Task 1

What imagery/culture is used in your own discipline and contemporary society to persuade a consumer?
My main area of practice is illustration where you are the one creating an image- it isn't given to you like with advertising. As an Illustrator, I can draw someone to be prettier or more attractive than they actually are- almost as if i was Photoshopping them and giving a false sense of themselves. When a customer looks at an illustration, compared to a photograph for example, they are less likely to believe the illustration as its something drawn and taken away from real-life. There is no sense that the illustration is relating to the customer which a photograph sometimes has and therefore the ability to persuade is lessened
What extent is visual imagery/culture subject to censorship? Pros/cons for society?
When we looked at the examples of the war photography, I was sometimes shocked to see how far censorship could go. The censorship seemed more dramatic in this area because of its weighty subject matter. The public were being spoon fed this idealised war where everything seems black and white- but in reality, even the slightest change to a photograph changed its whole meaning. I think some censorship is good, however, with really disturbing images not being forced onto our TV screens. However, it is also important, in my opinion, to have the power to find 'disturbing' images, instead of waiting for them to appear and not having a 'staged' war put in front of you. I definitely believe that if society is subject to too much censorship, a sense of reality on how the world truly is will disappear.