Hollander Response

Traditional Dress Vs Modern Fashion

Traditional systems of dress, obviously can make much more accurate social mirrors than fashion ever does.1 Hollander’s idea about the abstract meaning of fashion contradicting the direct representation in traditional dress really interested me. She talks about the traditional costume accurately depicting a person’s social background, while modern fashion ambiguously portraying some obscure characteristics. This idea is given a broad form by incorporating the fact that although there were rules, there was also room for creativity within the traditional sphere. For example, if the dress code for women was petticoat and ribbons, they had the freedom to choose the color and style of each.

Also referencing to the body-painting culture in select societies, in still other cultures, one group of scars on a girl’s face showed that she had passed the menarche, while another array of them on her chest was purely ornamental.2

Hollander even discusses the transmissible and inheriting feature of traditional clothing. Dresses were made not just for one person but for all, as members belonging to a particular group. They were passed down to their offsprings and so on. On the other hand, fashion is very individualistic. It involves complete personal choice. Even though fashion is trendsetting and results in imitation, it does not give out the same common meanings that traditional dress did. It is easier to identify a person belonging to a social group, clothed in traditional wear. Modern fashion does not have the same purpose. It is mainly meant to please the eyes, like modern art. This is where fashion and traditional differ.

 

  1. Anne Hollander, Sex and Suits – The Evolution of Modern Dress (Bloomsbury Academic, 2016), 18
  2. Anne Hollander, Sex and Suits – The Evolution of Modern Dress (Bloomsbury Academic, 2016), 19

Bridge 2 (Peer-to-Peer) | Partner Profile

For this assignment, we were paired with our peers.

After critiquing each other’s Bridge 1 essays, we came up with a list of action verbs associated with our partner’s essay. We even interviewed each other with a bunch of questions of our choice.

Assignment: After two weeks of interviews and collaboration with your partner, write a brief essay that profiles your partner. Use descriptions, experiences, stories, and dialogue to embody your partner’s persona (avatar) in words. Be fair. Avoid critique or negative judgment of your partner’s experience. Instead, imagine you’ve been commissioned to craft a portrait of your partner. What telling details will figure an accurate likeness of your partner with words? How might others — or an internet search — see your partner? Show, don’t tell.

A few action verbs that I associate with my peer, Eric Hu’s essay pertain to the abstract qualities of passion, distaste, diligence and freedom. The questions that I have put down aim to understand him in a deeper way and help me get into his mind.

Action Verb List

  1. To liberate
  2. To rehearse
  3. To disrelish
  4. To constrain
  5. To indulge
  6. To reinvest
  7. To regorge
  8. To master
  9. To relish
  10. To devote

Interview Question List

  • What is the purpose of your life?
  • What amuses you the most?
  • What is your favorite part of your daily routine?
  • What are you most afraid of?
  • How often do you do something just for yourself?
  • What does your ringtone sound like?
  • Do you like your name?
  • Have you ever kept up with a New Year’s resolution?
  • How would you want your life to end?
  • When have you felt your biggest adrenaline rush?

 

Reflection: Writing this descriptive essay on Eric Hu helped me in uncountable ways. I found out how difficult it is to write a 2-page essay on someone you have only known for about three weeks. I was lucky to have him as my partner, because he was extremely cooperative and understanding. Interviewing him and answering his questions helped me overcome my timidity to open up to someone new. I learn a lot about him as well as about the art of biographies. From this essay, I could tell that I needed to work on my ability to portray a person more vividly and concisely at the same time.

Helvetica Response

An Avatar for Neutrality

As shown in the documentary, Helvetica is mostly an avatar for neutrality and simplicity. It is a clean font that puts forth the required message with great efficiency. Some designers talk about the smoothness of this font that makes it more human. Typographers use Helvetica when the designer wants the audience to focus on the brand and not its name. It has been said that typography equals creative design. This sentence makes me think about the power of text, font and its various properties. The same piece of text, manipulated in different ways, can have different impacts on viewers. Even within a font, for example Helvetica, there can be various changes in the size, color, spacing, etc. The documentary includes shots of store billboards, hoardings, signs etc from all over the world that are in different forms of Helvetica. Helvetica is also an avatar for generalization. It is clear and can be understood by all human beings without any confusion.

Helvetica is interpreted differently by some people. They think of it as a plain, mundane and overused font. Designers agree that the font they were once obsessed with, does not have that attraction for them anymore. Seeing the same font everywhere you go, can get quite boring. However, the universality of Helvetica cannot be overlooked. It a convenient font that will probably remain in its “overused” state for a long time because of its neutrality.

Borges Response

The Teeming Mind of Irene Funes

From his first encounter with Funes, Borges describes him as a boy with a straight, hard face holding a cigarette. He stresses on Funes’ mocking voice quite a few times through the short story. Borges talks about Ireneo Funes’ quirks, like remaining distant from other humans and his chronometric mind. After Funes’ tragic accident (not so tragic for Funes’ himself) Borges happens to meet him once again. His description of Irene this time is one of an incredulous nature. Funes does not come off as a normal human being. He believes that all other people are careless, inattentive and forgetful. The aftermath of his injury resulted in him attaining the extraordinary power of memory and perception. He could now perceive and remember every minute detail around him. Borges emphasizes that his faintest memories are comparable to a general human’s strongest ones. In his story, Borges seems to admire Funes and his anomalous capabilities.

The most effective descriptive detail of Funes’ character is that of his mind. I was intrigued by the explanation of how the overflowing world of Funes did not let him sleep easily. Sleeping was a task for him, because it meant giving the mind a break from the constant activity in the world. His attention to the intricacy of life, time and space is fascinating. Borges captivatingly describes Funes’ ability to remember every single thing.