“We therefore consume images fleetingly and randomly. It takes very special pictures to grasp and hold our attention. We need to be seduced by images that outdo reality through excessiveness—as in advertising and movies” (Constructed Realities: The Art of Staged Photography Edited by Michael Kohler). What do you think about this quote? How do you think that our lives are changing as the speed of our interaction with photographic images grows?
When I read this, it made me think of all the commercials and advertisements that are shoved in our faces every day, whether we want to or not. After a while, it's easy to become numbed by all of these, and thus, less responsive to visual stimuli such as photographs. It becomes like background noise; we simply tune it out and look past. However, I don't think the images always need to "outdo reality through excessiveness." Sometimes it is a very simple or true picture that captures our attention. Or one that shows something excessive that is also real. Part of some of the value gained through images is knowing that something so amazing or terrible, beautiful or hideous, can actually exist in our world. With such a wide palette to draw from, I don't believe that it's always necessary to "outdo reality" when reality can be so diverse and breathtaking already.
“But the term ‘Infotainment’ also implies this: with the gradual fictionalization of even the news, the old categorical oppositions of ‘documenting’ and ‘staging’, appearance and reality gradually dissolve. They are being replaced by a variety of hybrid forms for which it will be impossible, in fact pointless, to attempt to distinguish between fact and fiction. Even the accusation that ‘Infotainment’ is guilty of continuous ‘lying’ is therefore unjustified, for it is neither ‘true’ nor ‘false’. Like advertising, movies and all other genres that adhere to the laws of fiction, it works at a level beyond these oppositions—the level of ‘hyper-reality’, where reality is ‘simulated’.” (Constructed Realities: The Art of Staged Photography Edited by Michael Kohler). What are your thoughts on “Infotainment” and how it affects our lives? How does it affect the way we see and understand “reality”? How does it affect photography in general?
Although I do somewhat resent the comment about the "gradual fictionalization of even the news," since actual respectable news organizations are working harder than ever to keep viewers/readers' attention with real, true information and images, I feel like the rest of this quote make sense. I don't think it's fair to say that Infotainment is lying. Just because an image is manipulated or changed doesn't make it a "lie" in certain contexts in my mind. No one watches Jurassic Park and says "man what a lie, dinosaurs haven't been brought back yet! I feel cheated!" Seriously, things that are build and meant for entertainment are more like forms of art than strict "truth," and I don't think this is always a bad thing. They aren't viewed with the expectation of seeing reality and after one is done watching, their view on actual reality probably isn't altered. However, if something is changed and altered and presented as actual news, fact or truth, then I do feel like it is a lie because active deception is taking place, which is especially bad and dangerous (not to mention forbidden) in the world of journalism. Photography in general has a lot of freedom to go in many different directions in today's digital world. Every time new options are opened for creating or evolving forms of expression, I think it's a good step forward because it brings more diverse art into existence, which is something important for self-expression and the sharing of ideas.
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