Reading: Susan Sontag, In Plato's Cave
from the book: On Photography
Due: 9/16/22
People use media as a way to escape from reality. Through a glance, a
person can escape from this reality to see something that is out of the
ordinary for them. Photography can depict the imaginary, the past, and
even a peek into someone else’s perspectives. Susan Sontag describes
photographs as “miniatures of reality that anyone can make or acquire”
(pg.4). Just like many people look at other people’s content to get
outside of their world, people create content to share their own
perspectives and experiences with others. But just because, the purpose
of creating media is to share one’s point of view and image, it doesn’t
mean it is an accurate depiction of that person’s life.
A great example of this is the use of social media. In today’s society,
we are living in a world of escapism. As Sontag states, “…picture-taking
is an event in itself…The omnipresence of cameras persuasively suggests
that time consists of interesting events, events worth
photographing,”(pg.11). Those in today’s generation are living with FOMO
( the fear of missing out) and constant stimulation, and this especially
is shown in the constant desire to share one’s life events, stay up to
date with the “lives” of others, and find ways to divert their attention
to something that invokes positive or new emotions. There is constant
pressure to self-express in this society because everyone else is doing
it. “Photography is not practiced by most people as an art. It is mainly
a social rite, a defense against anxiety, and a tool of power,”(pg.8).
Personally, I also create images as a way to escape reality. Taking
images is a way of getting involved with my reality, a way to keep
myself engaged. I can admit that I also have the same habit of
manipulating what I create as other creators do. As Sontag explains,
“Even when photographers are most concerned with mirroring reality, they
are still haunted by tacit imperatives of taste and
conscience…photographers are always imposing standards on their
subjects” (Pg.6). This desire to create something visually pleasing
dictates most of what I create, it also dictates the lives of those in
this generation. I often have the goal of enjoying the process of what I
create, and successfully creating something that I’m proud of— even if
it’s a manipulation of reality.
In conclusion, nothing is real. And there is no true way to accurately
represent our world at this moment, except for what we already have that
shows how truly biased and manipulated everything in our world is.
Xaviera Simmons: Crisis Makes a Book Club (Queens Museum)
In Xaviera Simmons’ Crisis Makes a Book Club exhibition, Simmons touches
on the topics of capitalism and white supremacy— and how both of them
can be highly misunderstood by the majority of the population,
especially in the U.S. I was able to make this connection through two
parts of Simmon’s exhibition. The first I saw from Simmons was the
questions she had conjured related to the Queens Museum Cultural Food
Pantry.
One of the questions Simmons had prepared was: “Many Americans do not
understand the mechanism and impacts of capitalism. What is your
definition of capitalism?” This specific question caught my attention
since capitalism is a topic that is often talked about yet it’s one that
people may not know what it is. Personally, I don’t believe I fully
understand what capitalism is, means, or its impacts—but I do have some
ideas (which may even be biased). For this section of Simmon’s
exhibition, there were apparently supposed to be answers to these
questions, but it seems like answers were not yet available when I
visited. It would’ve been interesting to read different responses and
learn about different views—especially between different economic
backgrounds.
Another part of Simmons’ exhibition that captured my attention, was the
big black installation filled with white uppercase letters. Within the
writing, it was emphasized the idea of white supremacy and how other
groups–like blacks–had to adopt certain habits and lifestyles to either
fit in or benefit the group that is claiming superiority. “Powerful
people the world has ever seen and how did they get that way by deciding
that they were white by opting for safety instead of life…By persuading
themselves that a black childs life meant nothing compared with a white
childs life by abandoning their children to the things white men can
buy…” This part of the writing reminded me of slavery and the times
where blacks had to serve whites.
Reading: Graphic Novel: Motherhood in crisis
by: Laurence Ivil, Alicia Prager and Saidu Bah
Heela: The schoolgirl, ‘My stolen future’
Out of the four motherhood stories, Heela's narrative seemed to be the
most impactful, especially as a reader who is around a similar age. In a
comic format, the story was able to come across more clearly rather than
if it was just an article or an informational video. Using
illustrations, these narratives can be understood by a wider audience
and hence create a deeper influence on the readers. It was almost as if
the reader was there with the narrator. The story was described through
illustrations, but the people involved in the health centers mentioned
were introduced towards the end through video and photographs. I found
illustration to be a great way to keep the narrator’s identity
anonymous, while still keeping the authenticity of the story. The text
was able to successfully mix storytelling with being informative.
Article: Workers in the Global South are making a living playing the blockchain game Axie Infinity
Initially, playing games to earn money would sound too good to be true,
but RK Secretario proved that it was possible. Axie Infinity, the game
Secretario plays, is a blockchain game where players “collect, train,
battle, and sell Axies.” The game seems to have a similar structure and
objective to Pokemon Go, except players earn real-life currency. During
the pandemic, RK Secretario could no longer sell rice feed due to
lockdown restrictions, and became worried about how to support his
82-year-old grandma and himself. The game had given him hope, since he
was able to stay safe at home, enjoy what he was doing and still earn
money.
If I had found myself in this situation, I would also want to seize the
opportunity —which is unstandable why many people would like to take
part in this game. The fact that if the game were to shut down and the
player wouldn’t lose anything, adds to the benefit of the game. It makes
the game to seem like a safer (and funner) option to gain cryptocurrency
instead of investing (and risking money) from the the beginning. RK’s
Secratory’s narrative was a successful one since he was able to not only
support his grandma and himself, but also his community by running
charity events.
