ANTH 2110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Mug Shot, Digital Photography, John Berger
Document Summary
Photographic ads became common in the mid-19th century. Social and political control (passports, police, id, etc) become a form of surveillance. Mug shots are examples of posing as well as racial profiling (became a form of surveillance) Way to tell story to convey messages. Was viewed as a medium that can capture things at an event when in fact, it does the opposite conceal and. Represent nationalism in ads erase more than they actually document. A picture tells a thousand words has nothing to do with the social context. Its relationship to memory and time: compilations of your experiences up to the point the picture was taken. Memory shifts and changes every time we want to describe what is happening in the picture. Different sets of meanings depending on when/who"s looking at it as well as who the audience is. Can"t be seem as real distinct memories: posing and framing, misrepresent other people/what"s happening.
