2. Filmically, is the act of making oneself seen equivalent to subjecting oneself to 'The Gaze?'
3. Considering the notion of identity politics, as we look at ourselves through the prism of the material we have encountered, how do we identify *first* and why? As woman? As man? Racially? Sexually? What is the importance of attaching or un-attaching a naming/label to ourselves and others?
3. I think the way we will or choose to identify *first* has to do with what others identify us as first and foremost. For some this identification comes with the color of their skin, others their gender or sexuality. The first thing I tend to think of when someone asks what I identify as is my race; it is what set me apart from others and the thing people seemed most concerned about. It's almost like someone having a huge zit on their face; you can see it, others can see it, they may point it out to you, and eventually with enough attention it's the only thing you can think of about yourself; when someone meets you for the first time all you can think about is how they must be looking at your zit.
ReplyDeleteI think that attaching a label to ourselves ties us up in neat little packages for others. With each identity comes a set of stereotypes (whether they be good or bad) that lets a person know what conclusions to draw about us. It would be nice to imagine that we would each be judged for just who we are; but in a culture where waiting for your food longer than it takes to drive from the ordering window to the pick-up window is infuriating how can we learn to take the time to get to know people?
Angelica, re: the "drive-through culture," I have HUGE concerns about that very thing. The speed at which out face-to-face interactions now occur seems to utterly preclude anything but the most superficial and fleeting assessments of one another. I believe that people are losing the capacity to fully engage, and it worries me greatly.
ReplyDeleteIt sets the stage for the narrowing of viewpoints, which is only reinforced by an information culture that derives its information from self-referential sources and further alienates people based on their differences. I have this enormous fear that soon the culture will begin to regress into ever more blatant bigotries and chauvinisms...oh, but wait—
IT'S ALREADY HAPPENING!