Teacher Resource - Representation and Production

8/14/2019 Teacher Resource - Representation and Production

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ANALYSING CONTEMPORARY POPULAR CULTURE FOR THE PURPOSE OF PRODUCTIONPhotography and representation

Kelly Dooley


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HOW TO USE THIS RESOURCE.

Reading | Teacher materials

1. Representation and myth.2. Representation and the portrait.3. Sacha Waldman: Photographer (background).4. Exemplar analysis: Application of Barthes Mythology.

50 Cent and G-Unit by Sacha Waldman (Approx. 2003)

5. Questioning representations of race.6.Vibe Magazine.7. Burden of representation.8.

Representation, myth and culture.

9. Exemplar analysis: The PortraitsImages 1 4 by Sacha Waldman

Andre 3000 of Outkast by Sacha Waldman. 2000 Big Boi of Outkast by Sacha Waldman. 2000 Jay-Z by Sacha Waldman. 2003 RZA (of The Wu-Tang-Clan) by Sacha Waldman. 2001

Student Materials

8. Interactive assessment for learning (AFL) activity on representation ONLINE9. Instructions for interactive resource.

References

Semiotics for Beginners Daniel Chandler Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices: Ed. Hall, Stuart We Real Cool: Black men and masculinity. Hooks, Bell. F Stop Magazine. Tobias, Jo Anne. VIBE Magazine Media kit 2009. Ten years of VIBE photography. I am gonna get yer sucker. Dir. Wayans, K (1988) Pimp my ride, MTV (2004 present). Sacha Waldman portfolio (examples of photos)


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INTRODUCTION

This resource focuses on the representation of iconic BME rappers and urban soul

singers in portraits that have featured in music monthly VIBE Magazine in order to

create a teaching resource.

The resource will:

explore two theories of representation; evaluate and discuss definitions of race and ethnicity and provide a model for investigating representation through process and production.

Targeted at level 2 and 3 students and their teachers, the digital online resource and

reading resources will support both in the effective analysis and construction of

portraits typical to those featured in VIBE Magazine and other popular music culture

print publications.

Five images have been analysed using a constructivist approach to representation

and meaning making (Hall, S. 1997) and through the assessment of levels of Myth

(Barthes, R. 1987). Hooks notions of Black Patriarchal masculinity (myth) (Hooks, B.

2003) were also used to examine the social and cultural effects of myth in the

images.


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REPRESENTATION

Barthes, remains influential in the analysis of messages, and semiology will form the

basis for analysis. Denotation and connotation are terms often used by teachers of

media when considering the messages and values a media text presents in itself, to

it its audiences. These levels of meaning often culturally defined (Chandler, D.

21.02.2009) form the basis of many level two creative / media specifications. Media

GCSE specifications require students to develop and explore key media concepts, in

both AQA and OCR specifications representation is central.

As Chandler points out, the notion of connotation is related to what Barthes refers toas myth. In agreement with Chandler, this is a complex theory to bring into the level

2 classroom as students will often associate the meaning of the word with a

meaning that is defined by their cultural experience and attach the their socio-

historical meaning of the word myth. Barthes Myth is not related to the traditional

ancient stories, instead his Myth (which will inform the analysis of the exemplar

analysed materials and the student material) is related to the varying degrees at

which dominant ideologies contribute to representations of people, groups and

events. (Chandler, D. www.aber.ac.uk/media . n.d.)

MYTH

First I will demonstrate Barthes Myth theory using Paris Match (Barthes, R. 1987)

and later explore Myth in Sacha Waldmans portrait of 50 Cent and G-Unit (fig 1).

a) In the semiological system we start with a signifier, which Chandler states isalready formed from a previous culturally defined system.

A Black soldier saluting the French Flag (Tricolour).

b) The signified is the meaning we determine from the signifiers associationswithin our historical and sociological experience.

Militariness and Frenchness.


