In Amusing Ourselves To Death, Postman explains how we see photography. If we see a picture, we can only see what is on the photo and nothing else. It " lacks an epistemological bias" (73) and within that same paragraph, Postman asks how can we know the picture on a photo is TRUE or FALSE? " there are no grounds for argument, for it makes no sense to disagree with an unfaked photograph." (73)
So, how is it possible, or is it possible to judge a picture and know if it is real or fake?
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When I summarized the newspapers for you, there was an article on photo retouching that I read...it said that MOST newspapers don't allow photo retouching, but that implies that SOME newspapers do publish retouched photos...which means we must ask ourselves, all of the time: "Is this real?" What can we trust?
ReplyDeleteThe AP exam featured a question by Susan Sontag a few years back on the truth of a photograph -- she argues that only "that which narrates" can tell a truth. In other words, you need many consecutive moments, not just one, to understand. And think of all the cheese-y photos you have posed for in your life. What actual story does that photo tell? What truth is revealed when a bunch of people press together and put up a face for a camera?
What if we catch a moment...like the famous Kent State photo? What happened just before? Just after? What is just outside the frame of the photograph? How does that alter our understanding of that event??
We see photos, and we feel that we understand. We believe, says Sontag, that photographs make the world more accessible.
This reminds me of something that my teacher was talking about that kind of creeped me out. He said that more and more people are loosing the ability to differentiate between the the fake world and reality. I know it sounds stupid but he was showing us this projection of a painting of a pipe and under the pipe in french it said "This is really not a pipe." Yes it seems obvious but I wonder how many people actually realize it isn't a pipe. Then he asks the class what is it. A guy raises his hand and confidently answers that it is a painting of a pipe. Nope wrong again. After about three minutes of silent thinking another brave soul raises his hand. It is a projection of a painting of a pipe. Got it.
ReplyDeleteWhoa, that totally seems like something I'd say, just to mess with someone.
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