Superheroes and Ads

The class meeting on Wednesday started with us moving the tables to the back of the room and standing as a group facing the board along with the professor. Our projects which were going to be placed on the board were a homework assignment in which we had to print out an image and come up with at least 10 words or phrases that changed the meaning of that image. So, with four projects up at a time, we went through each one going through the list of words or phrases that belonged to each image. It was interesting seeing what each person's point of view was when trying to change the meaning of the images they selected. Some were hilarious, others ironic and meaningful. There was one image in particular that worked best to me and it was an image of a goldfish in a small fish tank that had a shark fin attached to its body. The phrases attached to this print were all interesting to me. Whose ever project that was did an amazing job especially with the image itself. There is so many ways to go about it and make up your own words along with it and the ones that person selected was really good.

We weren't able to go through all of them because we were running out of time and the professor had another activity for us so we had to move on. I think after a while though, we were all getting the idea of what to expect with the images so it made sense to stop when we did although I do think the professor said we were going to be looking at the rest in the next class meeting. So, after taking a small break which was nice because I was able to eat a snack since my tummy was rumbling, we moved onto the next activity. The professor placed several images on a few tables and one on the board. All the images had bold imagery and phrases that stood out in each image. They look mostly like images you would find in a magazine or on a billboard. They were all interesting. There was something in each one that we connected to in some way. There was one in particular that stood out to me. There was an image of Superwoman laying in a hospital bed who looked extremely ill and it was an ad for Aids awareness. To me, the message the image displays is how no one is immune to the disease. I thought it was a very powerful image, especially because the idea of superheroes is that they are immune to everything and anything. So showing one looking deathly and frankly disgusting really made it have this realistic connection.

After looking through all the images, the professor had us sit down in a group and we talked about the one image placed all alone on the board. What it "seemed" to be showing was a green hand that possibly belonged to the Incredible Hulk with a band aid on his index finger. The ad, for the Band Aid brand company, had this hand and a green background with a focus of light coming out from the center of the image. After discussing the image though, it turned out to be related to the hands in the Creation of Adam which is a painted fresco located on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. I was first like what? I mean, I saw the resemblance, but why? What did the hand of god have to do with a band aid ad? I quite frankly did not get it since it clearly seemed to depict the hand of the Incredible Hulk but ok...

Toward the end, the professor talked with us about opening up more in the class and with each other. I myself have no problem talking with other people as I am a friendly person. Then I thought about it, being the Virgo that i am, that there is possibly much more to this situation of most of class not being as open as the professor would like us to be. Maybe its the time in which the class takes place, from 8AM to 10:30AM. Remembering last quarter, my first class of the day started at 10:50AM. Then, I thought it could also be because those of us in the class that don't contribute as much is because when the professor is talking, we have a certain respect to not open our mouths when not called upon. What if it turns out that most of us have something to say but we are afraid to say something because we don't want to be judged or misunderstood. What if some of my classmates just don't have anything to say? There is a lot of thoughts that come to mind in regard to the class as a whole sharing more in discussion. I don't know... maybe its just me. Like every class that Ive had in the past though, I'm sure as time moves on, the class will open up more...