Photography is used too

This is my week 1: posted it in wrong place

I also found the reading on "The Myth of Photographic Truth" fascinating as well, and I also agree with Jenna in that I have a hard time believing that a photograph is more reliable than a painting or sketch, especially this day in age. I am familiar with photoshop and understand all the things that can be done to a photograph, and the youtube video that Jenna posted reminded me of just how drastic you can change a single photo. I started looking at other videos on youtube about photoshop and realized that photoshop is not the only place a person can add his personal touch. A photographer can add his personal touch and make a photograph look the way he wants with the way he takes the photo. I came across the youtube video that explains some of the ways to take a photograph at high noon in order to get a certain look. The book explains that "the creation of an image through a camera lens always involves some degree of subjective choice through selection, framing, and personalization." I believe that photographs are not completely objective. Two photographers can take a photograph of the same image or event and get two different stories out of it by the way they take it. So taking a photograph itself creates a "myth" because the photographer creates an image the way that he wants and makes it universally true to society. So advertising agencies have always used photography to influence society, but it is just made even easier with the new computer technology.

Jump Roping taken to the Next Level

I also wanted to post this video that I was sent today because I thought it was cool.  These girls, performing at the Naval Academy, can do some really cool tricks with a jump rope, or at least I think so  It really is jump roping taken to the next level.  This made me think of a topic discussed a few weeks back about cheerleaders.  These girls are obviously in amazing shape to be able to jump for that long; it take a lot of dedication, coordination and athletic ability to do this.  But are they considered athletes?  Like cheerleaders, they are made up to look pretty and made into performers to entertain.  Because of this, many people see these girls as performers instead of athletes; the video clip especially presents the girls as performers having fun.  But, also, like cheerleaders, I could see this becoming some kind of competition.  The question keeps coming up, when does a hobby or performance become a sport?

The Presence and Tone speaks loudly

When Caitlin talked about being talked to a certain way makes us believe that someone knows what they are talking about, it made me think of how we talk to dogs, in that we can say anything in an excited voice, whether it is bad or not, and the dog gets excited.  I know my family would do this to my dog; we would say "bad dog" in an excited voice and he would get all riled up and excited himself.  Dogs do not understand us, but it is our presence and tone of voice that they respond to.  Now I am not by any means saying that we are like dogs, but if we do not pay attention to or understand what someone is saying, it is the presence or tone of voice that we respond to like thinking that Stephen Colbert is a serious reporter if we do not pay attention to what he is saying.  Here is a video of a dog responding to the tone of the owner's voice; at one point she says "bad boy" in a cute voice, but the dog does not respond until she says "bad boy" in an angry voice.

Original vs. parody

In the readings it talks about the idea of the original and whether we still care about the original or the replica- which is sometimes a parody. I think that the original is highly prized over any replica. You hear people talk more about the original being worth more than any imitations. However, I think in this generation the worth of something is measured by two measuring sticks. If it is monetary then the worth is found in the original, but if it is for pleasure or entertainment then the worth is found in the replica. Since the replica is usually a parody of some sort it is probably quick and snappy and engages a younger audience that doesn’t know the significance behind it. I did not realize this or even think about it until I read about it this chapter. It’s actually pretty sad and pathetic what my generation considers art

media as a teacher

This is a video that I found a couple of weeks ago that I found hilarious. Definitely watch it; it's beneficial to your health. Anyways, in this video a sheep is wearing a Halloween mask and is trying to play with the other sheep. But because it has on a scary mask, the other sheep are afraid of this sheep & keep running away from it. This reminds me of our society & how we a lot of times judge people based on what we have been taught through media. For instance, when I was leaving Union Station one night, I felt nervous walking around because I was in the city. The city of St. Louis has a bad reputation & even though I haven't witnessed it first had, I assume that it is true. The same assumption goes for blacks & it shows through the statistics of them being charged for crime much higher than whites and other races.

success overnight

Yesterday when I was doing my blog post, my mom burst into my room & told me to watch this video. This is a clip of a show called "Britain's Got Talent," which is kind of like American Idle. In this particular clip, a 47 year old woman (Susan Boyle) is featured singing her chosen part. When she begins to sing, the audience is speechless because when she walked in, she had absolutely no star power. But the contrast of her appearance and her great voice made her an instant success who stood out. This show was originally aired in Britain, but this woman has recently become practically a house-hold name. This just goes to show the magnitude to which communication has grow throughout the years. 100 years ago, if someone became popular in another country, it was pretty much guaranteed that we would never hear about it, where as now, it has taken a matter of weeks for Boyle's success to spread world-wide.

sneaky techniques

I just finished watching Steven Colbert's White House Correspondents Dinner. Aside from being ridiculous and silly, his speech also had some hidden messages in it. Something I caught was how he would say things in an ironic and slightly insulting way, but he would say them in a professional, business-like voice so that if you weren't paying attention to his words, you might think his speech was actually serious. This reminds me of the media and how they use the same tactic to send us information. Especially with news & politics (which was what Colbert was spoofing), the information is handed to the public in a very professional manor which makes it sound much more factual. When I am spoken to this way, I know that I relate this approach to fact. So regardless of if the news (or whatever else) is speaking the truth or just beating around the bush, this type of media has done a good job brainwashing me, unless I'm paying real attention, into believing much of what is presented to me.