In John Berger Ways of Seeing, he explores how images shape our perception, influence advertising, and affect our personal and political views. This seminal work provides a deep dive into the power of visual culture and its impact on society.
The Power of Images
One of the things which we really should spend more time thinking about is how the world projects itself onto us and how we in return respond to that projection. On a daily, hourly, and sometimes minute-by-minute basis, we are subject to images that tell us something about the world and, more importantly, tell us about ourselves. The way we interpret these images, the way we see the world, is what affects how we behave and what we think. It affects our personal relationships and our relationship with the rest of the world. It is both political and personal.
News and Advertising
There is a great deal which could be written about the ‘news’ and the way it is told. Needless to say, the story the news tells us is just that. It is a story, and we need to be careful that we do not assume it reflects reality. Although it might respond to reality, it doesn’t reflect it. This is something to write about on another day.
The same is true of advertising. In the back of our minds, we may think of advertising as information, but this, of course, is very wrong. Advertising is a way of creating a feeling designed to make us respond to the world in a certain way – by buying a product usually – and by responding, change our view of ourselves. Advertising creates images of what we might be. If we have a product, whether it be a car, a cleaning product, or a piece of food, we will become somehow better. Additionally, we will become something that other people will envy.
Changing Perceptions
In other words, advertising not only changes the way we see ourselves but also the way in which we think the rest of the world will see us. It will make us more attractive, more likeable, more like the person we might want to be.
In his book, ‘Ways of Seeing,’ John Berger seems to sum this up very well. He says, “The spectator-buyer is meant to envy herself as she will become if she buys the product. She is meant to imagine herself transformed by the product into an object of envy for others, an envy which will then justify her loving herself.”
Media Influence
Big Brother, which on one level is simple soft-porn, is a program that projects an image which says ‘be like me’ and in being like them, you will become more attractive to others. This show is a crude example, but the same applies to other programs like MasterChef or The Voice, where the main aim of the program is not to cook food or to sing songs but to project an image which you will want because this will make other people want you. The advertising shown during these programs reflects this. Indeed, the advertising is a vital part of the program, and it is almost inconceivable to watch any one of these programs without advertising – that is one reason why you won’t see these programs on the ABC.
Fashion and Style
In a very real sense, that is what fashion and style are about and what they play on. We want to reflect what we have seen because this is what might make us more attractive to others, and this will justify our being. This isn’t just the way we look, though people on the street do remarkably look as if they have just walked out of an audition for a program, but also about the way we think and the views we espouse. If we want to be like them, then we want to share their views and let others know that we do. This is what much of politics is about these days. But perhaps it always was. It is possible to see the Nuremberg rallies in this way and probably the exhibitions of Ancient Rome and countless other civilisations.
Publicity and Anxiety
Another interesting idea which Berger proposes is that publicity – and this applies to any publicity – plays on our anxiety. We are anxious that we won’t be accepted or liked, and Berger suggests even more, “the anxiety on which publicity plays is the fear that having nothing you will be nothing.”
Gender Differences
Of course, there is a difference in whether you are a man or a woman, and men are treated in different ways to women in advertising and in programming – and in the news. (Almost all female politicians have had comments made about their clothes which would be unspeakable if it were a man.) In a simple statement, Berger says, “A man’s presence suggests what he is capable of doing to you or for you. By contrast, a woman’s presence . . . defines what can and cannot be done to her.” – That is certainly something worth reflection.
For a book written more than fifty years ago, it carries a lot of messages which are relevant to today. You should read it.
