CHAPTER II BODY LANGUAGE Ancient wisdom cannot be contested. Word is a shadow of deed claims Democritus.

In reality, not the voice, but the body, speaks. The structure of this chapter implies an integrator view. We start from a general angle (a few aspects about the language of gestures) and go through particularities (especially hand gestures describing actions). The last sub-section combines two fields: non verbal communications and publicity, trying to find several connections between the two.

II.1 The big picture Body language is an ensemble of visual signs. Widely, by gesture we understand any body movement, voluntary or involuntary, carrying a communicational or emotional significance.9 Within this language de distinguish actual gestures (movements of the bodys extremities head, fingers, arms) and mimic (movements of the face muscles). By bringing an increase of soulfulness, the gesture fulfils its purpose in the artistic communication. Pantomime is an organized system of gestures and mimic, able to substitute vocals, especially in the dramatic arts. The involvement of the tactile analyzer in producing gestures is an object of study for haptics. This type of non verbal communication is manifested by means of the frequency of tough, by the firmness of ones handshake, hugs, shoulder patting or by taking ones hand. The place of the touch is culturally determined. In Thailand the area surrounding the head is sacred. For the Japanese, the tilting of the head replaces a handshake as a form of salute, while the Eskimos express the same salute with a light pat on the shoulder. Etymologically, gestus reflects, without any specific distinction, a wide movement of the body or the slight change in position of one member or another. As opposed to gestus, gesticulation contains a negative connotation. In the medieval culture, gesticulations were exaggerated movements, seen as wanton, frivolous or sinful. Their codification, as the reflections related to their manifestation, was the main preoccupation of the church clergy. They decided that the representatives of the clergy be distinguished on such a level, from the profane church-goers.
9

Lucia Wald, Sisteme de comunicare umana, Stiintifica Publishing House, Bucharest, 1973, p.123

Two notions were distinctly emphasized here: the link between body and soul and the visual, graphic or theatric dimension of the gesture. Dihotomia gestus gesticulation, illustrates the antagonism between order and chaos on the medieval stage of gestures10. As it is, first and foremost, an issue of morale, it partially covers the ensemble of movements whose renowned function is to give a sign. Thus, sails in a very complex category, that of signum, which includes all the implication-carrying physical expressions in a communication. Taking the crown of the kings head or taking the sword to the emperor constitutes a signum, marking a social rank, a worthiness or attribution. A partial synonym for gestus is motus. The collocation motus corporis defines the movement of the body, but could also reflect the astrological rotation of the celestial bodies. For both meanings, gestus and motus have, as a single equivalent in Greek, the word kinesis. Gesture communication has a higher level of universality than the vocal code fact known ever since the Antiquity. For Quintilian, gestures have the statute of an international language: omnium hominum communis sermo11. The feature derives from the, mostly, natural or motivating character of gestures, comparable even, with interjections onomatopoeia or pictograms. The liberal arts underline the interrelation between gesture and speech, especially within the fields of rhethorics (in the trivium of literary disciplines) and music (next to the scientifical quadrivium). For the Greco-Romans, rhethorics contributed to the development of politicians and their ethical education. Inventio, dispositio, elocutio, memoria and pronunciatio (or actio) are the five components of rhethorics. The denomination of action reflects the gestural character of performance, while pronunciation only underlines its vocal aspects. For Cicero the movements of the soul (animus) are harmoniously and naturally expressed in the body movements. The individual mustnt wish for an imitation of nature because that state puts him on the same level with Histrion. If histrions use mimesis, orators are the interpreters of truth, becoming actores veritas12.

10

Jean Claude Schmitt, The rationale of gestures in the West three to thirteenth century, Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1998, p. 55 11 idem, p.64 12 Lucia Wald, quoted work, p 127

