I remember learning this topic last year in one of my art classes. It was a struggle for me to come to terms with the fact that the pipe isn’t actually a pipe but rather a representation of the artists interpretation of what a pipe is, but it is something important to keep in mind when looking at more complex pieces with deeper symbolism as items contain many differing connotations depending on its visual and context.

I’ve chosen this advertisement from Crisis Relief Singapore to analyse for this week’s post as it can depict the importance of signifiers and their interpretations as well as relating back to last week’s topic of audiences and the role they play in consumption of media.

But before delving into that, we must first look at the image and examine its denotation. Denotation is referencing what we can see and its common or ‘literal’ meaning; A boy lays in a hospital cot with a sombre expression staring directly at the viewer, left leg removed and replaced with bandages as a group of people stand in a circular formation, thumbs raised to the boy.

If we were to examine this advertisement as just this simple sentence, there is not much to interpret. Perhaps everyone around him is happy that he is getting better from a lengthy procedure, but that would not explain the images black and white hue or the boy’s expression. Maybe the boy has just lost his leg in an accident, but that would not explain the symbol of a thumbs up as traditionally it is interpreted as a good gesture.

Instead we look deeper at the combination of all these visual cues and their societal/cultural implications to bring the tale to light. It is with the faint, yet largest font that reads ‘Liking isn’t helping.’ that provides the missing link to the piece and grants a gateway to the dominant/preferred reading in which requires a basic understanding of the internet and social media to fully grasp.

The advertisement is commenting on how ‘liking’ a post regarding people needing assistance, predominantly financial or volunteering, is an inadequate response. This reminded me of a quote from my lessons last year on the topic of representation & truth where we studied Plato;  

“If he really knew about the things he represented, he would devote himself to them and not to their representations.” (Plato 1987, p 340)

Even though this quote is initially in reference to a poet and how he doesn’t know anything about what he’s writing about, it can also relate to an audience’s consumption of media and take a jab at the mediocre responses to cries for help or calls to action.

As someone who ‘likes’ a post on Facebook regarding someone needing help, you are ‘liking’ a representation rather than actually participating in the life of the moral; you are not contributing through donation or volunteering to provide action in bettering the situation. If you were to really care about something, you would devote yourself to it, not just it’s representation. If he really knew about what he was liking, then he would act.

~Bree

Reference List

Plato, 1987, ‘Theory of art’, in The republic, 2^nd edn, trans. D Lee, Penguin Books, London.