Reading Assignments

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”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9dZQelULDk

            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.