The perceived destination image of Indonesia: An assessment on travel blogs written by the industry’s top markets

<p>The tourist gaze theory suggests that tourists are taught by the destination marketing organisation to know how, when, and where to look. However, the birth of travel blogs has challenged this image as they offer the public “unfiltered” information. Travel bloggers have become more powerful in influencing the decision making of potential tourists. This study employs textual and photographic content analysis to investigate the destination image of Indonesia held by the industry’s key markets; Singapore and Australia. 106 blog entries and over 1,500 pictures were content analysed, and the results suggest that overall tourists tended to have positive images of Indonesia. International tourists are still very much concentrated in the traditionally popular places such as Bali and Jakarta. Negative images of Indonesia include inadequate infrastructure, ineffective wildlife protection, and westernisation of Bali. Natural and cultural resources are proven in this thesis to be Indonesia’s top tourism products. Influenced by their cultural backgrounds, Singaporean and Australian bloggers have demonstrated a dissimilar tourist gaze. The current study also analysed the bloggers’ image of Indonesia as opposed to the image projected by the government through the national tourism brand “Wonderful Indonesia”. The results indicate a narrow gap between the two images. Implications for Indonesian tourism practitioners include stronger law enforcement to preserve local culture and natural attractions, and recognising the market’s preference to promote other destinations. Recommendations for future research are discussed.</p>

The perceived destination image of Indonesia: An assessment on travel blogs written by the industry’s top markets

<p>The tourist gaze theory suggests that tourists are taught by the destination marketing organisation to know how, when, and where to look. However, the birth of travel blogs has challenged this image as they offer the public “unfiltered” information. Travel bloggers have become more powerful in influencing the decision making of potential tourists. This study employs textual and photographic content analysis to investigate the destination image of Indonesia held by the industry’s key markets; Singapore and Australia. 106 blog entries and over 1,500 pictures were content analysed, and the results suggest that overall tourists tended to have positive images of Indonesia. International tourists are still very much concentrated in the traditionally popular places such as Bali and Jakarta. Negative images of Indonesia include inadequate infrastructure, ineffective wildlife protection, and westernisation of Bali. Natural and cultural resources are proven in this thesis to be Indonesia’s top tourism products. Influenced by their cultural backgrounds, Singaporean and Australian bloggers have demonstrated a dissimilar tourist gaze. The current study also analysed the bloggers’ image of Indonesia as opposed to the image projected by the government through the national tourism brand “Wonderful Indonesia”. The results indicate a narrow gap between the two images. Implications for Indonesian tourism practitioners include stronger law enforcement to preserve local culture and natural attractions, and recognising the market’s preference to promote other destinations. Recommendations for future research are discussed.</p>

Rewriting masculinity with male bodies: The sexualization of male martyrs in Prudentius’ Peristephanon

<p>It is now generally accepted that Saint Agnes is portrayed in the Peristephanon as ambiguously gendered (she is masculinized and refeminized), sexualized and objectified in such a way as to intentionally lead the reader to view her as a sexual object. Scholars have used philology, intertextual readings, gaze theory and, most successfully, Laura Mulvey’s conception of the workings of voyeurism4 in order to explicate and examine the portrayal of Agnes in Prudentius’ Peristephanon. However, as the above quotations indicate, there is a similar though different, subtler mode of sexualization, sexual allusion and, therefore, objectification that may be read in the Peristephanon’s martyrdoms-- those of the male saints. The passages quoted above show Agnes welcoming her executioner as a lover in strident rhetoric while Cassian’s executioners are exhausted from torturing him to death and are described in terms similar to lovers near the end of their exertions, giving new meaning to his exhortation that they ‘be vigorous’. This highlights the importance of the virility of the executioner/s as they stand in for God as agents whose actions will complete the contract of martyrdom and bring the martyr into a union, or marriage, with Christ. The eagerness and ability of the executioners is integral in this transaction. Agnes’ lover with his ‘eager steps’ and ‘hot desires’ is masculine and forceful enough to please even the masculinized Agnes. While Cassian’s torturers fail because they are not fully-grown and cannot therefore bring the contract to completion. Indeed Cassian only speaks once in the entire poem and it is to exhort his torturers to finish him off, to exhort his lovers to (at last) become men. Cassian is presented with exactly the kind of lover that Agnes has spurned, soft effeminate boys. Yet Cassian does not speak against their suitability as the chosen instruments of his bridegroom. He is feminized through his passive acceptance of the manner of his death. Then, much like Agnes, is remasculinized as the boys’ penetrations fail to kill him and God must step in. Cassian’s masculinity is undermined by that which is not present: ability in rhetoric, agency, and virility. And although it is recouped by God, it is interesting that he and his masculinity have taken a detour through mute objectification and passivity, a sort of sexualization.</p>

