Lit Lenses on American Apparel

Posted by Crystalle Hutchins in English 3 - Pahomov - D on Friday, March 21, 2014 at 11:25 am

Lit Lens Benchmark from Crystalle Hutchins on Vimeo.

Write Up

Jian Zhang-

During this project, I was in charge of keeping things on task. Thankfully that wasn’t really needed since everyone was on task the whole time. I worked on many different bits of the project such as the research, data collection, edited here and there, discussions and some other things. Videos are the only thing I didn’t help much on since I have no idea what to do with them.

The part I am most proud of during this project was how well everyone worked together. Most of the time people just spend days arguing over things that doesn’t really matter or they just refuse to do much work. However this group got it’s stuff together on the first day and started laying down a reasonable and detailed plan. We followed the plan we made and worked things out in group discussions. Even when we do have disagreements, we solved them by talking with one another instead of just refusing their ideas. This made the project much easier then it could have been. With everyone pitching in to do the work, it was a very enjoyable experience.

- Pierce Luck

For this Project, I have contributed insightful thoughts and opinions into our group discussions analyzing American Apparel. I researched and found controversial ads,videos, commercials, and pictures that we used during our project. I was in charge of analyzing American Apparel using the Marxist lens with the help of my peers. I helped create the script for the Marxist portion of the project. I also did voiceovers, and was involved in the recording of the video, recording scenes for the feminist lens. The moment of collaboration that I am most proud was discussing the sexual appeal that the company sells. My Job as Secretary of the group kept our work in order, especially with our storyboard checkpoint.

Crystalle Hutchins:

I felt that I was a key part in helping all four members of my group collaborate effectively. I gave ideas and the group either agreed or tweaked them a bit with their own input. I, with the help of Nikki Adeli, wrote the script for each scene of our lenses. Once we recorded, I edited the video to make the final product.

I’m proud of how quickly my group recorded our scenes for the lenses. I think this showed how knowledgeable we were about the topic. It only took us one class period and we had time to spare. I loved how passionate my group was about the subject when researching. I knew that using American Apparel’s ads would engross our attention, making the project seem more enjoyable than a laborious task.

Nikki Adeli

When we first listed our strengths and weaknesses, I listed a weakness of mine to be time management. Therefore, going into the project, I not only wanted to be a great team member and collaborate with the group, but also work towards overcoming my weakness.

As a team member, I had multiple roles which I had managed nicely since I met my personal time goals that I had set for myself. I worked with Pierce to research the marxist lens and the application of Karl Marx’s thoughts to the American Apparel ads to make our analysis and video seem realistic. I also worked with Crystalle when writing the script to make the script as creative and unique as possible.

When it comes to collaboration, I had 2 great moments. The first was the researching in the beginning. We were all actively working towards a successful project and the work was equally separated. The second was when we were filming. None of us were absent in the moment, but very much present and working hard to create the best product we could.

Comments (3)

Bryanna Jones

Describe how you agree or disagree with their analysis. If you agree, add a few sentences extending their theory about their text. If you disagree, use the lens to produce an alternate analysis of their text.

I agree with their analysis because sex does sell, but the question is the buyer? If men are flashing a nipple here and their and women are exposing their breast the answer is obvious, men. This can easily be summed up by saying men define society.

Did this video push your thinking at all? Did it encourage you to look at the world in a new way? Explain why or why not. It did! Just by looking at an ad one can tell wether or not feminism or marxism play a roll.
What other book, film, movie, TV show, etc. does their project remind you of? How could you apply their analysis to this other text? This reminds me of Micah's group video, but they couldn't have used it in their analysis.
What shout-outs do you have for this group and their project? Great analysis

Margaret Hohenstein

I agree with your analysis when you said that sex sells but it isn't necessary selling the clothes, it is selling the women. However, when you looked at the same ads from the feminist lens you didn't explore this. I think the idea that their ads are effectively "selling women" would be something very interesting to look at through the feminist lens.
Despite what I said for question one I found what you did explore to really push my thinking. I have heard about "sex sells" through the feminist lens and it was interesting to hear about how that may be a good thing.
This reminds me of a discussion I had in one of my classes last year about the difference between porn and nude art.
I want to shout out the fact that you guys were willing to show such provocative ads even in a school project.

Marcus Burrell

I agree with their views about the clothing of men vs women. Women are more exposed and i think this ties into Penelope group's project with the way they are clothed in video games as well.
Once again this did not push my thinking. I've noticed stuff like this on countless occasions about the way they are clothed compared to men.
It reminds me of models. To look sexy you must be naked or show skin which isn't always the case.
The creativity and a deeper look into something so common.