Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Myth of Photography
In Chapter one, I found the reading on “The Myth of Photographic Truth” pretty interesting. When mentioning the philosophy of positivism and how the use of machines to capture a moment or represent a frame of time were regarded as more reliable than a painting or sketch done by human hand, I had a hard time applying it for today’s world. Granted, this description was formulated in the mid- 19th century when today’s technology was not in existence, but it stated that “a photograph is often perceived to be an unmediated copy of the real world, a trace of reality skimmed off the very surface of live, and evidence of real”, however in today’s world, you can rarely look at a professional photograph that has not be altered in some way. If you checkout this youtube video you can see how easy it is for today’s technology to alter a simple photograph. So, how much of what we really look at in our magazines and television ads are real, and how much are altered in order to appease what we want to see as reality? So when the book defines “myth” as a “hidden set of rules and conventions through which meanings are made to seem universal and given to the whole society”, I have to apply it to how people and advertising agencies use the magic of photo shop and all the other fancy gadgets they utilize to create an image of beauty, in this particular case, that influences our society.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI 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 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqMI72jsXRQ&feature=related 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.
ReplyDeleteI found both of these videos very interesting. I actually had previously seen the Dove commercial in my University seminar class last semester which was about interaction in the community. I found it interesting on how much makeup and Photoshop can do to one’s face to make a person seem flawless. The second video was quite interesting on how photographers use lighting of the day to better their portraits. After searching YouTube I found this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP31r70_QNM. It shows how they can not only change the look of someone’s face but their entire body. It says that over 99.9% of photos in magazines and build boards are touched up. In fact most models have personal Photoshop “touchupers “and none of their pictures are released until they give the ok. After watching this video I started to think about how Photoshop is used to make us look perfect in pictures. Beauty and the perfect body is a myth as said before. Technology has changed our ideas on beauty and our view of what exercise can actually accomplish. In the video that I found the photographer says that even if someone was to work out as much as we are supposed to it would still be nearly impossible to look like what the models do in the magazines because what you see is not real. This leads me to think of how some people take this perfection to another level. It takes us to plastic surgery. Plastic Surgery is the next level of Photoshop. It is taking what is done on the computer and putting it into action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Art3m4yqJqQ This is a link to a video that shows how some famous actresses did just this and took Photoshop literally.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the technology of this day and age changing our ideas on what beauty actually is. It's ridiculous how many celebrities in the previous video have had plastic surgery and, also, how before any picture is released of a celebrity or model it is practically always retouched (99.9% of the time). People look to Hollywood and its stars to know what's in style. For this generation, a big trend seems to be surgery. In an article that I found,
ReplyDeletehttp://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=6486766&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1
there was a woman who has undergone 8 surgeries in order to have a bust size of FFF. An average breast augmentation is about 300-400 CCs of silicone. But this woman's implants contain 1000CCs or 2 quarts of silicone. Putting this much silicone into your body is hazardous to your back & shoulders as well as to the rest of your body (because it develops scar tissue against the silicone). Also, it doesn't say in the article, but on the original news broadcast, the reporter said that when the woman lays on her back she can hardly breathe. I find it extremely saddening that some take surgeries to such lengths to boost their self esteem and be more like the stars and models in Hollywood. The article also mentioned how breast augmentations have risen 900% in the last 15 years. So, even though not all go through such extreme surgeries as the woman in this article, women and men are doing more and more to reach their goal of perfection. The only trouble is, when will they ever be at that level? And, health-wise, is it really worth it?
To comment on previous posts first. I do recognize that photo's are not always what they appear to be. I also agree that the media sells an idea of perfection no one can live up to. In my job I see this day in and day out, and it seems to be starting younger and younger. However there is a reason why it is out there. We, as a society, no matter your personal beliefs are drawn to those images and ideas of perfection. We buy the magazines, we patron the stores we try and shove ourselves into skinny jeans that just don't fit. While it is an unrealistic expectation, we are the ones that bought into it. I think that photo shop, camera angles and lighting are necessary components in todays competing media outlets. If its a question of morals, or what is right or ethical, that is dependent upon the individual to have strength of self to know what is right for them, instead of buying into what the media says is right.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Caitlin that plastic surgery has gotten out of hand. However I do not believe that it is all bad. Plastic surgery has lasting positive effects. Not everyone is trying to improve on what doesn't need improving. There are many individuals born with cleft palates or one breast significantly larger than the other. These individuals are spared years of torment and/or inevitably depression from having their physical flaws fixed. On this website it lists success stories from the TV show extreme makeover.
http://www.ienhance.com/extreme-makeover-participants.asp
These individuals are not looking to be the most beautiful man or woman in the room. They're not looking to be the top story on TMZ. They are just looking for help in an area where they've never been able to help themselves. In these cases I do not believe there is any problem with plastic surgery.