies', New Order teamed with producer Arthur Baker to record 'Confusion', another state-of-the-art dance classic, which even scraped into the American R&B charts. The group's success soon won them a stateside contract with Quincy Jones' Qwest label; however, apart from a pair of singles,'Thieves Like Us' and 'Murder,' they remained out of the spotlight throughout 1984.
Heralded by the superb single 'The Perfect Kiss', New Order resurfaced in 1985 with Low-Life, their most fully realized effort to date; breaking with long-standing tradition, it actually included photos of the individual members, suggesting an increasing proximity with their growing audience. Brotherhood followed in 1986, with the single 'Bizarre Love Triangle' making significant inroads among mainstream pop audiences.
A year later the group issued Substance, a much-needed collection of singles and remixes; the newly recorded single 'True Faith' reached number 32 on the U.S. pop charts. The remixed 'Blue Monday 1988' followed, and in 1989 - inspired by the ecstasy-fuelled house music that their work had clearly predated and influenced - New Order issued Technique; their most club-focused outing to date, it launched the hits 'Fine Time' and 'Round and Round'.
After recording the 1990 England World Cup anthem 'World in Motion' (their only Number 1 hit to date), New Order went on an extended hiatus to pursue solo projects; Hook formed the bandRevenge, longtime companions Morris and Gilbert recorded as The Other Two, and, most notably, Sumner teamed with ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr in Electronic, which scored a Top 20 hit with the single 'Getting Away with It'.
New Order reconvened in 1993 for their biggest hit to date, Republic, which earned the band its highest charting American single ('Regret'), despite charges from longtime fans that the band had lost its edge. A major tour followed, although rumours of escalating creative conflicts plagued the group; refusing to either confirm or deny word of a breakup, New Order simply spent the mid-'90s in a state of limbo, with Sumner eventually recording a long-awaited second Electronic LP and Hook mounting another new project, Monaco.
'Brutal,' the first new effort from New Order in a number of years, was featured on the soundtrack of the 2000 film The Beach and the full-length Get Ready followed one year later. By this time, Gillian Gilbert had left the band to care for her and Stephen Morris' children, and Marionguitarist Phil Cunningham had been added to bolster the lineup.
2005 saw more touring and a new album, Waiting For The Sirens' Call, which included a guest appearance from the Scissor Sisters' Ana Matronic. Despite achieving immortality of sorts in the biopic of Factory Records, 24 Hour Party People, internal conflict once again reared its head and Hook announced in 2007 that New Order were no longer an operating unit. However, Sumner denied any official split and the future of the band is currently in limbo.
taken from www.xfm.co.uk
1.     "Dreams Never End"   3:13
2. "Truth"   4:37
3. "Senses"   4:45
4. "Chosen Time"   4:07
5. "ICB"   4:33
6. "The Him"   5:29
7. "Doubts Even Here"   4:16
8. "Denial"  

ISTD Research: 808 State


The story of 808 State defines an era of electronic dance music and sets a blueprint of possibilities for future generations. As the NME observed “808 State revolutionised a whole genre of music in the late-80s, inspiring Underworld, Orbital and the Chemical Brothers in the process."
Formed in Manchester in 1988 by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson, 808 State's first album – Newbuild - is now regarded as a milestone in UK electronica.
Quadrastate followed, including Pacific State, becoming an end-of-night anthem at the Haçienda and breaking out of the dance underground when it was picked up by daytime BBC Radio 1. The band pushed against dance-celebrity culture with intentionally minimalist record sleeves and a reluctance to self-promote. During this time Gerald recorded his own hit Voodoo Ray and decided to pursue his own career as A Guy Called Gerald. He was replaced by the 808 State DJs, Andrew Barker and Darren Partington.
In 1989 Paul Morley signed the band to the ZTT label, and the first fruit of this partnership, the albumNinety, was awarded 10 out of 10 by the NME. The Guardian declared that with this record, "808 State mapped out the future of club music, utilising techno, ambient and rock..."
Between Ninety and it's follow-up, ex:el, 808 State delivered two of the most brutal and absorbing instrumentals ever to enter the UK top ten: Cübik, with its squalling abstract guitar and über-riffs, followed quickly by In Yer Face.
In 1991 they released their biggest selling album ex:el, drafting in guests such as Björk and Bernard Sumner from New Order, as well as producing MC Tunes' album The North At Its Heights. At the peak of chart success and the 'Madchester' era, 808 celebrated with a massive hometown gig filling the G-Mex stadium.
Signing in the USA to influential hip-hop label Tommy Boy, they collaborated with the likes of Quincy Jones, David Bowie and Afrika Bambaataa. With the 1993 album Gorgeous, they delivered their most successful album in the States, acquiring a large popularity on the college radio station scene. Around this time, Martin Price had decided to leave the band.
Following the success of Gorgeous, 808 State took their global touring experience into the studio recording the 1996 album Don Solaris - exploring a more organic post rave sound.
After the release of their first greatest hits package 808:88:98, they delivered further explorations on the Outpost Transmission album in 2002.
In the following years the band's entire back catalogue was re-issued in expanded form, by ZTT, the Aphex Twin's Rephlex label and UMAA in Japan. Rephlex also released Prebuild, a collection of very early Acid House recordings, pre Newbuild era.

