"Photography, then, is an expression of our peculiarly cruel way of seeing. Ultimately, it is a kind of evil eye, a type of magical possession. One senses this very clearly in places where a different cultic substance is still active. The moment a city like Mecca can be photographed, it falls into the colonial sphere (p. 40)." - Ernst Jünger, "On Pain"
Response:
The reason I chose this passage that was also part of the lecture is because I actually completely agree with it. This passage is talking about the way photography is one of those technological advances that has changed the way we perceive pain and how it has affected people on a globalized scale. At this particular point the discussion has already turned to the "objectification" of people, like the dehumanization I've discussed previously. Photography has definitely added to this change of perception because, as Ernst mentions, it has basically desensitized people to accept horrific events without so much attachment in order to deal with the emotional trauma that follows it. This passage speaks truth when he refers to photography Mecca and having that become part of the colonial sphere. I can honestly say I never thought about it that way but every time someone takes a photo of something that is meaningful or of any importance, such as the holy site of Mecca, or even photographs of indigenous un-contacted tribes, it does become a form of colonization. We cross the boundaries of comfort for those people just to capture a moment in a photograph (as an anthropologist in training - this is a huge no-no). Yet at the same time if we don't see these things and people then we would never really grasp and understanding of them. It's almost like choosing the lesser of two evils.
Going back to the lecture and Totalitarianism photography does share it's importance in trying to drive out the nihilism in people to allow them to be function cogs of society. Everyone has a job to do and everyone needs to deal with the realities of life outside of this job and within this job to become efficient. We suppress pain by coming face to face with it and accepting it as a part of reality. I can contribute by saying that the internet, one of the greatest technological advances of all time has given birth to a new type of mentality that is completely desensitized from the horrors of the world. It only takes a few clicks before you end up in that really dark part of the internet that hordes video archives of people being mutilated, self mutilation and even death (such as decapitation and all other sorts of things). People have even developed a sort of gore fetish where they get some kind of pleasure out of seeing blood and mangled body parts because it's something not everyone can handle. So this idea of living a meaningless life changes by becoming desensitized. The meaning of life changes and is accepted as being a part of death as an equal counterpart. At some point we will all stop existing, everyone eventually dies, one way or another and having these kinds of photographic proof of that allows for an acceptance of death. People accept it and no longer fear it because they can say they have seen some of the worse scenarios that can play out. They might even consider themselves so lucky to not be those unfortunate ones. Photography then does capture us in a way by allowing us to see what would otherwise be considered taboo. We cross the borders of no return once we become exposed and for some it provides a sense of superiority for being able to "handle" watching those kinds of things. People then become boastful and feel as if they can take on the world they live in. Photography has flipped the script of Nihilism in this sense. It has changed people from allowing to wallow in misery and force the exposure of the horrors of life to being forced to see these things as a type of reform of mind.
Totalitarianism requires submission. People need to understand their function in society and work in society by leaving behind these emotions that tie them down to a possible mental breakdown about how terrible the realities of life are. To be a function human being you need to accept life as it is and realize that there are many things you cannot control and there is nothing you can do. People find it much easier to be told what to do than have to think for themselves - it takes the guess work of out life. It reminds me of the prison mentality - being institutionalized. People who are released, after years and years of being in prison, find it hard to adapt to every day life and holding down a job for this reason. There was no guess work when they were in the prison, day time, night time, breakfast, lunch and dinner, physical activity and so on - everything was provided in a scheduled manner. In the outside world they would need to make all of these things happen for them, they would need jobs to provide those meals, and clothes and other utilities necessary for living in society. It's interesting the way that Totalitarianism holds to some one these qualities but makes people break out of that prison mentality and accept their life as a cog in society. You gotta do, what you gotta do.
I think people should understand that life isn't just some 9-5 job. I think people need to understand what is happening in the world and accept their limitations in terms of bringing change to something no one is trying to change. Like the Sentinelese tribe from the North Sentinel Island who over the years have been declared the most hostile uncontacted tribe in the world, it took several deaths and show of complete rejection of the outside world before it was officially declared to never receive contact by enforcing a three-mile exclusion zone (reference below). There are some things people simply cannot change and they need to understand that is okay. We are not part of a Totalitarian government but everyone still has jobs to do that allow society to continue moving. The expulsion of nihilistic thought is hard to do and Ernst tries to rationalize pain as something that can be manipulated if the right pieces are in place. However, this is also something unrealistic because people are constantly trying to control every aspect of their lives, emotions towards daily lives and politics is not something that can be easily manipulated. People are set on their ways sometimes and acceptance of that is also part of our reality.
