Benjamin first states that mechanical reproduction "advanced intermittently and at leaps of long intervals, but with accelerated intensities" (218). By this he is referring to the work of photography and the concept of reproducing a unique image seen by the eye. He later expresses that there is an "aura" that is negatively impacted when mechanical reproduction is present. This "aura" is the originality of the work. It is no longer original once it is reproduced, but the aura represents nativeness and the genuineness of the picture.

An image that comes to mind for me is the Grand Canyon. I went about ten years ago and I was just beside myself when I was looking out into the valleys and how big it was. It really took your breath away knowing you were standing right in front of it and in a way it had an aura about it. There was this feel when I was there that expressed serenity and calmness and it was was one of those places where you had to be there to believe it. Now I do have pictures from that trip, but I look at them and just see different parts of the canyon and I really don't have a feeling toward them. It's almost like, "oh there's another picture of the canyon." There's no amazement or excitement I feel from looking at the pictures because being at the Grand Canyon, you can look for miles in the distance and see a lot and you can turn your head left and right it have a new view, but with a photograph, there is only a 4x6 space to look at and no turning to find a new view. I think this is what Benjamin is trying to described when he says that mechanical reproduction destroys the auras of images.

For my final blog post for the class I wanted to bring attention to the way Zelizer described the photos we have all seen from September 11th and the concentration camps during the Holocaust as iconic. These photos have been in circulation for such a long time and have been seen by millions of people, each showing the tragedy of the times. Being able to recognize these photos at a glance without hesitation we are able to pinpoint when it is from and where it happened. This is exactly what makes a photo iconic but I also got to thinking about what makes other things iconic, is it: the subject? event? just repetition? artist behind the scenes? I came to the conclusion that it HAS to be a combination of all of these things because they all work hand in hand.

Then I thought about other images that are iconic in our society, for example, Marilyn Monroe from The Seven Year Itch, the Beatles walking across Abbey Road, Playboy bunny logo, and Andy Warhol's Campbell's soup can print, the Chanel logo, to name a few. Each image has gained it's reputation because of who's in the photo, what th

e image represents, a notable time period, the story behind it, or even just who created the image. The photos, people, or images society deems 'iconic' have done so over a period of time. Icons don't pop up overnight, it takes many eyes and minds to categorize something this way.

On a different level there are things certain individuals deem iconic, that society as a whole might not. This takes us back to the different ways people use photography and images to remember and cope. But still the iconic factor of something comes from the repetition, subject, etc. not matter the personal opinion behind it.

Invisible Adults

When I read Hirsch's article on presenting child victims, I thought of the Invisible Children campaign. One of the terrible things about this war is the use of child soldiers. This term "child soldier" just doesn't seem right at all. How can you make a child kill someone? I think that one reason that the Invisible Children campaign works so well is because it is relatable. College students and high school students are the same age as these children who are living very different lives halfway across the world. It makes us believe that something is wrong over there and it is our responsibility and duty to theses children to fix it or at least attempt to make it better. If Invisible Children had tried to present "Invisible Adults" I don't think that the response would have been as great because it would have lacked the relate-ability and drama associated with children.

Here is a link to one of the trailers for an Invisible Children film.

Racism

From multiple classes in high school we would talk about racism and especially about schools and sports. Some people believe that it is racist to have an Indian mascot. (some other mascots are discussed but this is most popular). My high school mascot was a Lancer, a type of Indian that used to be where our community is. Our school chose to use them as a mascot in memory of them. But some people, (Indian race and others) think that it is racist and disagree with it...Here is a link of some of the disagreements: http://www.aimovement.org/ncrsm/

What do you think? Is it a honor or dishonor to be a mascot? How would you feel if you personally, or your race were a mascot for an University or school? How do you think it compares to animal mascots?....Just something to think about.

I think it is a honor to be remembered. And compared to animals...I don't think it could compare. I think mascots should be used symbolically for the school and community; to have some meaning or representation of who they are and what they are about. A mascot is a motivator and something to represent you and your school. I am proud to be a Lancer.

Mr. President, How Could You?

Take a look at the photo above. The president is ogling over the girl in the red dress right? Photos can be deceiving, especially still photos. With a still photo, there is no exact story being told with the photo by itself. It needs an interpreter to describe what the setting is and what the story is behind the photo. Photos and videos have a narrow viewpoint compared to being there watching it. Even being there watching it, you might see something someone else didn’t and the angle you are looking could be interpreted differently by another person. In the article from “The Trials and Tribulations of Rodney King “, Nichols writes that “no image can show intent or motivation” (p. 33). You might look at the photo above and speculate it was the intent of Obama to ogle over the girl. How did you come to that possible conclusion? You might make the following conclusions, Obama is a man and men like to gaze at pretty woman (as woman might say, men are pigs due to this behavior). He is also in the age range where he would be turned on by looking. The girl is wearing a bright red sleeveless dress, has bright curly flowing hair, has a great shape, and would catch the eye of many men. You might think, as the president, he does not have a lot of time for many private, personal encounters with his wife and in-turn is on a heightened state of awareness to a beautiful woman passing by.

