looking is a practice of interpretation- not a neutral process. it involves judgments and power...

Looking

is a practice of interpretation-

Not a neutral process.

It involves judgments and power relations.

We encounter thousands of images every day, produced by various technologies - means of production.

A pencil or paintbrush is a technology as much an iMac is.

Technology of images is part of our experience of visual culture.

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

We take for granted the use of digital technology in advertising and entertainment media, as shown in the well-known “Dove Evolution” film.

Image on the right is CBS official photo of Katie Couric when she joined the network in fall 2006; image on the right was used in an in-house CBS newsletter.

representation

• Like language, images are symbol system through which humans create meaning.

• Words and images do not simply “reflect” the world back to us; they are the means through which we create the world.

What made some viewers of this image say that it is a racist image?

What is photographic truth?

Look at the following photographs.

Are they true?

Photo #1

Photo #2

Photo #3

Photo #4

Photo #5

Photo #6

What do images communicate about ideology?

Associated Press caption: “Republican vice presidential candidate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin stands on stage during a campaign rally in O'Fallon, Missouri on August 31.”