HW requirements & references

Essay #1:
Write an expository essay examining the mythical dimensions of some discrete artifact
or set of similar artifacts from our contemporary visual culture. By "myth", we here mean
a fictional narrative that serves to augment our belief system, as in Roland Barthes'
work Mythologies. By "artifact", we mean some tangible product of visual culture: a
photo, video, a hairstyle, an article of clothing, a designed object. Your essay should be
at least 750 words and may include images where appropriate.

References：
In his classic work Mythologies, Roland Barthes develops a theory of myth and
contemporary culture that is still widely employed in cultural studies 50 years later. The
book is a series of short essays, each of which investigates some artifact of visual
culture for its narrative resonance---the "story" it tells. He then shows how these stories,
together, form a mythological system that guides much of contemporary society, where
traditional religious myths have lost their sway. We will read three of these together and
discuss them in class: "Toys" (p.53); "The Face of Garbo" (p. 56) and "The Jet-man" (p.
71). The full PDF is below and I encourage you to browse freely!

Other students' work:

Wide-legged Pants

Most people, especially the younger side, may have seen a post on social media where

they would have a photo of tight-fitting jeans next to the word “no.” Then, along with the

previous image, there is most likely an image of loose-fitting pants with “leg room” to spare for

both thighs and calves with the word “yes.” Somehow, pants fitting to one’s legs are a piece of

clothing denied in the world of young and trendy fashion. It must be replaced with pants with a

much looser fit to be pleasing to the eye. Then, why have tight-fitting pants become such a

heresy in this generation?

The challenges against gender norms and spectrums are burgeoning in the 21st century.

The “rights” and “wrongs” of a specific gender are constantly questioned in the society of this

day and age. It is now narrow-minded to think that blue correlates to boys and pink to girls. It is
usual for women to wear pants, and there is a progression of men starting to wear skirts.

Wide-legged pants are the middle ground of femininity and masculinity. They have a graceful

flowy skirt-like silhouette while existing under the pants category. It satiates society’s inclination

toward gender neutrality. It is like an introduction to breaking the fashion norms for men and

women, an object that leads to the message, “you can break free from what the world expects

you to wear.”

Fig 1. High-Quality Cotton Linen Pants For Men's Wide Leg Trousers Oriental Style White Black Harem Pants With A Wide Bottom Hakama

Blue, AliExpress

Back in the early 2000s, slim-fit pants were ubiquitous among women. Celebrities would

even wear them on the red carpet. Again, why are people finding what was so fashionable only a

decade ago distasteful? One thing about slim-fit jeans is the fact that skinny people were the ones

who wore them the most. According to what I have heard from people of that era, the available

sizes were very limited to people who did not have slim figures. The fact that most of them were

low-rise made matters even worse as it accentuated the fat around the belly for most people. It

naturally spread the belief that only people with model-like bodies could pull off slim-fit pants

and look sexy. This relates to the unachievable beauty standards that have plagued humans to

constantly find something wrong with their bodies, leading to eating disorders, body dysmorphia,
anorexia, and so on. Now, the trends are challenging such standards. People are becoming more

aware of body positivity. Big fashion companies include plus-sized models in their

advertisements. Wide-legged pants are one of the contemporary items that help show how people

can look good without having the “ideal” body.

Fig. 3. Wide Leg Jean, Banana Republic Factory

Fig. 2. Film Magic. Jessica Alba in True Religion

Jeans, ca. 2005. Stylecaster

There is the aspect of comfort to wide-legged pants. Unlike tight-fitting pants, the extra

width of the pants gives the wearer more breathing space for their legs. A person can be

comfortable in their clothes and look stylish at the same time. In the past, there was a theme of

sacrificing comfort to look beautiful. For example, the upper class during the 18th century wore

elaborate wigs, full skirts, and ornate jewelry that looked like it would weigh a ton. It would be

rare for a person to say wearing all those would be comfortable, but that was just how it was.

However, modern everyday fashion is leaning towards “less is more.” Nowadays, people who go

over the top with clothing and accessories in public spaces are viewed as having an unrefined

fashion sense.

The trend of wide pants interestingly has layers of stories within it. First, it is very

versatile because it is gender-neutral. Men and women are all welcome to wear this piece of
clothing. Yet, there is a higher chance a woman would wear this clothing type. Men who are

unaware or deny this option in their wardrobe can only see wide-legged pants as clothing of

fiction in their universe. Society still has the tendency to judge what pushes the limits of what is

known to be acceptable. Second, a wide range of body types can style wide-legged pants and feel

confident about their bodies. Nevertheless, most tips when styling wide-legged pants are just

ways to create the illusion of making someone look taller and thinner. Is it accommodating your

insecurities and turning them into something positive, or is it hiding those parts from the world?