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Waldmans image of 50 Cent (fig 1) functions at the level of myth; it has connotative

thematic meanings or a story, while simultaneously retaining levels of ambiguity.

However, if the reader or viewer is unaware of the context of the image, in this

case:

50 Cents (the star) rags to riches story; his prior exploits as a drug-dealer; drug paraphernalia and gangster/thug culturethey may read the image on a denotative /surface level. Hall suggests that this is not

wrong and calls this the preferred meaning. (1997)

This image of 50 Cent is paradoxical, he has survived a murder attempts, survived

life as an outlaw while at the same time is now a top-selling rapper, making money

legitimately through telling the tales of his chequered past. Hall argues that the

meanings in photographs do not entirely depend on image; rather they operate in

conjunction with text/captions. In this case the (fig 1) image does not rely on text to

create meaning. Meaning is creating through the relations the viewer has with the

context (as described above) or the circuit of culture which I will explore later -

that the image is placed within.

The title of 50-Cents album Get Rich or Die Trying provides a story for the image

and anchors how audiences may understand this text and representations of the

artist.

Other issues which contribute to myth:

The media headlines that have followed him throughout his meteoric rise tostardom have been heavily linked to him (50 Cent) surviving murder attempts.

His songs about his previous exploits as a drug dealer and petty crook. The media (TV, radio, cinema and print) have contributed to the selling of his

chequered past which has become his unique selling point.

Hip hop celebrity has become synonymous with criminality, and in March 2004edition ofThe Sourcei magazine (Hip Hop Behind Bars)was a special edition

which provided an insight into the economy linked to being imprisoned and its

relationship to record sales.


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The circuit of culture (Hall, S. 1997) that profits from mythologicalrepresentations like this are profitable to record companies but less to young

black males, as Hooks explains:

The images and language that is assimilated by [media] producers is

one that tells young black males that they are one arrest away fromthe streets and that the streets will be their home ... the images and

language re-enact Myth that the patriarchal man is a predator and that

only the strong and violent survive. (2003)

Bell Hooks feminist approach to representation focuses on what she calls Patriarchal

Masculinity. She argues that the media makes a subject of the black male body and

that black youths learn (through the media) that money is God and outlaws prevail.

Also, she argues that the representations of black youths present high levels of myth

about black culture and Gangster culture. (Hooks, B. 2003)

Like Hall, Hooks analyses the representation of race in the media through

professional sport. Bell outlines how once the beaten black body have been

transformed into symbols elegance and grace and that the representations of race in

hip hop have (as I will explore later) not been as progressive. While Hooks calls for

the need for more resistance literature, the portraiture from VIBE magazine allows

the unenlightened white world which enjoys to re-invest in perpetuating racist

stereotypes. Hooks continues to explain that the same group (unenlightened white

people) are pleased with seeing the black man who is only of brute strength and

without intelligence. This pleasing representation of race is characterized in British

Heavy-weight hopeful, Frank Bruno and (today) Mohammed Ali. Ali once presented

an alternative masculine identity like that of Ian Wright, unique and undeterred to

act as the eunuch. (Hooks, B. 2003)

The representation of 50 Cent (fig 1) as an immoral being augments Hooks

Patriarchal discourse; she explains that alternative masculinities have been

expressed in sport and through music, nevertheless the desire for black men to

move away from the work the black man is allowed in the system is ever prevalent.

Since the plantation no longer exists, the everyday jobs (the system) have replaced

the plantation where that dominance can be re-enacted. Hip hop has provided a


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stage for black males to proclaim to the world that they are keeping it real, which is

argued by Hook to be an old protest of the Black Power Movement but has no ability

to influence dominant politics.

To summarise, what is read in the myth has already been subjected to externalinfluences. At language object level, the myth conjoins with the meta-language

which is what we speak about first and is an influential factor that is contributed to

but is unchallenged in stereotypes. As Barthes and Hall argue, when exploring

representation it is crucial to identify where the levels of Myth (naturalness)

originate.

