"... the photograph does not present to us an idea or concept about the world, except as we use language itself to convert the image to idea," Postman says in chapter five of Amusing Ourselves to Death. When I read this, I got offended, for I like pictures, and I believe that pictures do help with comprehending and visualizing situations more than words do sometimes. Yes, pictures are only a smallest fraction of a whole reality, we do not get to see every single parts of the ocean, trees, rabbit holes, or eagle eggs when we see a photograph, but we visualize something; on the other hands, words cannot show us any image, we have to estimate and imagine what the words are explaining. Unless an object is written with details, people often do not imagine the described object correctly if they have never seen the object. They can also mistaken for a wrong thing when something appears that resembles that of the described object. At least if we see a picture, we remember and recognize whatever the object is. Postman said photographs cannot give us "idea or concept about the world." I say we definitely can. In history classes, pictures in the textbooks, footage, and documentaries are important parts of the learning, because they give students the idea of the situation in the wars and battles, genocides, hidings, and just regular lives of certain group of indigenous people.
I have to admit not every literature or document needs pictures, but pictures are also important in many cases along with the writing.
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I agree with you, Diane. Of course, words are essential when it comes to understanding a concept, but it is hard to envision or imagine something without a visual representation... often a picture. I also felt that Postman was knocking down the use of pictures. I mean, some images here and there are a good visual aid, don't you think? Unless an author uses GOOD visual imagery, I believe that pictures are necessary.
ReplyDeleteJust like the saying goes, "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"...
But, are they the right words, Joey?
ReplyDeleteOh, goodness. I don't know where to begin. I'll start with the most obvious.
ReplyDelete(Joey. Avoid cliches. Please. Just don't use them. In fact, this is my rule: If you have to use one, you must replace one of the nouns in the cliche with the noun "lion." So this would be, A Lion is Worth a Thousand Words, OR, if you prefer, A Picture is Worth a Thousand Lions.)
Diane, don't be OFFENDED if Postman says you can't know the story from a photograph. That's not the word you want. It's not personal. But think about it: how many times have you been feeling sort of average, and maybe a little peeved at your friend, and someone busts out a camera, and suddenly everyone squeezes together and plasters on the big smile, or acts coquettish with pouty lips and shoulder action, like they all love one another and everyone is having fun and no one is lonely in the crowd, and then the camera goes away, and it's back to normal. Photographs LIE. They capture a fleeting moment, whether it's people in a social setting, a scene from war, or a historical monument. Look at the beautiful White House, a symbol of America, the presidency, our democracy. The flag waves beautifully in the foreground. Oh yeah. Slave labor built it. Not captured in the photo. Postman's point is that we take TOO MUCH information from a photograph, and then walk around thinking that we know the world.
Diane, you may be right. I myself am a "visual" learner. Joey's quote goes for certain things but maybe not with education. I like the quote, "Tell me, I’ll forget. Show me, I’ll remember. Involve me, I’ll understand." With the use of pictures or imagery you are involving me and I respect that type of learning, although I do respect when teacher work too hard to make us understand without the use of pictures. For example, last year I had Mrs. Musick for English and she uses Powerpoint 'til no end, which was good for me. She told us, showed us and involved us. She used video, pictures and examples and instead of reading our semester books alone, she had a tape we could listen to to follow along, Great! But my history teacher, Mr. Reyes was not such a visual teacher. He would make us right down everything he said and cross his fingers that we'll remember. For example he would compare Marie Antoinette to Paris Hilton then say "Guys, right down 'Paris Hilton'" So we did. But looking back on my notes I struggled because it just said "Paris Hilton" in the corner of my paper and I'm losing my mind trying to remember why I wrote it down! But he tried very hard to make us understand which I also appreciate. Pictures are needed in many situations because like you said, if we aren't familiar with it, we could get confused. That's why they use visuals in Driver's Ed, Training Videos for a Job you're applying for and for "How-To" videos for certain procedures. But sometimes pictures could be like training wheels, we've got to learn to broaden our education by challenging ourselves.
ReplyDeleteWhich is NOT to say that we cannot learn SOMETHING from a photograph, as you pointed out in your post. Of course we can. But we have to add our grain of salt, and understand that right beside that beautiful image of the president and the prime minister, just outside of the frame of the photo, there may be an angry mob with pitchforks and torches.
ReplyDeleteI meant to say *write* in my comment not, "right down everything he said..."
ReplyDelete(Hot tip: You know what I do when I notice I've made a typo? I copy my post, delete it, paste the old post into the little text box, make my correction and then post. But I have the option to "remove forever" so I don't leave little evidence trails around that I've deleted a post...you guys don't have that option, do you??)
ReplyDeleteNope Mrs. Fletcher, we don't have the option to clean up those pesky little "This Author Has Deleted Their Comment" marks. I hate those things, it's so messy so unless you detect it and clear it up, I try not to make mistakes.
ReplyDeleteNo, Raul, not always. Good point.
ReplyDeleteI read my posts five times or so before actually posting them, trying to prevent any mistakes. Oh my, I forgot to put "of nature," like this: "...we do not get to see every single parts of the ocean, trees, rabbit holes, or eagle eggs when we see a photograph of nature..."
ReplyDeleteI do get the logic and facts in your words Mrs.Fletcher, in how people are too optimistic sometimes and they want to avoid the truth. So, our final resolution is that there are goods and bads to the pictures, as there are pros and cons for many things in the world.
The Paris Hilton story is quite funny, Breahna. I switched to Mrs.Garvin regular from Mr.Reyes regular history class. (random)