1. In the second episode from the beginning Berger addresses his own distinction and take between the two terms that are interrelated. He states that based from Western art, nakedness is where one is true to oneself and being content whereas when it comes to a nude it’s to be naked for others typically spectators while not being acknowledged as a human being but rather as an object. I believe it’s significant as “nudes” are targeted toward a certain audience which caters to the male spectator judged as a sight for them. Yes I do believe this does apply today towards images I’ve seen everywhere which includes various forms of entertainment like movies and television shows, advertisements,magazines,social media and more where society imposes what a woman
   or beauty should seem for themselves and to others who may be surveying them.
2. In Western works it shows the women being submissive and obedient, implying an awareness of being seen by the spectator but this sign is not of her own accord or feelings just to the male demands, compared to other art works such as Indian,Persian and African art contrary to European tradition in these art works it displays nakedness as a celebration of active sexual love between two people both woman and the man actions being active and complement of each other. It’s significant as it was relevant in the past and still remains present somewhat still in our society where the female has no emotions or desires of herself and treated by her beauty as objects in society where back then males were considered to be better as they were part of a higher hierarchy while the female is simply there to accompany the male and fulfill whatever is needed for the male just to flatter and address to his every desire and whims. Yes I believe these deceptions are still in effect in our thought process between men and women roles in our society that are shown in advertising, television and even on social media of the way the females being treated and illustrated throughout many industries.
3. Berger states the significance of the mirror as a principal part using the subject Sussannah from the painting since as she uses to look at herself in mirror while also being spectated from the elders, he states the mirror as a symbol of vanity for a women which isn’t the case at all. She uses this object to see how she views herself in front of the men in which turn ultimately considers herself as a sight for men disregarding any notion or self worth of herself allowing men to freely use this as a form of pleasing their own desire and pleasures. Berger exhibits paintings such as “Allegory of Time and Love” and “La Grande Odalisque” throughout this program that upon closer observation you can notice that the female gaze is often towards an unknown stranger, the man who would be spectating her the only who matters in this case. Even when there’s a male lover the female gaze is rarely if ever directed towards him but still towards the male viewer looking at the painting or image. To further prove his point he shown examples from paintings and photographs from magazines that both show similar expressions which the female exhibits expressions from their gaze, to the way they’re posing their body to even something simple as showing no hair on them (this was a form of sexual passion) just to submit towards the spectator so he may feel as if he’s in control. This applies today even towards many magazines and adverts that illustrate the same expressions and actions of the female where the spectator is judging and objectifying them based on their beauty.

1. One of the main premises in this episode is Berger’s distinction between nakedness and the nude female form as it is traditionally represented in Western art. What are the differences between these things and why are these differences significant? Do they apply to images you have encountered in your experience?
   According to John Berger, to be naked is to be oneself. To be nude is to be seen naked by the others and yet not recognized for oneself. Nude has to be seen as an object. Also, he says ”The Nude implies an awareness of being seen by the spectator. They are not naked as they are, they are naked as you see them.” That means the difference between these terms are depends on how other people see the subjects. In the pictures we see, the subjects wear fig leaves, cover themselves with gestures, or looking directly at viewers which show their awareness and make them nudes.
2. According to Berger, how have Western works of art depicted and defined different roles for men and women? According to Berger, what is the significance of this? Do these depictions influence the ways we think of the differences between men’s and women’s roles in society today?
   In the pictures we see, the women subjects are represented as material or source for pleasure, whereas the men are the ones who get pleasure. For instance, the painting called Sussanne and the Elders shows the men spying on the naked women and the women looking at herself in the mirror, trying to picture herself as how men see her. Or in the other example ”The Judgement of Paris”, women are in a beauty contest where the male subject shown as the judge. I believe, today, the positions of men and women in the society are way more closer to each other. But still, in several situations, we can see that society’s general idea on women doesn’t change much.
3. How does Berger describe the significance of the mirror in paintings depicting women? What does this object say about the ways beauty is defined in these paintings? What does Berger say about the depiction of the female gaze in the paintings he discusses? What kinds of more contemporary examples does he relate this to, and what significance does he draw from these connections between older European art and depictions of women today?
   In the European oil art, the mirror became a symbol of the vanity of women. In the video, Berger says ”You paint a naked woman because enjoy looking at her. You put a mirror on her hand, and you call the painting vanity.” What makes the nude beautiful is the judgment of male spectator owners in most of the oil paintings. The female gaze is usually directly to the one who looks at her. This shows her awareness of being seen. Likely to this, in the modern photographs, such as magazine covers, we can see that the female subjects are looking at the person who looking at them and judging their beauty.