SACHA WALDMAN| PHOTOGRAPHER

Sacha Waldman, who grew up in South Africa, is a self-taught photographer and

could be referred to a photographer 2.0 or digital artist. Having always shot in digital

format, he is celebrated for his postproduction / photoshopping and meticulously

constructed mise en scenes.

In an interview for F stop Magazine (Tobias J. n.d.)Sacha Waldmans inspiration,

style and methodologies were explored and can inform your students in the artefact

they construct. Waldmans approaches, (lack of) training and use of tools make it

clear that with the availability of digital tools anyone with an interest in photographic

manipulation can use the stretch the possibilities with more sophisticated

programmes such as Photoshop. Those without the financial means can edit and

publish their photographs through the use of tools in online spaces such as

Photobucket. The interview noted that while Waldmans images are highly

constructed and come to life after at least a week of post-production, that no

amount of post-production can replace solid ideas.'

APPLICATION OF BARTHES MYTHOLOGY


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Fig 1. 50 Cent / G-Unit, by Sacha Waldman

SIGNIFIER A group of young black people keeping look out.

SIGNIFIED Black American youth and criminality.

SIGN /MESSAGE

The language that has already been formed (in the signifier) tells

the reader that these group of young black males are in a

makeshift observation suite surrounded by ambiguities that form

from our cultural understanding of the message:

The multiple close circuit televisions taped together andmanned by two men.

Religious paraphernalia. The transgressive woman, lent against the dresser scantily

dressed, drinking alcohol.


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We understand that we are being presented with a message about

the idle and often unlawful behaviour of young African Americans.

Messages and or suggestions of sanctity and forgiveness for the

group, signalled through the inclusion of the crucifix propped up

on the dresser;The scantily dressed woman pouring a drink in a tumbler which

we presume to be alcohol and as she does so is offered a potential

opportunity for redemption for transgressive exploits through the

direction of the shadow cast by the crucifix as well as her

proximity to it; further, this brings her closer to Christ.

The glimpses of opulence we see in the animal skin rug and

penthouse-style glass table is foreshadowed by an old styled TV

and the mismatched furniture.

As we see the signifiers in the image already has a story which

informs the signified; this is further reinforced by placing the

image within a high-rise dwelling; when the curtain is held open to

allow a member of the group to inspect the downstairs exterior of

the building, the audience are given more messages about inner-

cities. When we blend this with the prior knowledge of hip-hop

fans we/they assume that this is one Americas infamous projects

(social housing) of New York City.

So the sign presented in the signifier imposes something on us or

makes us understand something. (R507)*6L!S>! "TU#! -,!V)5,:4*0L!W>!

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MYTH

The intention in the Myth, freezes, purifies and eternalizes and

transforms history into nature as Barthes analysis of Paris Match

shows. Similarly the representation of black youth (hip hop) and

young people living in projects is frozen, purified and internalized

through circuits of culture (Hall, S. 1997) and through white lore

cycles that permeate and inform Black patriarchal masculinity

(Hooks, B. 2003).


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Barthes Myth provides a model by which we can assess and deconstruct the ways in

which portraits / images in VIBE Magazine operate within the circuit of culture (Hall,

S. 1997). Myth also provides a possibility for assessment of how the media and its

producers support certain ideologies and suppress and distort others. (Chandler, D.www.aber.ac.uk/media . n.d.)

The closeness and or desensitised nature of students media consumption may

reveal problems in their analysis of media and messages and values and indeed

myth. The cultural associations that students may draw on when they use basic

semiology as a framework for analysing media texts (denotation / connotation) can

often be unproductive. As Chandler points out, when you are a member of the

culture you are critically analysing we take for granted many of the dominant ideas

which govern it. (Chandler, D. www.aber.ac.uk/media . n.d.) Analysing media texts

using Myth as a model provides a framework within which students can engage

beyond connotation and consider socio-historical implications and think about signs

and messages as mediated representations and not judgements of reality.

