Chapter 5 has a lot to do
with the consumer culture and how it relates to photography. The author
speaks about how society is surrounded by all these photographs that are
embedded in our brains as authentic and real, but they are actually creating a false
consciousness in society. These photographs are selling products and
services. As we have become so accustomed to this consumerism, we have
also become passive consumers, allowing the false consciousness and
hyper-reality to be engrained in our culture.
Even photojournalism, the
ultimate authentic photography medium is surrounded by this idea of the
spectacle, trying to get people's attention through manipulation. PR
companies were hired to cover war coverage to hide the reality from the mass media. For newspapers and magazines, more intense photos get better news stories and therefore higher ratings for
that media outlet. The first photographer that came to mind while reading this
was Allan Arbus, a lot of his pictures were used in Glamour and Vogue.
The author also brings up
an interesting idea that commercial photography constantly borrows from ideas
within our culture and by doing this, it has perpetuated stereotypes. I also enjoy when
the author mentions that commercial photography never challenges the status
quo. At first, I don't know if I completely agree with this, I feel our
culture is shifting a bit more to understand that we are manipulated by media
and some outlets do challenge some ideas. I think since media is so
strong, that it would be very interesting to see media challenge societal norms
more often.
After reading the chapter,
I found myself asking these questions:
Does the influx of
commercial photography affect our ideas and perceptions about fine art
photography? Do we expect more/less from fine art photography because of how
flooded our culture is with advertisement?
How do you feel photographs
could be used in advertising without creating a false consciousness?
Do you think that people
are becoming more aware of how the media changes their perceptions?
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