We can study gesture as a sub-category of the, more elaborate system, we call culture. The analyses of the means of perception offer relevant data on evolution, for the gesture, as well as for its physical counterpart (the body). In traditional societies, with a holistic component, the body merged with the cosmos. The degradation of that relation will happen sequentially, by reaching a process of perceiving the body, only as an isolated element of the man to whom the being lends its face to. This situation can be found in individualistic social structures, where the actors are separated from each other, relatively autonomous in their endeavors. Starting with the Renaissance, artists imprint their personal seal on their works, in an effort to exit obscurity and beak away from the collective. Modern times managed to turn a body into an asset rather than a source of identity. Today, this marks the frontier between one individual and the other, the subjects closing in on him and the disruption of the solidarity had with nature. The eyes will be the organs benefiting from the ever growing influence of the academic culture. They shadow the mouth, a place of unbound appetite or deafening shouts in the public market. The complexity of gesture communication cannot rescind the individuality of speech. In relation, the bodys mobility is an auxiliary means of emphasizing, underlining, shading and anchoring ideas. The level of use, for gestures, is variable. Studies show that they are more frequent with children than adults, tribal cultures rather than civilized peoples and southerners as opposed to northerners. The high intensity and frequency of the non-verbal exchanges, observed with tribal societies, were explained by invoking the concrete and graphic stage of thinking, overlapping an accented mood. Sometimes, for social (taboo, magic, vows of silence) or pathological reasons (a physical impossibility such as in speech/auditorily impaired people), non verbal communication becomes the sole means of survival. For Australian aboriginals the cases of linguistic taboo women are subject to during mourning are quite frequent. They are not allowed to speak, sometimes for periods as long as a year and must communicate with tribe members, only by gestures. Throughout time, though, there have been religious interdictions that hindered the vocal exchange between communities. The sign language between the monks in Cluny, Chateaux and La Trappe made for an object of study, for several researchers. For Cistercian monks talking was reduced to the bare necessities. Words were used during the initiation period (in relations with those outside the monastic life) as well as for religious concepts, difficult to transcribe into gestures. Codes are similar to dictionaries, where gestures are arranged according to their

alphabetical order. Some examples would be: sticking the index finger into the cheek represented the day; repeated pointing of the ground with the index finger here; tracing a cross in the air with the arm stretched blessing. The gestures used in state collectivities are of conventional nature. That is why a singular position may have different if not antagonistic acceptations even, in the vast cultural space. For some peoples (Greek, Turkish and Bulgarian) the tilting of the head means no, and shaking the head means yes, that is to say, opposite to our customs. If sticking out the tongue is a sign of mockery in the Western cultures, in Tibet, that is considered a sign of respect. The overruling of the gestuality imposed by social practices, brought fame to the Quakers, a puritan sect whose followers lived in England, the Netherlands and Pennsylvania. They even attempted replacing the formal formulae (i.e. courtesy pronoun Thou) by insisting upon a more colloquial approach, such as you, yourself. The Christianity of the time transformed the body into a prison for the soul. Starting with Eve and ending with the witch, at the end of the middle Ages, a womans body was the temple of Evil. The escribed gesture calls for thought of two areas, subject to opprobrium: the theatre domain and the possession of the Devil. Sign and mimics specialists or possessed people, are regarded as victims and accomplices of Satan. The Church takes over and filters a series of gestures, enriching their symbolic. The gesture of adoration by kneeing becomes a unanimous sign for accession into the spiritual community. The positioning of the body on bedded knees is the reflection of saintliness and repentance. During a penitence treatment administered to Petrus Cantor and commented by Le Goff, six forms of prayer are described and commented: raising of the hands, opening of the arms, to form a cross, holding of the palms against each other in front of the face, the prostration with the palms together, the bowing of the upper body, the touching of the ground with the knees and elbows. Specialized literature notes a multitude of approaches for classification, some even dating from the Antiquity. So it is that Cicero, in his De Oratore, distinguishes between significatio (a gesture accompanying verbalization) and demostratio (expository and delineated sign). Charles Darwin manages one of the first scientific researches in his piece The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. He sets the bar between the natural signs perceptible in all cultures and the conventional signs under the banner of tradition. The issue is more widely

commented in Wilhelm Wundts paper Die Sprache. The author distinguishes between three types of gestures: a) Indicators (diectics) In their initial form, indicator signs were used for present objects. Later on they were called upon in default of the objects, by indicating a certain quality present as well, in another object present. b) Emulative (descriptive) Gestures have a complex character and seen to have developed from expressive movements. By considering the means of execution, we can distinguish pattern gestures and graphic gestures. The former refer to the representation of objects, by using the movement of the fingers in the air, while the latter refer to mimicry, using the hand or other body parts. c) Symbolic These gestures manage to send an idea directly. The association between notion and gesture is based on a higher degree of arbitrary, to the extent that motivation is, predominantly, metaphorical and metonymical. The highly usual gestures for affirmation and negation are symbolic. Charles Morris extends his research over the next categories: a) Expressive gestures, common for man and animals;

