Cmon, interpellate me.

This week when I was reading chapter two of Practices of Looking, I was really interested in the idea of how images interpellate viewers. It states, “They [media theorists] used this term, as we do, to describe the way that images call out to us, catching our attention (50).” This term of interpellation, coined by Marxist philosopher, Louis Althusser, suggests that we as subjects actually subject ourselves to the power of ideology. This is because we identify with categories of identity that are predetermined within ideological frameworks in American society. Therefore, someone may feel that an image personally touches them, but they can only do so if they are a member of a group to whom its codes “speak”, even if the image doesn’t “say” the same thing to that person as it does to someone else.

I think the reason why this concept really enlightened me was because in the book, they applied it to the use of advertising, the field that I ultimately want to pursue. Those behind the making of advertisements seek to interpellate viewer-consumers in constructing within the “you” of the ad. According to the chapter, “The message of the image, even if not intended for [the viewer] nonetheless draws [them] in as a spectator, interpellating [them]… (50).”

When thinking about this concept of an advertisement reaching out to the potential viewer, I remembered an ad that I saw last year in a magazine when the 2008 Presidential Campaign was going on. The ad featured actress Jessica Alba and read, “Declare Yourself. Only You Can Silence Yourself. Make Them Hear You. Register to Vote at www.DeclareYourself.com.”

When I first looked at the ad, I was really taken aback. Jessica Alba looks terrifying! In her acting roles and to the public, she usually comes across as this pretty, nice, wholesome person. But in this picture, her hair is frizzy, she has tears streaming down her face, and most effective of all, her mouth is nailed shut. I was truly scared by this picture, but once I was able to stop staring at the photo and actually read the text, the message popped out at me like a Jack in the Box. The Declare Yourself Campaign was using a celebrity spokesperson, like Jessica Alba, to empower and encourage those who are eligible to register and vote. The effect of nailing her mouth shut was to emphasize that everyone should exercise his or her right to vote and not be silent about what they believe in. While I was always planning on voting, this ad really spoke to me, or as Louis Althusser calls it, it “hailed” me. After learning about the concept of interpellation, I was able to realize that by using the word “you” in the text, the ad was successful at interpellating me.