MIDTERM - Beckham and Posh

Beckham and Posh

Denotations

David Beckham and Victoria “Posh” Beckham sit on the hood of a blue muscle car starring in your direction. Both look aware of your presence, but out the two of them, only Victoria is looking is meeting your eyes. Her pose is sturdy yet seductive, leaning her back towards David, but only resting between his legs on the car. She is only wearing what seems to be a mesh black bathing suit with no backing. She shows off her tattoo on her upper back while hiding her breast partially with her right arm. The right hand rests on her naked hip, which is tilted upwards slightly and away from you. Her hair is obviously bleached blonde, her skin is slightly tan, and her eyes have a tired look from the dark mascara and eye shadow. Her look, although slightly scornful, is softened by her pouty lips, which are slightly open.
David looks off slightly to the left of the viewer and has a slouched pose with his left arm behind Victoria. He still shows off his muscular, tattooed arm right arm to the viewer and slightly flexes it to prop himself forward. The tattoo on his arm is not of anything dangerous, but of an angel in the clouds. David’s only attire on this magazine cover is a pair of gold chains, dangling at his pecks, and wearing a pair of rugged blue jeans. Even though his body is leaning towards Victoria, David’s head stays propped up and turned towards the viewer. This posture shows that even in his relaxed state with his wife, he is still ready to fight. His look is slightly off from the viewer; however, his brow is down, denoting anger but not rage, while his lips stay firmly pressed together.

Denoted Text

The W (name of the magazine) is in large, bold and red at the top left corner of the magazine besides David’s head. The bottom of the W lines up across from Victoria’s eyes if you follow it across, making her the focal point of your attention. The idea of strong womanpower is shown in this connection between the W and Victoria. Her previous fame as a Spice Girl continues on today as an even more powerful role as a sexy, fit, and strong woman. This empowering W in line with her gaze makes you understand the seriousness of her intentions- don’t mess with me. On the top right, barely touching Victoria’s head, are the words Exclusive Access, in skinnier, red font. This placement instantly intrigues a viewer into thinking this is a secret into the lives of Victoria and David! However, as the reader continues, they find that it is instead about the “season’s ultimate shoe bags and jewelry,” stated in regular, black font. This connotation shows the connection between Victoria and her life as a fashion statement.
At the bottom, placed between the arms of the married couple, are the words Posh (blue) + (red) Becks (blue). The red plus sign between the names shows again the seriousness of their relationship. If you try to break up these too, expect a lot of trouble! This title is then followed by subtext in white: “When the Soccer Star Married the Pop Singer, it was a match made in British Tabloid Heaven. Now David (name in bold) and Victoria Beckham (name also in bold) are determined to become the new American Idols.” Not only have Victoria and David made tabloids in England, but also they plan to make a statement in America. The loudness and enduring attitude they try to set is shown in the boldness placed on their names in the text. They plan to show up not only in style, but also with a slight sense of malice.

Connotations
The sexual attraction of these two young, fit celebrities is shown with a touch of tension. Both are obviously within touching reach of each other, but neither seems to care for anything but the viewer’s gaze. So how do these two make such an impression on society? Knowing their background, Victoria is known for her over-the-top fashion and breast implants, while David is known for being a heartthrob who knows how to play hard. The idea of two muscularly fit sex symbols isn’t enough for the audience of today. They must be aware of their look and show character along with their sense of style.
One noticeable difference that keeps them from becoming too hard is their posture. Although their gazes denote a sense of danger, their posture has a different answer. David’s muscular body still shows a sign of weakness for love in that he is leaning over his beloved wife as if to shelter her from our gaze. Victoria’s eyes show a “get back” stare and an annoyed hand on her hip; however, her body also curls back to her man and exposes her tiny figure being turned away from our sight – as if to hide herself in modesty.
Victoria and David have the edgy attitude that gives them a feel of “look out America” to emphasize the description of “new American Idol” in the subtext. Both flash their tattoos, muscles, and sexual awareness to the world with a slight hostility in their gazes. They want to be seen as a threat, but not an unappealing entity – their fame is announced with a grain of salt for the public to taste.

"Ways of Seeing" - John Berger

The text you are reading right now will give you all the information you need. What if this statement could be placed into an image? All the information that you ever needed to know about the Civil War, or the Apollo 13 disaster, or how the interior of a heart looked was all present in a single painting. How we communicate or interpret information is a powerful tool. Visual communication has always been an important source of understanding and reasoning for humans. One image could lead to a memory or to a story we had previously heard. The important elements of visual media are how and who presents it; therefore, these key factors alter how we comprehend any information given to us.

In John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing,” he states that the “silence and stillness” of paintings, sketches, and other stationary art are what make them striking. All the information that you would ever need sits perfectly still in front of you. You are the one who guides the eye and has the choice of seeing this piece of information, or, simply to walk away from it in entirety. However, these paintings, we must remember, are still man-made. The eye is still guided through the painting by means of composition.

Similarly, in film, the director guides us through a scene to the focal point of the story. The main difference between this moving media and a stationary painting is that information is given to us “unfolds in time,” Berger explains. This again relates back to the idea that in man-made information the artist has true “authority” over the work. However, the information that is given over time in a piece of film also differs from stationary art by giving only highlights of information.

If we look at a painting of a crowd from a standing still position, we will notice the crowd as a whole and our eye can move freely throughout the piece. If we instead took this painting and let the camera take over where our eye would go, we would find this painting to have a very different meaning. Zooming inwards, we would find, for example, highlighted by directional lighting, Jesus carrying a cross. Or, if we panned up to the back of the painting, a beautiful landscape with trees, hills, and calm skies. Each detail of the painting could be separated into a story and focal point of its own.

Now that you can see that visual communication is a powerful tool, learn to recognize how you have been guided to see the big picture or the details.