We see hundreds of images every day, whether it’s new photos on facebook, billboards, ads, textbook stuff, powerpoints, movies, etc etc. Like it said in last week’s readings on “seeing,” we often don’t even notice the details of images we see anymore. But this week the topics in the book went even further, and I thought about how desensitized I as a casual image viewers have become. I’m sure we have images of September 11 burned into our minds as clear as the day we watched it happen live. Maybe it’s the same news images of tsunami or hurricane Katrina victims. Not to be facetious at all, I remember clearly the newspaper article from the day I found out Heath Ledger died. Why do such negative and disturbing images have such a way of hanging around in our minds?
My question probably doesn’t bring anything new to the table, I’m sure you have all thought about it before, but isn’t that interesting? For something to actually grab our attention it has to be shocking. The explanations could vary by person, or by the day, or just how we happen to be feeling the instant something tragic happens. It is sadly but certainly an escape from the mundane, a tragic sort of thrill. But I also think these images can serve a more constructive purpose if they bring us out of apathy and help make us more aware of how important and fragile this life is.
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