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REPRESENTATIONS OF RACE

To consider how the images / portraits in VIBE Magazine represent race, my analysis

will answer the following questions:

How can image / photographs, as Hall suggests, be read connotatively in termsof what it is saying about race?

Do the image / photographs re-enact and or distort patriarchal black masculinity?

Do the image / photographs from VIBE say something different about race and ifyes, what?

VIBE MAGAZINE

VIBE Magazine is an American music monthly magazine founded by music mogul,

Quincy Jones. Most notable for his triumphs as a successful record producer,

producing the Michael Jackson 1982 hit album Thriller and We are the world the


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1985 hit charity songii. Jones intentions for VIBE Magazine were for it to be Hip

Hop/ Urban Souls version of Rolling Stone.

He explains,

Remember when there was a song, I Wanna Be on The Cover

Of Rolling Stone? Well be hearing a song soon, Im sure, calledI Wanna Be on The Cover of VIBE, (Jones, Q. 2003).

FACTS

Frequency 12 times a year

Single Copy $4.99 / 3.50

Circulation growth December 1995

200,000

June 2007 863,283

AUDIENCE

Average age 27.9 Years old

Average income $43, 337

Female 49.5%

Male 50.5%Employed 73.9%

Single 68.2%

College (or above)

education

50.7%

Black African American 71.3%

Caucasian 17.5%

Asian / Other 15.3%

Spanish/Hispanic/Latino 14.6%

Magazine Media Kit 2009 (www.VIBE.com)

From initial analysis of the audience profile provided in VIBE Magazines media kit

(2009)iii, we cans see that:

the highest percentage of readers are from Black African American heritage; there is an almost 50:50 spilt in the total amount of male and female readers and


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over 50 percent of the readers have a college or higher level of education.

The statistical information on the circulation and readership of VIBE magazine is very

revealing in that it questions both Hooks and Halls theories of how audiences may

be receive messages. While Hooks ideas imply that Black audiences do not have thecapacity to decode and diverge from social practices saturated in mythical

representations of black people; the readership figures on one hand support this;

the audiences may have become so completely desensitized to images of black myth

that they do not question or challenge them.

One interpretation of the audience profile according to Hook, would tell us that the

audience are incapable of decoding the Myth in the images in this case in VIBE

Magazine and that they are neither questioning nor opposing the dominant

messages on offer. On the other hand it could be argued that the audience may

take for granted that the signifier what informs the signs is already subjected to

high levels of myth. And, the audience have become desensitized to the

representations and the stories behind them. Barthes myth, Hall circuit of culture

and Hooks patriarchal masculinity (and white lore cycles) together will provide a

model for:

Identifying the story [signifier, signified, sign] Examining the distribution of the Myth

[representation of otherness through the circuit of

culture]v

Exploring the impact of Myth [Black Patriarchalmasculinity and white lore cycles]vi

MYTHiv


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BURDEN OF REPRESENTATION

What responsibility does VIBE or Quincy Jones have as contributors to culture? The

research conducted and presented in The VIBE magazine media kit (2009) outlined

that the majority of the readers agreed that VIBE contributed to their sub-cultural

participation (i.e. fashion, media consumption and attitude). Hooks argues that

when Black community leaders reach positions of power they relinquish any Burden

of Responsibility in being a voice of advocacy for other Black Males who have not yet

made it (2003). Quincy Jones may have fallen victim to the burden of

representation (Tagg, J. 1993) as the founder of what has been often referred to as

the hip hop bible. The burden comes from magazines relationship with Hip Hopmusic and its associated cultures.

