Blog #4

Photography is surely one of the most used ways to present and compare differences. There is many different ways to express differences using photography, and this vary between photographers. By comparing Nikki S. Lee's work and Carlton Davis work, we will see in what consist those differences.

First, let's start with Nikki S. Lee's work. In her picture "The Ohio Project (7)", Lee presents the difference of roles between the two sexes in the southern heritage society. The photographer uses a large background that involves many house objects like tables, and allows to see all the room. One of the most important points in Lee's techniques is to gather the two sexes in the same picture. Lights are a very important component of a picture, and Lee opts for the room lights. This image illustrates difference as a social construct in the way that man has a protective role in the family as we can see the man in the picture holding a gun in his hands.
Second, let's see Carlton Davis work. In his picture "Stanley Nelson", Davis shows the difference between individuals of the same race. Unlike Lee who presents her work using a large background, Davis introduce his work by using a portrait. The artist here concentrates on facial expressions like the smile, and uses colors to give meaning such as the the black background or white clothes. Davis selects a light that shows only the character's face, while Lee uses the room light. This picture illustrates difference as a social construct in the way that people are differ by races, and even differ in the same race.

Photography is the common way used by Nikki S. Lee and Carlton Davis to express differences in the society, however each of the artists select a different technique to present his work. Lee focuses on the elements of the environment where people live, unlike Davis who goes for facial expressions.

Blog #3

          There is no doubt that the generation I is led by many social media tools, and Facebook is the most important tool. The primary goal of Facebook is to keep people connected together although the real existing distance between them. However, today the use of Facebook is shifting as it is encouraging the development of narcissism and egocentricity.
First, Facebook encourages the development of narcissism. Today, most of  Facebook users tend to give a different image of themselves. Surely there is nothing wrong with being different, but the problem is that people give only a perfect picture of themselves. Few are the people who accept to appear in a picture that does not show them in their best look. Further more, Facebook users choose to set their profiles in a way that makes them come across as active and interesting persons. Rachel Gaynes gives a good example in her article "Facebook takes narcissism to a new level" as she says "But the whole concept really is a transparent concept of self-promotion"
          Second, Facebook Encourages the development of egocentricity. A big majority of Facebook users are increasing their egocentricity by the day even if they are not egocentric by nature. Facebook make things easier to say behind the public screen than in real life, as a result people do not miss a chance to express themselves. Thus, some kind of egocentricity emerged, and consists on showing every small detail of the individual's daily life, just like people who take themselves for the center of the world. Rachel Gaynes illustrates this in her article "Facebook takes narcissism to a new level" when she says "The concept of being social has adapted, now requiring that a person be eternally connected and no longer differentiate between personal and public information."
          To conclude, Facebook is surely the most popular media social tool, but also one of the major elements that are developing narcissism and egocentricity in today's world.