I believe this picture represents both raced bodies as well as classed bodies. Within the category of raced bodies, a white figure is meant to be seen as neutral. In this picture, Warren seems to be smiling happily and almost enjoying getting his picture taken. Jay-Z on the other hand has a tough look on his face. He isn’t smiling or frowning, yet his nose is tilted up in the air and lips are tight giving off a sense of being strong and in power. The idea of semiotics is largely displayed in this picture; you can’t just have a successful black man in the picture, he has to be paired with an equally successful white man. To me, this picture states, “hey, we found a black guy who is successful and he looks good doing it!” Yet, the magazine couldn’t just put him on the cover alone, they had to pair him with a white individual who has been a successful member of society as well. Equally, both of these men seem to be classified as part of the upper-class. Both men are dressed in nice suits, yet when I look at this magazine cover, my eyes are drawn to Jay-Z. He seems to be much more powerful. Jay-Z is standing in the front facing directly towards the camera in a body-guard position while Warren is slightly hidden behind him at an angled position. I also noticed that the color of Jay-Z’s suit makes him stand out much more. Warren’s suit is the same color as the gray background and he almost seems to blend in. Jay-Z is the main focus of the cover, but it seems like they felt they were obligated to put a white man on the cover as well to keep the ideology of class, race and power equal. In this picture Jay-Z shows that you don’t have to be a sweaty athlete to be successful, you can even be successful in a nice suit.
When looking at various pictures where both white and black individuals were present, I found that the white individual was usually neutral while the black individual was either dressed in sports attire (according to Stuart Hall, classified as being uneducated) or in very nice business attire. Jay-Z in this picture signifies being successful, intelligent, and wealthy based on rules, and connections determined by world views.
This is another image that I found from the interview for Forbes magazine. Warren looks as though he is reaching his arms out to offer a hug. Again, as a white individual he looks neutral, open, and accepting. Jay-Z has a fist and almost looks like he could throw a punch. He looks ape-like in that he is defending or standing up for something. 
To a certain degree, skin color does matter in this society, although we don't want to admit and it is a sad fact. However, throughout the history of human development, colored races have had a long history of fighting against odds. In this two photos, Jay Z does seem to be more aggressive than Warren and he is somehow demonstrating something from inside, and also he looks very defensive of himself, while Warren seems to be more open and amiable. Somehow, I think Jay Z is the aggressive money maker instead of Warren
ReplyDeleteYeah and to add onto that it also seems as though Jay Z feels as though he has to prove that he has made it and is accomplished and must be ready to fight off anyone that will try to bump him down, whereas Warren is just another old white man that has become a well known, accomplished millionaire. Warren has nothing to fear or anything like that he knows that everyone would expect his accolades and wouldn't look at it is unusual.
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