Something
that stood out to me in the Wells reading on pages 117-165 was the inclusion of
how popularization of photography was targeted to women. As a female, I
picture myself in the time period of the late 19th century, and if
the camera attracts me nowadays- I imagine I would have gone crazy about it
back then, as a new invention! I thought the segment on pages 144-145 were particularly
interesting because it explained the camera marketed as a gendered object to
domesticate women- something I never knew about, nor would have considered
prior to reading this passage. The fact that there was even a ‘Vanity Kodak’
that came with a matching lipstick, mirror, and compact holder seems so funny
to me. Though, it makes sense. Today, if a company like Kodak decided to
reissue a package similar to a ‘Vanity Kodak’- with makeup and a mirror, it
honestly would probably still sell quite well. Still today, our popular culture puts
women on display as advertisements, and women use photos in the same way- to advertise their personalities. The
idea of being a ‘Kodak girl’ seems attractive; a fashionable feminine figure
who is independent and stylish.
Also, in the ending segment when summarizing modern photography, I liked the contrast Wells makes with the statement “mothers know more than they used to’, a quote taken from
art historian Anne Higonnet. She meant this in the way that women known have
their maternal lives validated in art
and private photography- that they are evolving to become readers and users (terms Wells used) of
photography, rather than either/or a user or reader of the photo.
The
last thing that struck me about this passage was the quote on page 153 that
stood out to me because of the issues we talked about that stemmed from
Gladwell’s ‘Picture Problem’. It stated: “'How will you understand your past when all you
have is photographs?’ asks Ilan Ziv in his film about memories of the
Holocaust" (153). He meant it in terms of social injustices, and photos not being explicit, since they often conceal the entire scope of an issue. But, I thought it was a
great quote to ponder in terms of just thinking how accurate photos are in
general, and how simultaneously realistic and unrealistic they are. We put so much importance on photography in our modern lives, but should we, really?
1 comment:
I was interested in some of the same points as you while reading this chapter, especially the quote from Ziv questioning the deceptiveness of much of common photography. I feel it is inevitable that we will invest ourselves in photography and continue to pose and trick ourselves with it simply because everyone is a bit vain to some extent and we want to be able to see ourselves and present ourselves a particular way to other people. That also plays into photography targeting women because of the emphasis our society puts on us women to look a certain way. Being able to take a picture and get this information out to more people immediately just perpetuates this glorification of looks, especially for young women.
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