REPRESENTATION, MYTH AND CULTURE

Hall argues that that representation has an interdependent relationship to culture;

he calls this the circuit of culture. He explains that representation is placed within acircuit with identity, regulation, consumption and production. (1997)

Hooks argues that every black male is faced with a culture that tells them that they

will never acquire enough money or power to set them free from white race tyranny

in the world of work; and that the mass media teaches values of Patriarchal

Masculinity that Money in God and outlaws prevail and as well as gangster culture as

myth. (2003)


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THE PORTRAITS

The exemplar portraits for analysis are all related to the Hip Hop genre, have all

featured in VIBE Magazine over the last 10 Years and were taken by Sacha

Waldman. The images have been chosen as the rappers, who are pictured have

individually had a profound effect on the evolution of the hip hop genre and

Waldman has been become synonymous for his digitized compositions which

explore, question and re-enact levels of Black Myth.

1.Andre 3000 of Outkast by Sacha Waldman. 20002. Big Boi of Outkast by Sacha Waldman. 20003.

Jay-Z by Sacha Waldman. 2003

4. RZA (of The Wu-Tang-Clan) by Sacha Waldman. 20015. Ludacris and Scarface by Sacha Waldman. 2001

IMAGES FOR ANALYSIS CAPTIONS FROM TEN YEARS OF VIBE

PHOTOGRAPHY

1.

1.

Outkast teaches us that our definition of

revolution has evolved, wrote Rob Marriott in

a VIBE cover story. It is no longer isolationist.

It is not simply male or ghettocentric or East

Coast or angry or even urban. In fact the

revolution is expansive... Even our enemies

have a part to play in the great social change

that hip hop promised us.


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IMAGES FOR ANALYSIS CAPTIONS FROM TEN YEARS OF VIBE

PHOTOGRAPHY

2.

Waldmans photographs are so detailed that

the texture is almost palpable. The precise

visual information suggests computerisedvisual graphics but the effects are used with

enough restraint that his images still feel real.

The computer is an extension he says, Its a

new tool we can use to create something

interesting, not just another photograph of a

celebrity.

3.

3.

Waldman has been known to stretch the

boundaries of reality in his pictures, by this

surreal image sprang from the mind of Jay-Z.

That was the concept, says the

photographer. He wanted to show himself

looking in the mirror to show different sides of

who he is like the street guy and the pimp. I

love working with people who will take a good

idea and go with it.

4.

[I fought against that growling picture for a

long time says Jonathan Mannion, whos shot

album covers for DMX. But he has come to

appreciate the image. You cant direct that.

Its the dog himself, revealing his true

character. That shot is raw.] Ditto for

Waldmans noir portrait of RZA, teeth sparkling

in the streetlights.

4.


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STUDENT RESOURCE - INSTRUCTIONS

The interactive resource is best used after

students have been introduced to textual analysis(semiological approaches). CLICK HERE TO OPEN

THE RESOURCE

START PAGE: To enter, students must click of

the student area

HELP PAGE: Review key words/terminology

with students; use the Paris

Match example on this page.

Explain the colour coding system;how to get help and navigate

around.

TIP: This resource is useful as an

assessment for learning activity:through structured discussion

and written responses to assess

students understanding and

application of representation.


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EXEMPLAR ANALYSIS

IMAGE ONE Andre 3000 of Outkast, by Sacha Waldman


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IMAGE ONE Andre 3000 of Outkast, by Sacha Waldman

SIGNIFIER SIGNIFIEDREPRESENTATIONS OF

OTHERNESS

PATRIARCHAL

MASCULINITY

A. Cadillac: Dynamic88

An American Car. A modified car (Alloy

Wheels).

The type of car modified byblack males (inner cities)vii.

1970s Pimp. A collectable car.

The car is a collectors item. The Cadillac is an American

Brand.

With Andre 3000 in theforeground. the Cadillac takes

on a new meaning.

The audience (particularlyblack males) will re-enact and

internalise the modified

Cadillac as being part of their

culture as opposed to the

outcome of Myth

B. A man wearingthree necklaces.

Ugandan/tribal traditionalnecklaces.

Plastic pearl necklaces. A black male who is

effeminate.

Tribal traditional (throughthe bare chest).

The person wearing the tribalnecklace is from African

descent.

