Initial visual responses

My initial visual responses focused mainly on the findings of Asch's experimented coupled with some of the themes of my essay that explored how young adults and teens seek trends in order to fit in and establish and excepted identity both of which are examples of compliance in action.

Therefore I went about creating a series of characters that have all merged into one homogeneous form due to how each member of the group has adopted the the thought, actions and appearance of the other in order to fit in and be accepted. Visually I think they are successful in communicating the main themes of my visual response. However I think the top two, particularly that on the right are much more successful aesthetically, as they are simpler in there constructing and bolder in their use of contrasting tone which has resulted in much more balanced images.

Ralph Steadman

Given his reputation as something of a maverick often prone to satirising and attacking various cultural and political institutions that are present within western society I decided to take out the book: Gonzo The Art by Ralph Steadman. Visually I felt it fitted with the looser more comical style of ink based drawing I had used for my initial responses. However it was his images relating to conformity and consumerism, particularly those using repeat motifs that I was drawn to. I think this is something that I could bring into my own work as it very strongly conveys the theme of conformity and compliance. 

 

With this in mind I did some very quick drawings incorporating the use of repeat motifs, however here rather than just try and show a compliant group of conformist as I had previously done, I wanted to try and show the individual being pressured to conform. Therefore I did one figure in each image in colour with his eyes open to signify him as an individual that is 'awake' with some sense of independence. However I purposefully gave them both panicked/confused looking expressions so as to try and convey that he is being pressured into the dull monotony of the others.

Scientific Evidence of Conformity

Although it is reasonable to say that most, if not all of us, conform to societal expectation, beliefs and behaviours in some form or another I though it would be good to find some actual scientific proof of the various different forms in action.

Compliance has been noted in action during the Asch line experiment. This was where a individuals were put into a group, the other members of which were aware of what was going on in the experiment, and told to match lines on a left card with that of a right. For certain cards the majority of the group purposefully gave an incorrect answer, the aim of which was to see whether or not the participant would follow the group given that answers were given out loud. The results found that roughly 75% of all participants would give an incorrect answer at least once in order to conform to the rest of the group despite it being clearly wrong (an early and similar experiment Sherif had sought to find a similar answer but it was considered to ambiguous in what it got participants to answer).

The Stanford prison experiment can also be seen to prove both compliance theory and integration theory, where by one conforms in order to create a defined social standing and role within society. Despite participants agreeing to the experiment and knowing it was only make believe, it was carried out as much like that of an actual prison as possible with all the normal procedures for arrest and incarceration such as fingerprinting, being strip searched and deloused all taking place.

The aim was to see whether or not the problems of brutality and corruption found in many prisons were a result of a few individuals with sadistic tendencies or simply a result of conflicting personality traits, eg lawless and disrespectful prisoners vs domineering guards, coupled with societal expectations. The study found that participants, particularity the 'guards', quickly and easily took to their assigned roles and that within hours the guards were acting in cruel and often sadistic ways towards the 'inmates'. In much the same way prisoners also adopted behaviours expected of them such as a strictly obeying the rules, regarding them as being there for their own good, as well as telling on other prisoners and siding with guards when rules were broken. As the experiment progressed it found that the 'guards' readily became more aggressive where as the 'prisoners' became more submissive.

It concluded that people will readily conform to social roles, however its over all credibility has been debated given its situational rather than dispositional subject matter.

What is conformity?

Conformity is a form of social influence behaviour why by an individual alters, either consciously or unconsciously, his beliefs or behaviour so as to match that a wider group due to the various different physical or psychological pressures, such as social expectations, that may arise from it. 

There are four major types of conformity as set out by the psychologist Herbert Kelman:

Compliance: This a public form of conformity cause by fear of rejection or a desire to fit in, differing private beliefs may still be held.

Identification: Conforming to someone who is liked or respected.

Internalization: Accepting and adopting a wide spread belief or behaviour due to a belief of its credibility/legitimacy.

Similarly to compliance there is a fourth but often less emphasised form of conformity: Integration. This is where by one changes there behaviour to seek the approval of others not out of fear of rejection but need for social rewards.

It is usually seen that compliance is the weaker of the three where as internalization is the strongest and often the hardest to break away from. However despite this it is compliance that I find the most interesting. This is due to how widespread and pervasive it is in all forms of society, particularly our consumer based one, where as, given its nature, internalization is usually limited to more totalitarian societies/cultures.

Furthermore after looking at theories of philosopher Hannah Arendt I found it fascinating and to be honest quite frightening, just how powerful this public need to confirm can be. This is due to the fact that she argued that in Nazi Germany the key reason behind how so many atrocities were able to take place was not due to the common Nazi citizen having psychopathic tendencies or truly believing in their cause, although arguably this was the case with younger generations who had been internalized to some extent, but rather due to overwhelming pressures to conform socially. This theory is now widely excepted and has been further confirmed by the Milgram experiment whereby participants were told to shock others, who were in fact actors, if they got a question wrong, even to the point where the volts were powerful enough to kill a person, although they had not been informed this. The experiment found that, despite it causing them considerable stress, many participants would still issue the supposedly lethal shocks simply because they had been told to by an authority figure.