b) Mimic gestures, for imitating and copying an object or action: transforming the hand into the shape of a gun, lighting the lighter, adopting a sad mimic during a funeral convoy; c) Schematic gestures (versions where the mimic is shortened) here we remind the

movements described by the Northern American Indians, who, when representing a strong animal, raise their arms and hands with the index finger extended, to the level of the body, in an attempt to stylize horns; d) Symbolic gestures, indicating an abstract quality (crossing the index and middle fingers reflect a non verbal encouragement good luck while rolling finger in the air next to the temples expresses senility, insanity); e) Technical gestures, signs understood only by specialized groups (in television, the studio manager announces his moderator that its time to go off air by swinging his arm in a movement similar to that of the pendulum clock); f) Coded gestures, based on a formal system (sign language the speech-auditorily

impaired alphabet);

S. Frey realizes a sequential analysis of the body activity. It uses the integrated description in the communication of the verbal and non verbal behavior, based on a notation in the temporal sequences of speech and movements. The human body is divided into even sections: head, torso, arms, legs and feet. For each of these sections certain dimensions are coded (for example, for arms we mention: the vertical, profound and tactile dimensions), that define types of body movements (i.e. raised or lowered arm, arm in contact with a chair or another object). We can also observe the diversity and even eclecticism of the gestural approach, from presentation and description of the gestures as part of a body language (Descamps, Guiraud) or as cultural acts (Mauss), going through kinesics (Birdwhistell) and reaching their integration into the complexity of communication interactions. Language is, by excellence, analytical. It stands as a rich system of variants and invariants. It is considered that gesture language does not hold something similar to parts of speech, because there are no grammatical categories by which it might be differentiated. Even though a lexical classification of gestures could be attempted (objects, particularities, moods, spatial and quantitative acceptance), there are no identifiable means of grammatical labeling. Hence, thief, theft and to steal are represented by the same gesture.

II.2 Hand Gestures The nah is the most used part of the body. Quintilian observed that the movements described by the hands are as numerous as words. It is sufficient to look up any explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language, to see the multitude of denotations and constructions recorded by lexicologists: de mana = manual, pe sub mana = under the counter, peste mana = uphill, cu mana de sare = out of luck, cu mana pe inima13 = in all sincerity (the list occupies seven pages in the dictionary). The word can also be used as a synonym for arm and palm. The term is also found in the old scriptures of Coresi, Dosoftei, nomocanons and worship books:I-am prinsu de mn ca s-i scot pre ei din Eghipet (The New Testament)14. Finding the causes explaining the abundance of the verbal and non verbal language, representative for this part of the body, requires turning to ontogeny. The complex actions of
13

Dicionarul limbii romne, volumeVI, 9th fascicle, Academia Republicii Socialiste Romane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1967, p. 662 14 idem, p.664

grab-and-twist, characterizing manipulation, were the first to appear. They are forever in the current gesticulatory fund. Naturally, the manipulation action is followed by those of the direct motor skills of the hand, where the manual tool becomes severable from the motor gesture. The palm-to-digit grabbing operations, those for affectionate or hostile contact and use of the hand as recipient, advertised a simple intervention of the low precision upper limb. The anatomical and physiological transformations interlinked with the evolution of micro-societies (race, tribe, group, community) have allowed for the development of inter-digit operations (particularly used in techniques requiring a certain delicacy for execution). The hand learns to shape objects and transform the raw materials. As an addendum, we consider that the instruments traditionally assigned into the hands of Adam and Eve (the flax) by Christian iconography, have the function of exhibing an attribute, reminding of the Original sin and illustrating the repentance of the first man. The movements it describes vary, according to the technical means available to man, in each era. The industrial revolution brings along a new mutation: manual cars annex the gesture and the hand in indirect motor skill, only brings its motor impulse. The last stage researched by Andre Leroi-Gourhan, perfectly contours the reality of the 20th and 21st centuries (the upper limb sets off a programmed process in automated machinery). In his opinion the regression of the hand today, would be of little importance if it wouldnt extend to an individual level: not thinking with your hands, equals the loss of a part of the thinking process15. The rhetorical art emphasizes the major role of the early exercises in the development of the natural attitude of the individual: hands be subtle and graceful, attitude not lack elegance, walk not be awkward16. By doubling the vocal language, they must permanently accompany the meaning of words without anticipating them. Quintilian starts from the gesture as an instance and looks to file the variations and their opposites, in order to show what differences in meaning arise from there on. His try to have a typology based on up/down, left/right, forward/backwards spatial oppositions, is far from introducing order in the extreme variety of gestures. Beside the hand gestures, those of the fingers are described in detail: when we raise the hand and point it to the shoulder, tilting the finger slightly, it asserts, turning it back toward the ground and somehow