The plastic pearl necklace andthe tribal necklace create

ambiguity about the

background of the person beingrepresented.

The bare chested man in abuilt-up location with the

Cadillac in the background ask

The audience are encouraged to

question tradition

representations of black males

through the inclusion of the

white pearl necklace and the

traditional Ugandan jewellery;

the traditional representation ofrappers is in question. Although

the Cadillac (A) provides a

setting for the re-enactment of

myth, the representations of


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the audience to question the

masculinity of Andre 3000.

masculinity and race offered

through the necklace worn do

not.


OTHERNESSPATRIARCHAL MASCULINITY

C. A man withshoulder length

style hair (curled),

wearing an animal

fur trilby hat

(worn slightly

angled).

An audacious character. Confidence. Fashion conscious. Effeminate.

Andre 3000 in a slightly wackycharacter who is confident

about his sexuality and the

music he promotes and

performs.

The hat wedged to the sidesum up a character who is in

control of his representation

and has contributed to the

performance that is provided in

the image and paralleled in hismusic.

The image that is presentedfulfils the caricature that is


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Andre 3000 and the moderness

he brings to the genre.

In the midst of this he is setagainst the contradiction of the

modified Cadillac and the

downtown urban backdrop.

The new identity that Andre3000 emits questions traditional

notions of masculinity in the

straighten, style hair against

his bare chest and tribal

jewellery as he makes a

statement with his (E) hand

gestures that covers his heart

and the facial expression that is

conscious of the consequences

of his chosen/agreedrepresentation.

There is a sense of prideapparent (in the image) that is


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humble and authentic.

MYTH

A. The language that has already been formed from the placement of the black male in the images whose look itself hasintertextual references to Pimp imagery. The Cadillac notifies and informs the reader that the black male is related to

negative representations of race, associating them with immoral activity. The Cadillac alone has the language to inform the

final message, the sign is not on this level/am everyday meaning so distorts the cultural relationship the messages and

values that the viewer will identify in the text.

B. The representation of the black male is so highly politicized that Andre 3000 on the surface attempt to provide a differentrepresentation for hip-hop, race and masculinity. The other trappings and stories embedded in the signifier continue to

inform the signified.

Within the context of the signifier the necklace themselves have a story. The traditional necklaces made by Ugandan

women and sold in the West can provide two readings: (1) Andre 3000 wears the necklaces as a form of contribution to the

resistance literature movement that Hook discusses or: (2) That he wears the necklaces to simply challenge notions of what

constitutes masculinity.

C. The combination of the embellished signifiers create an image full of ambiguities. They are provided as a means ofencouraging the audience to question the messages and expectations of hip-hop. The photographer has placed the

ambiguities (the Cadillac, tribal necklaces) in the image to provide a space for the reader to challenge the representations,

highlight the unnaturalness (in the form/context) in order for the viewer to question hip-hop and the hip-hop circuits of


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culture. The intentions pay dividends to the artists personae and in this case it is this an aspect of Outkasts unique selling

point; which is to redefine the standard for the genre.

Andre 3000 does this through a combination of traditionalism (Cadillac, urban setting) and modernism (reference to cross-

gender and tribal culture). Needless to say the hairstyle, hat and car can be linked to the iconography we would associate

with Pimp / Gangster culture.


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IMAGE TWO Big Boi of Outkast by Sacha Waldman


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IMAGE TWO Boi of Outkast by Sacha Waldman| A reaction shot of image one ~ Andre 3000



A.

As before (Andre3000).

Cadillac: Dynamic 88parked in an isolated

street.

An American car. A collectors item. A modified car. The type of

modified car,

modified by

(young, particularly

black) males.

1970s pimpimagery.

With Big Boi ns the image therepresentation of otherness is

stark.

The car is no longer a collectorsitem but has reinvented itself as a

car in a near; deserted downtown

inner city back street. This may

have come about as there is a

new assumption inferred that the

car belongs to Big Boi as he is

pictured closer to it (than Andre

3000 was).