This type of speculation or guessing is what Nichols defines as “algebra of probability” often referred to as “street smarts” (p. 35). “Using such an algebra requires an ability to develop and follow tacit conventions describing the boundaries of a discrete situation or event, character types, their usual behavior, the motivations and intentions governing specific encounters and their likely result” (p. 35). This “algebra of probability” can often get police into trouble when encountering a perpetrator. If the police have a shootout and fight at the end of a car chase every time the person is a black male, they will come to the conclusion that is probably going to happen this time too. Many times it does happen, but sometimes it does not and that is when cops get into trouble. Just like the photo above, guessing what happens based on your street smarts might lead you to the wrong conclusion.

With all that in mind, take a look at the video.

Still convinced that Obama was ogling? Video shows more and has audio, but the view is still small and it still needs some narration by the broadcaster. Without someone pointing anything out, would you have known to look for anything at all?

Lastly, regarding Nichols claim. Can you capture intent and motivation on camera? I say yes, as long as it does not involve a human. For a human, intent and motivation are thoughts that cannot be seen or read. Humans can also change their initial intent or motivation at the last possible moment. Animals on the other hand don’t have that switch unless something goes wrong physically with them. Take a look at the photo below. What is the intent of the cheetah? It is obvious that the cheetah intends to kill and eat the gazelle and is motivated by instinct and a hungry stomach. The cheetah is not going to chase down a gazelle for fun and it won’t stop unless he catches it or something goes physically wrong. Something like he got too tired, he broke a leg, he fell in a hole, etc. One might argue that since intent and motivation are thoughts and emotions, then humans are the only one that has them and it does not apply to the animal world. But that is a different argument to have.

Rodney King

I decided to blog about Rodney King this week. I was almost 20 when this event occurred in LA, yet can barely recall the specifics. My husband who is a few years older than I could only recall a few facts from the trial.

I found The Trials and Tribulations article very interesting. I can vaguely recall the video being shown on the news and hearing about the riots in LA. Among the many things I learned from the article, I never knew the amateur video did not record the entire event. As horrible an event it was, I found myself wanting to research the event more.

I am sure to many in 1991, it was to be a quick open and shut case, yet it wasn’t. George Holliday, a man awakened by the commotion outside his apartment taped only one and half minutes of the beating. This was surely enough evidence to prove that these LA police officers were all guilty, yet it didn’t. This certainly proves the point made in the article that no image can show intent or motivation.

I found this article interesting and informative. Good pick.

photo evidence.

The different ways mentioned in the Sontag article regarding how photography is used reminded me in particular of Facebook. As photography becomes increasingly mainstream, more photographers look for a way to share their photos, and therein their experiences with their friends. It can, however, cross a line from sharing to becoming an integral part of life.
From my own experience, I've watched the photo sharing application of Facebook change from good to questionable. When we were high school, and Facebook was brand new, photo albums were slow to upload and could only contain 60 pictures maximum. Most people my age didn't have their own digital cameras, so pictures were mostly limited to special events and vacations, similar to photographs in the past. Eventually, picture messaging became common, and mobile uploading began. With mobile uploads, people could document instantaneous moments whenever their cell phone was handy. Album limits were removed, and everyday events became public domain.
With these changes, it became as though events had to be photographed as evidence that you were there. If there are pictures of an event that you attended, and you weren’t tagged in any photographs, you might as well not have gone. A photographical timeline of high school and college began to emerge for all of your Facebook friends to peruse, as a glimpse into not only the special events in one’s life, but also the personal moments captured by mobile uploads.
This is something that is touched on in the article; the idea that photographs are evidence. The influence of Facebook has taken this one step further, that the pictures are an integral part of an event, and there is this visual log of everyone’s activities. Social networking sites have increasingly adapted this mobile uploading feature as it has become more widely used, through photo tweets and programs such as Instagram. There are upsides to this way of social networking as well; in the way that photographs can show actual moments instead of simply describing them, we can update our friends without words, giving them actual glimpses into our activities through photographs that we choose to share.

Projected Memory

In this past reading Hirsch discusses the relationship we have to the suffering of others via photographs. I found this writing very interesting and could not help but think of the people of Japan after reading Hirsch. How she describes the way we feel towards others we do not even know is extremely accurate and had me thinking. At first I didn't think I felt this way until I went online to find some of the devastating picture from the earthquake in Japan. Once I searched for pictures things such as the picture here appeared. Just seeing the destruction from the earthquake made me instantly feel sick. We take so much for granted every day without realizing how lucky we are. Then as the search continued I began to come across pictures of children and families. This is when I realized that Hirsch was spot on with what she had said in her writing. Seeing pictures of children, helpless and without a home made me instantly feel for as i imaged myself in that situation as a child or seeing my little brother in those circumstances. These images can not help but have us create a connection in one way or another. However, this natural destruction made me make a connection with Hirsch's writing and we can see through these images how powerful pictures and images can be in everyday life.

