Task three; essay proposal.

How does panopticism link to branding within the fashion industry and what effect does this have on society? 

Essay content;

- What is the Panopticon and what was it used for? 

- What examples of Panopticism exsist in modern day?

- How is society Panoptic? and the judgements that are made based on fashion branding. 

- The importance of logos within fashion branding, focussing on a particular logo for more in depth discussion. 

- How identity is now determined by brands we wear and the way society has become due to this. 

- How are consumers encouraged to buy into brands? 

Academic sources;

- Brand story // Joseph Hancock.

Discusses how branding creates an identity for a product, a person and a company. The person's identity is one thing i'd like to explore. It also helps the reader think critically about the message a brand gives, something which most consumers won't do so I could also disucss this. 

- Fashion, culture and identity // Fred Davis. 

Explores how clothing determines your identity and how this communicates messages. This book looks at the sociology behind fashion decisions. Again this links to the idea of identity I would like to explore through branding. 

- Cool brands - An insight into some of Britain's coolest brands // Superbrands.

Gives an insight into particular brands from where they began and why certain decisions were  made. This will give me greater understanding of branding. It also explores certain fashion brands and shops such as H&M and how they are now bringing famous designers in and this links to my idea due to consumerism and the idea that you are judged so consumers will buy into this because it's designer. 

- Fashion and the consumer // Jennifer Yurchisin & Kim K.P. Johnson.

There is a particular section on fashion consumption: Physcographics which explores why people buy and how they are influenced by the people they associate with. This can be connected with the fact that group stereotypes are formed because that group may all buy into the same brands therefor linking to my question because this is an affect branding has on society. 

- Branding // Helen Vaid. 
There is a particular section on logos, something which obviously plays a huge part within branding. It discusses the ideas behind creating a logo and what they can convey. This can be something I discuss within my essay with it being such an important part of branding and one of the main things the consumer looks for when they are searching for branded clothes.


- Discipline and Punish: The birth of the prison // Michael Foucault. 
The section 'Panopticism' explains what the Panopticon was/is and what it was used for, it can be used to back up my current knowledge of the Panopticon and Panopticism and also give me further understanding of it. This is the theory I have linked to my essay idea so having references for this is going to be nescessary. 

Task two; Benjamin & mechanical reproduction.

British government 1939. 

This piece of graphic design relates to the text by Walter Benjamin in many ways because it is something that has been massively reproduced over the years whether it be online or physically. 'Affecting artistic invention itself and perhaps even bringing about an amazing change in the very notion of art' this is a quote that describes mechincal reproduction and what it may be capable of. Although through factors such as the internet it has brought about this amazing change in the notion of art, there is also the arguement that not all aspects are good because mechanical reproduction is taking away the tradition that art holds. This poster i've chosen was produced for the second world war to strengthen morale, there was 2,500,00 copies made and because they were printed this piece of work has technically always been reproducable but not in the way that we know it today. 'One might subsume the eliminated element in the term 'aura' and go on to say: that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art'. This quote states that mechanical reproduction takes away the aura of an artwork which is a very important aspect that an original has. Artworks have aura because they are believed to be made of uniqueness, creativity, genius, value, mystery, authenticity and authority. When this piece of graphic design was originally created, it had meaning and value in the sense that after the world war it would always be linked to what people at the time went through, it would act maybe as a marker of history for those who knew its true meaning. It also had authority because it was created by the government as a suggestion for how people should react. Due to mechnical reproduction this aura has been destroyed because this poster was re-discovered in 2000 and has become part of popular culture because it has been applied to a range of different products. The aura has been further more destroyed because little of the audience know where it actually comes from and its becoming known for popularity rather than being connected to the world war two. 

Lecture six; cities and film.

- Georg Simmel; German sociologist who wrote about the effect the city had on people.
- Urban sociology; the city engulfing the character.
- Louis Sullivan creator of the modern skyscraper.
- Details on Guaranty building is influenced by the arts and crafts movement.
- Skyscrapers represent the upwardly mobile city of business opportunity.
- Fordism; mechanised labour relations.
- The body was consumed by the factory environment.
- Stock market crash 1929; factories close and unemployment rises.
- Flaneur; what is the role of the body in the city?
- A Flaneur is a man of leasuire, there to simply observe.
- Walter Benjamin explores the ideas of a Flaneur.
- Susan Sontag; the photographer as a Flaneur.
- Proposal of the Flaneuse (female version), "invisible" due to things such as segregation of the sexes.
- The idea of the woman on the street is seen as bad due to things such as prostitution.
- Sophie Calle; Flaneuse photographer who created the people about the city photography series (documentary).
- Venice is a labyrinth city so the perfect location for a Flaneuse observer if they have a target.
- 'The detective' 1980. Sophie Calle hires someone so that she can be observed herself in Paris.
- Cindy Sherman also looks at the woman in the city but more so in the sense that she is trapped.
- Arthur Felig; looks at the idea of the city as a threat and photographs incidents.
- L.A. Noire is based on the idea of the naked city and the city as a threat (video game).
- Walker Evans 'many are called'. Observation within the city through the use of a hidden camera. Portrays the idea that people are alone in the city.
- The postmodern city is a confusing place and has to be negotiated.
- Terrible things are not recognised due to the flow of city life, people continue about their business like they normally would.
- The disruption of the twin towers is the disruption of the american dream.
- There is the idea of the surveillance city due to the dangers the city has.