An E493 student checks in with an update to our earlier posting on Dolce & Gabbana's obscene machine ads:
From: Lindsay
Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2007 18:16:05 EST
Subject: eng. 493 article!!
To: nericcio
Dolce & Gabbana Cancel Controversial Ad Campaign
Hi Professor,
I ran across this article and thought it was something that was appropriate for our film and literature class. It's a Dolce and Gabbana ad that is being pulled from their new campaign because it depicts a sort of "fantasy rape."
I thought it was fitting for our class when I saw it's mannequin-esque models. The designers are claiming it was just supposed to depict an erotic dream, but what is erotic or dreamy about this? Just the fact that the other men are standing around the two models on the ground makes it completely offensive to me, and I believe, all women. Also the way the man is holding her down by force makes me immediately associate it with violence and rape. Just thought it was something [the class might] be interested in...
--Lindsay Steinman
For whatever reason this picture made me think of Cristina Rivera-Garza's "No one will see me cry." Even though there is no specific page on a rape occuring in the book. i could see the woman being Matilda as a prostitute being surrounded by all the men that wanted her. Even though it is a "rape scene" the woman in the ad seems to be getting very randy over all the half naked men surrounding her. I could see Matilda doing the same thing because even though she is out numbered, she would still run the show.
ReplyDelete-Denise leyva
I disagree with Denise's comment about the Dolce and Gabbana advertisement. The model to me, isn't relishing in the fact that she has several men watching her, she looks almost anguished, or ashamed. The women that we have encountered in the class such as Gilda and Matilda (rhyme coincidence?) have been completely opposite of this photograph. They have been in control of their sexuality and they choose when and how they would like to exploit it or be exploited. This woman is being pinned down, she is looking down and away from the man that's holding her. She isn't running the show, she IS the show.
ReplyDelete-Sara Chavez
For whatever reason, this ad reminded me of the Vincent Price version of "House of Wax." In it, Price kills people and turns them into wax figures in an attempt to make his wax museum more realistic. This ad shows models that are so airbrushed that they inevitably do not even look human anymore. Like the victims in "House of Wax," their humanity is essentially anihilated and they are left as mere imitations of human beings. Is the murder of humanity supposed to inspire the masses to but designer clothing? Are we meant to be inspired to look like the deadened clones? The mannequin here seems to be presented as an ideal. In an age of Botox and Restalyn the hieght of chicness seems to be to lose one's identity and to appear as plastic and generic as possible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sara's comment, that the model featured in this Dolce and Gabbana advertisement isn't running the show; she IS the show. While she is the spectacle of delight to the men surrounding her, she doesn't seem to have any control. I also believe that much can be conveyed through someone's eyes, and the female model is looking away from the men with a sort of deadened look in her eyes. If she truly were the one in charge, I think she would be looking those men straight in the eyes, as to show them that she is not afraid. Also, the man in the far left of the picture looks at her as if she were a piece of meat; it is certainly a look more than one of just lust. These men don't admire this woman; they want to sexually pleasure themselves and leave her powerless. I'm glad this ad was pulled from D&G's campaign because thousands of young girls would have seen this and perhaps thought that this is an okay way for a woman to be. There are already too many ads, movies, songs, etc. which subconsciously promote the submission of women; we don't need one more.
ReplyDelete-Brittany Hook
I completely agree with Sara and I was thinking the same thing. Matilda is very much in control of who she is sexually. She is a strong, independent woman who is doing what she has to to get by.
ReplyDeleteThe woman in this ad does not seem to be in control. She seems to be being rapped. All the men around her look ready to pounce and she by no means looks willing.
This ad sends out a disgusting message to our public about women and I don't buy the argument that she is living out a fantasy at all. Regardless of the way she's dressed.
-Rosanne Adamo
English 493
Again, another ad by D&G that focuses on their product, but in a manner in which I don’t truly understand. I see the “fantasy rape” discussed above, and the models look to be more like mannequins than they do real people. The ad does not seem to focus on the actual product that is being advertised (which is the minimal clothing that is worn), but seems to focus in more on a sexual level. The scantily clad woman is surrounded by muscular, masculine men. It seems to be an almost false reality. The unrealistic models in an unrealistic situation create a false sense of reality. The ad seems to be designed more to invoke a sexual appeal. It what is pictured what one is believed to desire?
ReplyDeleteBy looking at this ad the realities of our country are present, an obsession with sex. We saw this with the Mandingo article, the Real Dolls, and so many other blog entries. This is just another stem of how such obsessions and thoughts are promoted and condoned. Why can’t we find an ad that liberates women, expects men to think of something besides sex, and teaches our children some morality? Dolce & Gabbana is a huge company with so many young buyers why can’t they try to make a change towards the good of our future generations and not show them living every fantasy is necessary (especially in front of a whole group of men). Fantasies are just that and the ones men have to rape women are the ones that should be left to the wayside not put on the front of a fashion ad.
ReplyDelete