The World on Screen

When I was at work this morning, caught up in doing my daily tasks, I had a moment of realization about what was going on around me. I don’t know what made me stop to think, but I suddenly looked up at my computer and realized how many different windows I had pulled up on multiple screens and how much information was being displayed to me all at once. I also looked around the office and saw that everyone else was doing the exact same thing, some talking on the phone and checking texts, adding more to the influx of information. I thought about Mirzoeff’s excerpt “Total Noise on Screen” and about how much the world on screen has changed life as we know it. I sat there in my office for a few minutes trying to imagine what doing my job would be like without all of these screens and computers displaying information in such an easy and accessible way. It really made me appreciate the convenience that innovation and technology have come to offer.

-Nick Guidry

 

The Feeling of Someone Looking at You

With our discussion of people watching, I started to think about that creepy feeling you get when you feel like someone is staring at you. Have you ever caught someone staring you? Has someone ever caught you staring at them? What about that feeling you get when you just know that someone is staring at you? This feeling is actually a real thing. In fact, there is a part of your brain that is solely dedicated to detecting where others are looking, even if it’s out of your field of vision. Particular cells in your brain fire when someone is looking directly at you, but different cells fire when someone is looking just a few degrees to the left or right of your field of vision. This is where your peripheral vision can detect when someone is gazing at you. I thought this was so interesting in relation to Mirzoeff’s article that discusses the flâneur, the incognito observer. So, even if you don’t always catch the person who might be gazing from afar, that small feeling in the back of your mind may be correct, even though you may not be able to prove it.

-Caroline Norton

The Magic of the Moment

In my home town, San Diego, tourists love to visit the 25 foot statue towering over the bay by the USS Midway. The statue, called Unconditional Surrender, is based off of a photograph taken in Time Square as a sailor comes home from V-J (Victory over Japan) Day and kisses a nurse in the middle of the streets. This statue serves as an icon for remembrance of victory and reward for hard work. When I was reading about street photography in Mirzoeff and the photograph of The Kiss by the Hotel de Ville, the almost identical picture of the passionate and sudden kiss in the middle of a busy city scene immediately made me think of this statue. There is a kind of excitement and magic that comes when a beautiful chance moment is captured in such a busy, random scene. When thinking about how photographer of The Kiss by the Hotel de Ville admitted to staging the photograph, it devastated the romance and magic of the picture.  If the photograph of which the statue of Unconditional Surrender was based off came out to be a staged scene, I think that the statue would lose the feelings of patriotism and victory associated with it.  I think this also relates to our reading and the idea of the flânuer, as the photographer is an observer who is seeing these people kiss without being noticed by the people themselves.

-Lindsey Almquist

Football and Visual Culture

I recently watched the film Concussion and found that it is very relatable to some of the discussions we have had in class. The film stars Will Smith as Dr. Bennett Omalu, a Nigerian forensic pathologist who fought against efforts by the NFL  to suppress his research on CTE, which is brain damage suffered by professional football players. Yesterday we discussed how sports are connected to visual culture, whether it be the male gaze, spectatorship, or practices of looking. Football is one of the strongest candidates that displays all aspects of visual culture. People rally behind this sport for a variety of reasons, but I think the biggest reason is because it is American. Taking pleasure in watching football shows your patriotism. So when Dr. Bennet Omalu shared a potential problem and outcome of football the NFL and American’s responded violently. This man was challenging America’s greatest sport, and subsequently American Patriotism. Eventually some people grudgingly accepted his findings, but to the American public this was kept hush hush. I did not know about CTE and the harmful side effects of football until I saw this movie. I still enjoy watching football and will continue to go to games, demonstrating my patriotism, but I will now also be aware of Football’s downfalls.

Emily Shands

Under the Ink

Tattoos have been used for various purposes throughout history as we have discussed in class, from branding soldiers to representing anti-cultures that rebel against conformity. In today’s day and age, tattoos have broken the mold of these more traditional concepts of what a tattoo should be and has transformed as a medium of self identity. Tattoos can have varying levels of complexity, and this tattoo is a very simple one that my friend recently had placed on his forearm. Although it is a simple image of a triangle, he put a lot of thought into what this triangle represents to him. He picked the triangle because it is a symbol of stability, as well as the 3 points of a triangle that he used to represent key aspects of his life. The top of the triangle represents his friends who help keep him stay strong. The bottom two corners represent his core values of scholarship and gentlemenship, both very important values instilled in him as a child being brought up in New York City. These three values are what he builds his life upon, and this tattoo being placed on his forearm serves as a constant reminder to keep these values in his thoughts throughout his daily life. He is one of my only friends that has a tattoo and has thoroughly shaped my outlook on what tattoos are and what they can represent to those who choose to have ink placed on them, and I respect him greatly for it.

• Will Mitchell

“It’s a Family Tradition.”

The tomahawk.  The yells. War paint of maroon and gold.  Feathers attached to bands  wrapped around foreheads. As denoted by the ending of the school announcements,

“Once an Indian, Always an Indian.”

Every time the controversy surrounding the Washington Redskins and their name/logo is brought up in class, I think of my high school.  We have adopted the same logo and colors as Washington (something that is evidently common with NFL and high school teams), so when the pressure to change this at the professional level heats up, I always wonder if the same request will be made of us.  We are a small school district, so the pride that goes along with living and attending schools within it often finds its roots generations back for current students and runs just as long for alumni; some alumni of 30+ years even still camp out for a few days prior to the start of the sale for tickets for our big rivalry game against the Cowboys (aptly named “the Frontier Bowl”).