taken from http://www.808state.com/


  1. "Sync/Swim" – 6:20
  2. "Flow Coma" – 6:01
  3. "Dr. Lowfruit [4 A.M. Mix]" – 7:36
  4. "Headhunters" – 5:02
  5. "Narcossa" – 5:17
  6. "E Talk" – 4:01
  7. "Compulsion" – 5:22

ISTD Research: Inspiral Carpets


After The Stone Roses and Happy MondaysInspiral Carpets were arguably the third most popular band to emerge from the late-'80s/early-'90s Madchester scene. Like The Charlatans, they weren't quite as innovative as the city's two standard-bearers, relying less on the contemporary dance club beats that became Madchester pop's identifying signature. They did, however, share a fascination with trippy psychedelia, particularly the Farfisa organ-drenched sound of 'Nuggets'-style garage rock from the '60s, which set them apart from their peers. It also enabled them to tinker with their sound once the Madchester fad had passed, and the group continued to score hits right up to their mid-'90s breakup.
Inspiral Carpets were formed in Oldham by guitarist Graham Lambert, who'd been playing around the area since 1982. His group - named after an area clothing store - finally began to settle on a permanent lineup in 1986, when drummer Craig Gill and Farfisa organist Clint Boonjoined up. They were soon augmented by vocalist Steve Holt and bassist Dave Swift, and built up a following around Manchester with their demo tapes (done in a '60s-influenced garage punk style).
Clever merchandising helped the band out financially; they sold T-shirts featuring their smoking-cow logo and their slogan 'Cool as F*ck,' which got them media attention when a student wearing the shirt was arrested for violating obscenity laws. Their first national release came in 1988 with the 'Plane Crash' EP on Playtime Records, but when that label's distributor went out of business later that year, the band set up their own imprint, Cow Records, which was financed mostly by T-shirt sales. The first release on Cow was the 1989 EP 'Trainsurfing', which got the band even more national attention. At this point, Holt and Swift - not keen on professional careers involving lots of time and travel - decided to leave, and were replaced by vocalist Tom Hingley(ex-Too Much Texas) and bassist Marty Walsh. With their arrival, the band's Madchester-compatible style began to crystallize, as evidenced on the new lineup's first release, the swirling, organ-driven psychedelic tune 'Joe' (May 1989). The single caused a stir in the indie underground that only intensified with the follow-ups 'Find Out Why' and 'Move' and after being courted by several major labels, the band wound up signing with the large London-based indie Mute.
Inspiral Carpets' debut album, 'Life', was released in the spring of 1990. Their first single for Mute, 'This Is How It Feels', hit the British Top 20 and landed them a TV appearance on Top of the Pops; the follow-up, 'She Comes in the Fall' reached the Top 30. The band recorded sessions with DJ John Peel and appeared at that year's Reading Festival, helping make 'Life' a sizable hit. After releasing the 'Island Head' EP late in the year, the band completed its next full-length, the darker 'The Beast Inside', which appeared in the spring of 1991.
For the supporting tour, the band hired future Oasis mastermind Noel Gallagher as a roadie. Inspiral Carpets scored their biggest chart hit in the spring of 1992 with 'Dragging Me Down'which appeared on their third album, 'Revenge Of The Goldfish', released later that autumn. Although it produced three more Top 40 singles and got the band a bigger overseas audience, the album proved to be their worst seller to date, possibly because the Manchester scene's moment was perceived to have passed. In response, the group returned to a more basic garage/psychedelic sound for their next album, 1994's 'Devil Hopping'. It was generally well received, with the singles 'Saturn 5' and 'I Want You' (the latter a duet with The Fall'Mark E. Smith, who did not appear on the album version) returning them to the Top 20.
In late 1995, Mute released a compilation called 'The Singles', and soon after, it was announced that label and band were parting ways. Inspiral Carpets called it quits not long after; Boon formedThe Clint Boon Experience, while Hingley formed a group called The Lovers with Jerry Kellof The Lotus Eaters. Hingley went solo in late 2000, issuing the album 'Keep Britain Untidy'.

taken from http://www.xfm.co.uk

Cool as Fuck EP

  • "Joe"
  • "Find Out Why"
  • "So Far"
  • "Out of time"
  • "Plane Crash"