15 16

Andre Leroi Gourhan,Gesture and Speech,vol. I, Meridiane Publiching House,Bucharest,1983, p.54 Fabius M. Quintilianus, The Institutes of Oratory,vol.III, Minerva Publishing House,Bucharest,1974, p.119

inverting it, it insists. The same finger, when we lightly tough its last joint, with the thumb and middle finger, slightly crouched, is adequate for conversation17. The gestures of the upper limbs are frequently supported by mimic. The facial expression can intensify or dim until cancelling out meaning. So it is, that a gesture of intolerance executed while using a contrary mimic, is interpreted as a gesture of acceptance, forbearance. The use of excessive gesticulation is seen as negative in many countries, but hand gestures were what created the Italians people fame as a passionate nation. The type of communication, generally defining interactions of a ritualistic nature, is achieved by staring an awakening process in the receiver. Christianity was impressed by the symbolic value of the hand and its expressive capacities. In the Christian iconography the hand of the divinity spreads the heavenly praise onto the bodies transfixed in prayer. The actants address it; they extend their own hands towards it, wishing to be granted absolution. Often, the godly palm is set into a triangle inside a circle. Turned to the onlooker and oriented fingersupwards (protecting hand), it represents the emblem of the creative force of God, transcendence. The sign of the cross is executed using the right hand, and the fingers positioned as follows: the ring finger and the little finger are bent inside the palm, following that the index finger, the middle finger and the thumb unite, forming a diagram symbolizing the Three-in-One. In their entirety, the Gospels preach Jesus gesture pattern (David prophesized the coming of Gods son by naming him the Lords right hand18). His blessing and healing actions became the pattern of ritualistic gestures for priests, saints, and kings in the middle Ages. Moses, the first prophet law giver who received the Torah (Pentateuch the five fifths of the law) and freed the Jews from Egyptian slavery is often represented in Christian paintings and plastic arts, holding the tablets (the pictures in Notre Dame, Rembrandts works, Marc Chagall, Gustave Dore) or parting the Red Sea with his staff. Mythology offers plenty examples where, the hand, as an extension of the body, is charged with multiple meaning: power, force, gentleness, and candor. Because he rose against Zeus, Atlas is condemned to forever hold the Earth on his shoulders, only with the power of his arms. As a symbol of love in Greek mythology, Eros is shown as a winged cherub, armed with a bow and a quiverful of arrows. These are launched toward people, with the purpose of infusing
17 18

