Culture Jamming poster - "Eyes for Sale"
What topic did you choose, and why? Why was this topic an appropriate fit for this publishing medium, in your opinion?
I chose the topic of Western beauty ideals. I chose this topic as it is one that I am passionate about and have personally been affected by. My inspiration came from an Instagram reel from a global fashion company that featured a video of a white woman stretching her eyes back to resemble a "fox eye" makeup look with the caption stating it as a "beauty hack". I was angered at this campaign and felt that it was a form of cultural appropriation. I grew up being compared, deemed less than, and discriminated against for my small eyes and other Asian features. And it makes me angry to see that ethnic features are only now being recognized or portrayed as "desirable" when they are makeup trends like "fox eye" or are on white faces. Brands market them as beauty hacks or beauty trends as a form of exploitation when our features are clearly not. With Westernized beauty ideals already being pushed down our throats by the media for decades, this issue undermines the pain, suffering, and marginalization that POC have gone through.
I felt that a digital image and poster was the appropriate publishing form for this topic as beauty advertisements and promotions often take the form of posters or posts on social media. Therefore, it is fitting to resemble a beauty ad and take on a critical approach to it in order to associate the culture jamming that is taking place. I also feel that a poster/image like this can be easily distributed to audiences in various. I would imagine this post being shared across social media platforms, being featured in magazines, and possibly even plastered on bus ads.
Describe a specific choice you made as a creator and explain why you made it.
I chose to design the poster to resemble a modern beauty sales ad to poke fun at how outlets like advertisements are often used to promote white standardized beauty ideals. In the poster, the words "Eyes for Sale" are repeated 3 times to emphasize on the commodification and exploitation of ethnic features on mainstream media. The smaller text that promotes a a "sale on white supremacy" points to the idea that beauty standards are majorly influenced by white supremacy and how these ideals continue to exploit, discriminate and exclude WOC. In big white letters, the word "Trending" is plastered on the side to refer to how the commercialization of beauty and commodification of Asian features have been happening for years and will always be 'trending' as the dominant ideology influencing audiences. I also used an Asian woman's face as the background to demonstrate whom the message is coming from. And lastly, by using a modern and minimal aesthetic, I wanted to match the clean look most modern brands often go for as well as gravitate viewers to the text and the face. I made these decisions in order to indirectly and directly touch on the pathos aspect and provoke emotion, while enabling viewers to recognize and easily understand the message.
What did you learn about this medium by actually working in it (as opposed to just reading about it or analyzing it)?
I learned about the complexity creating and designing posters. For those lacking in design experience like me, it was a bit difficult to bring my vision to life. And so I ended up using Canva to create my poster. I searched for stock images and had to resort to the available fonts, typefaces, and graphics from Canva. I never realized how tricky it can be to use images to convey a message. Although I definitely struggled the most with thinking of text or a play-on words to use. I also learned how important each element is as each single piece will ultimately contribute to the whole poster and the overall message. Although, despite the learning curve, I did the best that I could and ended up having the most fun designing the poster.
Designing this poster required me to get into the mindset of a creator and critical theorist, which brought on a much more interactive aspect compared to doing readings and analyzing media. It enabled me to think deeper about the issue as I looked at keywords and thought about images I could use. I reflected on the issue a lot more than I would have and enabled me the opportunity to use my own creativity and interpretation. Creating this medium has given me a new perspective on how to approach critical theories and I'm glad I had the chance to experience being in the shoes of a culture jammer.