audience II
The two chapters on audiencing have an interesting relationship. Chapter 9 mainly touches on the way an individual or family interacts with a specific image, whereas chapter 10 focuses more on the social and cultural values associated with the image. In the beginning of the audiencing series the idea of the image’s content was still a factor for discussion, it played a role in how and why the individuals reacted to the image in a particular way, however the second portion of the series is directed at how the image is handled and the values it possess socially as an object, rather than an image. Chapter 10 is essentially asking the readers: aside from content, composition or artistic value what place does imagery hold in society; why; and how does it effect our treatment of that image?
It is interesting to explore the video clip of the Pink Panther opening sequence because of its social value. It is fascinating to gain a different perspective and understand it for its place in society. Being a film implies that it could have different attributes and create different connotations than a still image. It can create specific scenarios, such as a couples first date to see this movie or any movie. The concern does not lie in the film itself but rather in the connotation created by the film. Although, in my opinion, this method would almost always need to be accompanied by another method in order to come to a concise and understandable conclusion, I do feel that the flipped perspective is a good approach to gain a fuller understanding of the image and its grip, or lack thereof, on society as it becomes more of a symbolic valued object rather than a specific content with an image.
