How to do things with Pictures

This reading was cool because it demonstrated the possibilities that photography possesses. I was amazed that the altering of different photos, some taken years apart, could be combined to create a convincing new image. The use of this technique in politics is pretty remarkable as well. Even if the image is fake and, the reputation of the person being slandered is ruined.

The idea that if you show someone one of these altered pictures and that they appear real forces us to question what we think is real and what we believe is real. Each of the example images shown in the reading appears genuine, and I would consider them so if I did not know that I was reading about how to do things with pictures. To show these images to someone without the information that they are altered is as good as lying to someone. The belief that 'a photograph is fact' reinforces truth in whoever they are shown to. It is kind of like hearing a rumor from someone who ALWAYS tells the truth - you just believe them instantly. This kind of power is incredible and dangerous at the same time. Photographic images can no longer be trusted, as they may or may not display something that does or does not exist or did or did not happen.

I also like the discussion about how music is traveling down the same path. Sampling can hardly be considered a musical art. It seems like anyone could just 'garageband' a one hit wonder and make millions as long as they have the right connections and can sort of rhyme. There is a lesser appreciation for the days of old, when singers sung, and there was no digital alteration of pitch and sound. Both the butchering of music with digital technology and the alteration of photographic images discussed in this essay, I think can be contributed to the consumer culture that America has developed, but that is another discussion all-together.