Rewriting masculinity with male bodies: The sexualization of male martyrs in Prudentius’ Peristephanon

<p>It is now generally accepted that Saint Agnes is portrayed in the Peristephanon as ambiguously gendered (she is masculinized and refeminized), sexualized and objectified in such a way as to intentionally lead the reader to view her as a sexual object. Scholars have used philology, intertextual readings, gaze theory and, most successfully, Laura Mulvey’s conception of the workings of voyeurism4 in order to explicate and examine the portrayal of Agnes in Prudentius’ Peristephanon. However, as the above quotations indicate, there is a similar though different, subtler mode of sexualization, sexual allusion and, therefore, objectification that may be read in the Peristephanon’s martyrdoms-- those of the male saints. The passages quoted above show Agnes welcoming her executioner as a lover in strident rhetoric while Cassian’s executioners are exhausted from torturing him to death and are described in terms similar to lovers near the end of their exertions, giving new meaning to his exhortation that they ‘be vigorous’. This highlights the importance of the virility of the executioner/s as they stand in for God as agents whose actions will complete the contract of martyrdom and bring the martyr into a union, or marriage, with Christ. The eagerness and ability of the executioners is integral in this transaction. Agnes’ lover with his ‘eager steps’ and ‘hot desires’ is masculine and forceful enough to please even the masculinized Agnes. While Cassian’s torturers fail because they are not fully-grown and cannot therefore bring the contract to completion. Indeed Cassian only speaks once in the entire poem and it is to exhort his torturers to finish him off, to exhort his lovers to (at last) become men. Cassian is presented with exactly the kind of lover that Agnes has spurned, soft effeminate boys. Yet Cassian does not speak against their suitability as the chosen instruments of his bridegroom. He is feminized through his passive acceptance of the manner of his death. Then, much like Agnes, is remasculinized as the boys’ penetrations fail to kill him and God must step in. Cassian’s masculinity is undermined by that which is not present: ability in rhetoric, agency, and virility. And although it is recouped by God, it is interesting that he and his masculinity have taken a detour through mute objectification and passivity, a sort of sexualization.</p>

The Visual Semiotics of Fragrance Branding: Exploring Jean Paul Gaultier's "Le Male"

This major research paper (MRP) examines the visual semiotics of Jean Paul Gaultier’s “Le Male” fragrance for men and how this brand appeals to gay male audiences. It seeks to address the following questions: How do product packaging, print advertising, and video advertising use visual semiotics to appeal to gay male audiences? What image of masculinity is being communicated? And how is gay male desire being commoditized? To answer these questions the study examined three artefacts through a compositional interpretation and a visual semiotic analysis: the fragrance bottle, a print advertisement, and a video commercial. The research demonstrates that “Le Male” appeals to gay male audiences through three strategies: (1) sexual objectification of the male body; (2) use of gay iconography, especially depictions of homoeroticism among sailors and homage to the illustrated erotica of Tom of Finland; and (3) gay-coded visual polysemy. Furthermore, it depicts attractive men with ambiguous sexual orientation as objects of worship. Jean Paul Gaultier’s “Le Male” integrates the idealized male form into its cologne bottle design, print and video advertisements. Its carefully crafted homoerotic fantasies resonate with a queer aesthetic, but do so within a minimal set of superficial values reflected in the fleetingly beautiful body. This study is relevant to how professional communicators can weave a coherent, visual story through a deeper understanding of rhetorical signs and symbols that resonate with specific subcultures. Findings from this MRP will be discussed along with suggestions for the brand to retain its success among gay consumers. The study also initiates further research in the areas of empirical confirmation, feminist gaze theory, intercultural theory, and multi-sensory branding.

The Visual Semiotics of Fragrance Branding: Exploring Jean Paul Gaultier's "Le Male"

This major research paper (MRP) examines the visual semiotics of Jean Paul Gaultier’s “Le Male” fragrance for men and how this brand appeals to gay male audiences. It seeks to address the following questions: How do product packaging, print advertising, and video advertising use visual semiotics to appeal to gay male audiences? What image of masculinity is being communicated? And how is gay male desire being commoditized? To answer these questions the study examined three artefacts through a compositional interpretation and a visual semiotic analysis: the fragrance bottle, a print advertisement, and a video commercial. The research demonstrates that “Le Male” appeals to gay male audiences through three strategies: (1) sexual objectification of the male body; (2) use of gay iconography, especially depictions of homoeroticism among sailors and homage to the illustrated erotica of Tom of Finland; and (3) gay-coded visual polysemy. Furthermore, it depicts attractive men with ambiguous sexual orientation as objects of worship. Jean Paul Gaultier’s “Le Male” integrates the idealized male form into its cologne bottle design, print and video advertisements. Its carefully crafted homoerotic fantasies resonate with a queer aesthetic, but do so within a minimal set of superficial values reflected in the fleetingly beautiful body. This study is relevant to how professional communicators can weave a coherent, visual story through a deeper understanding of rhetorical signs and symbols that resonate with specific subcultures. Findings from this MRP will be discussed along with suggestions for the brand to retain its success among gay consumers. The study also initiates further research in the areas of empirical confirmation, feminist gaze theory, intercultural theory, and multi-sensory branding.