idem, p. 121 Victor Duta, quoted work, p.309

love into them. For the mythological universe, demons and heroes hold, even from their birth and throughout their evolution, a certain type of facial features and very well inlaid steaks. Just as his brother Zeus holds the Skies, Poseidon holds the Seas and everything in it. The son of Chronos and Rhea is represented holding the trident in his hand and carried in a carriage pulled by monstrous animals. According to the planet correspondence system, traditional astrology turns the pollex into Venus finger, the index Jupiters finger, the middle finger into Saturns, the ring finger into the Suns, the last belonging to Mercury. The space of the popular divination, gives the hand evil, necromancy or benefic, non-vindictive characteristics. Popular Romanian beliefs, speak of beans gazing as a white magic practice. The beans are split, at the beginning of the fortune telling, into three piles, positioned differently: to the left (in a foreign hand), in the middle (in house) and to the right (into the hand of the seeker, in your hand) 19 . In this case, it works as one of the fundamental oppositions of archaic thinking: the opposition left/right where the first element if marked as negative. The term appears in collocations referring to card games: to pass the hand (to give your turn to the next player) or dead hand20 (when, without the necessary number of people paying, the card number is reduced or additional cards are drawn). The situations portrayed involve the actual use of the hand, which, ultimately, lead to a terminological transfer, based on metonymy. We remain in the area of the Romanian folklore culture, to present a widely spread custom in the rural communities: Paparuda (rainmaker). The ritual, performed by an all-female group, is based on practices for invoking a pluviometrical goddess. After donning a vegetable costume, the Paparuda and her cohorts, go forth onto the village alleys, visiting peoples wells and households. She executes a dance on a simple melody, sung and chimed by the participants by clapping. In some areas, the woman jumps, prances, claps and snaps her fingers, under the tendences admiration, and shakes off the water, imitating rain. The generative function of the hand is highly expressive here. We leave the mythological field of popular belief to approach the sterile area of the judicial discipline. The law discipline is identified in this day and age with verbal language. Ever since the Antiquity, the judicial practices included non verbal aspects. A contemporary example of a legal procedure gesture refers to the raising of the right hand for placing the oath before the beginning
19 20

Valeriu Balteanu, Dicionar de divinaie popular romn, Paideia Publishing House, Bucharest, 2001, p.88 idem

of the trial. For medieval societies, hand gestures symbolized the consummation of trade or the legality of certain exchanges. In the early Mesopotamian law, the dying man could declare his heir by taking their hand. Greek legislation provides that witnesses touch, either the altar of the church, or a religious importance object (hence sanctifying the veracity of the deliverance). The practice also extended to Germany, where, in the 13th century, we find the oath being exercised, by placing the hand on the sacred relics of saints. In the Roman law, manus has the meaning of power and its by-products assign to judicial gestures that reflect rendering, taking or power recognition. The Romans original way of rendering property involved the purchaser holding the acquired object in his hand. Touching the object was accompanied by articulation of a solemn formula: hune ego hominem ex iure quiritium meum ese aio isque mihi emptus esto pretiohoc aere aeneaque libra 21 . The exchange could be realized for real-estate that did not represent private property (house, land). To publicly recognize his child the father as Pater familias (head of the household) raised the baby above his head. Marriage consisted of the woman passing under the mans agency: she was held in manu mancipioque22 by the authority exerting husband. The completion of a commercial transaction was realized by high-fiving. The brokers in the Amsterdam stock exchange were even renowned for their hard and fast high-fives. The medieval knighting ceremony presumed the liege and lord joining their hands (inter alia). The liege, regularly on his knees, with his head uncovered and unarmed, places his hands in his lords hands (imixtio manum). The first knights to cross their swords only saw in the duel, a manifestation of justice and of gods power that would not leave the arm of the righteous. The formula uttered before battle, confirmed the incrustation of this reasoning:ecce me partum cum Evanghelio et scuto et juste23. In a code of honor, published in 1926, we find a statement according to which the offended has the right to choose the duel and the weapons for the fight. The type of challenge is known under the formula: Consider yourself slapped, Sir! the rules utterly forbid the using of the left hand during the duel. Article 63 provides: if, by chance, one of the fighters shall
21

afirm c acest sclav este al meu potrivit dreptului Quiriilor i s -mi fie cumprat cu preul de cu aceast aram i cu aceast balan de aram (n.tr.) Emil Molcut, Drept roman, Univ. Independenta Titu Maiorescu, Naturismul Publishing House, Bucharest, 1991, p. 68 22 idem, p.53 23 Ion I. Nedelescu, Codul onoarei i regulile duelului, Fundaiei culturalePrincipele Carol Publishing House, p.113

endeavor to fend away the opponents iron with his left hand, with no prior understanding on this subject, the witnesses of the interested party may require that the opponents hand be tied to his back, to avoid a recurrence24.