Finally, yes, wide pants are inherently comfortable for their loose design. Yet, people who are

used to tight-fitting clothes may disagree. If people lived their life being used to skinny jeans,

then loose pants may cause them even more discomfort. The messages wide pants, and almost

every object, have truth to them with myths that follow.

It’s Not a Phase Mom

Have you heard of the term controlled chaos? According to Wikipedia, it means “A state

or situation that appears to be completely disorganized, but where some things are under

control.” A well attended hairstyle, yet one that exudes carelessness and mutiny, is called

“Emo Hair”, and this style of dress and hair, despite its notoriety, contains deep social and

emotional connotations.

Misanthropy’s strongest followers are those a part of the emo

subculture. Despite a hairstyle that defines themselves as being closed off,

careless, downcast, many who are a part of this group take great pride in

the grooming and meticulousness they put into their appearance, particularly the infamous
hairstyle. Inspired by the 1970’s Punk Rock hairstyles, this cut consists of sharp choppy

edges, boisterous colors and gratifying defying spikes. Emo takes this anti-man narrative

from punk and twists it into a melancholic, self pitying replica. Many fashion choices made

by emo kids can be traced back to the punk era. Johnny Rotten, frontman for the popular 70’s

band, The Sex Pistols, carries a lot of style influence for the genre. This ostentatious way of

dress and style began to go viral in the music world, frequently amongst artists and bands

that “rebelled” against the system and misidentified with the mainstream. Glam rock,

consisting of bands like Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison, and others, dress in ways that

shock the norm and “feminize” themselves. However, emo takes this approach and dampens

it with dejectful teenage emotions. Emo dress excludes the invitation of bright colors, unless

paired with lots of black. Clothes are typically skin tight as well, and often men will shop in

the women’s section in search of tighter fitting jeans. Androgyny is valued in this style.

Loose and flowy clothing is too graceful and free spirited, and dressing that way doesn’t

allow an individual to take up as little space as possible.

Hairspray and gel are necessary in styling your emo locks, enough to make people

within your vicinity sneeze their lungs into a pulp. I can attest to that, being a young teen

who succumbed to the alluring draw of emo culture, where I could wallow in my preteen

sadness to no avail. What I saw in the style was a way to escape from society’s norms. Being

so young and clueless, I thought the world was full of shallow people. Yet, through time I

have begrudgingly accepted the fact that I am indeed not special, and everybody experiences

misunderstanding and discomfort in their lives. There was a sense of individuality (perhaps

superiority) being an “emo kid” in a world full of followers, but in my own offbeat way I was
following a trend. One that traces back a long time and grows and twists just as any other

subculture or style does.

Emo took off during the early 2000’s, along with the rise of internet use and

popularization of social media platforms like MySpace and Facebook. Here many kids

shared their distaste for society, and adorance for whiny yet passionate music. Emo was able

to flourish within the walls of the internet, which was regularly inhabited by those who were

uncomfortable with the external world beyond the walls of their bedrooms. Online spaces

allow for antisocial people to mingle in their own isolated ways.

Music is the backbone of emo culture. Bubbling in the 90’s with bands like Jimmy

Eat World, Blink-182, The All American Rejects, people began to find solace with the like

minded. This music also provided a sense of comfort, perhaps

reassurance, for those who are more emotionally sensitive in

their day to day lives. Emo music began to make a label for itself

in the 2000’s. And of course, these bands sport the haircuts and styles which define the genre.

My Chemical Romance, pictured below, is one of the most recognizable groups within the

community. With albums like The Black Parade, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, and

Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, this band had millions of emotional

teenagers wrapped around their fingertips. Many emo bands formed cult-like followings, one

Reddit user meh_idontknow even stated in regards to a concert: “So worth it, [Frank Iero]

spit on me when I was like 14 and I've still never forgotten it. Very memorable night all

around”.

So what is it about a hairstyle that appears to have

a chokehold on so many across the world? In a cult, there

will always be a leader. Am I comparing a bunch of chronically online emotional teenagers

to a cult? Yes. The leaders of these cults consist of musicians, bands, and style influencers.

Oftentimes these influencers do not even have to be

talented at anything, just to “look the part”. Shown on

the right is a wildly successful, yet highly lackluster

group of young adults called My Digital Escape.

Together they vlogged their daily lives, and almost

served as advertisements for emo kids. Their content was a hit among kids who aspired to be

like them within this subculture.