Understanding Hirsch

As I read the reading from Hirsch, I found it a little difficult to find an experience that has happened to me like the one she describes in her reading. The worst natural disaster that has occurred is that the Delaware River overflowed and ruined many houses close to and far as well from the River. Hirsch argues that photographs are problematic and I believe she states this because pictures taken of natural disasters cause a sense of discomfort and when we see them, we feel bad for the people affected by it. She also describes this concept of postmemory, which is looking at photos and automatically thinking of something similar to that, but it is not exactly initiated with yourself. With this, I then thought of tornadoes and earthquakes. There have been many tornadoes and earthquakes mainly in the midwest, but recently there was a earthquake in Philadelphia, about 40 minutes away from me. It was not severe, but it had me thinking, that this could happen to anyone. This is where the postmemory kicked in. The picture is of a tornado from Missouri that just occurred recently. It automatically made me think of the earthquake/tornado near me that happened and how it could have been actually severe. It didn't actually happen to me, but since it was so close, I feel like it almost did. This just shows the power that pictures have on peoples minds.

Hidden Message

After reading Trials and Tribulations it got me thinking about the way media and images has such control over our thinking. News systems carefully map out what they release and say to the public; images such as this one are released to prove that something happened but they also paint a picture with their words and using descriptive words or phrases to describe something. "Cooked and channeled, emotional investment rises and falls along the dramatic curve provided by the news systems" (p.20).

This perfectly illustrates the impact media has on us as well as other people. Reading about the Rodney Kind case enticed me to search for and watch the video and after watching it I felt that the video didn't just depict violence by the LAPD but it also lets viewers catch a glimpse of the evil that lurks inside people. The officers tried in the case defended themselves by saying that they feared for their lives and this was merely self defense but I truly do not believe this.

For more than 4 officers to fear for their lives by one man just seems extremely unbelievable and makes me question why some people, people that are supposed to be role models and mentors, would hold such a position. This video made me wonder why these individuals would want to be police officers if they were so easily convinced they were in danger. Personally I do not want to be "protected" by people who feel they are better than others and resort to unnecessary violence or those who are afraid or confrontation with a possible threat. Somewhere in there, there must be a happy medium or people who will protect those in the community with dignity and pride.

The Ring of Fire

Marianne Hirsch’s essay Projected Memory: Holocaust Photographs exposed a concept that was particularly interesting to me which was that of ‘postmemory’. She explains how especially camera images can capture an essence and become very ‘familiar and iconic’. Postmemory is this terms that she uses to describe when you remember an experience that maybe never actually happened to you when seeing a photograph. But it is not just is a level of remembering a certain even it is about linking it to your own experiences and maybe relating to it and to the people in the picture because in a sense you feel that you could be that person in the photograph. She mentions that sometimes these images can become so important in your life that you construct your own memories around it and in a sense they become part of you and something you experienced as well.

With the recent earthquakes in Chile and Japan I saw many pictures that made a great impact in my life and that really made me understand the point that Hirsch was explaining through postmemory. Ecuador is another country that is also on top of the Ring of Fire of the pacific, meaning that like those countries that suffered those terrible earthquakes we are too in the zone with most seismic risk in the world. We have had tragedies in the past because of this, which inevitably brought with it the eruption of several volcanoes as well. When I hear the news about the earthquakes especially the one in Chile (because it is so close), it was really shocking because it could have easily been us. When I see the faces of the people who suffered and lost everything I think about how it could have been here in Ecuador. So even though I have not lived through an earthquake I can easily sympathize with the victims of these earthquakes because it has happened here before and there is a great chance that it could happen in the future.

Here's to Change

Gross' essay on "The Ethis of (Mis)representation" got me wondering if the media has changed any bit since the essay was released. After searching online, I found that the work was released in 1991. Depending on the subject or person, twenty years can be a short or long amount of time. I wanted to focus on the media, and if any changes (particularly positive) have occurred with the media's portrayal of homosexuality and heterosexism. Gross writes, "The rules of the mass media game have a double impact on gay people: not only do they pick and use weak and silly, or evil and corrupt, cliche'd characterizations, but they exclude and deny the existence of normal, unexceptional as well as exceptional lesbians and gay men"(196). I would like to propose otherwise. Though it has been (and still is) a long process, the media's portrayal of homosexuality is changing.

Ellen DeGeneres is a well known media personality and comedienne. In 1997, DeGeneres came out on public television as a lesbian. If Gross' interpretations of this subject are true, the public and media would have shunned her. Her career would have gone to waste. However, it didn't and Ellen Degeneres career thrived. She went on to have her own talk show in 2003, which is still on the air. The quote from Gross that I included above does not seem to apply to DeGeneres. Here is an openly gay woman, who has gone on to have great success. The part that makes me think Gross is wrong about the media is that the show Degeneres hosts is not defined by her sexuality, but by her personality. She is a talk show host, like any other, that discusses current issues, has guests, tells jokes, and even dances with the audience.

I like to believe that our culture and society is changing. That we are becoming more open and accustomed to lifestyles that may be different from our own. While Gross' essay certainly has its merits and evidence to back it up, I am of the belief that the media, and with it society and culture, are evolving to become more accepting.