Though what I am about to write offers little conventional theory or substance towards the notion of audiences, it owes more to my own path of thoughts and the writings of Tobias Jones and his book ’Utopian dreams’.
Though I am still going to address matters of the audience it will be done so in a rather unconventional manner. Neither rooting back to highly thought of theorists or following a certain route, My ideas come from within founded purely upon my own perceptions with the occasional thoughts from Jones thrown in, apologies are made in advance for the slight peculiar manner of my interpretation!
“The promise of happiness has created an epidemic of depression. It’s us who are being consumed not the objects [of consumption]. Postmodernism is the hidden fuel of the consumer culture. It allows everything to be erased, replicated, replaced, Nothing even aims for permanency or perfection and thus the throw away buy again society finds its cultural justification: we’re constantly buying because were cool chameleons we’re ceaselessly changing dressing up to assume new roles. We mustn’t ever hint at commitment, because that would be the death knell of rights and choices. That way no door is ever closed to us, no purchase or partner ever precluded.” (Jones, 2007)
This paragraph written by Jones made me think about the ways in which new technologies like the digital camera have aided the buy in throw out type culture of the new consumerist audience. The Statement Jones makes about the consumer culture of today, initiated my thoughts towards the matter that technologies have founded and influenced this type of culture. Thinking of many a high tech device which could replicate and replace the more conventional outdated mode of technology, I am going to concentrate on the Digital camera and the way it promotes throw away type culture by allowing its users to erase, replicate and replace pictures.
Once only endangered by the sun photographs could only be erased by slowly fading over time now the machine is the photographs main enemy culling photographs instantly.
The first digital camera made for the consumer level market was the AppleQuickTake 100 model dated February the 17th 1994, it worked with a home computer via a serial cable. (http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bldigitalcamera.htm)
With the digital camera having many more advantages to that of the normal film orientated camera it quickly outsold its predecessor, with the general consumer market placing a higher emphasis on immediate gratification, the digital camera did just that, allowing pictures to be viewed or deleted straight away the digital camera became very popular with this new type of buy in throw out consumerism. With the emphasis on the fact that pictures could be quickly and easily moderated, deleted and even replicated the new consumerist audience favoured it straight away.
The digital camera had become a huge success, However although the digital camera has its advantages like everything in life there is always a flip side to such advancements in technology and digital photography is by no means any exception. With these new technologies allowing us the freedom of erasing old pictures and replacing them with new better shots, We have become as Jones states a society obsessed with throwing away the old and buying in the new. At present nothing seems sacred or sentimental with the creeping commercialism of new technologies like the digital camera, memory can all to easily be deleted from ever existing. With every picture easily erasable, replicated or replaced via the click of a button, it is easy to see why there is know longer any permanency to life. As the new digital realm is now very much a present feature in the lives of many, it would seem that digital photography may be partly to blame for the buy in throw out type culture Jones talks about.
These new cameras for instance eradicate the need for sentimentality, pictures that don’t quite meet the criteria can be easily discarded of straight away, lost forever they seem to exist only in the realms of cyberspace never to be seen or judged by the naked eye again.
Being of the sentimental type I do find this new buy in throw out culture of society to be quite a harsh regime. Although obviously at times I have thrown pictures away, sometimes I have found this process harder then I initially thought it would be. I can of course see how some pictures that are blurry or take on the shape of someone’s finger can be easily discarded, however when pictures are taken of members of the family I find the deleting process much harder to undertake. I remember a time not so long ago when I was scanning over a picture of my mother, it was admittedly a rubbish photograph, I’d captured her looking the wrong way, with hair blown in the wind and eyes immovable in full blink. However I still found myself thinking twice about throwing the picture away. It seems stupid but just being able to delete the picture, discarding it like it was waste made me feel quite ashamed. Just because the picture wasn’t going to win best in show it still didn’t seem right to toss it heartlessly towards the rubbish bin, throwing it away like some piece of junk owing nothing to sentiment. Being that it was a picture of the one person who had bought me into this world, I really couldn’t discard it like some empty crisp packet, so I decided after much contemplation to keep the picture and to this day it sits on my window sill, teaching me that memories are priceless however hazy they may initially appear.
Although digital photography has meant that pictures are destroyed before they even go to print a point which benefit’s the recycle industry, I still feel the digital camera has aided the rise of throw away culture. The modern consumer audience of today tend to be uncaring of the memories associated with certain pictures, a fact I find quite sad as Pictures to me are like bottled time, there the only link back to the past and the only gift we can bring to future generations.
Jones, Tobias, (2007) ‘Utopian Dreams’ in search of a good life,’ Faber and feber limited.
(http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bldigitalcamera.htm)
