On Tuesday we were able to have a conversation on truth with Zizek. I thought it was very interesting to be able to read something in our class and then be able to have a conversation with this author we are learning from. I think that Zizek provided a lot of good information and ideas for us to understand better the idea of truth within our society. Although it was a difficult conversation to have listening and having the knowledge of his writings the ideas and thoughts came together.
On Thursday we discussed Baudrillard some more and what was interesting to me was the concept of the steps of reality. The first step of reality is the concept of reflection of reality. The second step is that reality masks and denatures the idea of reality. And finally the third step is the idea that reality is masking the absence of reality.
When the picture of the soldiers on the ground with the car in the background it is instantly assumed that the soldiers have died in a war related incident. This reflects the reality. This picture could be on the cover of the New York Times and it is instantly assumed by our society that this picture is presenting the ideas of death. The viewers are not there only the photographer was there, so how do we know it is real and how do we know that it actually occurred? We technically don’t, the only people who know are the people who were there.
The second step of reality masks and denatures the idea of reality. This step is known as the evil step. This picture is the one that grabbed my attention and interested me. It is the picture of the coffin’s with the flags on the airplane. It is our norm to assume it is a plane filled with coffins, but really all we see are flags. It could just be a plane filled with flags, but we wouldn’t know because we were not there. We are taking information and assuming things based on the assumptions we have of pictures.
The third step is masking the absence of reality. This picture that relates to this is the actual photograph of the men at Iwo Jima. In Washington, DC there is a famous statue of the men putting the flag into the ground that we connect to the battle at Iwo Jima. Before I saw the actual photograph I thought that the placing of the flag into the ground actually looked how the statue is formed. The absence of reality is there from the statue because reality is absent and we are not seeing the real idea.
Our society has the issue of assuming things based off of taking people accountable for their facts and information. We instantly believe the New York Times and their stories, but what makes us believe them? Just because they are a newspaper should not be the reason. Every week this class makes me realize how much of an impact the mass media has on our lives and thoughts and now I understand why Dr. Rog said we would leave this class with a different view on society.
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1 comment:
I'm glad that you can see how effective this class is and will be by the end of the semester when approaching the world from here on in! It was a wonderful opportunity for us to hear Zizek speak of his work and it's great that your took a lot away from that experience. You show a good understanding of Baudrillard's concepts when looking at photos in media. It seems as though you make a great reference to Barthes and his notion of tmesis with the way the public make assumptions with images presented - you are making natural references to other theorists in your blogs so try to pick up on it! It'll help you out in the long run when it comes to exam time.
:)
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