All Assuming Images Stuart Ewen Summary
Brady Robinson
Prof. Gaerte
Senior Seminar
Book Report #1
March 3rd 2015
After reading Stuart Ewen’s book, All Consuming Images: The Politics of Style in Contemporary Culture, I began to realize the importance images have on our day-to-day lives. Ewen does his best to force us into thinking about the power advertisements have on us and he also goes through history explaining the evolution of style throughout culture. What I was able to gather from this book was the chance to see the things that often go unseen. We are bombarded with images that tell us how to live the best life and products that are going to change our lives for the better, but Ewen tells us to step back from all of this and admire these things a little deeper. He breaks away at how these advertisements are created and reasons for why we fall into the trap.
On page 85 Ewen writes, “In a highly mobile society, where first impressions are important and where selling oneself is the most highly cultivated “skill,” the construction of appearances becomes more and more imperative. If style offers a representation of self defined by surfaces and commodities, the media by which style is transmitted tend to reinforce this outlook in intimate …show more content…
detail. They continually offer us visible guideposts, reference points to draw upon, against which to measure ourselves.“ This paragraph captures the essence of All Consuming Images. Ewen starts off with detailed information on images and then delves into style and the history of style from when it was used to symbolize wealth to today where style is used for self-expression. Later Ewen discusses new technologies such as photography and lithography. We learn about image manipulation and the process of retouching photographs to make the models appear flawless which in-turn makes us evaluate ourselves and compare us to them. Ewen’s structure is chronological in a sense and directs us to believe that the overarching reason for this book is based on the transitions in our society. One part of the book that stood out to me was the section on contemporary consumer culture. Ewen paints the picture of someone walking through the mall and looking at an image in a store of a stark, faultless model wearing the latest and greatest piece of clothing. Everyday we are surrounded by these commodities and told that they will make us happier, healthier, stronger and better looking. What this does to the viewer is causes them to want what the model has because it is supposedly better. We value the image and style of an object often times more than we value its function or purpose. At the end of the book Ewen leaves us with the idea that as the evanescent fads become increasingly real, reality becomes increasingly evanescent.
This goes back to an earlier point Ewen makes in the book about photography and how our culture prefers surface to substance. We like things for the way they look and not so much how they preform. “Seductive images of the good life are rooted in the principles and practices of a human community.” I think Ewen hits the nail on the head in this book. He gives us a fresh look into things that are slowly harming our culture and encourages us to rethink ways in which we consume. I know now from this book that when I see that new camera that has 32 megapixels and costs me thousands of dollars; I won’t need
it. I believe this book is very close to fitting into our class. Although Ewen doesn’t talk much about social media, he does touch on the internet and technology and how it begins to harm us. My knowledge of political communication has grown quite a bit now because Ewen talks in the last chapter about how politics are preformed on the surface level and not substance. His example of Ronald Reagan opened my eyes to style and how the vast majority of people might not have agreed with Reagan’s ideas, but still saw him as an inspirational figure due to him style. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in images and style. Ewen really forces you to break out of your own style and to understand how style has evolved over the years and bringing us to where we are now. From this book you will learn now to analyze images from their content to the surfaces. Although it is a difficult read, I still think people who are intrigued by contemporary culture will be able to learn a lot from All Consuming Images.
Work Cited
Ewen, Stuart. All Consuming Images: The Politics of Style in Contemporary Culture. New York: Basic, 1988. Print.
Prof. Gaerte
Senior Seminar
Book Report #1
March 3rd 2015
After reading Stuart Ewen’s book, All Consuming Images: The Politics of Style in Contemporary Culture, I began to realize the importance images have on our day-to-day lives. Ewen does his best to force us into thinking about the power advertisements have on us and he also goes through history explaining the evolution of style throughout culture. What I was able to gather from this book was the chance to see the things that often go unseen. We are bombarded with images that tell us how to live the best life and products that are going to change our lives for the better, but Ewen tells us to step back from all of this and admire these things a little deeper. He breaks away at how these advertisements are created and reasons for why we fall into the trap.
On page 85 Ewen writes, “In a highly mobile society, where first impressions are important and where selling oneself is the most highly cultivated “skill,” the construction of appearances becomes more and more imperative. If style offers a representation of self defined by surfaces and commodities, the media by which style is transmitted tend to reinforce this outlook in intimate …show more content…
detail. They continually offer us visible guideposts, reference points to draw upon, against which to measure ourselves.“ This paragraph captures the essence of All Consuming Images. Ewen starts off with detailed information on images and then delves into style and the history of style from when it was used to symbolize wealth to today where style is used for self-expression. Later Ewen discusses new technologies such as photography and lithography. We learn about image manipulation and the process of retouching photographs to make the models appear flawless which in-turn makes us evaluate ourselves and compare us to them. Ewen’s structure is chronological in a sense and directs us to believe that the overarching reason for this book is based on the transitions in our society. One part of the book that stood out to me was the section on contemporary consumer culture. Ewen paints the picture of someone walking through the mall and looking at an image in a store of a stark, faultless model wearing the latest and greatest piece of clothing. Everyday we are surrounded by these commodities and told that they will make us happier, healthier, stronger and better looking. What this does to the viewer is causes them to want what the model has because it is supposedly better. We value the image and style of an object often times more than we value its function or purpose. At the end of the book Ewen leaves us with the idea that as the evanescent fads become increasingly real, reality becomes increasingly evanescent.
This goes back to an earlier point Ewen makes in the book about photography and how our culture prefers surface to substance. We like things for the way they look and not so much how they preform. “Seductive images of the good life are rooted in the principles and practices of a human community.” I think Ewen hits the nail on the head in this book. He gives us a fresh look into things that are slowly harming our culture and encourages us to rethink ways in which we consume. I know now from this book that when I see that new camera that has 32 megapixels and costs me thousands of dollars; I won’t need
it. I believe this book is very close to fitting into our class. Although Ewen doesn’t talk much about social media, he does touch on the internet and technology and how it begins to harm us. My knowledge of political communication has grown quite a bit now because Ewen talks in the last chapter about how politics are preformed on the surface level and not substance. His example of Ronald Reagan opened my eyes to style and how the vast majority of people might not have agreed with Reagan’s ideas, but still saw him as an inspirational figure due to him style. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in images and style. Ewen really forces you to break out of your own style and to understand how style has evolved over the years and bringing us to where we are now. From this book you will learn now to analyze images from their content to the surfaces. Although it is a difficult read, I still think people who are intrigued by contemporary culture will be able to learn a lot from All Consuming Images.
Work Cited
Ewen, Stuart. All Consuming Images: The Politics of Style in Contemporary Culture. New York: Basic, 1988. Print.