Jack is Back!

Michael Lamme poses in front of Jack-In-the Box silhouette somewhere on the island of Oahu

I wanted an image with a personal connection for the purpose of analysis by Duncum's seven principles, sure hope a tiny bit of Kahmi hasn't rubbed off on me! I only had access to a small portion of my own images, but felt that this one would work nicely. It does, after all, meet the criteria of 'Cultural and Social' context. Last summer, while vacationing in Oahu, we drove past this Jack in the Box restaurant and our son proclaimed that he must have his picture taken in front of this image.

Let's see how Duncum's principles look...

Power - This image, the Jack in the Box, is owned by the Jack in the Box Corporation. Their power would be influencing people to purchase, not especially good for you, fast food. I would say that despite tossing out a few healthy options, they aren't really concerned with your health, the bottom line is profit.

Ideology- the image itself is abstracted, allowing any viewer to put themselves in Jack's place.(A purposeful omittance!) The ideology and representation work hand-in-hand with this image....just like Duncum says, they are aligned. The body position of the silhouette is one of dominance, AHA! Power comes back into play! 

Seduction- Not as obvious in this image, but I am guessing that the seduction would be in the suggestion of a powerful man. The stereotype involves the fact that Jack is attired in a suit, traditionally, OMG a symbol of power YET again, and success. Will those who dine on Jack in the Box food be powerful? successful? There's also a certain arrogance to this image, captured perfectly in my son's facial expression as he strikes the pose.

The Gaze- I am brought to wonder, when considering Gaze, why this image is purposefully lopped off at the knee? Does the abstraction of which includes just the torso of this powerful masculine image imply  these are the powerful bits? 

Intertextuality / Multimodality - Though I rarely consume fast food, and equally as rarely view TV, previous associations led me to recognize this image as 'Jack in the Box' and recall the slogan 'Jack is back'. I also remember Jack's near slide into failure after the e-coli scare of the 90's. Interesting to see this assertive stance as Jack in the Box struggles to regain the success they once knew.