The Cadillac still remains and

formalises a message as belonging to

the streets.

B.

A man wearing a fur coat,

long gold rope chain,

Ostentation, hip-hop culture

The fur coat is recognised with

contemporary culture as a sign of

wealth. The rope chain is a long

associated icon from the hip-hop

This image confirms with common /

generic representations of Rap / hip-

hop. The status symbols, Cadillac

with the modifications customised


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acts as a placebo for the experiment,

a constant, a comparable and

unchallenged representation of a hip-

hop sub-culture.

MYTH

The naturalness of Big Bois Stagger Lee image (the prototype Badman /Gangsta, (Brown, C. 2003.) is of course decodeable.The story behind the signifiers in particular the fur coat and gold necklace and their symbolism to working / under-classes. Thisrelates to the need to release ones self from the jobs and world. White supremacist Patriarchy permits young black men to

pursue. The fur coat and necklace represent that he has in fact made it out of the cycle of deprivation and has moved beyond

the plantation life that the world of work emulates.

The myth that informs this level of reading is crucial to the impact that this opposing representation may have on the presentedgroup. In this representation and even through it, it is heavily informed by myth and is progressive and opposing of the

dominant messages and values that prevail about black popular cultures.

Andre 3000 and Big Boi from the same band Outkast are in fact facing each other. Big Bois gesture is a reaction to Andre3000 and vice versa. The shock, acceptance and pride they present in their images have a direct relationship to their musical

ideologies (to challenge, to be unique). The recognition of the different ethnic and cultural contributions that inform their music

is present in their clothes, hair and jewellery. They recognise aspects of their identities and factors that have contributed to

them.

We see two different sides of hip-hop, traditional / old school and modern or post modern and Waldmans manipulation of the


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photographs construction and post-production attempts to subtly convey this.


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IMAGE THREE Jay-Z by Sacha Waldman


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IMAGE THREE Jay-Z by Sacha Waldman



A

Bandanna wrapped

around a Jay-Zs face and

around his head.

Gangsta and Pimp

culture theme.

The bandanna has a link to the

famous Los Angeles Gangs, the Crips

(Blues) and Blood (red) who wear

bandannas.

The most famous thug - rapper

known for wearing a bandanna head

tie was Tupac Shakur.

Again as before the audience are

familiar with the image and recognise

the meaning of the bandanna.

The bandanna becomes / or alreadyhas become part of a culture/ theme

of lawlessness. Jay-Z in the image

distributes this; the two opposing

representations displayed in the

image (mirror images) in themselves

are not wholly progressive: the street

guy and the pimp.

B.

The mirror with Jay Z

looking at a reflection of

himself.

Two images associated

with hip-hop / Rap and

or Jay Z the musician.

Street and Pimp.

The distribution of the representation

reinforces the identity that Jay Z has

created and that is fed by the media

and contributed to.

The mirror images do not oppose

existing mainstream representations

of hip hop.

The images appear to celebrate the


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In the two images Jay Z is pictured

wearing different outfits. His face is

concealed in the reflection and the

audience is shown in this image a

recognisable representation of hip-

hop culture. The oversized jeans,

baseball cap and jacket all help to

redistribute the sub-cultural identityof hip hop.

As he Jay-Z at himself in a dark shirt

and trousers he mirrors his hand

gestures (both in his pockets)

however this time the bandanna is

tied around his head and his hat, a

red felt trilby, is on his head. Again

this is an occasion whereby the

reader / viewer need to contextualise

the images within the stories that

they re-enact.

two non-progressive representations.

The back drop for the images further

reinforce the opportunities for inner

city black youths to experience and

internalise the images as natural.

The suggestions of villainy and that

outlaws prevail are glamorised in the

covering of his face.

This suggests that Jay-Zs exploits

that contravene the rules of the

system have been successful for him

and in turn have the potential to do

the same for the reader / viewer of

the image.


