It’s so easy to be a passive viewer (or victim) of commercial culture. I recently read an article by Kent Jones where he explores media that blurs the lines between fact and fiction, or rather, creates meaning using real people places and things within fabricated and highly constructed scenarios. One of the points he raised was how little we think about the information given to us. It’s like, despite what we intrinsically know as humans about non-verbal communication like “body language” or “mood changes” we still switch off and accept the majority of commercial culture at face value. Doing these exercises on semiotics and codes made me think of this reading and how I engage with certain information and how I respond not just with photos but also with television, news and advertisements. I can be a lazy viewer most of the time so I have to make a conscious decision to engage with text on a critical level. Why do I engage with some news and not all news? Where do I feel pressure as a woman to buy certain products or dress a certain way? What are my ideas of sexy? Where did I get these ideas? What media influences the way I think the most without me realising?

# Jones, Kent. “I Walk the Line.” Film Comment, vol. 41:1, January-February 2005