Where as in my essay I primarily explored how brands manipulate the individual, resulting in conformist actions and habits, I am going to use this visual response to explore how in fact humans have a deep rooted tendency and need to conform. In his article, You Are a Conformist (You are Human) Noam Shpancer argues this is the case stating: 

'Human beings are herd animals. We survive in highly coordinated groups. Individually, we are designed to pick up social cues, coordinate and align our behaviour with those around us. Recent research has shown that social disapproval provokes the brain's danger circuits. Conformity soothes.'

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/insight-therapy/201012/you-are-conformist-is-you-are-human

It is this line of thinking that will be underpinning my subsequent visual research and exploration.

Project Proposal

The main underlying theme of my visual investigation will be that of conformity and social cohesion versus ideas of the individual within modern society. To investigate this I will research various different theories relating to and examples of conformity within our society which I will in turn explore visually through a variety of different image making processes documented in my visual journal.

In order to research these themes in depth I intend to look into the main theories surrounding conformity. This will include looking at ways in which conformity manifests itself in the individual through two distinctly different phenomena known as informational social influence, or social proof, and normative social influence. Furthermore I then intend to look at the consequences this has on group dynamics specifically exploring whether or not it is a positive thing through strengthening social cohesion or whether or not it can actually have negative affects such as those associated with the theory of 'groupthink'.

I am particularly interested in looking into the how conformity effects people differently according to age. Many past studies have suggested that, as the individual ages the less likely they are to conform to the views and actions of others. Therefore I want to explore exactly why this occurs although finding a definitive answer to this will be difficult as studies have highlighted a variety of different reasons such as fear of rejection, desires to succeed through conforming to those higher up the social ladder as well as it, particular yin the 1-9 age brackets, being a way through which children can learn from there elders.

In order to visually investigate this content I will focus primarily on ideas of repetitious and monotony within my images. Initially this will be more figurative work so as to reflect the theme of people within society, however eventually I would like to move it towards something more abstract, possibly focussing on shape and geometry. I intend to explore these images through a variety of different processes, both analogue and digital.

Study Task 4: Triangulating and Harvard Referencing


1: Triangulation:

All three texts highlight how modern society and its its culture is primarily consumer based due to the fact that creative minds are being used to further  and reinforce consumerism due to the fact they '...have been brought up in a world in which the techniques and apparatus of advertising have persistently been presented to us as the most lucrative, effective and desirable means of using our talents.'(Garland, K, 1964). Furthermore all three agree that this is misdirected energy on the part of creative and that it should be used for more '...useful and more lasting forms of communication.'(Garland, K, 1964). However both Fuck Committees(Kalman, T, 1998) and First Things First 2000(Adbusters, 2000) are much more condemning in their view of popular culture and militant in their proposed reversal of creative priorities. For example, arguably due to the almost 40 year gap between First Things First(Garland, K, 1964), the other two sources both agree that the public has been warped and dulled by branding and marketing arguing that it has led to a '...reductive and immeasurably harmful code of public discourse.' (Adbusters, 2000) and that Corporations have ',,.become the sole arbiters of cultural ideas and taste...'(Kalman, T, 1998). Furthermore they claim that this reversal is urgently needed as 'Consumerism is running uncontested...'(Adbusters, 2000) and that the '...cracks in the wall.'(Kalman, T, 1998) need to be found in order to achieve this where as in contrast to this the original First Things First (Garland, K, 1964) does not  '...advocate the abolition of high pressure consumer advertising...'(Garland, K , 1964).

2 : Image Analysis:

The above image can be seen as an example of how creative culture has been appropriated in order to create effective market campaigns through which consumerisms is enforced. The images, styles and cultural significance of the figures, all creatives operating within the field of music, have been used in order to give Adidas products these same cultural associations in order to make them more appealing to the consumer, Therefore this can be seen as an example of the priorities that need to be reversed, as set out in the three texts, given that the artists in question have chosen to miss use their own image through product endorsement in order to further them selves, as well as Adidas, financially rather than focus on more creative or productive endeavours. 

3: Evaluation:

The underlying argument of The First Thins First Manifesto(Garland, K, 1964) is that creative such as designers, photographers illustrators etc. have their priories wrong in that they use their skills primarily for marketing purposes as opposed to more '...useful and more lasting forms of communication.'(Garland, K, 1964) which further the creative arts, culture and society as a whole. Furthermore it argues that it isn't simply creative that feel this way but also members of the public and that the reason this has occurred is that creatives are persistently told that marketing is the '...most lucrative, effective and desirable means of using our talents.'(Garland, K, 1964). However despite this it doesn't completely condemn consumerism or mass marketing stating that it doesn't '...advocate the abolition of high pressure consumer advertising...'(Garland, K , 1964) partly due to the fact it doesn't see it as feasible but also due to the suggestion that to do so would take '...the fun out of life' (Garland, K, 1964).