Tourist gaze and beyond: state of the art

Purpose The tourist gaze remains a key concept in tourism research. The purpose of this paper is to comprehend the theoretical and empirical development of the tourist gaze notion and its contributions to tourism knowledge, identifying potential research directions by reviewing and analyzing articles that have defined, refined and applied the concept of the tourist gaze. Design/methodology/approach The study identified 109 relevant research papers primarily through the Web of Science and Scopus databases. Google Scholar, ResearchGate.net and Academia.edu were used to capturing additional work not indexed in the key databases. Qualitative content analysis was used to map the evolution of the concept, distinguish between different perspectives and identify gaps in the tourist gaze literature. Findings This “state of the art” paper on tourist gaze outlines Foucault’s original work on gaze and power, which underpins subsequent theorization within tourism. The study identifies how the tourist gaze operates in different contexts and circumstances allowing the development of gaze theory. Importantly, the evolution of the gaze theory is presented after analyzing the knowledge gaps, the contexts in which it was used, the methodologies with which it was applied. Based on the findings, the study proposes future works of gaze with the use of technology, science, nature and social media. Originality/value This paper is among one of the first states of the art papers in tourism literature that comprehensively analyzes the works on the tourist gaze, tracing its evolution and identifying future research directions to address gaps in existing knowledge.

MULTIFACETED FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES: INTERPRETING MILK AND HONEY BY RUPI KAUR

Purpose of the study: This study attempts to explore the multiple aspects of feminist perspectives in milk and honey by Rupi Kaur. Methodology: This study is description through analysis. Gaze theory, concepts like ‘écriture féminine’ and objectification are applied as a medium of the theoretical framework. Secondary sources are used for analyzing the chosen topic. Main findings: The study shows that the poetry of Kaur (n.d.) in milk and honey amalgamates multiple aspects of feminism. Although a reading of feminist ideologies in literary works is not a new research area, yet the merger of many issues of feminism in the same collection of poetry is quite impressive. Social implications/Applications: The study contributes towards being familiar with the movements of feminism in the digital age. It highlights how the feminist perspective in the digital age has pioneered a unique way of presentation. The novelty of the study: The novelty of the study lies in the way it reconnoiters the various feminist thoughts intertwined together in the poems of the same collection.

Touch as Proximate Distance: Post-Phenomenological Ethics in the Cinema of Isabel Coixet

In the wake of paradigm-shifting works on cinematic affect over the last few decades that have challenged psychoanalytically based gaze theory, embodied perception and sensory-affective experience have become fundamental concepts in much of contemporary screen studies. Even though the proponents of the affective turn in film studies present diverse theoretical approaches to affect – from Deleuzian “haptic visuality” to phenomenologically informed film theory – it seems evident that they all draw, to a greater or lesser degree, on the sense of touch as the affective axis of perception. Conceptualized this way, the sense of touch facilitates a mode of mutual embodiment between the viewer and the film image, a relationship based on immediacy and exchange, which, according to some of the approaches to cinematic affect, might also translate into a particular ethical position of embracing and opening up to the world and to the Other. The cinema of Isabel Coixet seems to exemplify these claims. Her oeuvre, as I shall illustrate, is often discussed in terms of intimacy, encounter and reciprocity, as well as the sensuous visual and sonorous textures which compose her films. Nevertheless, in this article I will suggest that Coixet evinces a much more ambiguous attitude towards touch, which often goes beyond the prevalent models of haptic visuality or embodied perception as conceptualized in phenomenological film theory. Drawing on Laura McMahon, I seek to interrogate the concept of touch by engaging with Jean-Luc Nancy's anti-ocularcentric, post-phenomenological reflections on community, offering an analysis of three films produced at different moments in Coixet's career – The Secret Life of Words (2005), Yesterday Never Ends (2013) and Endless Night (2015). The choice of works is dictated by their particular tactile aesthetics, as well as their explicit concern to go beyond the models of autonomous being towards an ethics of relationality between self and world, while being mindful of the limit as the very condition for its emergence.