Every weekend across England groups of young 'lads' flock to their local football ground or travel the breadth of the country on an away day in hopes of seeing their team gain three points, cause some trouble and get pissed. 'Win or loose they're on the booze'. The football casuals and hooligans have formed a subculture in England since the 70's. A game rooted in England's DNA was likely to attract a comitted fanbase though the rise of the casual subculture has been an interesting one. Distinctifying themselves from the usual club supporters these fans have carved out their own uniform tightly defined by the clothing they wear. Often seen in high end European fashion brands such as Fila, Lacoste, Stone Island and Adidas the history of this can be traced back to Liverpool fans travelling to Europe for the European Cup and coming back to Anfield decked out in sergio tacchini tracksuits. The Adidas Samba became the footwear of choice, now even Adidas has cashed in on the casuals and how closely related the shoe and their image is, selling a range of the shoe with large club logos on the tongue such as Arsenal and Bayern Munich.  Of course you can't talk about causals and hooligans without getting the Stone Island badge in. A brand that was once high end has now become synonymous with insighting violence in train stations and crowd terraces, can of Stella in hand. But it's not just the uniform of these groups that defines them, a sweeping statement could generalise the casuals as working class white men, leaning towards the right, violent men fuelled by alcoholism. Using football as an excuse for a fight and leaning in to the tribalism that comes from supporting a club. Though for casuals I would argue it's less about the club and more about the actual casual identity that they hold more closely. 

- Graphic novels are a set of graphic signs used to tell a story
Drawn Signs 
- Unique to comic
- Easily accepted by audience can understand at first glance
- Designed to be an efficient way of telling stories
- British comics came from satirical magazine, American came from newspaper
- Gutters=gap between images
- Relationship between panels creates a rhythm
- Gutter space is active
- Only things essential to core story is shown
- Plurivectoral Flow (Past, present and future at the same time)
- Reader deviation (skipping panels)
- Not consumed like a film, in the way a director intended
- Panel co ordinates show where the eye goes direction of reader
- Reader Closure 
   Passage of time and gutter as transition device 
Transitions:
- Moment to moment, small lapses little closure needed
- Action to action, different actions needed some closure
- Subject to subject, different subjects/scene, more reader involvement
- Scene to scene, significant movement of time and space (ten years later, meanwhile)
- Aspect to aspect, scene setting transition, artist eye as camera showing aspects of that scene, montage of elements
- Non sequitar, no logical relationship between panels

Matt Fraction and David Aja's Hawkeye
Matt Fraction's Hawkeye run is one of my favourite Marvel comics. It has become one of Marvel's most successful runs which may be surprising as Hawkeye has always been considered to be a B list superhero within Marvel. Fraction brings casual humanity to Hawkeye and added a new diemension to a superhero. David Aja, a Spanish artist, adds his style to the comic creating a distinct look to Hawkeye that is setting itself apart from the standard ultra macho, air brushed modern Marvel comic look. 

In the above page, the character of Hawkeye is dealing with hearing loss. The issue is mostly told through sign language as seen on the page. By choosing not to include any spoken words by characters, Aja and Fraction put the reader in the same position as Clint Barton, unable to understand what is being said. The eyes at the top of the page break through four panels instead of choosing to just use one long panel, this could be to ad to the disjointment and confusion of the character. We then get moment to moment transitions of the text being typed out on the computer screen. This puts the reader into a rhythm of reading. The word deaf is the largest meaning that one sticks inside the readers head lingering and seen as more important than the smaller explanation of the injury, as people focus on the main diagnosis when they are told something like this in a doctors. Subject to subject brings us to a wider shot of the doctors office giving us a setting for this scene. Another subject to subject transition brings us to a conversation between Clint and his friend. The white stark background chosen over the office background to emphasise the zoning in on the subject that Clint can't understand. The sign language symbols below create a literal visual language for people that understand sign language and a instantly recognisable symbol to everyone, you can glance at the page and know a character is deaf with the inclusion of them.

