First Thoughts:
As We Become Cameras
“By 2020, 80% of the world will be in possession of a physically unlimited camera attached (mostly) to an instantaneous global image distribution network.”
How can Hackett support this statement? He says this like it is a fact and moves on with no explanation or sources behind it. I don’t think it’s conceivable at all when most of the world are third world countries, who don’t even have access to computers or phones of any kind.
“What happens when images are integrated as fully into our reality as time?”
It seems to me, that it is possible that people could lose their touch with reality and confuse the “online version” of their lives with reality. For example, a housewife who posts only happy, extravagant pictures, but in reality, her life is sad and depressing. Her friends all believe that her life is amazing, and maybe these photos make her feel better about her situation, instead of facing and fixing the reality.
It is amazing how many photos are being taken every day, and how much photos have changed out life. This article does a good job of illustrating that.
Images are not a representation of reality
“The images did not wholly reflect the reality they purported to show? Huh? Does any image? Can any image? Or article, or representation of any sort?” I agree. This kind of goes back to my thoughts on the last article. Do images show us reality or what we want to see?
I agree. This kind of goes back to my thoughts on the last article. Do images show us reality or what we want to see? There is a phenomenon that is detailed in this article in Scientific American that says that we are actually less attractive than we usually think we are. When we look in a mirror, we tend to accentuate our good features and focus on the ones we like, and ignore our bad features.
The 10 Rules of Photo Composition (and why they work)
“When we look at pictures, we see what’s happening and tend to look ahead – this creates a feeling of imbalance or unease if your subject has nowhere to move except out of the frame.”
I know that for me when I see a picture or image of movement, I imagine myself in that situation. Pictures with movement conveyed can be powerful. Often when I take pictures, one of the mistakes that I make is not leaving enough space for the subject of the photograph enough space to “move,” which like the article is saying, doesn’t allow for a sense of space and motion.
Reading Responses:
“A capitalist society requires a culture based on images. It needs to furnish vast amounts of entertainment in order to stimulate buying and anesthetize the injuries of class, race, and sex.”
Why can’t we have a capitalist society without having a culture of images? Why can’t we stimulate buying in ways other than images? I personally believe that it is because of how the human mind works. Because images grasp us and make us feel more than words or noises, I think that it is a more effective way to boost capitalism and entertainment. When we see images, we imagine ourselves in them, we imagine seeing them in person, and they make us feel emotions in a way that words cannot.
Teenagers In The U.S. Spend About Nine Hours A Day In Front Of A Screen
This Forbes article details how much time the average teenager spends in front of a screen. Our society has become overrun with technology. Entertainment has become so instantaneous and at our fingertips through images and media, it is even affecting our health as a nation. Kids are no longer spending time outside moving around, but inside with media.
“Only 6% of don’t use any screen media. 28% of tweens and 17% of teens use it for two hours or less. 27% percent of tweens and 31% of teens use it between 4-8 hours a day. And 11% of tweens and 26% of teens are in front of a screen more than eight hours a day.”
The problem with the fact that a “capitalist society requires a culture based on images” is that business that are using images to market products that drive capitalism don’t care about the wellbeing of the individuals or how the product advertised affects them. Thriving capitalism does not necessarily equal a thriving or healthy populous. For example, the sale of tobacco products. The companies do not care about the well being of their customers, in fact they know that their products hurt society as a whole. But for them, it isn’t about society, it is about the bottom line, the money.
This clip from the movie Minority Report shows the main character walking through a futuristic “mall.” The advertisements are all talking to him and catered personally to him. In addition, they are extremely conspicuous and even in the way, creating this cluttered, claustrophobic feel. I think that this is a good parallel to our society, as images and media become more and more popular and necessary for American capitalism.