“Seeing Ourselves Through Technology” Notes

Commentary: “In the late sixteenth century, Montaigne noted that drawing yourself was more acceptable than writing about yourself” (Rettburg).

One question continuously circles my mind which is why do people feel the need to write or draw themselves? Rettburg describes the transition from drawing  one self to writing, yet I am left curious as to why humans are so drawn to themselves in the first place. If a book is called, Seeing Ourselves Through Technology, I think the reason why humans even feel the need to see themselves in the first place should be stated. Rettburg does state Heehs argument for the use of diaries to be used for religious purposes, but it’s not made clear if it was the specific reason to writing about oneself. The transition from drawing to writing does not seem necessarily important either, because technology is used for digital portraits again. In the 21st century, humans are so drawn to themselves, posting images, accomplishments, and information to everyone and anyone. Has this attraction to one-self always been present, or was it the availability of technology that created a constant need to create one self for the world?

Analysis: “Although early photographers often used the camera as a barrier to protect them from the viewers in their self-portraits (Borzello 1998, 142), the classic outstretched arm of the selfie taken with a front-facing smart phone camera very strongly includes the viewer in the space of the photograph. As Katie Warwick points out, the outstretched arm is like a (forced) embrace, placing the viewer between the face of the person photographed and the camera (Warfield 2014)” (Rettburg).

Rettburg is stating the idea that past artists created their self-portraits to create a barrier between viewers and self, implying that the artist took images just of certain parts of themselves. On the other hand, she states people today hope to draw viewers in and let everyone see their true self. Does this interpretation truly understand photographers of today? Rettburg is agreeing that people embrace viewers into their lives, but what image are today’s photographers actually forcing viewers to see? If Rettburg is truly stating that people today want others to see themselves without barrier, then I’d have to disagree. Through technology, people did not break down their barriers, instead they created an altered image of themselves and they force viewers to see the perfected version of themselves. Early photographers did not have this ability to blur themselves to perfection, so they fragmented their images. Today’s photographers don’t need to create barriers. Instead, they can create whole new images of themselves to present.

Making Connections: “We imagined that the Internet was disembodied, anonymous and virtual. It wasn’t until the late 1990s and early 2000s that webcams became popular (Sen 2008), and we began to communicate with each other visually as well as through text” (Rettburg).

While reading this paragraph, I began to think of images from the 60s and 70s. Through movies, fashion, and media, it’s clear a clear fact that humans were not as “revealing” as they are in the 21st century. The 2000s is the era where technology became more visual, and it’s also around the same time when people started to share more, physically and mentally. During the 2000s, social media was on the rise, and people began to post more about themselves. Even clothing changed and started showing more of ourselves compared to previous generations of fashion. As technology grows, humans are apt to share more and more about themselves, and privacy dissipates. Yes, humans depict themselves through technology, but they are also showing more of themselves with technology. The availability of social media drives humans to copy and paste everything and anything about themselves. People are not only able to see themselves through technology, but people are able to see through each other.

 

Summary/Commentary:

While continuing to read chapter 1 of Rettburg’s book, Seeing Ourselves Through Technology, I just become more and more confused on what she is trying to get across. In the beginning, Rettburg states Heehs’ arguments on how Protestants used diaries for religious purposes. From there, Rettburg discusses uses of portraits and just barely brushes on photography and how certain images are depicted. From there on, she discusses forms of self-documentation and communication, and finally dives into the discussion of hatred for selfies. This article is very difficult to interpret, and even with a title, I still find it difficult to interpret what Rettburg’s main idea is.