Hello World
This is my Reading Response 1: In Plato’s Cave
It is a habit of mine to take a picture of any interesting thing I face in my day. I like to think that I have the gift of appreciating the wonders of life, or at least I try to. I have found myself more than once taking a picture of my food before enjoying it, to the moon even if the reach of my phone does not seem to see what I see, or to the light passing through the branches of the trees. After all, born in the era of technology, it is almost impossible not to be related to the concept of photography, the cultural importance it helps carry, and how deeply it is involved in our lives.
Photography nowadays, as I see it, is a new way to redefine our concept of life and appreciation for the memories and the moments we live, as the idea that Susan Sontag develops in “In Plato’s Cave”. I particularly like the comparison made between writing and photography, while by writing we try to communicate our impressions and interpretations about the world and it’s magnificent, we can do the same though a photo without the necessity of words, but instead manipulating the angles, the lights and the position of what we want to share for people to see, as some sort of evidence, but still manipulable. The story that a picture can tell is what we are interested in. A proof of the existence, I like to think. It is a way to immortalize our lives, becoming photography a form of art. But it may not be considered as such due to the way it is integrated in our everyday life and practiced by almost anybody with a smartphone. It can be considered a product of the desensitization of everyday life. But this desensitization towards this form of art is not the whole story, it extends to people stopping living and enjoying their life’s and the important moments just to stop and take a picture. In any case, other than people ignoring the art of taking photos, it has its whole science and it is present in today’s society.
HOME