When reading the section “Embodying Social Difference” in Wells’ Photography: a Critical Introduction I was intrigued by the statement “before the development of buses, railroads, and trams in the nineteenth century, people had never been in a position of having to look at each other for long minutes or even hours without speaking to one another”. I never considered the fact that people only really looked at each other closely when they were speaking to one another before the invention of photography. However, this sentence was put into the context of explaining phrenology and physiognomy, which were Victorian sciences that eventually were used as forms of “social control”. It is disturbing to me that with the technology to really look at things differently than with one’s own eye’s, that this power was used to oppress people and justify racism. I feel that the ability to “objectify” people and be able to see them and analyze them in real life dehumanizes the subjects of the photographs in the mind of the viewer, and is a possible contribution to this flawed thinking.
It was also interesting to me that phrenology and physiognomy were tools used in identifying criminals. This system of photography was called “anthropometric” and displayed a front view and side profile of the criminal. It seems ridiculous to me that the appearance of someone due to genetics can determine whether they have committed a crime. That is purely prejudice towards certain types of people and bias in the favor of others. I suppose it should not surprise me that this happened, but it does upset me.
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