John Berger believes that the difference in nakedness and nudity lies in whether or not the subject is aware they are being seen. In a painting depicting the story of Adam and Eve, the pair eat the forbidden fruit and realize they are naked. Upon this realization, they hide from God out of shame for being bare. They go on to use leaves to cover themselves up from each other’s gaze, as well as that of the viewer. The moment Adam and Eve become aware of their nakedness, they become Berger’s definition of nude. They see each other differently, as something to be seen, and cover up as a result. I agree with Berger’s interpretation of these terms, being naked is to be free, while being nude is to be under a magnifying glass.

The Western works of art depicted in the second episode of Ways of Seeing generally show women in a submissive role to men. In the painting sent by the Grand Duke of Florence to the King of France, Venus is having an intimate moment with Cupid. Her body, however, is not facing him. She is facing forward, on full display for the King rather than Cupid himself. She is there solely for him to look at. This idea’s influence has lived hundreds of years beyond this painting. Until around the 1960’s the ideal woman in society was a housewife who was seen and not heard. In American Psycho, a movie set in the late 80’s, Patrick Bateman tells his assistant not to wear pants to work anymore. He tells her he likes heels, a subtle order for her to begin wearing those shoes as well. Bateman is meant to depict the average male working on Wall Street, signifying that the “seen not heard” mentality was still prevalent among the upper class in the 80s, and worth talking about when the movie was made in the year 2000.

The significance of the mirror in the paintings Berger talks about has been my favorite part of this special. He talks about how women look in the mirror and see a sight to be looked at rather than just themselves. Male artists paint a nude woman, looking at themselves in a mirror. This image of a woman with a mirror becomes a symbol of vanity. These men judge the women for worrying so much about how they look, while painting them for their own viewing pleasure. He relates the facial expressions of the women in the old European paintings to the ones of women in pornographic magazines. They both give the capturer a face they believe will be alluring for the man who views the final product. I particularly enjoyed the comment the women in the closing discussion made about intentionally seeing yourself in the mirror as opposed to catching a glimpse by chance. She says that when you look with intention, you go to the mirror in a pose, seeing yourself with a projected image in mind. However, when you look without intention you “see yourself as you are,” outside of the image you are trying to maintain. Whenever I see a reflection of myself in a glass storefront, I feel a small shock at my own face. I felt that this woman captured and explained that feeling very well.

1. In this episode, Berger’s distinction between nakedness and the nude female form is viewed as naked being oneself. Comfortable in one’s body without judgement. While nude is being physically and personally exposed. Not seen as your true self. This is significant because when women are naked they feel comfortable in their personal body. However, when women are nude they have opened themself for people to opinion and judge them. They leave themself vulnerable. In my opinion, naked and nude are the same because the body of any individual is unique. Only an individual should see themselves. Otherwise, they expose themselves for people to critique them.

2. Western works of art illustrated and defined the different roles for men and women by showing how men saw nude as sexual and desirable. One the other hand, when women are naked they feel like they’re in their own body. She values her body. The significance of this, according to Berger nude and naked are the same because in art it is not sexuality. Yes, this has influenced society today because men and women think, to be naked or nude are the same and most people feel free to show their body without hesitation or shame.
   