II.3 Gestures and Advertising Advertising has been analyzed on its own or in association with mass culture. In the vast majority of cases, the aspects construed only showed the negative side of the phenomenon. It was emphasized that it is a form of unjustified manipulation so long as it manifests the desire to control human character. Others have seen in this a typical model of modern bureaucratic domination. The consumers autonomy is eclipsed to the benefit of a stipulation orchestered through techno-structural machinery. Through simple deductions, followers get on to associate advertising with totalitarianism. The ever-controversial subliminal advertising messages generate fantasy theories. Researchers relate them to a monstrous invention, similar in terms of impact with the invention of the atomic bomb. In reality, say all the promoters of these ideas, the entire mass-media apparatus causes the remission of the human experiences cognitive capacity, by replacing direct contact with an immediate experience, leaving the individual uncertain, in a perpetual search for an instance to confirm his opinion. It is hard to conceive that a cultural and economical phenomenon, with such a spread and presence, only has negative results on the social. Perhaps a new angle on interpretation should consider J. Baudrillards opinion, according to which, in order to objectively judge advertising, we must first apply the myth categories on it. Advertising art consists of inventing exposs that run neither on the principle of authenticity, nor on falseness. It subtly transforms the object into a pseudo-event and becomes a real component of day-to-day life by the consumers adherence to the formulated oration. It is, always, necessary for the actor to project a correspondence system onto the images, a resonance or parallel that would allow for identification. The product is of secondary importance, as it primes the values appended to it, and the symbolic meaning it carries. Ads as well as prints, try to touch-up the everyday, by removing unpleasant, inhibitive scenes and offering the possibility of a positive personal acknowledgement. We are not far from Narcissus who, by ignoring the love of the nymph Echo, was punished with the agonizing contemplation of
24

Idem, p.115

his own reflection in the mirror of the water. The individual thinks of himself in images, just as the myth of Narcissus illustrates this same pathological admiration, this, fundamental psychic self-absorption. The brand, whether its ADIDAS, Coca-Cola, Nike, or any other, is susceptible of magically removing a frustration. A pact is installed between the supplier and the buyer: the client purchases something and receives, in return, a symbol of security or social advancement. Perception is constitutes as a dynamic game between desires and fortitudes that give the product its individuality. This personality if the sum of two planes: an objective and a symbolic value. Three types of symbols can be distinguished in the advertising speech: intentional, interpretative and connotative. Intentional symbols target the description of the object by focusing on its qualities. When an ad says about a certain soda drink is ice cold, it is clear that the interpretation of the meaning does not raise any vagueness. The interpretative symbols call on feelings by building characters, emotions and varied relationships. Connotative symbols facilitate the transfer from the qualities of the product to the product associated to it. An eloquent example is the Marlboro commercial, where the presence of the solitary cowboy in a rocky, aggressive background, tries to convey the idea of a rather powerful masculinity. Advertising refers to a singular perception from the speaker. There is need for a repetition of stimuli, a multiple glance that flows from an ensemble of meetings, dispersed through time, subconsciously or vaguely perceived. Two is the number of elements playing an important role in making the decision to buy. The first is the advertisings ability to convince the buyer of the benefit brought by the purchase and the second refers to the means of presentation and communication of the product, the fashion in which the poetic function plays quite an important role. In its sense of a comprehensive ensemble of a mode of existence, culture, may be clearly visualized through the advertising construction. In its turn, advertising is forced to consider the cultural ambit. Car manufacturing companies seem to have a higher percentage of doom. While some are discovered within timely manner for example Rolls Royce realized that the Silver Mist model will not the well received in Germany, because mist has an obscene connotation in- others are launched before the error is discovered (Ford with the Pinto, Nissan with the Pantry Boy). Along-side mass-media, advertising orients the representations of the social space.

The outdoor commercial is the oldest form of advertising. Prehistorical tablets of bronze and stone, found in the Middle East are proof of that existence. Painted advertising originates from Pompeii, where the artistically painted walls promoted local business. In the United States, street pamphlets spread the word of the protest against the imposed tax exerted by the English on tea, in 1773 and posters made popular Andrew Jacksons presidential campaign. The introduction of the printing press allowed for multiplication, expanding the advertising industry. It appears that modern times have reached a paradox, for advertising has become from object, a subject. There is talk of a cultural use of advertising, ignoring the strict reference to the product and only holding onto the design technique. Night of the Ad Eaters is such an example, the French even inventing a new word publivores25 for the fans of this behavior. We will narrow the conversation from aspect to the attributes image wore, as that is, in reality, the base for the next chapters analysis. Monotheistic religion had the oral duty to fight against image, that is to say, against other gods. The argument of images that has shaken the West, starting with the 4th until the 7th century, is the most appropriate example of questioning the divine nature and, implicitly, of questioning the image. But whether it be a painting, an icon, photograph, engraving or print, image carries with it a surplus of meaning on the borders on which the lector has the freedom to reflect. It is true that imagistic projection is based on stereotypes, but there is also a perpetual adaptation to novelty. This adaptation is in a state of instable balance, because a prolonged conservatism, just as premature innovation may have negative effects. Images are dependent on the social context of communication because the message is not addressed to only one individual, but a group of consumers. They propose a system of relations by positioning the actors against each other. The relation between the partners can fall into various qualities: submission domination, cooperation competition, attraction rejection. Advertising representations must inspire meaning and, as it should be, the majority of ads contain images of people. If we refer to the American space, the individuals present in American prints are often engaged in pleasant, leisure activities. The definitions using stereotypes for

