Technology has become a part of our everyday lives. We have grown reliant on the way our lives have become facilitated by technology. In addition we have become so entrapped to technology, that at times we lose track of time due to our in depth focus in technology. For example, the other day I was watching Netflix on my phone on the train. I look up from my phone and I passed my stop. It is at this moment as I come to realize how a device created by humans has the power to distract us from getting to our destinations. We have become so entrapped into our cell phones that sometimes we forget or just plain out avoid real life socialization with with friends or family. The purpose of cell phones was to make it easier to communicate with one another, but at the end of the day this device has changed our generation and the way we function. From little things as missing my train stop to bigger things as not knowing when to stop using ones cellphone and may grow apart from a significant other, or a baby being raised by the 21st century nanny (cellphones). To conclude I still watch Netflix on my phone and probably always will, but I like to always be aware of my surroundings on the train or overall just how I am especially in New York City and I try to avoid losing track of time while on my smartphone.

In this picture we see Leshia Evans protesting for the brutal killing of an African Amerian. I chose this picture because it struck me the most as a violation of our rights to protest it seems that the young women being detained by officers with layers of armor to take her down. I find this picture very powerful because she is standing tall for what she believes in with no fear of the consequences. This is a great representation of the black lives matter movement as there is no violence associated with it and this is American fighting for the American people’s rights. The strongest point I take from this image is that despite those officers wearing all that armor she is the more powerful one in the image fighting for a better America who protects all its people rather than kills them because of race or religion. I’m sure this image will be in future generations’ textbooks when they are being taught about the Black Lives Matter Movement.

The wealthy seem to have the need to show their status to the world. It is not enough for themselves to know they have money some have the urge to show every individual who they cross paths with that they have money. This image of Tyga with his chains is contemporary to episode 3 in Ways of Seeing. In episode 3 Berger talks about oil paintings in particular of portraits of people in the era as a status symbol showing that they have enough money to be painted on canvases which at the time was limited to only the wealthy. So all though Tyga is not painted on a canvas he has a picture of him with his chains to flaunt his wealth on social media. Wealthy people seem to want that acknowledgment from society so desperately of being wealthy. This image is different from the oil paintings because it is not a painting but the message is the same the oil paintings were delivering.During the oil painting age portraits of oneself were the status symbol in this day in age its designer clothes, jewelry, super cars, etc. So times change and the wealthy do not evolve!

In episode 2 of ways of seeing we come to see the perspective Berger has on how women were objectified by men through paintings. Also a great point that Berger develops is that women in paintings were not really depicted in them they were just portrayed the way they were for the pleasure of the spectator. Which at that time the spectator was mainly men and the painters were also mainly men as well. In the episode Berger also mentions how to be naked is to be oneself meanwhile to be nude is to be naked for a spectator but in a way as a disguise in order to please the individual observing the painting. I find this very interesting because in a way I believe we still do this for pictures in our every day life we typically are not ourselves when we take pictures and post them on social media. So from my point of view I think to be able to be ourselves in pictures we would need to not be aware of the picture being taken I have always thought those are more powerful pictures rather then someone simply smiling for a picture. Fortunately we have come a long way women are progressing and striving in all fields of expertise where before during the time of the paintings women were limited to even thinking of doing certain jobs and positions of power in politics that they have gotten now so this goes to show we have improved in society. From this episode all I took from it was how little women meant for men they were painted nude in order for the pleasure of men rather then being painted doing the tasks they do in their everyday lives or so on so the image we have thanks to the art is totally different from what women actually did in society at the time.

Jeffery Chacon

English

Blog#1

 The invention of the camera has really changed our perspective we get from images and and some may get different meanings from an image based on their past experiences or common knowledge. For example, Ai Weiwei’s picture of someone showing his middle finger at the white house. I feel like we are all entitled to our freedom of speech and in this picture that person is not harming or discriminating anyone so I feel like that the controversy that exists regarding that picture is irrelevant. For all we know it is a United States veteran showing his middle finger at the white house because he feels like his or her voice is not being listened to. Another reason why I am not offended because of this picture because In a way I relate a lot to this picture because of the Trump. I am not in agreement with most of his absurd ideas and racist comments he shares on national Television. Although I am aware that this picture was taken long before Trump was in office but this picture might have been directed at whoever was in office at the time of the picture maybe the American sticking out his middle finger was also not in agreement with the administration at the time because of the ways the president might have handled certain situations at the time. This shows how the invention of the camera has changed our lives and created a totally different language that creates a lot of controversy on social media and also shows how an image can mean many different things for different people.