Image Analysis #3

#1: This is the Tokaido, a quiet and expansive high way in Japan. We're told that the highway is rarely flanked by anything more then small cottage or town. More interesting, however, is mention of how no conventional trade is done via the Tokaido. One would typically look at this sweeping road and instantly assume that carriages passed over it daily. There are, as we're told, no carriages in Japan. Such information sets a much more humble, settled tone for this picture.

What's really being excluded here is technology. If carriages weren't being utilized then surely local trade was. Something interesting about this shot in particular is the fallen tree over the road. It resembles one of those wooden thresholds commonly associated with spirituality and prayer. This lack of tech and spiritual tone grant this picture a very organic and "Japan in the good-ol' days" kind of feel.

#2: "Honey, I heard the microwave go off, get the Stoffer's. Wheel of Fortune is almost on." *Ahem* Sorry, that was the typical American sitting down to dinner. Let's begin with some trivia: Do you you see an orgy of colors distracting all these beautiful faces? Nope. How about a large dinner table where everyone sits ten feet apart? Nay, sir. In fact, it looks like they pulled out their sock drawer and flipped it upside down - man is that a small dinner... surface?

The takeaway here is community and presentation. Four women, all delicately dressed, enjoying a snack a a close proximity. Their hair is also noteworthy, such high fashion tuning suggests that easting together is an event rather then just a routine step. The instruments, as well, say that people are really enjoying themselves, that's the point. Something that we do everyday without a second thought is rendered something aesthetically profound and ostentatious. But in good way, don't worry, ladies.

Sources are here...

... and here

Analysis of Trade Image

Japan had trade relations with many other regions including England, France and America. The painting shown here is decidedly Japanese with the thickly colored roofs and dark outlining. The coloring of both the sky and the water are also reminiscent of Japanese art style.

From the information gathered from this image, one can assume that relations were going well. The bays are bustling trade ports overseen by multicultural management. However, the scene still has tones of segregation. The different flags are arranged in a unified fashion, but the people are still displayed as a "type." The british are colored red, American's black and the Japanese are wearing traditional attire, sometimes harvesting boots and sun hats. This choice was probably not malicious, but used only to signify the new people's presence and intermingling with the natives. Pretty interesting picture, if you ask me.

Semiotic Images

#1:

If you couldn't tell from the beautifully immaculate walls and plentiful light placement, this photo was taken from a shopping mall in Japan. Oh, and the giant Godzilla (or, Gojira!) statue slathered in lights. The west, for whatever reason, rarely associates Christmas with the Japanese culture but here is evidence that most all cultures are still harassed by the bright lights and consumerist mind set of Christmas.

Godzilla seems like an odd choice, however. Where is the overweight man donning red hat and beard? Godzilla, more so than Santa Claus yields special importance to these people. Looking at this image from the denotative perspective yields little to talk about. The 1954 hit originated from Japanese director Ishirô Honda, pop culture references and a few decades of remakes signifies this beast as a Japanese staple. It's purpose is clear: most citizens who laid eyes on this probably cracked a smile or took a picture.

This humorous staging of such a menacing creature begins to brew the connotative reading of this image. Gojira, as some may know, is a visual conduit to the nuclear bomb tests that devastated the country more than 60 years ago. Weather american revisions of the film have clouded this original concept or not, I'm sure some look up to statue and recall the legitimate danger the creature once symbolized. But, look! Now he has bright lights on him! He's on a podium in a shopping mall. This contradictory staging not only adds to the humor but displays the immense recovery that the culture has seen since. A stretch? Perhaps, but certainly a concept that surpasses surface skimming.

#2:

Well, this certainly is irrational. We all know you don't look like that if you're a smoker. Obviously this is an ad for Lucky Strike cigarettes, popular among WWII allies due to their clandestine labeling. So, yes, we're told that they're good tasting, better than other brands. But let's look a little deeper, shall we?

Observe her calm, cool complexion. Her, "I couldn't possibly care if I wanted to" pose. If this ad was given dogmatic authority then smoking luckies will make us really cool. We'll be cool long, long before the lung cancer sets in. Looking at the image contextually (WWII) the simple naming of "Lucky Strikes" ensures that we'll be cool and have a reduced chance of taking a slug. Man, where's the downside?

Sources:

Here is the source for the first picture...

... and here is the second.