Photographs are usually a trigger of nostalgia. The past can seem considerably happier than the present; of course, the memories are represented by happy smiles and peace signs. These poses are directed at a machine that cannot record the thoughts and realistic emotions of the moment. As stated by Sontag, "Camera's rendering of reality must always hide more than it discloses". These means of creating tangible souvenirs of the past, in some cases, couldn't be farther from reality. The term photogenic means that a person appears very attractive in pictures. Even excluding the possibility that pictures can be photo shopped, it is still very hard to capture people in pictures exactly as they seem in real life. Many people don't have the gift of being photogenic and when the only means of meeting people is through pictures, wrong judgments are easily made. However, it doesn't help if a person is photogenic because they are still portrayed with a different nature. This could even lead to high expectations when meeting the actual person. True personality cannot be framed, it can only be experienced in person and stored as a vague memory in the brain. Of course, pictures also serve as an important piece of today's culture. These moments help provide, in some situations, clarity that is needed. Even if the features don't reflect the beauty of the actual person, they provide a means of remembering a person when the human mind fails to retain the information.
Resources:
"On Photography" by Susan Sontag
I don't know if you meant to do this, but your post has a philosophical, soothing tone! And I agree with your stance that pictures provide clarity/remembrance. I also have feeling you're referring to online dating sites with the photogenic discussion? I'm probably way off, but nice discussion on the photogenic topic!
ReplyDeleteThe sentence stating that "true personality cannot be framed" only stored as a "vague memory" is absolutely astounding! Every time I am asked about what a person is like all I can end up saying is "oh they're nice" and that's all I've got: a vague memory.
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