So i saw this ad in a magazine i was reading and it advertises the new scent for men by emporio armani.. [oooh yup expensive!] i'm sorry if it's a little blur.. coz i scanned it in and then expanded it. Like many print ads that promote a particular product, this ad too uses the figure and ground organisation and uses a famous face to capture the attention of people. Usually we see women posing as sex symbols in skimpy clothes and lots of skin and now we have josh hartnett with his clothes on but still as hot and sexy as ever! [but is it me or does he look really really different!?]
Ironically, i'm the one checking him out instead of the guys i know so i'm confused as to whether this ad is targetting the male or the female audience. [Oh and did i mention i saw this in CLEO magazine- i hardly think guys line up to get their hands on CLEO every mth] From the ad, I note that there's this awesome new scent endorsed by the gorgeous Mr. Hartnett that'll make everyone want a piece of me. "hard to resist" tells me that people won't be able to get enough of me when i'm smelling so good. BUT i'm a girl so the scent is not for me in the first place. Granted girls might want to buy this for their boyfriends [i'm thinking not fathers, brothers or guy mates] 'coz it's about attraction right?! but when i showed the ad to guys, they totally ignored the hot guy in it. All they saw was "Emporio Armani" and the picture of the perfume bottle at the bottom right to figure out what i was showing them. So it begs the question of is a hottie [be it a lady or man] even necessary to promote such items? or do they only do so for shallow individuals like me who just end up drooling at the picture since i'm not in the position to buy such a good.
Is the ad really effective in communicating the product? Will more guys buy it seeing how the girl in the picture's grabbing at Hartnett? Or is it well-launched enough in our minds that girls will go around bragging about the scent to others and it's popularity spreads by word-of-mouth instead? Is that their real intention? If you ask me.. I think it's effective in terms of grabbing the attention of girls but not guys and i don't think guys will be rushing to buy the perfume either because there are so many other factors that people consider before buying a product and i am pretty sure that there are girls who go around saying to their guy/girl friends "OMG! Josh Hartnett is soo HOTT is the armani ad!! *Shriek shriek shriek*" [ugh! rolls eyes*] Maybe guys will buy it just to shut their girlfriends up. And maybe the fact that i have so much to say about this ad makes its effective after all.
There's this person i know, let's call him Mr X. We don't know each other too well having spoken like once with one another but from what I have always seen, he's someone who's always cheery, fun loving and friendly towards almost everyone. So you know the social networking system facebook right. Just so happens that his status there said something about loving school and it's workload. Having percieved him as a "cheery, fun loving and friendly" person who is also in his school's student council, I honestly thought he was a guy who enjoyed schooling tremendously because of the opportunities it gave him and i just assumed that he'd like schoolwork too. So me being me, someone who has never!!! enjoyed schoolwork, i tagged him saying he could do my work for me too! haha. Only to find out later that he was being sarcastic!!! gosh.the embarrassment.
Case in point being it is easy to miscontrue what people mean when we don't get to read their non-verbal cues. Online, all you see is what's written in black and white and people judge what they read in different ways. Hence miscommunication may occur. In this case, my interpretation was based on what i'd seen previously in his actions only. It was only after he replied to my comment that i found out i had been too literal with what he put up. So see, we all shouldn't jump to conclusions so soon! lesson learnt!
ps: since i do not know Mr X very well i couldn't ask permission to use this example and i feel a bit embarrassed to tell him abt it too so if he ever views this i hope he doesn't mind. *eyes shut tightly with fingers crossed*
Hopefully this is big enough for everyone to see. This was a poster for the HIV awareness campaign and it sparked much hype amongst Singaporeans. Having happened within Singapore itself, i think it's something we should all know about. Posters are a form of non-verbal communication as we've learnt and since it only provides a one-way mode of communication, the message conveyed is pretty much dependent on our perception of it.
For me, at first glance i didn't think much of this poster. I just thought it was a depiction of a couple of guys and girls doing a dance or something. I would love to say that i interpreted it that way because of the innocence that i possess but sadly it was more of an ignorance on my part. The comments that was given for this poster ranged from "pretty obscene" to "I wish the local advertisers could make print outs that have as much humor as this". The emphasis on "team effort" and the positioning of the male/female figures makes everyone think that it's a poster depicting orgies instead and we percieve it that way because we've been influenced by media, environment etc. to think that that's how ppl look when they have mass sex. You guys probably can't see what someone has scribbled onto the poster but with reference to "stompaids" someone crudely wrote "more like spread AIDS".
The figure and ground organisation that i think this poster has does not work well for it because the picture and the text below it contradict one another. However, i honestly feel that the organisers who allowed this poster didn't meant for it to convey the msg that "aids will no longer be an issue when everybody has it" or "make sure if u bang someone he/she is of the opposite sex from u". There were yet others who percieved the poster and the situation in other ways too- "the simple fact that this particular campaign is getting all your attention even if its for the wrong reasons meant that it works!" If this is how the campaigners wanted it to work out, they have serious ethical and moral issues. Haha. Basically i feel this is a classic case of miscommunication.
