Pussy in Boots

Twenty120. Twenty creative directors, a hundred and twenty seconds worth of abstract film based on what inspires them, one theme. Keeping in line directors of different fields of expertise, be it television networks, production companies, design or advertising films, and from all over the world. Their diversified backgrounds be it in the fine art, film, television and commercial and their cultural and social differences, put together this collection “In The Age of Opulence”.

There’s this one video caught my attention the most.

Catalog #FG-433-07 from Alexander Tarrant on Vimeo.

Basically it is a crash course on lingoes, jargon and trends in our current millennium (or The Age of Opulence) , depicted by signs, flags and hand signals, educating the era of the 50-60s in the times.

It employs phrases consisting terms such as beware inexperienced barista (a barista is a professional coffee maker), free wi-fi here, i have a moped (motor + pedal; a motorized bicycle). Emphasizing on the technological advancements over time and the flourishing service sector.

The most explicit of the lot, and plays of the pun, "doggy-style". With globalization, people harness technology to access such information via means of the media and the internet, which leads to the proliferation of sexual content and knowledge within the society now. In the past, issues like these were viewed with discretion and comes off as offensive and, at that time, more degrading.

The society has liberalized so much that we frequently use provocative images to promote and advertise products which do not even carry a trace of sexual connotation. Take a seemingly innocent burger for example:

Frankly, it baffles me. What does a naked Alicia Silverstone have any relations to her being a vegetarian? PETA's (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) rationale is using a hoard of scantily cladded beauties to proclaim their love for being vegetarian. It eventually was banned. It boils down to this. There isn't any good or bad advertising - as long it is one that garners enough attention, the aim is accomplished. Sex sells, media is increasing adopting such provocative images to market their goods. Apparently, it is delightfully vulgar, ironically.

This has caused quite a hoo-ha and was taken down.
One (who is probably too young or ignorant) might probably find no fault in this advertisement, there is no obscenity nor profanities present. However, we know the reason why - the sexual innuendos are everywhere.
Our interpretations are subjective, and can vary drastically. How we derive meanings begin at the same starting point - we learn what the typical definitions are through past experiences or comprehend the generally accepted meanings within our culture and how to draw inference from non-verbal cues. Ours has coined terms to be sexually charged, for example blow your mind away, seven incher and so is the elongated burger postitioned infront of the gaping mouth.
Even the bun adopts a second meaning to it now.

Tying in with non-verbal communication, images creates meanings (abstract or otherwise) in the minds of the communicators and the impact supersedes smart tag lines. Visuals are effective stimuli in the sense that it can appeal to both the educated and non-educated.

That was how a picture is worth a thousand words was derived from.

peer communication

(click on title to view article)

Witaya would make a good rhetorician.

Ethos? His peers were impressionable teens who looked up to him as an elder brother and believed his preaching.

Logos? They were almost convinced that they would resurrect as slayers for the coming World War 3 against "demons".

Pathos? They were all passionate about the idea. Till the last minute.

All checked. That's how the suicide pact was made.

All of them were still undergoing secondary school education, the youngest being 12 and the oldest 17 at that time. At this phase of life, a teen undergoes a tremendous transition, both physically and psychologically. They tend to become more susceptible to the influences and pressures from their peers as compared to that from their parents. Despite educating teens about rejecting negative peer influences, it is still very prevalent in our society.

Why so?

Most teens will very much want to be accepted by their peers as they are going through the awkward phase of puberty and are having insecurities about themselves. Hence, by being integrated into a group or a clique, having shared roles, rules and a common identity will make them feel more socially accepted and also gain recognition among their peers will also in turn, help them to come to terms with who they are. However, they might sometimes get too absorbed into the 'role' allocated to them and thus, fail to discern situations for themselves.

They seemed to be ‘brainwashed’ at that moment, whereby they simply believed in anything Witaya said, instead of truly having experiencing it themselves. The youngest boy, Ben, never knew what slayers meant or what signifies the rituals and meditations carried, he was basically going with the flow - they conform to their groups’ cultures and norms, through the social constructive perspective of things.

Suicide isn’t solely just a clinical problem; the surrounding environment plays a huge part in triggering it as well. Apparently, some time before the pact was made, Witaya’s parents underwent a divorce. He had once mentioned suicide. This mentality could possibly have sparked his beliefs of a battle between ‘demons’, in thinking that they would resurrect as a slayer – it depicts that he was seeking an important role in enforcing justice. Also, Witaya’s grandmother used to be a medium, and molded her beliefs, attitudes and cultures into Witaya’s psychological perspective of matters, who then in turn reached out to his friends through his preaching and extending his help with their troubles.

As much as a child should be guilty for his own misdoings, the negligence of a parent will have to be blamed for as well. Shouldn’t the parents be more sensitive towards the signs that might show their engagement in activities that might affect their results and also, pay more attention to their activities outside of school – to prevent such a tragedy from even having to take on a plan to begin with!

Peer influence has integrated so greatly in our current society - we want an identity and image to associate ourselves with. I am sure everyone at a certain point of time has been exposed to a negative influence or pressure and may or may not have fought it off. So what are you guilty of?