What do you think of this?

rjas · Sep 22, 2007

http://www.style.it/cont/vogue/photo/default.asp

I always try to be very open minded, but I get the feeling that this is slightly over the edge... Quote taken from another forum:
"So how many troops does Italy have dying in Iraq?"

Nick Zentena · Sep 22, 2007

rjas said:
http://www.style.it/cont/vogue/photo/default.asp

I always try to be very open minded, but I get the feeling that this is slightly over the edge... Quote taken from another forum:
"So how many troops does Italy have dying in Iraq?"

So far 33 Italian troops have died in Iraq.

MurrayMinchin · Sep 22, 2007

rjas said:
...but I get the feeling that this is slightly over the edge...

More like oozing from under the lowest level of greed, exploitation, insensitivety, etc.

This ones gonna cause a crater when it bottoms out in the Soap Box...

Murray

Videbaek · Sep 22, 2007

Just degenerate fashion advertising piffle working overtime to get noticed. Funny how the Italians produce a lot of it -- Benetton par excellence.

rjas · Sep 22, 2007

Nick Zentena said:
So far 33 Italian troops have died in Iraq.

Ok, that argument isn't valid. I should have done a search before i reposted that quote. thanks.

MurrayMinchin · Sep 22, 2007

On an optimistic day, I would hope this could be a level headed discussion about the 'ethics' or 'philosophy' regarding these photographs...but this just aint one of those days. I can only see this spiraling downward in an escalating series of politically/religiously based jabs and counter jabs...

C'mom APUG...prove me wrong

Murray

haris · Sep 22, 2007

So, we have on photographs soldiers, potential future corps and women who are turned on with possibility of having sex with potential future corps. Nothing new, old story about atrractivness of combination of Eros and Tanatos, this time used to sell fashion products.

My opinion on that photo series is: And?

johnnywalker · Sep 22, 2007

I think it's just plain stupid. I can't see anyone buying anything based on these ads. Then again, they're definitely not targeted at me!

SuzanneR · Sep 22, 2007

haris said:
So, we have on photographs soldiers, potential future corps and women who are turned on with possibility of having sex with potential future corps. Nothing new, old story about atrractivness of combination of Eros and Tanatos, this time used to sell fashion products.

My opinion on that photo series is: And?

The men look pretty turned on, too.

Marco B · Sep 22, 2007

Svend Videbak said:
Just degenerate fashion advertising piffle working overtime to get noticed. Funny how the Italians produce a lot of it -- Benetton par excellence.

Steven Meisel is actually an *American* photographer...:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Meisel

I think this picture tells more about how *we* - as non-Italians - perceive the italians and the world around us, than about an Italian company and a probably not much successful advertisement campaign...

As I have been studying the Italian language for two years now, and listened to hundreds of hours of Italian radio podcasts since the beginning of this year, I can safely tell you that there is a lot more intellectual discussion going on there, than in many of the other hyper commercialized countries and media... even though I'm listening to RAI of all stations...

jbj · Sep 22, 2007

Looks like an advertising campaign for vogue magazine. Ads are meant ultimately to sell. Looks like they've got our attention so I guess they're on their way to succeeding. I'm not sure what the controversy is about or what you are implying with bringing their ad campaign to our attention.

JBrunner · Sep 22, 2007

One the one hand:

"Uh, I dun't no much about art, but I know what I like!"

And on the other hand:

"Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate, to buy shit we don't need."

eric · Sep 22, 2007

I used to process all his B&W film in NYC back in the late 80's early 90's. I didn't think much of him back then.

keithwms · Sep 22, 2007

This reminds me of that great quote by Capa, something like: "The goal of every war photographer is to be put out of business."

This ad campaign takes photography in the completely opposite direction- it attempts to profit from war. And to make matters worse, that profit is not for some humanitarian initiative, it is simply for fashion.

Quite obviously, this photographer is baiting the Islamic media; he knows very well that this sort of imagery can have an incendiary anti-Western effect.