A lot of times in movies, a lot of the conclusions and decisions we makes about the various aspects of the movie- the plot, character(s) etc.- is dependent on what we see. So if you do ever watch this movie I'm reviewing (And you're crazy not to catch it really) you'll realise all the different types of visual, verbal and non-verbal communication the makers have infused in the film to capture and hold our attention.
'Taare Zameen Par' is a story about an 8- year old boy, Ishaan Awasthi, who suffers from Dyslexia. Being unable to understand even the most basic concepts that every other kid his age breezes through, he struggles to keep up with his classmates. The video below will help you understand his dilemma a little more. It may seem funny but looking at it from the poor boy's point of view, we see how no one understands him and then it really isn't that funny anymore. The jumble of letters that dance in front of his eyes, they even make my own head spin!
However, Ishaan is often found to be in his own world and the director allows us into his mind to see the way he percieves things (hm, didn't we just learn something about perception in class just this week?!!) The innocence, freedom and maturity in his imagination exceeds any adult and this window into his mind allows us a more intimate connection with him. Without realising it, you start to admire him and maybe even envy his simplicity within all the complexities of his life- the struggle within himself which he covers up with an act of bravado and the struggle with his parents, teachers and other children who fail to understand him. While everyone's life is filled with so much tension and expectations, his is filled with scattered toys, crayons of various colours, carefree-ness and fun!
Through it all, the one constant in his life that he can turn to and excels in is his art. The freedom of expression he gets through it shows us the capabilities of a boy whom everyone seems to have given up on. How can he be stupid when he is smart enough to figure out puzzles (which even I have trouble with), to think of forging an absent-note to cover up bunking classes, to create his own unique flip book and even a moving model of a plane using random materials like leaves, twigs, rubber bands etc. How can he be stupid when he has the capacity to appreciate the simple things in life that most of us have a tendency to overlook?! To me, he is a boy with a high IQ and a very vivid imagination.
His childish innocence and spark of life dies when his adamant father and helpless mother send him off to boarding school and feeling closer to Ishaan by then viewers empathise with him. His father is typical of parents who refuse to acknowledge problems that their children might have, choosing instead to live in denial and blame their child's behaviour on laziness and attitude problems. Every parent wants to think that their child is the best don't they?!
His saviour comes in the form of a relief teacher (Ram Sharma Nikumbh) at the boarding school who has a genuine love for children and a belief that every child is special with unique strengths and weaknesses. From the minute he is introduced in the movie, we wait with bated breath in our seats with the hope that the poor child can be redeemed.
Having been through Dyslexia himself, Nikumbh identifies the signs and notes how fast Ishaan is sinking within himself. In the movie Ishaan's body language and eyes express fear and depression. Then through Nikumbh's words and expressions we also see his emotions- how he sympathises with Ishaan, is angry with society in general for their ignorance, and genuinely wants to help. [verbal + non-verbal communication]
"Man is a cruel, insensitive animal. And blind. Blind to beauty, blind to feelings"
We then see how he struggles to save the boy. He starts by correcting the thinking of Ishaan's parents, explaining that in this merciless and competitive world, not only Order, Discipline and Labour brings about success. Talent and the ability to think creatively should also be appreciated and rewarded. Then he goes on to teach Ishaan the basic concepts which he lacks like reading, writing, simple mathematics etc. with all the patience that is required for such kids and slowly but surely he helps Ishaan to improve.
The climatic scene below shows us the part where Ishaan is truly found again when he produces a magnificent piece of art in a competition that Nikumbh organised specifically to get him painting again. We see the bond that mentor and student have forged between themselves when we see Nikumbh's painting depicting his view of Ishaan as the blessing that he indeed is. (painting- another form of visual communication). We see mutual understanding between both parties even without words (non- verbal communication). When ishaan gets the applause and appreciation that he truly deserves, it really tugs at our hearts.
"Khul Gaya Aasmaan Ka Rasta Dekho Khul Gaya. Mil Gaya Kho Gaya Tha Jho Sitara Mil Gaya, Mil Gaya" Translation: "Look, the path to the skies is revealed. And the little lost star has been found again."
Most of us tend to have a soft spot for children- their childish innocence, their vulnerability- and 'Taare Zameen Par' uses that to their advantage. Gaining our support by playing with our emotions (more or less) and addressing real- life issues. Most of the scenes that I've tried to infuse in my review are songs because i felt that they best expressed the various aspects of the movie- the culture in India, the expectations on kids nowadays and the character that we need to understand, Ishaan.
I guess this is a pretty long review but i wanted to make sure others could understand how much this movie could affect one and what a genius of a film it is. 'Taare Zameen Par' is a really heartwarming and gripping story about children, parenting, love and courage amongst many others. A must watch movie that really proves that "every child is special".