ISTD Research: Happy Mondays


 Formed in Little Hulton, Manchester 1984
 Signed by Anthony Wilson to Factory Records
 Disbanded in 1992 - successful spin-off group Black Grape followed
 Reformed in 1999 for world tour and supported Oasis but split again in 2000
 Reformed again in 2004
 The movie, 24 Hour Party People, takes its name from a Happy Mondays track
 The band's relationship with Factory Records is featured in the film
 The band also penned the theme, 'Playground Superstar' for the movie, 'Goal!'
 Dancer, Bez, won Celebrity Big Brother in 2005
 Backing singer, Rowetta, came 4th in the first series of X Factor
 The band are all avid Manchester United fans
 Bez's parents are actually from Liverpool - his father was a policeman
 Both Shaun and Bez live in Padfield, Derbyshire, just outside Manchester

Happy Mondays are an alternative rock band formed in Salford, Greater Manchester, UK in 1985.
The band is fronted by Shaun Ryder, who formed the band with his brother Paul Ryder, who played bass.
 The rest of the band consists of their friendBez, who danced and played percussion, plus guitarist Mark
Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan. There are several theories about why the Happy
Mondays are called what they are. One is that the band's name refers to what Manchester's unemployed
population called the day that welfare checks were issued, or that simply they didn't have to go back to
work on Mondays unlike the poor working sods. However, Shaun Ryder did remark in an interview with
drug smuggler Howard Marks that the name Happy Mondays was merely a quick solution to naming the
band and bears no real relevance atall. The name has no connection with the song "Blue Monday" by
New Order, as the Mondays were together and had named the band before this song was released.
First incarnation Manchester pop impresarioTony Wilson discovered the Mondays at a battle of the bands
contest held at his Hacienda nightclub. The story goes that Wilson signed them to his label, Factory Records,
even though they came in last. Their first album, Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic
Face Carnt Smile (White Out)
, debuted in 1987. A number of other albums followed, most of which were
released in the United States on the Elektra Records label. By the late 1980s, the Happy Mondays were an
important part of the  music scene and personified  culture. By this time frontman Ryder was
fighting a serious drug problem and the band's productivity plummeted. Musically, the band fused 
guitars with a rhythmic style that owed much to  music,  and . Much of their music
was remixed by popular DJs, emphasizing the dance influences even further. In terms of style and dress, they
crossed hippy fashion and ideals with 1970s glamour. Sartorially and musically, the band helped to encourage
the associated with . One of their most popular songs was Lazyitis, featuring a
surreal duet between Ryder and country music legend Karl Denver. The Mondays disbanded in 1992, and Shaun
Ryder and Bez formed Black Grape with ex-Paris Angels guitarist, Paul Wagstaff a.k.a."Wags" and ex-Ruthless
Rap Assassins
 star, Paul Leveridge a.k.a. "Kermit".



  1. "Kuff Dam" – 3:06
  2. "Tart Tart" – 4:25
  3. "'Enery" – 2:22
  4. "Russell" – 4:53
  5. "Olive Oil" – 2:36
  6. "Weekend S" – 2:23
  7. "Little Matchstick Owen" – 3:42
  8. "Oasis" – 3:45
  9. "24 Hour Party People" – 4:40
  10. "Cob 20" – 4:20
  11. "Little Matchstick Owen's Rap"

taken from The Guardian, Wikipedia and Pride of Manchester

ISTD Research: The Stone Roses


The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's most successful lineup consists of vocalist Ian Brown, guitarist John Squire, bassist Gary "Mani" Mounfield, and drummer Alan "Reni" Wren.
The band released their debut album, The Stone Roses, in 1989. The album was a breakthrough success for the band. At this time the Stone Roses decided to capitalise on their success by signing to a major label; then, their current record label Silvertone would not let them out of their contract, which led to a long legal battle that culminated with the band signing with Geffen Records in 1991, and then releasing their second album Second Coming in 1994. The group soon disbanded after several lineup changes throughout the supporting tour, which began with Reni first departing, followed by Squire.



Tracklistings
1."I Wanna Be Adored"  4:52
2."She Bangs the Drums"  3:42
3."Waterfall"  4:37
4."Don't Stop"  5:17
5."Bye Bye Badman"  4:00
6."Elizabeth My Dear"  0:59
7."(Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister"  3:25
8."Made of Stone"  4:10
9."Shoot You Down"  4:10
10."This Is the One"  4:58
11."I Am the Resurrection"  

10 December 2012

ISTD Visual Research

As my concept is based on the music of the Madchester bands, I wanted to have a feel for the band identities and the LP covers they released. There is mainly a heavy focus on imagery that is a little bit wacky , which I think works well because it reflects the character of the bands and also makes something that is iconic and instantly associated with them.