Berger

Before You Read


Rachel McAdams is an innocent and charming actress. She is known for being lead roles in romantic movies such as, "The Notebook". 






Clint Eastwood is the complete opposite. He is known for playing lead roles in rugged westerns such as, "Gran Torino".   Clint also has a trademark for being a "badass". The two actors are portrayed in very different lights.






Summary

In the article, "Ways of Seeing", by John Berger, Berger explains to the reader how women were depicted very differently than men back in the day, and currently. Berger uses nude paintings of women to express how they were often times painted by men for men. Berger also mentions how the way a woman carries herself and her mannerisms can often be a deciding factor on who they are immediately, but when a man does something that a woman would never be allowed to do, it is normal. Berger basically explains the differences in how women are treated versus how men are treated.

Synthesis

Berger is very similar to McCloud. They both show how important perspective is in our culture. The way we see things can determine how we view them for the rest of our lives. They also explain how culture can influence us from a very young age.

Questions for Discussion

2.) I often times see women posed for advertising involving beer. These compare to Berger's nudes because the posing isn't made for women, but rather for men. I feel like our portrayal of women has generally remained the same. Men don't feel like women can do the same things as they can and I don't feel that women are always given the same opportunities as men are given.

3.) The assumptions about culture that Berger made are very much alive today, just as they were in the 1970's. Women are very commonly judged on how they carry themselves. I feel that if a woman makes one wrong move, she can become somewhat of an outcast. Men, however, are allowed to do almost whatever they want, given the reason that they are men. Like I previously stated above, I do not feel that women are treated as equals in today's world.

Applying and Exploring Ideas

3.) I do not believe that the way that women are positioned in today's photos are as much of a deciding factor as they were in 1970's. Today, it is more a point and shoot kind of technique. Positioning is not as crucial as it used to be. It seems as though the artistic techniques, such as positioning, has faded since the 1970's.

Meta Movement

I feel that it is important to read an article like this because it can help a writer view his/her works from a different perspective.  It can also help a writer, develop his/her writing towards a specific audience.

Thoughts (McCloud & Berger)

I enjoyed McCloud article better than Berger's mainly because of the way McCloud was able to incorporate humor into his teaching. It was also very informative. Berger's was a little more vague. I liked Berger's examples of the paintings and how they were intended for men and how simple things such as positioning were so important.

Conclusion (McCloud & Berger)

I feel that both articles were very interesting. They both talked about how the reader should view things from different perspectives and also how culture has become such a large factor in the way we think. Both authors had completely different ways of presenting this idea, but both also used visuals to do this.