The image of choice of this paper is the cover art for the song I Don’t (2017), written and performed by American female artist Mariah Carey, featuring rapper YG. The cover art consists of a photograph involving both artists and some texts stating the track title and the name of both artists. Analysing with reference to the elements of the grammar of images by Kress and van Leeuwen (1996), this paper argues that this image promotes feminism rebelliously. Whilst most elements agree with the reference material, few points are seen to be rule-breaking, thus “rebellious”. These tactics are adopted with a view to breaking the stereotype of male-domination and masculinity.
Basic understanding of the lyrics of the song is crucial to comprehending …show more content…
Also, the one who is “in the driving seat” usually means not only literally, but also metaphorically. However, with her defiant posture that perches on three out of the four available seats, the enormous space she occupies and the focused lighting on her, this “masculine” setting is overpowered by the female character. Therefore, instead of machismo, feminism is emphasized. To further illustrate this point, another example, the Game of War advertisement (see picture below), might help. In fact, Carey is famous for her feminist character and frequently appears to dominate situations where usually men take over. War is a symbol of masculinity and often represents competitions between men. Carey, however, took over such a situation and this represents feminism to its extreme form. This is one of the rule-breaking, thus “rebellious” points I mentioned at the very …show more content…
The layout of the picture realizes the information value of the image. According to the Quadrant of spatial meaning in ‘Western’ images by Kress (1996), the position of Carey’s head — top left hand corner — is presented as “given” and “ideal”, meaning that she is someone whom we are familiar with, and that she is the “idealised” figure. This makes perfect sense because this is her very own song, she is, of course, the one viewers already knew. By contrast, YG, positioned on the bottom right-hand corner, is presented as “new” and “real”, meaning he is new to the audience and less “idealized”.
Framing wise, the disconnections between the two characters are achieved by the fact that one of them is sitting in the front, and the other in the back. They are separated by the back of YG’s seat. In addition, they also have no eye-contact with each other, conveying a sense that they are isolated from each
Basic understanding of the lyrics of the song is crucial to comprehending …show more content…
Also, the one who is “in the driving seat” usually means not only literally, but also metaphorically. However, with her defiant posture that perches on three out of the four available seats, the enormous space she occupies and the focused lighting on her, this “masculine” setting is overpowered by the female character. Therefore, instead of machismo, feminism is emphasized. To further illustrate this point, another example, the Game of War advertisement (see picture below), might help. In fact, Carey is famous for her feminist character and frequently appears to dominate situations where usually men take over. War is a symbol of masculinity and often represents competitions between men. Carey, however, took over such a situation and this represents feminism to its extreme form. This is one of the rule-breaking, thus “rebellious” points I mentioned at the very …show more content…
The layout of the picture realizes the information value of the image. According to the Quadrant of spatial meaning in ‘Western’ images by Kress (1996), the position of Carey’s head — top left hand corner — is presented as “given” and “ideal”, meaning that she is someone whom we are familiar with, and that she is the “idealised” figure. This makes perfect sense because this is her very own song, she is, of course, the one viewers already knew. By contrast, YG, positioned on the bottom right-hand corner, is presented as “new” and “real”, meaning he is new to the audience and less “idealized”.
Framing wise, the disconnections between the two characters are achieved by the fact that one of them is sitting in the front, and the other in the back. They are separated by the back of YG’s seat. In addition, they also have no eye-contact with each other, conveying a sense that they are isolated from each