My entire public school experience consisted of some form of Native American mascot, from elementary school as the “little Indians” to middle school “Braves” to high school “Indians.”  Though I’m not sure if it is because of such controversies, my former elementary has since shifted to being “the Dreamcatchers” to their current mascot “the Wolves,” and it doesn’t feel right. I can only imagine how I would feel if such a change occurred with my high school.  Like most people who have ever walked those halls, I can’t imagine not being a proud Indian.

However, before this class, I was primarily worried about keeping the mascot and only minutely concerned with whether or not it was actually offensive or an example of cultural appropriation. After all, since the main problem with Washington seems to be with the name “Redskins,”we should be okay, right? But then again, we aren’t being what is generally considered “politically correct” and call ourselves the “Native Americans.”  At the same time, we don’t mean to mock the Native American population or culture, though it could be argued (and won) that we engage in some stereotypes.  As far as I know, there have been no pleas from a Native American to change anything. Of course, this does not justify any/all wrongdoing.  Needless to say, I am rather conflicted over my stance on this ordeal.  Were I an outsider, I would have no problem agreeing with arguments to change everything.  But I’m not.  Neither are the friends to whom I told I was writing about our school (though not exactly why I was doing so), and all of them replied with something along the lines of, “YES, INDIAN PRIDE.”  That’s just our instinctive response at this point after all these years.

Like all traditions, being an Indian is just in our blood.

-Angelica Hernandez

(photo courtesy of the San Antonio Express News)

1 window, 2 different views

I’ve always loved planes; I’m not really sure why—maybe because my dad has worked on the F22 my entire life. To me, planes are exciting adventures waiting to happen. Whether it’s exploring the cockpit or enjoying the incredible views, I always look forward to flying.

When I have a window seat, I usually end up taking pictures. Most of them look the same, yet are also very different. Depending on the altitude at which the plane is flying when I take a picture, I can end up with very different images. Last month I flew back to Fort Worth from New Orleans. I took these two pictures from the plane within about ten minutes of each other. When scrolling back through my phone this week, I was amazed at how different the two images are. They both depict basically the same thing, but from different altitudes, which affects the detail and some of the subject matter in the images.

To me the biggest difference between the two was the overall color tone. The first image, captured shortly after take-off, shows that it was an overcast, gray day in New Orleans. But just ten minutes later, while still in Louisiana air space, we’ve made it above the clouds and now the sky is blue and you can see a hint of sunshine.

I couldn’t appreciate any of this when I was on the plane, because I was moving with it through the clouds. There wasn’t a moment where the sky suddenly went from gray to blue, as the images make it appear. I think sometimes it really is impossible to stop and appreciate your surroundings, but pictures (whether taken by you or someone else) can help us do just that—maybe not exactly in the moment, but later on.

~Claire Gegenheimer

Misconceptions

By Trey Schneider

Earlier this week I was studying in my dorm and thought that I saw another student studying in Scharbauer. After I studied for a while I looked up to find that the student I thought I saw studying was a tree branch protruding perfectly into my view of the window frame. The branch looked like there was a person sitting at a table studying. The reason I noticed it was not a student was because of the wind moving the tree branch. This made me think about visual culture and how when we see things we see them with our brains. Furthermore, this made me think about how this tree was the signifier and at first it signified to me that there was a person in that room studying.

El Poncho

Our talk with Altheria on Tuesday made me think about a situation in which I as well questioned whether or not I was appropriating another culture. Like Altheria, I went to Mexico and came back with a piece of clothing handmade by a local. No, it was not a dress, but a poncho. I received this poncho in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, at a birthday dinner for one of my friends, as it was one of the customs of the restaurant to wear ponchos while eating there. Now that I am back in the states, I’ve thought about what I can do with it, and I’ve decided for now to hang it on my door as decoration for my dorm room. Before our discussion, I did not even question the poncho, I just saw it as a cool souvenir from Mexico. Once I was made aware of cultural appropriation, I found myself questioning if I was appropriating the Mexican culture by wearing or even just displaying this poncho. After considering some of the questions Altheria posed in her article, I’ve decided that I’m not really appropriating. To me, this poncho is a piece of memorabilia to remind me of the awesome time that I had with some of my closest friends in Mexico. That night after dinner, we all found out that we could keep our ponchos from the restaurant, and then we all wore them for the rest of the night while we were having the time of our lives. When I look at that poncho, I am reminded of my personal connection with my friends, the beautiful beaches of Cabo, and Mexican culture itself. I’m not disrespecting, degrading, or misrepresenting it. If anything, I am celebrating it and acknowledging its authenticity. Now, I guess I can rest easy and know that I’m pulling a Kim K.

Nick Guidry

 

Hope Outdoor Gallery

Last weekend I took a road trip to Austin, Texas.  There was a music festival in town called SXSW.  As I was walking through the city I came across this outdoor gallery.  It is basically a lot of graffiti art on a hillside.  It was really interesting and some of the art was really good.  There was a lot of people there that were taking pictures and admiring the art.    Not only was the art cool, but when I climbed to the top of the hill, the view of downtown Austin was amazing.   All different kinds of people admired the pictures and messages that were painted on the wall and were just having a good time.  This made me realize art brings people together whether it is in the form of painting, music, or television.   There are some people that think art can only be found in museums.  But this place made me realize that art is all around us if we just look in the right places.

-Pete Trevino