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progress and development of the underclasses, the image has the potential to inspire and inform.


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IMAGE FOUR RZA (of The Wu-Tang-Clan) by Sacha Waldman


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IMAGE FOUR RZA (of The Wu-Tang-Clan) by Sacha Waldman



A.

Black man (RZA) wearing

gold and diamond

windowed veneers.

Wealth Gangsta Hip-hop culture.

The gold and diamond encrusted

windowed veneers redistribute image

/ iconographic elements that is

regularly associated with hip-hop.

The emphasis on RZAs teeth

standardises and authenticates RZA

as being members of the hip-hop

fraternity.

The teeth are powerful and have

resonance without RZA; through the

ways in which Sacha Waldman

sensitively manipulates the lighting in

the images (in his pupils and the

The systems which exist in

dominant culture do not enjoy the

image represented by the gold and

diamond teeth.

The image like that of Jay Z in full

ambiguity and is created to both

challenge and sustain internalised

ideas about hip-hop and black

culture.


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streetlight).

B.

Nike hat

A sporty person. A brand conscious

person.

An American brand. Symbolism of

capitalism.

The tyranny of brands and their

relationship with celebrities is a

long-standing practice.

Stars regularly associate

themselves with, and are paidlarge sums of money, to advertise

brands.

The fashion associated with hip-

hop has long been sport; Run DMC

and B Boy culture is evidence of

this. Adidas two stripe and Gazelles

which continue to be directly linked

to celebrities.

Adidas and Nike alike continue to

run large scale and expensive

advertising campaigns which rely

on celebrities for their success.


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RZA and the Nike hat reinforce the

hip-hop identity and redistribute

this to the fans and provide

denotative detail for those less

aware of the stories. In addition,

the Nike hat (with the gold teeth)

regulate the representation and

heighten its authenticity.

MYTH

The ambivalence in this image is made clear by the dark streets in the background, which reflect the nature in which white lore

cycles perpetuate such images. The brashness, not the motivation, and ambition of RZA (the rapper) is on show. The

recognition and respect for the rappers success story is ignored. Instead the teeth and hat place him and his identity into a

capitalist society engineered to enforce and present negative ideologies about hip hop and the audiences they represent.


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The analysis of the photographs from VIBE magazine will give students opportunities to engage

with and question myth.

The construction of the representations all rely on the audiences knowledge of the subjects

(people) and the musical genre they are affiliated to. Waldman attempts to challenge

stereotypical representation through the inclusion of markers that we recognise (the Cadillac,

the bandanna and the gold teeth), however the treatment of the images suggest that their

intentions are more complex. The images are unafraid of their openness and their ability to

enjoy and express what is perceived as threatening and negative.

The questions remain about the impact such images can have on black males and other youth

audiences of hip-hop and other forms of contemporary music / culture.

The model offered for the analysis of representation aims to provide an outline for how

students can address the factors that are over looked in identification of signifiers. Students

may want to adopt Waldmans style and techniques to the production and construction of their

own images.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Hall, S. Ed., 1997. Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying

Practices. Sage Publications Ltd.

Hooks, B., 2003. We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity. Routledge

Tagg, J., 1993. Burden of Representation: Essays on Photographies and

Histories. University of Minnesota Press.

Brown, C., 2003. Stagolee Shot Billy University Press

Jones, Q et al., 2003.VX: Ten Years of "VIBE" Photography. Harry N. Abrams, Inc

NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES

March 2004, Hip Hop Behind Bars special edition, The Source Magazine.

WEB

Chandeler, D. [n.d.] Semiotics for Beginners. [Internet] Available at:

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem01.html (Accessed on 21/02/2009 )

Tobias, J. [n.d.] Interview with Sacha Waldman. F-Stop Magazine. [Internet]

Available at: http://www.thefstopmag.com/?p=196 (Accessed on 19/02/2009)

www.sachawaldman.com | Sacha Waldman / photography portfolio


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Teacher Resource - Representation and Production

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