Can this possibly be ethical? Come on, it's not even worthy of a discussion of ethics.

Ethics notwithstanding, is this work new or innovative? Of course not. The fashion industry has been posing women like blow-up dolls for a long time, that's nothing new or creative. Implying that we just need to give the soldiers a little eye-candy to end a millennium of conflict, now that is just brilliant. Apparently we are supposed to think that if the troops have a little fashion orgy out in the desert, things will be better.

This photographer needs to put down his joint and get on a plane to Baghdad. Then, if he still has his head after a few months mingling with real people, then he will have earned the right to publish his new perspective.

Alex Hawley · Sep 22, 2007

Its dumber than dirt, but on the other hand, its every soldier's dream.

David A. Goldfarb · Sep 22, 2007

Whatever one thinks of the content, the lighting is very impressive.

MikeSeb · Sep 23, 2007

haris said:
My opinion on that photo series is: And?

With a brevity that oft eludes me, haris has summed up my viewpoint concisely.

Nice lighting, buff boys, underfed plasticky chicks--sounds like fashion photography to me! And oooh, all that sweat! Makes me wanna BUY something! Just not sure WHAT!

Gay Larson · Sep 23, 2007

As a woman I also would say, exactly what would I want to buy from this ad? I'm betting it isn't meant for my demographic.

Videbaek · Sep 23, 2007

I apologize to Italy and Italians -- you produce no more degenerate fashion advertising piffle than anyone else, of course.

PepMiro · Sep 23, 2007

I find that, technically, photographs are wonderful and well done!. On the other hand, it would be better that these soldiers made love with these models than with iraqui civilian women.

garri · Sep 23, 2007

Well, apart from the tatoo on the *rse its so not representative of my combat experience!! different war, maybe thats it.

Gari

Ole · Sep 23, 2007

Most posters here seem to automatically conclude that this has something to do with Iraq.

Why? There are soldiers in a lot of other places too, in case you've forgotten.

... except for the pigmentation, the tall starved women made me think "Somalia"...

copake_ham · Sep 23, 2007

I think that the photostory was kind of interesting but also predictable.

Oh, and I don't think it had anything to do with Somalia.

It's a bit of the same old, same old.

The US is stuck in a stupid war - but exiting is now likely to lead to even more of a bloodbath than staying.

Predictably, the European leftists once again unfurl the anti-American banner - although they are unsure how effective they can be when Sarkozy refuses to join them in the demonization.

Meanwhile, the US Administration engineered a short-term public relations reprieve here; not the least helped by the anit-war MoveOn.org giving them the opening to do so with their anti-Petreus ad in the NY Times. No one here, right or left wing, will countenance a direct "assault" on the honor of the military. This ain't no 'Nam!

Meanwhile, the Iranian clown is about to arrive here in NYC for the UNGA meeting. He's having a media field day with his posturing about wanting to visit Ground Zero. All this even as the "West" prepares to remove his nuclear threat. Iran is now pincered b/w the US in Iraq and NATO in Afghanistan.

The Syrian bombing was a "trial run"; and don't doubt that the North Koreans let their own folk get blasted rather than signal to Iran that they've switched sides on this by pulling them out. One has to think that the Syrian's didn't read the tea leaves right by continuing their low-level program this long. They should have taken a lesson from Quadaffi in Libya. He knew to when to get out of the nuke game.

Meanwhile, Mussharaf in Pakistan is about to join the Northern Spotted Owl on the endangered species list. Keep an eye on India's response in case he starts lobbing cannon shells in Kashmir to convince everyone in Islamabad etc. to "rally round the flag".

What a friggin' mess all around.

Now, you were talking about Benneton's photostory? :rolleyes:

jd callow · Sep 24, 2007

scootermm · Sep 24, 2007

copake, you are without a doubt one of the most nonsensical people Ive had the luxury of "reading" online.

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