4: Paraphrase, Summarise

Fuck Committees(Kalman, T, 1998) theorises that modern creative culture is a 'struggle between individuals with jagged passion in their work and today's faceless corporate committees...'(Kalman, T , 1998). Furthermore it states that today's creatives, such as designers, writers, directors photographers etc. have '...been relegated to a role of corporate servitude..'(Kalman T, 1998) by corporations that '...claim to understand the needs of the mass audience...'(Kalman, T, 1998). What it means by this is that profession creatives are no longer putting their talents to furthering culture or expressing them selves but that the idiosyncrasies have been removed by corporate committees who instead want to produce '...thought-free, passion-free, cultural mush that will not be hated nor loved by anyone.'(Kalman, T, 1998). Instead all creative independence on part of the creator has been lost and that now corporations are now the sole pushers of culture and taste with an aim of appealing to the lowest common denominator.

Study Task 3: Planning and structuring an essay

For my my essay I have chosen the question 'What is the relationship between branding and the consumer self?'. More specifically I my essay will be confirmed with how various marketing techniques and ideas of brand image to play upon the ego in order to establish a strong relationship between the brand and consumer self. 

Initially I had wanted to also explore how this leads to conformity within society and whether or not this creates tension due to the opposing notions of the individual self and group dynamics. Furthermore I had wanted to explore whether this tension is unique to or simply a cause of consumer based society or whether or not it is something much more pervasive and ever within human society no matter its particular philosophical or theological form. 

However after the group tutorials I have decided to focus on only the first aspect of my question. This is because the general consensus that I got from moth peer and tutor feedback was that if I included the latter two parts it would be too overarching in its themes and, given the word count would leads to a incoherent and sloppy essay. 

With all this in mind I have devised an initial plan and structure to my essay.

Thesis: Do marketing techniques and brand identities subvert and manipulate 

Intro: Explain briefly how ego drives marketing and brand image and touch upon the ways in which it does this. Define key words such as brand and ego that are of fundamental importance to my essay.

Paragraph One: Focus on the nature of branding and marketing particularly how it appeals to an emotional rather than rational level. Suggest that this is due to brands playing into certain aspects of the ego rather than simply subverting them.

Paragraph Two:  In contrast to the first paragraph explore the argument that branding and consumer society actively creates these traits within the ego in order to successfully sell products.

Paragraph Three: Explore in depth the various techniques, such as those highlighted by Vance Pakard in The Hidden Persuaders, used to market products and create strong brand identity through various inherent traits of the individual within consumer society. 

Paragraph Four: Close reading of Naomi Klein's No Logo exploring how brands seek to target younger age groups due to their lack of, and subsequent need to define self identity. Like with the first two paragraphs explore whether or not this something created by marketing and branding or something inherent to that age group.

The various sources I will use include:

Benson, A.L (ed), I Shop therefore I am, Compulsive buying and the search for self, Oxford, Rowman & Little field Publishers

Freud, S, Society and Its Discontents, London, Penguin Books Ltd

Heath, J, Potter, A, Nation of Rebels: Why counter culture became consumer culture, New York, Harper Collins

Lasn, K, Culture Jam, New York, Harper Collins

Lee,  M,J (ed), The consumer society reader, 2 ed, Blackwell Publishing Ltd : Marx, K, Estranged labour, Marx, K, The Fetish of Commodity and its Secret

Klein, N, No logo, London, Flamingo

As well as the images: 

http://www.hiphopmovie.com/2013/08/26/run-dmc-adidas-commercial/

http://about.virginmedia.com/press-release/9380/bolt-takes-on-blot-in-new-virgin-media-ad-campaign

http://www.vintag.es/2013/04/bizarre-tobacco-advertising-from-1920s.html

Article Summary
Storey J - 'Cultural Theory and Popular Culture': Althusserianism

The extract focuses on the importance of Louis Althusser in the development of cultural theory and in particular sates that within this his most important development was his different attempts to categorize ideology. At the foundation of this is Althusser's rejection of the 'mechanistic interpretation of the base/superstructure formulation' in favour of social formation of which ideology, along with economics and politics, makes up its key practices. What is meant by this is that the superstructure (ie societal,economic and political institutes), are not simply an expression of the base, the individuals within a society who can also be seen as the means of production) but rather they rely on it to ground there own existence.
Althusser's definition of ideology is of key importance to this as he argues that ideology is a system, series of representations such as pictures or a practice through which people tie there view of the world to the 'real conditions of existence'. That is to say ideology dispels the contradictions within the relationship between the base superstructure by offering 'false but seemingly true' resolution to problems.
Furthermore Althusser's definition of ideology is a closed system in that it only ever sets itself 'such problems as it can answer' and remain within its own boundaries. This leads to the creation of what Althusser refers to as the problematic. This refers to information that appears to be absent from, for example, a piece of writing, that once revealed gives us a deeper insight into the text its self as well as the assumptions which inform it. Therefore when looking at any given piece of information we should apply what Althusser refers to as 'symptomatic reading' where by it is de-constructed to reveal the problematic.