25

Vasile S. Dancu, Comunicarea simbolic:arhitectura discursului publicitar, Dacia Publishing House, ClujNapoca,1991, p.83

masculinity and femininity are particularly frequent. The percentage is much higher in television commercials that create a highly dynamic social space. People are presented with a possible self image, where they are able to better capable of resolving the issues of their existence with the help of products they purchase. For the US history this method was a way of obtaining national unity, by offering the large incoming numbers of immigrants, at the time, characterized by affiliation and different cultures, a social construct of the archetypal individual. Goffman speaks of the dramatic realization the individual performs when around others. He fuels his activity with signs that theatrically emphasize conclusive facts that might go unnoticed. For Charles Cooley the impulse to show the world a better or idealized aspect of ourselves finds an organized expression in the various professions and classes, each of which has to some extent a cant or pose, which its members assume unconsciously26. If language has a double articulation, image has a graphic translated into colors and shapes. It only retains the gesture in its contextual entirety. The exclusion of the auditory language gives the possibility to flaunt the second dimension: non verbal communication. One of the recently developed strategies for attracting attention is the reproduction of sensational images, where gestuality must be expressive and concise. As readers we engage in an interaction that can often be highly complex. In other words, in the terms of the visual codes, we elaborate a meaning for each given element. For example: the winking face suggests a good disposition, freedom of choice, relaxation. It becomes even more meaningful in 1990, when used by British Airways, 4,000 extras are dressed in the company colors, red, white and blue, to realize the formation. Spreading the arms may be interpreted as freedom from constraint. This is the meaning the Flanco franchise is basing its advertising campaign on. For beauty products (lotions, perfume) the favorites are images of young women, which make the gestures, generally, be delicate, simple and charged with sensuality. In searching for new means of focusing the eyes, advertisers begun realizing that the male physique is a not-sowidely-explored territory. The male body flashes powerful, affirmational gestures. Non-profit, humanitarian organizations often call on this type of presentations, for raising funds for charity. A child trying to touch his eye bandages with his hands, like trying to understand what happened to him, will have a big emotional impact on the receiver. Visually his instinctual protective feelings emerge.

26

Charles H. Cooley, Human Nature and the Social Order, Scribners Publishing House, New York, 1922, p. 352

The advertising language and implicitly, gesture language have seen chameleonic transformations throughout history. We must consider that, during the industrial revolution, the demand meets the offer. The result is an informational publicity, where the abundance of the gesture is resumed to the showing and presentation of the product. During the inter-war period, there is want for establishing a veritable social communication, and after the Second World War, the rule is that we must see the product with the eyes of the consumer. This determines the enrichment of the gesture with a wide pallet of connotations. When Kent launched the slogan attitude makes the future, the prints showed various individual personalities, heroes with firm and convincing moves. The hand goes to make shapes; our body defies the laws of gravity and ventures into a vertical movement. Contrasting with the multi-media exhibition (sound, images, and movements) prints make way for a forever unfinished speech. The gesture appears immortalized, sequential. We observe an adult with a hat in his hand, in front of an extremely elegant lady and suppose that that certain position supervened after the ritual of salutation. This absence of a detailed movement gives us the possibility of a puzzle-like supposition combination. The challenge is tempting, especially if the ad is related to a series of additional meanings, starting from a concise gesture basis. Further narrowing down on this idea, the next chapter in largely dedicated to practical attempts to analyze body language, as it is transferred into the advertising campaign of American company Coca-Cola.