3. Berger describes the significance of the mirror as a reminder of how women should like and a judgement on how it reflected back from a “real man”. The mirror is a symbol of the pure beauty of a woman. It reflects the obvious of what they already know. However, men are hypocrites, they look at painting with obvious sexual desires. Berger explains how the female gaze in paintings are admired by the spectator. Their facial expressions are meant to be seen by the viewer. They express their feelings and thoughts through their eyes. He gave many contemporary examples referring to European oil painting like the one of Cupid and Venus. He was kissing her but her body was positioned in the view point for the spectator to admire. She wasn’t concerned with Cupid. The connection he draws between European art and women today is that the old painting represents an exaggeration of what women look like. Painters modify women to please men viewers. If a photograph of a woman was taken it would show its true naturality and not a fixed look. 

1. Berger argues that being naked is to be oneself without clothes, to be nude is to be seen naked by others this is considered an artistic representation; these differences are significant because being nude is a form of art, when you are nude you are posing for others to see you, but when you are naked you don’t expect someone is seeing you, you are with yourself without any shame so it’s awkward if someone would. I think almost every time in a painting you can identify if the artist painted someone posing (nude) or if the artist had the intention to paint someone naked, this can be recognized in the attitudes the body takes when is posing, or the sensation of vulnerability the painting conveys when someone is painted naked.

2.

Since the history of Adan and Eva, women were associated with sinfulness and desire. According to Berger, western works of art have defined women as the object to see and judge, and men seen superior and stronger than woman; the nudes being depicted for men consumption only. These paintings were like a beauty contest, and the prize of the winner was to be owned, this puts beauty as a synonym of money. Sometimes in the picture the woman was with a men lover, but she does not reply to his sexuality, because she is arranged for the spectator. Women in the European oil paintings have to be shown like they don’t have any interest as Berger said “they have to feed an appetite not to have any of their own” this is one clear example of how these depictions influenced the sexual role of the woman in society because for a long time the woman was not supposed to have any desire, it was not a characteristic of a woman, while for the men was normal to have sometimes a violent appetite towards women.

3. Berger argues that men put a mirror in a woman’s hand and that is a sign of vanity when they paint that woman for their own pleasure, all these paintings infer that a woman’s beauty is defined by men. These conventions are created to fulfill the expectations of the male. The female gaze is staring at the viewer, making him feel as he owns her gaze. Today, in magazines we can see how female gaze is also towards the viewer, looking at him looking at her, kind of hypnotizing him. idealizing women have been systematically affecting women’s life for a long time for example that woman have to be coy and women their bodies have to be curvy.

Reading/Viewing Questions

John Berger’s Ways of Seeing Episode 2 

After you watch episode 2 of Ways of Seeing (or even while you are watching it), provide short answers to the questions below.

1. One of the main premises in this episode is Berger’s distinction between nakedness and the nude female form as it is traditionally represented in Western art. What are the differences between these things and why are these differences significant? Do they apply to images you have encountered in your experience

-Berger stated that nude in European painting is a form of art, nude implies a weakness seen as an art form. They stated,” they’re not naked as they are, naked as you see them”. In today’s world, nude painting can be very different in some categories because it’s basically looking at yourself in the mirror that reflects your beauty but it reflects on the judgment you get because in this generation nude painting can be looked differently.

2. According to Berger, how have Western works of art depicted and defined different roles for men and women? According to Berger, what is the significance of this? Do these depictions influence the ways we think of the differences between men’s and women’s roles in society today? 

– In the western work of art, they stated women nude painting can be looked at by men who judge them because they look at them as an object. They tend to use their hand and wear fig leaves to make modest gestures with their hands. Their shame is not so much in relation to one another but they feel shame because of the view of the way the spectator looks at them. In today’s society its really different because we treat women and men equally in opportunity, but some people point of view they think men can do more than women but I’m really against that thought because women and men are both equally strong.

3. How does Berger describe the significance of the mirror in paintings depicting women? What does this object say about the ways beauty is defined in these paintings? What does Berger say about the depiction of the female gaze in the paintings he discusses? What kinds of more contemporary examples does he relate this to, and what significance does he draw from these connections between older European art and depictions of women today?

– Berger describes the mirror painting as a men desire to look at to satisfy their pleasure, they tend to look at the nude painting as an original beauty but in the discussion that Berger has with the women, they stated that oil painting shows women in an unreal way because of how the painting is immensely exaggerated on how their gesture looks.