The above image is an advertisement (or rather the cover of a magazine) which is used to undermine the credibility (and in this case, the masculinity) of Richard Nixon using visual associations. In this image, the implication is that because Nixon did not wear make up on camera during his campaign, and people did not respond well to that or his 5 o'clock shadow, he had one last chance to "get it right."
The image also undermines his masculinity, with the overall pink hue to the image, numerous cosmetic products, and multiple persons applying the makeup, as if he were a supermodel. This image also portrays the idea of the shallowness of the American people, because they will not accept him unless he does wear makeup and shaves before public appearances.
This cover of the New Yorker shows an image of Sarah Palin looking out from the window of her home at Russia off in the distance. This is making fun of a statement she made during the campaign, stating that she could see Russia from Alaska. The implied idea is that based off of that statement, she is lacking intelligence, and therefore, her credibility as a political figure is undermined.
Comparing this image to the image of Nixon above, one can say that the undermining of the credibility of the political figure applies in both situations. Both images use a high level of non-verbal communication, using implications based off of commonly known information. The image of Nixon is bashing how he looks and how the American people view him because of it, but the image of Palin is bashing her intelligence. The second image also lacks multiple levels of meaning, whereas the first contains three.
No comments:
Post a Comment