Kaleb E. Cajas
Reading Assignments
9/12/18
Ways Of Seeing
“Publicity
begins by working on a natural appetite for pleasure”
“Its
promise is not of pleasure, but of happiness: happiness as judged from the
outside by others. The happiness of being envied is glamour”
The video
link I shared is exactly what John Berger is talking about. Most of the
advertisements you see are based around a simple phrase “It’ll make you happy.”
Everybody likes pleasure, it’s what drives most of what we do and publicity is
based around that common chase for euphoria, it feeds off it. Soda companies,
car companies, fast food companies are all using this simple want against us.
McDonalds is probably the best example. Cheap, genetically modified food
advertised as a soure of happiness “badapapa I’m loving it!” The Ace of Cups is
an all girl band from the 70’s and they couldn’t have summed it up better.
“It’s bad for you, but buy it!”
On Photography
“That age when taking photographs required a cumbersome and
expensive contraption -- the toy of the clever, the wealthy, and the obsessed
-- seems remote indeed from the era of sleek pocket cameras that invite anyone
to take pictures.”
I found it interesting
how she included the fact that in todays age, everybody has access to cameras. A
lot of people who own an iPhone think that they could call themselves a
photographer all because they have an Instagram page with a couple landscape
photos on it. In my opinion it kind of
takes away from those who capture a meaningful moment on film, crating an image
that will forever resonate within the minds of those who see it and therefore
will become a part of history. Our history.
My generation craves
acceptance, posting pictures of themselves on social media daily, trying to get
approval from their peers in order to feel pretty or important. The evolution
of cameras has made it accessible to anybody and everybody. Now, as opposed to
seeing photos of Machu Pichu, mountains reaching for the moon, sharing with the
world how it feels to actually be above the clouds, a part of the sky. I find
myself looking at pictures of faces, accompanied by hashtags and emojis.
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