Reference: Sentinelese Article
Going back to the lecture and Totalitarianism photography does share it's importance in trying to drive out the nihilism in people to allow them to be function cogs of society. Everyone has a job to do and everyone needs to deal with the realities of life outside of this job and within this job to become efficient. We suppress pain by coming face to face with it and accepting it as a part of reality. I can contribute by saying that the internet, one of the greatest technological advances of all time has given birth to a new type of mentality that is completely desensitized from the horrors of the world. It only takes a few clicks before you end up in that really dark part of the internet that hordes video archives of people being mutilated, self mutilation and even death (such as decapitation and all other sorts of things). People have even developed a sort of gore fetish where they get some kind of pleasure out of seeing blood and mangled body parts because it's something not everyone can handle. So this idea of living a meaningless life changes by becoming desensitized. The meaning of life changes and is accepted as being a part of death as an equal counterpart. At some point we will all stop existing, everyone eventually dies, one way or another and having these kinds of photographic proof of that allows for an acceptance of death. People accept it and no longer fear it because they can say they have seen some of the worse scenarios that can play out. They might even consider themselves so lucky to not be those unfortunate ones. Photography then does capture us in a way by allowing us to see what would otherwise be considered taboo. We cross the borders of no return once we become exposed and for some it provides a sense of superiority for being able to "handle" watching those kinds of things. People then become boastful and feel as if they can take on the world they live in. Photography has flipped the script of Nihilism in this sense. It has changed people from allowing to wallow in misery and force the exposure of the horrors of life to being forced to see these things as a type of reform of mind.
Totalitarianism requires submission. People need to understand their function in society and work in society by leaving behind these emotions that tie them down to a possible mental breakdown about how terrible the realities of life are. To be a function human being you need to accept life as it is and realize that there are many things you cannot control and there is nothing you can do. People find it much easier to be told what to do than have to think for themselves - it takes the guess work of out life. It reminds me of the prison mentality - being institutionalized. People who are released, after years and years of being in prison, find it hard to adapt to every day life and holding down a job for this reason. There was no guess work when they were in the prison, day time, night time, breakfast, lunch and dinner, physical activity and so on - everything was provided in a scheduled manner. In the outside world they would need to make all of these things happen for them, they would need jobs to provide those meals, and clothes and other utilities necessary for living in society. It's interesting the way that Totalitarianism holds to some one these qualities but makes people break out of that prison mentality and accept their life as a cog in society. You gotta do, what you gotta do.
I think people should understand that life isn't just some 9-5 job. I think people need to understand what is happening in the world and accept their limitations in terms of bringing change to something no one is trying to change. Like the Sentinelese tribe from the North Sentinel Island who over the years have been declared the most hostile uncontacted tribe in the world, it took several deaths and show of complete rejection of the outside world before it was officially declared to never receive contact by enforcing a three-mile exclusion zone (reference below). There are some things people simply cannot change and they need to understand that is okay. We are not part of a Totalitarian government but everyone still has jobs to do that allow society to continue moving. The expulsion of nihilistic thought is hard to do and Ernst tries to rationalize pain as something that can be manipulated if the right pieces are in place. However, this is also something unrealistic because people are constantly trying to control every aspect of their lives, emotions towards daily lives and politics is not something that can be easily manipulated. People are set on their ways sometimes and acceptance of that is also part of our reality.
Reference: Sentinelese Article
All of these posts have been really great. I think after you read the Benjamin essay you will see there are a lot of similarities between he and Junger. In other words, how does photography and other forms of technology change our consciousness and our very ability to experience reality? I think you hit on this theme pretty well, like with the reference to Mecca. This also reflects the Weberian idea of the "iron cage of modernity" in that we are "trapped" by modern life and what it entails and cannot escape. Our experiences are not limited by locality anymore, and again I think you do a good job pointing out both the pros and cons of this. As it relates to dehumanization which you have talked about in previous posts, I think there is a connection there as well, does our enhanced awareness of the world also lead to our desensitization? Maybe its a stimulus overload? There is a lot more I could say, maybe we can discuss it in class. Btw, I like the articles you have been including as well.
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