- Anchorage word and image working together
- Ads reflect social trends, political ideals, cultural norms, cultural myths and moral values
- Linguistic Message
Non coded (literal) 
Coded (connotations)
- Image Message
Non coded (denotative)
Coded (symbolic)

Nike Air Jordan 1 ad

This is an advert for Nikes Air Jordan 1's. This ad banks on the public knowledge of Michael Jordan and the impact he had on culture and sport. Even though Jordan is not actaully pictured in the advert you get the implications of his presence, throught the signiture footwear and Chicago Bulls colours that became interlinked with the man. The cropping of the figure to just show the shoes in flight referencing the iconic image and logo of Jordan. The flying stance paired with the sky background adds to the connotations of flight. The tagline 'gravity's worst nightmare' is presented in Nike's signature font futura, a bold and confronting typeface used across Nike's brand makes it instantly recognisable as a Nike ad at first glance. The tagline is again adding to the 'air' aspect and the jumpman personality of Michael Jordan, if you buy these shoes you can fly just like Jordan. 

- Words= Arbitrary signs and they do not resemble what they describe
- Codified: Require a knowledge of language, rules and definitions
- Plane of expressions - How something is said written and drawn
- Anchorage - Relationships between words and visuals 

The study of signs within society anything that conveys meaning is a sign.
- Signifier+signified = sign
- Myth - underlying cultural stereotypes
Review of World of Wrestling
Barthe argues that this form of wrestling is not a sport and non competetive. There is no avoidance of defeat or run to victory as it is scripted and pre determined. The pre determined outcome often dictates how the characters are presented, are they the hero or villain or the under dog? Using codes that are socially known. There is also a form of justice that is known throughout wrestling, the villain often being the one who is unjust and hated breaking the rules etc. There is a strong relationship between the culutural understanding of justice and how we want to defend and get justice. In wrestling, as Barthe suggests, the world is very simple and black and white good vs evil. An ideallic world for some where good alwsys ends up triumphing and justice is served in some form, this allows a wide audience to engage with wrestling as it only requires a basic understanding of law and justice. 

Lecture Notes

The leather jacket has become a staple of the modern wardrobe. It has become synonymous with effortless cool and rebellion, yet is now a widely accepted part of fashion. Originating from American and British air force pilots in the early 1900's the leather flight jacket was durable and protected the body. The Scott Brothers remodeled the jacket to be less restrictive and marketed towards motorbike riders. Sold in Harley Davidson shops for $5 the jacket quickly found a home with the biker gangs of Southern California, think Hell's Angel's etc. These gangs were filled with WW2 veterans who were disillusioned with the America. This is where the link to non conformity and rebellion started with the leather jacket. Customised with gang names the jacket became a well known symbol of bikers and a uniform for their gangs, the jacket was durable and and still very protective using thick hard leather which protected men in fights and when riding in the California deserts. 

In 1953 the film 'The Wild One' was released starring Marlon Brando. Brando plays a biker of course wearing the famous leather jacket. Brando's character resignated with hypermasculine males who identified as the outsider and the anti hero and of course adopted Brando's leather clad aesthetic. In 1955 the jacket was banned from American high schools a sign that the jacket was seen as an insighter of violence and rebellion against establishment. Other sub sections also adopted the jacket, The Black Panthers used it as a uniform to show militance among their protests, queer men challenged stereotypical gender ideals by claming the hypermasculine jacket, skin heads and punks customised and made the jacket an icon through notable names like the Sex Pistols, The Clash, Joan Jett and Blondie.

The jacket had always been widely available to the working class after WW2 as surplus of jackets were sent to American thrift shops allowing the youth to claim them. Although the jacket has always been a symbol of rebellion it has now been integrated into modern life and fashion. Some may argue the idea of rebellion has now been completely lost with brands such as Gucci selling jackets for $13,000 but I still believe the jacket holds a certain image and still conjures thoughts of bad boys and bikers that given the history will never be diminished.