Ways of Seeing

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Ways of Seeing is a 1972 television series of 30-minute films created chiefly by writer John Berger<ref>15 Documentaries That Get Inside an Artist's Head – The New York Times</ref> and producer Mike Dibb.<ref>WAYS OF SEEING / WAYS OF TALKING on JSTOR</ref><ref>Ways of Seeing opened our eyes to visual culture|Culture|The Guardian</ref> It was broadcast on BBC Two in January 1972 and adapted into a book of the same name.<ref>Ways of Seeing at PenguinRandomHouse.</ref><ref>Gunaratnam, Yasmin, and Vikki Bell (5 January 2017), "How John Berger changed our way of seeing art", The Conversation, 5 January 2017.</ref>

The series was intended as a response to Kenneth Clark's Civilisation TV series, which represents a more traditionalist view of the Western artistic and cultural canon, and the series and book criticise traditional Western cultural aesthetics by raising questions about hidden ideologies in visual images.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to James Bridle, Berger "didn't just help us gain a new perspective on viewing art with his 1972 series Ways of Seeing – he also revealed much about the world in which we live. Whether exploring the history of the female nude or the status of oil paint, his landmark series showed how art revealed the social and political systems in which it was made. He also examined what had changed in our ways of seeing in the time between when the art was made and today."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The series has had a lasting influence, and in particular introduced the concept of the male gaze, as part of Berger's analysis of the treatment of the nude in European painting. It soon became popular among feminists, including the British film critic Laura Mulvey, who used it to critique traditional media representations of the female character in cinema.<ref>A Companion to Women in the Ancient World, edited by Sharon L. James, Sheila Dillon, p. 75, 2012, Wiley, Template:ISBN, 9781444355000</ref>

EpisodesEdit

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BookEdit

The book Ways of Seeing was written by Berger and Dibb, along with Sven Blomberg, Chris Fox, and Richard Hollis.<ref name= Ways>Template:Cite book</ref> The book consists of seven numbered essays: four using words and images; and three essays using only images.<ref name= Ways/><ref>"Ways of Seeing", Penguin.</ref>

Now described as "revolutionary",<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> the book has contributed to feminist readings of popular culture, through essays that focus particularly on how women are portrayed in advertisements and oil paintings.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> "Berger ... has had a profound influence on the popular understanding of art and the visual image," according to sociologists Yasmin Gunaratnam and Vikki Bell.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Reception and legacyEdit

The book and television series were considered groundbreaking.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A 1994 critic noted:<ref name=":0" />

There is one occasion when other voices are introduced, in the second programme, about representations of women – reflecting Berger's awareness that he's been speaking on behalf of women too long. About two-thirds through, he says he's shown what he's done so far to 'five women', and asked them to discuss it. The discussion occupies the rest of the time. A clear gesture of openness. But the 'five women' remain unnamed until the closing credits. They are women. And Berger himself actually sits in on the discussion – in fact he chairs it, with complete confidence in the non-prejudicial nature of his own presence.{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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Ways of Seeing

Contents

EpisodesEdit

BookEdit

Reception and legacyEdit

NotesEdit

ReferencesEdit

Further readingEdit

External linksEdit