Photography Is A Social Rite, But It Can Be A Defense Against Anxiety And A Tool Of Power

Photographs are special because you can tell an entire story with them without using a single word, it can convey emotions, and feelings. Photographs make connections, photographs can show challenges in our world along with celebrating the greatness in the world.

A man may recognize himself in his father, grandfather, great grandfather and uncles faces, men who no longer exist. Photographs provide evidence of their lives, and the changes through time. As someone who enjoys studying people, and culture, the art of Photography has capture moments of absolute joy, the birth of a child, marriage, birthday celebrations. It can be evidence of war crimes, and genocide, destruction and

Photography gives you a small sample of reality, but these realities have been changed to what the photographer wants to present. However as Sontag stated, “Of course, photographs fill in the blanks in our mental pictures of the present and the past.” Pictures show proof that all of the history that we learn is true, but although it confirms that, pictures does not show us the entire picture of how people felt about the situation. For example, one might have a picture from WWII and show us the setting, but does that picture really show the feeling of the people? That is why we say that photography only goes as far as to how the photographer wants to show the

Sontag believes that photography limits the understanding of the world however, contrary to this claim, I believe that photography does not limit the understanding of the world, but rather enhances it.

In Freeman Patterson’s Barriers to Seeing, Patterson mentions a quote from Susan Sontag about cameras and experiences. Sontag writes, “‘A way of certifying experience, taking photographs is also a way of refusing it – by limiting the experience to a search for the photogenic, by converting into an image, a souvenir’” (Paragraph 12). Essentially, Sontag is elaborating how people are distracted from their surroundings and experiences to find a photogenic picture or to record what they think to be an experience. While the objective of photography is usually to capture an experience or feeling, many are instead obsessed with finding good lighting, searching for a good background, and are focused on taking the best picture to post on social media. In many cases this is very true, and I myself can see it in people’s photos as well as my own. In Freeman Patterson’s Barriers to Seeing,” he quotes Susan Sontag’s statement that one’s camera can be a barrier to seeing and experiencing a moment. Through other’s picture taking as well

In “Why We Take Pictures,” Susan Sontag discusses the increase use of technology and its ability to impact the daily lives of mankind. Taking pictures is a form of self-evolution that slowly begins to shape past and present experiences into reality. Sontag argues how the use of photography is capable of surpassing our reality by helping us understand the concept of emotion, diversity, and by alleviating anxiety and becoming empowered. Moreover, according to her argument, people are able to construct a bond between the positive or negative moments in life to cognitively release stress through reminiscing. Therefore, Sontag claims that photography itself can help with reshaping individual’s perspectives of reality by being able to empathize with the emotions portrayed through an image. Thus, giving

Photos can be an illustrative material object to shape a story. But photos just reflect upon our memories and try to relate to the overall useless piece of paper. Photos may have value but they are essentially paper and just that. Photos are meaningless because each person just brings his own mental state of mind to the picture.

Before starting this project, I knew very little about photography, photographers, or exactly how much impact photographical images have had on our society. I have never taken a photography class, or researched too in depth about specific pictures or photographers. This project has allowed me to delve deeper into the world of photography in order to understand just how much influence pictures can have over society’s beliefs, emotions, and understandings’. I have have chosen two highly influential photographers, Diane Arbus and Dorothea Lange, who I have found to both resonate with me and perfectly capture human emotions in way that moves others.

I wouldn’t want to meet my ‘soulmate’ through picture brides because it’s unconventional and insincere. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that both parties thought they were benefiting their own interests going into a picture bride marriage. I admit that there was a lot of deception involved, however that didn’t change the fact that going through with their marriage was arrange on the circumstances of their self-interests. For the brides, some would be from poor families and needed money. Obviously what they found in America wasn’t what they expected. But they never loved the American on the other side, but they found the opportunity too hard to pass. They needed to make money to support their family. On the other side, most of the men were poor farmers that highly likely weren’t going to find true love, so they decided to create some of it.

Sometimes, the media will not publish images that are difficult to look at because they know the damaging effect these photos could have on people. Susan Sontag in her article “Regarding the Pain of Others,” uses an ethical and logical appeal to show how photographs can have a negative effect

Sontag claims that “photography is, a social rite, but it can also be a defense against anxiety and a tool of power (page 130).” She backs her claim by stating “photographs give people an imaginary possession of a past that is unreal, they also help people to take possessions of space in which they are insecure.” (Sontag page 131). In other words, having pictures allows people to tell stories that may not be exactly true. I agree with Sontag because I have witnessed and experienced how pictures can hurt someone emotionally while empowering others.

Susan Sontag suggests that photography limits our understanding of the world because of the way photographs have become such an important part of our daily lives. We see images of many things daily and that may impact how we see the world. Many people see photographs as giving us insights and views of the many things that we are unlikely to experience during our lives. Most humans will never get to see a lion eating its prey up close or see the beauty of a coral reef but a well taken photograph can give us that view in intricate details.

In addition, photography does it pivotal role by showing people the realities of life. One relevant example to this is photojournalism. Through photographic presentation, people are informed of the real situations of the stories about the real situations around the globe, may it be good or bad news. It is very easy to understand news or stories with photos attached to them. Therefore, photography is a powerful communication tool that embeds social happenings to the human awakening, with no other form of media can

Photographs are used to document history, however selected images are chosen to do so. Often times these images graphically show the cruelty of mankind. In her book, Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag asks, "What does it mean to protest suffering, as distinct from acknowledging it?" To acknowledge suffering is just to capture it, to point it out and show somebody else that it exists. In order to protest suffering, there has to be some sort of moral decision that what is shown in the photograph is wrong, and a want from the viewer to change that.

On January 1859, the British Medical Journal published in their issue this statement “Photography is so essentially the Art of Truth- and the representative of the Truth in Art”. Photography became the new fascination when William Henry Fox Talbert first invited the photographic process in 1839. Images provide a realistic portrayal of an object. As the quote mention, the truth is displayed in photos. With the popularity of the photography, also came many creative ways of applying it in daily functions. In the medical field the new fascination for physiognomy and chronological became a way to understand, diagnosis and treat illness. Famous physcharist and photographer Doctor Hugh W. Diamond, was known