Ways of Seeing

< Ways of Seeing > John Berger,1972

In the history of mankind, there has never been a society with such centralized images and dense visual information. In our rush, this information stimulates our imagination in a way of review and prospect, so the advertising image only exists in a moment. The invasion of this image makes us accustomed to the appeal of the image, so we pay little attention to its overall impact. We accept advertising image because it is full of life, and because we are familiar with image attributes, we turn a blind eye to it. Although in many cases, theoretically, the initiative is still in our hands, advertising images always pass by us, and we are always in a relatively static state, but advertising is always active.

Advertising is usually interpreted as a competitive medium. Ultimately, it will benefit the public (consumers) and the most efficient manufacturers. Some ideas of advertising are also closely related to the viewpoint of freedom. In advertising, buyers are free and enterprises are free. Giant billboards and neon advertisements in capital cities are the yardsticks of the free world. Advertising is considered to provide freedom of choice. In the world of advertising, advertising is not only a competitive combination of information, they jointly express a message that advertising can provide different choices. But as a system, advertising only provides one kind of information, that is to suggest individuals to change themselves or their lives by buying more. For example, advertisements always tell us that more consumption will make us richer, but in fact, after I spend money. Will only become poorer.

The advertisement uses some admired people as templates and persuades us to pursue similar changes. The enviable place is where the charm lies, so the essence of advertising is the process of creating charm.

Advertising is effective because it is supported by authenticity. Clothing, food, cars and so on are real enjoyment. Advertising first acts on people's nature of pursuing enjoyment.

Advertising uses the differences between buyers and "illusion culture" to promote products or opportunities to buyers. Advertising is by no means praising its own fun, but for future buyers to provide buyers with products or opportunities to create a charming self-image. This image made him envy himself who was about to be transformed

Advertising focuses on interpersonal relationships, not goods. It is a kind of happiness, a kind of happiness judged by the outside world. It is a kind of charm admired by people.

From the perspective of viewers, buyers are bound to envy those who can establish a new self-image after purchasing goods. She is bound to imagine that she will become an enviable object after being transformed by commodities. This envy made her love herself more. The advertising image steals her love for the true self and then returns this love to consumers at the price of goods.

From the perspective of advertising, advertising images often use sculpture or painting to enhance the attraction or authority of advertising information. "Advertising" usually refers to some "works of art", which usually have a dual role. Art is a sign of wealth: it belongs to a good life and is also an ornament given by the world to the rich and beautiful. Art implies a kind of cultural authority and a symbol of wisdom. It is above any vulgar material interests, but at the same time, it is also a symbol of wealth. These two attributes are contradictory, and advertising also has the same place. It not only reflects the enjoyment of luxury but also reflects cultural value. Advertising undertakes the wonderful relationship between art and its viewers, and constantly persuades and pleases the viewers.

The continuous relationship between oil painting and advertising is reflected in that both like to play the game of "cover up". Arrange images or details of images together. This continuous relationship is not reflected in the exact corresponding level of the picture, but in the use of symbolic images.

Advertising is the culture of consumer society. It spreads the values and beliefs of the society at that time through images. The essence of advertising is nostalgia. It sells the past to the future. The purpose of advertising is to make viewers dissatisfied with the current lifestyle, but not dissatisfied with the social lifestyle, but to make viewers dissatisfied with their own lifestyle through comparison, and then it provides viewers with the choice to improve the current situation. Advertising is aimed at those who constitute the market - viewers (consumers). They bring profits to the enterprise as consumers, then they make money as producers, and then continue to consume as consumers, forming a vicious closed loop. No one except capital can get rid of this closed loop. (the reason why you want to make an infinite flip card).

All advertisements work hard to overcome anxiety and convey a concept of money supremacy, but at the same time, it also creates anxiety. It always uses the viewer's fear to sell "antidotes".

Advertising only uses the future tense. It always emphasizes that when you have a product, you will become popular. However, advertisements with the working class as the main object tend to promise to change the buyer's personal life through the function of special commodities it promotes. Therefore, advertising will always maintain its reputation, because its authenticity does not depend on whether its promise is fulfilled, but on the relationship between the fantasy of advertising and the fantasy of buyers. That is, the role of advertising is not on reality, but on fantasy. (so I created an imaginary environment. Although each element is real, it doesn't seem reasonable).

The industrial society that advances to democracy and stops halfway is an ideal environment that can produce personal jealousy. Without personal jealousy, charm cannot exist. In the industrial society, the pursuit of personal happiness is recognized as an individual right, but the current situation of the society makes the viewer feel powerless. This sense of powerlessness makes him a gap between the current him and the ideal him, and this feeling of powerlessness turns into envy and evolves into a recurring daydream.

The reason why advertising maintains its reputation is that there is a big difference between what it provides and the promised future. Just like the self perceived image of buyers and their ideal self, there is also a gap between the two.

In fantasy, hypothetical positivity replaces immediate negativity. In daydreams, tired workers become active consumers, the self of work envies the self of consumption. Advertisements always remind viewers that we are not enviable. However, viewers can do this by buying.

Advertising is in the distant future. It abandons the present and all changes and development. It is the life of capitalist culture, and it is also a dream. Capitalism uses it to limit the interests of the masses in order to maintain its survival and impose a set of false standards on people.