Visual Pleasure Perspective

Visual Pleasure Theory

Images function rhetorically
Strategic use of non-discursive symbols
Systems of meaning which parallel language

Metaphor
Expressing one idea through descriptive parallel to another
Language often works metaphorically

vs. Metonymy
Condensing a complex entity/idea into a single image or symbol
Images communicate metonymically

Semiotics/Semiology
Study of signs

vs. Semantics
Study of words
Discursive

Semiosis - process of meaning; 3 parts

1. Referent: an object or idea (represented by signs)
2. Symbol: sign representing an object
3. Interpretation: meaning of an object or an idea; thought attached to it (by signs)

Three way relationship

Denotation
Property of a symbol that directly attaches it to a referent and interpretation
-e.g. “rhetoric”; “woman” - operate in reference to particular terministic screens

vs. Connotation
Signs carry additional meanings beyond their direct referents and interpretations
-e.g. ideas which are brought to mind in relation to this; norms and theories
-terministic screens themselves brought to mind

Roland Barthes (1915-1980)
Semiology; Aesthetic Pleasure

-any text dealing with complex issues and arguments (e.g. gender, mortality, human nature) is not only about...
a) conscious intentions of the author
-i.e. not all rhetoric is intentional
b) universal wisdom/common sense
-i.e. not all arguments are rational

But unintentional/irrational rhetoric is no less rhetorical (and actually more so)

Authors often 'feign' assumptions and control over language, rationality
-language, thought and rhetoric driven largely by unconscious and social forces, not simple decisions
-our unconscious intentions, assumptions and desires speak through language, whether we realize it or not

Communication: “a universe of quotations without end”

“Language is play”
-child's play
-performance
-exuberant motion

Engaging in signs/communication is an endless game
-possible only because we are there to play it

Language/text is “not alive”
-it comes to life only in this process of conscious and unconscious play

Engaged, critical reading

-we cannot assume values and virtues of society to be neutral and self-evident
-we have to suspend our pre-conceptions in order to critically analyze rhetoric
-we cannot treat language as untouchable and 'living'
-we have to break language apart and play with it to become truly engaged readers

Pleasure Principle (jouissance)

Developed by Barthes, Lacan, Kristeva
A psychological and social limit of pleasure: our level of enjoyment of anything is economized in order to avoid becoming a threat to ourselves and others
Transgressing this limit symbolically (or in reality) creates pleasing tension; “forbidden fruit”

Risque imagery = unconsciously pleasing

Male Gaze: looking pleasurably at female images, both for males and females

Not just passively looking at pictures – consider how they influence our subconscious beliefs

Psychoanalysis
-developed by Sigmund Freud
-study of how the psyche (mind, personality, etc.) is constructed
-continued and modified by many other theorists, including Jacques Lacan, Julia Kristeva, etc.

Jacques Lacan (1901-1981)

Three Orders (of the world/psyche): how the world CAN be seen
-Real, Imaginary, Symbolic

1. Real
= Difference, chaos, universality
-adult, functioning humans do NOT live in a 'real' world

-if we were to see the world as it really is, everything would look like a collection of parts, cells, atoms, waves, events, etc.
-no two of which are the same
-none of which are can in fact be isolated from all other parts
-the same is true of the humans themselves and their unconscious psyche

-so, we have to impose some sort of order (categories, forms, norms, concepts) for it to make sense

2. Imaginary
= Form, unity, coherence

-'primitive' human mode of thinking
-term comes not from 'imagination', but 'image'
-pleasure in unity, autonomy, 'oneness': constructs the Self

-begins at Mirror Stage: when we recognize ourselves in the mirror
-we accept ourselves as an independent, coherent entity and project this on the rest of the world
-seeing the rest of the world as coherent forms, or seeking unity with the rest of the world

-suggested by some (e.g. Kristeva) to be a predominantly feminine mode of thinking
-the 'mirror' is in fact the mother figure, the first person or 'thing' that we see as coherent and with whom we (unconsciously) never want to be separated (autonomy + unity)
-intuitive, emotional, irrational, thought:

-seeing the world as either 'ours' or 'different' – no attempt to categorize
-non-discursive: feelings and images, not concrete meanings, in unique ways
-we all think through the 'imaginary' to some extent, but this is repressed by...

3. Symbolic
= Structure, categorization, socialization
-what most people actually mean by “real world”

-translates forms into discursive meaning, assigns categories to everything in the world
-creates relationships among humans; sets up clear divisions, roles, classes, ideologies
-allows us to articulate thought and meaning, but only through very structured and constrained way that is taught to us: language (as developed by people before us)
-represses difference, desires for unity; estranges from unconscious personality and the 'Real'
-ties all human goals to roles in society: constructs the Other
-all human society, language, institutions are realizations of the Symbolic/Other that we must live with
= hegemonic thinking; theorized by some to be predominantly masculine

But the Symbolic nature of our life cannot completely eliminate Imaginary/Real and unconscious desire

Unconscious desires = “a rhetorical energy” (Lacan)

We want to be like/identify with/possess/become one with various images we encounter

Visual Pleasure

Scopophelia and Narcissism

-Forms of unconscious rhetoric
-Imaginary: play on desires for form, unity, coherence
-But in fact deliver messages that are primarily symbolic:
-norms and expectations
-appropriateness, normality, desirability of behaviours, items, looks etc.
-A way to get around 'the Other'
-making people have an unconscious, personal experience with products and ideas that are not their own

Scopophelia
-love of pleasurable images
-appreciation of sexually-arousing, erotic, fantastic images
-desire to see more of these images, without necessarily acting out the behaviour they suggest

Narcissism
-excessive self-love
-love of images that one can directly identify with
-desire to be like pleasurable images you see
-priviliged perspective

Fetishism and Voyeurism

Fetishism
-pleasure of looking at an object that is satisfying in and of itself
-privileged perspective

Fetish
-an object that is seen as a spectacle to be gazed at
-e.g. objects/people in advertisements are often shown as beautiful for their own sake
=desirable, appropriate, spectacular

Voyeurism
-watching people engage in sexual/deviant acts without them knowing
=deviant, undesirable, abnormal, risky – but seen from a safe, invisible position

Voyeur
-someone who watches others for (sexual) pleasure
-privileged perspective

Summary:

Semiotics
-vs. Semantics
-discursive vs. non-discursive symbols
-Metaphor vs. Metonymy

Semiosis
-Referent, Symbol, Interpretation: three-way relationship
-Denotation vs. Connotation

Barthes, Lacan
-Psychoanalysis
-Unconscious rhetoric: desires
-Pleasure principle; play
-Real, Imaginary, Symbolic
-Mirror Stage; The Other

Visual Pleasure
-Scopophelia
-Narcissism
-Fetishism
-Voyeurism