Now we are brought back to the concept of controlled chaos. Essentially, the emo style

is a highly curated and polished way of expressing a chaotic mental state. It’s finding beauty

in the melancholy. It’s bonding with those similarly wired, and feeling like you are part of

something deeper. A human desire for connection also exists among those who isolate

themselves, it’s inevitable. What appears to just be a vehement hairstyle, really roots itself

deeper among individuals than the outside word perceives it.

Essay #2:
The final unit of this course, truncated this semester a bit because of circumstances
beyond our control, centers around the concept of Otherness. You may have
encountered this concept before, but it is worth making clear what it will refer to in our
discussions in order to avoid confusion. Otherness is a philosophical concept that seeks
to describe a social and historical phenomenon that drives much of our cultural
discourse and appears in many forms of artistic representation. It is related to the
concept of Orientalism Links to an external site., developed by the scholar Edward Said
in his studies of British representations of Palestine and the Arab world generally. What
Said found, in short, was that British accounts of Arab life had less to do with
observable realities than with constructing a fictional universe in which the arrival of
European colonialism in the Middle East would be seen as a good and necessary thing.
In other words, their vision of Palestine was distorted by the drive for power over the
Palestinian, and their representations of Palestine and its people were similarly skewed
to invite their domination by Europeans. Other scholars Links to an external site.
working in post-colonial situations picked up Said's idea, and found it had more general
application to the representation of subject peoples by their colonizers. As the idea
became more generalized, the term "Orientalism" was too narrow, and "Otherness"
gained ascendancy, referring increasingly to the representation of any discrete group by
those who hold power over them. It has been applied to the representation of gender in
male-dominated societies. It has been applied to the representation of race in societies
characterized by racial inequity. More recently, attention has turned to the
representation of self by "the Other", and the ways in which such representations
answer the discourse of dominant groups. Here we will have time to look at just a few
examples of writers and artists whose work engages the concept of Otherness, but I
encourage you to think beyond the suggested materials to works you have encountered
and value (or loathe).

References：
https://sfponline.org/Uploads/372/sonnysblues.pdf

One body of artwork that has tackled the problem of Otherness head-on is the joint
exhibition Two Amerindians Visit... installed by the artists Guillermo Gomez Pena and
Coco Fusco at various museums around the world coincident with the 500 year
anniversary of Columbus crossing the Atlantic. Coco Fusco has written about their
project here . Read her essay before our class meeting on 12/7 and take a look at some
of her work and Gomez Pena's.

One writer whose work is often cited as offering illuminating representations of

otherness is Franz Kafka . A Jew living in Europe during the early stages of the rise of
fascism and genocidal antisemitism, Kafka himself was in many ways "The Other", and
perhaps this gave him unique insight into the phenomenon. His stories "A Hunger Artist"
and "A Report for an Academy" are perhaps the best examples of this dimension of his
work. Read both in advance of our class meeting on 11/30.
https://www.kafka-online.info/a-hunger-artist.html
https://www.kafka-online.info/a-report-for-an-academy.html

https://southinblackandwhite.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/william-faulkner-dry-septemb
er.pdf
The final unit of this course, truncated this semester a bit because of circumstances
beyond our control, centers around the concept of Otherness. You may have
encountered this concept before, but it is worth making clear what it will refer to in our
discussions in order to avoid confusion. Otherness is a philosophical concept that seeks
to describe a social and historical phenomenon that drives much of our cultural
discourse and appears in many forms of artistic representation. It is related to the
concept of Orientalism, developed by the scholar Edward Said in his studies of British
representations of Palestine and the Arab world generally. What Said found, in short,
was that British accounts of Arab life had less to do with observable realities than with
constructing a fictional universe in which the arrival of European colonialism in the
Middle East would be seen as a good and necessary thing. In other words, their vision
of Palestine was distorted by the drive for power over the Palestinian, and their
representations of Palestine and its people were similarly skewed to invite their
domination by Europeans. Other scholars working in post-colonial situations picked up
Said's idea, and found it had more general application to the representation of subject
peoples by their colonizers. As the idea became more generalized, the term
"Orientalism" was too narrow, and "Otherness" gained ascendancy, referring
increasingly to the representation of any discrete group by those who hold power over
them. It has been applied to the representation of gender in male-dominated societies. It
has been applied to the representation of race in societies characterized by racial
inequity. More recently, attention has turned to the representation of self by "the Other",
and the ways in which such representations answer the discourse of dominant groups.
Here we will have time to look at just a few examples of writers and artists whose work
engages the concept of Otherness, but I encourage you to think beyond the suggested
materials to works you have encountered and value (or loathe).